Mayor of Yerevan Taron Margaryan and his sons participated in the traditional ceremony commemorating the Fedayins (freedom fighters) and dedicated to the memory of hero of the Armenian national liberation struggle Gevorg Chavush celebrated in the Ashnak village of Aragatsotn province every year on May 27^th. This tradition spanning decades had brought together hundreds of people of different generations who had come to Ashnak not only to pay their tribute to the brave leader of the Fedayins, but also to participate in the ceremony commemorating all the Fedayins who sacrificed their lives for the homeland and the salvation of their people, just like Gevorg Chavush had done.

Prior to the launch of the main events, Taron Margaryan paid tribute to the residents of Ashnak who had died in the Great Patriotic War and in the liberation war for Artsakh, as well as to the victims of the Armenian Genocide by laying flowers at the Armenian Genocide memorial. Afterwards, the mayor, as well as the residents of Ashnak and hundreds of guests headed toward the Museum of Gevorg Chavush. It should be mentioned that this year the sculpture of the Eagle of the Armenians was placed on the “Fidayatun” tower of the Gevorg Chavush Museum upon the initiative and under the sponsorship of Mayor of Yerevan Taron Margaryan as part of the events dedicated to the Fedayins. The honor of solemnly opening the sculpture of the eagle, which looks toward the Yergir (land) and is ready to fly and was made by sculptor Gevorg Gevorgyan in accordance with architect Levon Mkrtchyan’s plan, was reserved for Mayor of Yerevan Taron Margaryan. The attendees mentioned that the placement of the sculpture of the eagle made by creator of the building for the museum, architect Rafael Israelyan made the Museum of Gevorg Chavush complete.

Expressing gratitude to Taron Margaryan for the initiative, the participants of the event also stressed the fact that the placement of the statue of the eagle was a tribute to the souls of the ancestors, which also provides the generations with an Armenian upbringing. Mayor Taron Margaryan laid flowers at the tomb of the hero’s cousin, Gevorg Melkonyan, who had helped create the museum. Congratulating the participants of the event, Mayor Taron Margaryan attached importance to the fact that more and more participants of different generations participate in the celebration.

 “Commemorating the day that great leader of the Fedayins Gevorg Chavush died (May 27^th) has especially been a tradition for the Armenians of Mush and Sasun for many years. This is one of the special cases in history when the death of a hero turns into a real celebration and brings the representatives of the nation together. In the past three years, this celebration has been reinterpreted, and brilliant evidence of that is the thousands of people visiting Ashnak. Today serves as an opportunity to remind and appreciate the heroic leader of the Fedayins and learn lessons of patriotism by following his example, especially since by fate, the day that Gevorg Chavush died was before the Battle of Sardaparat, which is another heroic page in the history of the Armenian people. I’m very happy to see more young people and schoolchildren participating in the celebration year after year, and I’m convinced that the spirit of Chavush and our other heroes is transmitted to them, and they will definitely transmit that spirit to the future generations. This year, we fulfilled the dream of the founders of the Gevorg Chavush Museum, that is, we made the Museum complete. Great Armenian architect Rafael Israelyan, who is also the architect of this museum, had initially had the goal of placing on the tower of the building the sculpture of an eagle looking toward the Yergir (land) and ready to fly. Today, it is a pleasure to see how the idea turned into a reality and to see the eagle in its place. Let’s pray to God for the day that the eagle, which is the symbol of our unbreakable will, to fly toward the Yergir to get back the land and water of our ancestors,” Taron Margaryan said.

During the celebration, famous singers and ensembles from Yerevan performed national, patriotic songs and dances for the residents of Ashnak and the guests visiting Ashnak.

Department of Information and Public Relations of

Yerevan Municipality