Controversy over new statues in Yerevan: Why is Marshal Babadzhanian sitting on a chair?
A statue to Garegin Nzhdeh (1886-1955), a military commander and thinker, was unveiled in Yerevan on May 28, Armenia’s First Republic Day. Many people began to criticize the statue soon afterwards claiming it reminds them of Russian Tsar Peter the Great. Speaking in the National Assembly on May 30, of Russian Tsar Peter the Great said, “Maybe the reason is that the sculptor studied in Peter (Saint Petersburg).” “I was the chief architect of Yerevan when the tender for the monument was announced. Initially, there were 10-11 works and we chose five of them. The final choice fell on the one offered by sculptor Gagik Stepanyan. You may wonder why. Well, I shall answer, because in the other four works, Nzhdeh was presented on horseback with a sword or was wearing a full suit of armor. We chose this work, which in the future underwent certain modifications,” Mr Sargsyan said. Speaking about the statue to Soviet-Armenian Marshal Hamazasp Babadzhanian (1906-1977) which was unveiled in the Avan district of Yerevan on May 23, the minister said, “I thought the statue had some drawbacks, but I was glad to discover that he was not wearing armor. It is good that he is sitting but I do not understand why he is sitting on a chair and not on a stone.”
