Museum of Military - Mother Armenia

The Mother Armenia Memorial Complex was opened on November 29 in 1950 in the Haghtanak (Victory) park. The architect was Rafael Israelyan, Armenian architect and designer based in Yerevan.

Initially, a 17 meter (approximately 55 feet) statue to Stalin was erected on the pedestal. The statue’s sculptor was Sergey Dmitrievich Merkurov, a Soviet sculptor mounumentalist of Greek-Armenian descent. Three years after Stalin passed away his cult of personality was denounced. A decision was made to remove all the statues devoted to him. Armenia was among the last ones to remove the statue in 1962. During the removal a soldier died and dozens of people were injured. Years later Israelyan admitted that he was sure Stalin would not occupy the pedestal forever and therefore had designed it in a way as to resemble a three-nave Armenian church.

Five years later, in 1967 Mother Armenia statue by sculptor Ara Harutyunyan was erected on the pedestal. It is 22 meters (approximately 72 feet) high. On the whole, the monument and the statue taken together are 51 meters (approximately 167 feet) high. The statue and the pedestal are made of different materials. The statue is made of hammered copper and the pedestal – of basalt. Mother Armenia statue holding a huge sword in her hands and a shield at her feet seems to guard Yerevan and Armenia against possible attacks and invasions.

LocationYerevan, Victory park

Founded1967

Time to Spend2 hours

Best time to visitRound the year

Why to visitImportant part of Armenian history

Image Gallery

Tours

HIKING TOUR IN ARMENIA
From$750$700
ARMENIA PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR
From$900$850
WONDERS OF ARMENIA 10-DAY TOUR
From$990$790
GOURMET TOUR IN ARMENIA
From$518$410

The Military Museum of Mother Armenia

The Military Museum of Mother Armenia was founded inside the pedestal in 1970. It was originally established as the Museum of History of the Great Patriotic War (World War II). In this respect, it mainly included exhibits on World War II. The museum was renamed the Military Museum of Mother Armenia only in 1995, that is when Armenia was already an independent and non-Soviet state.

The museum’s exhibition reflects upon two main topics. One part of the exhibition is dedicated to the participation of Armenian people in World War II and second – to the Nagorno Karabakh War.

The exhibition devoted to Armenia’s participation in World War II is located on the first floor and presents the activities of the most outstanding soldiers of the six Armenian divisions. The activities of Armenian marshals and generals (Hovhannes Baghramyan, Ivan Isakov, Hamazasp Babajanyan, Armenak Khanperyants) are introduced in separate exhibitions. Of special interest are the belongings of Marshal Hovhannes Baghramyan.

The Gallery displays the portraits of the Soviet Union Heroes and Generals. There is also the black granite hall on the walls of which the names of the Soviet Union Heroes sand the Complete Holders of Order of Glory are engraved. The names of the soldiers who were killed or died during the Great Patriotic War are also immortalized there.

On the second floor the exhibition dedicated to the Nagorno Karabakh Liberation War is presented. It features not only the activities of the National Heroes of Armenia and Heroes of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), but also the military operations and the Diorama of liberation of Shushi, the ancient capital of Artsakh.

On the third floor there is the Celebrations Hall. The organic continuation of the museum is the Grave of the Unknown Soldier, which symbolizes the eternal memory of the war victims as well as the open air display of several military vehicles, including a BMP APC, a T-34, a Rocket Launcher Truck and even a Mig 19 (or 17).

Overall, the Museum contains 30,000 exhibits, among them photos, documents and various materials related to the Nagorno Karabakh war and World War II.

The Military Museum of Mother Armenia is open from Tuesday to Sunday. From Tuesday to Friday it’s open from 10 am to 5 pm, while on Saturday and Sundays – from 10 am to 3 pm. Notably, there is no any entrance fee.

Address: Yerevan, Victory Park, 2 Azatutian Str.
Tel.: (374 10) 251 400, (374 10) 250 677