Republic Square (Armenian: Հանրապետության հրապարակ, Hanrapetut′yan hraparak, known locally as Hraparak, "the square")[6][7] is the central town square in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. It consists of two sections: an oval roundabout and a trapezoid-shaped section which contains a pool with musical fountains. The square is surrounded by five major buildings built in pink and yellow tuff in the neoclassical style with extensive use of Armenian motifs.[8][9] This architectural ensemble includes the Government House, the History Museum and the National Gallery, Armenia Marriott Hotel and two buildings that formerly housed the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Transport and Communications. The square was originally designed by Alexander Tamanian in 1924.[10][5] The construction of most of the buildings was completed by the 1950s; the last building—the National Gallery—was completed in 1977.[2]
During the Soviet period it was called Lenin Square and a statue of Vladimir Lenin stood at the square. Soviet parades and celebrations were held twice (originally thrice) a year until 1988. After Armenia's independence, Lenin's statue was removed and the square was renamed.[11] It has been described as Yerevan's "architectural highlight"[12] and the city's "most outstanding architectural ensemble".[13] As Armenia's and the city's "most important civic space",[14] Republic Square was the main site of demonstrations during the 2018 Velvet Revolution.
Architecture
Republic Square consists of two sections: an oval roundabout with a stone pattern in its center designed to look like a traditional Armenian rug, and a trapezoid-shaped section containing the musical fountain, in front of the History Museum and the National Gallery.[3] The buildings around the square are made of pink and yellow tuff stones, fortified on a basalt-made base.
Leonid Volynsky opined in 1963 that any capital could be proud of such a square, with its "integrity and magnitude, its cheerful resonance, its uniqueness."[15] Travel writer Deirdre Holding suggested in 2014 that it is "certainly one of the finest central squares created anywhere in the world during the 20th century."[16]
History
The square in 1930.
In 2003, when the square underwent renovation, extensive excavations took place and an archaeological layer of the 18th-19th centuries was unearthed,[17] consisting of cellars and basements.[18]Tuff water pipes, dated to the 9th-11th centuries, were also excavated at the square.[19] In January 2020, the Armenian government considered uncovering the older layers and turning it into a museum accessible to the public.[20][21][22]
The pre-Soviet square was designed by Boris Mehrabyan (Megrabov) in his 1906-11 general plan of Yerevan.[23] The current square was designed by Alexander Tamanian within his 1924 general plan of Yerevan.[24] The area was gradually cleared of buildings.[25][26][27][28] The construction of the square started in 1926, when the construction of the Government House began.[4][3] It was developed until the 1950s when the rest of the five buildings were constructed and finally completed in 1977, when the National Gallery was built. The square was named Lenin Square (Armenian: Լենինի հրապարակ, Lenini hraparak; Russian: площадь Ленина, ploshchad’ Lenina) for Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, whose statue was erected in the square in 1940 and dismantled in 1991.
On 25 August 1990, the flag of Soviet Armenia was lowered and that of independent Armenia was raised on the Government House in the square.[29] On 1 November 1990, the Yerevan City Council voted to rename Lenin Square to Republic Square.[30]
In 2013, the municipal authorities proposed a controversial renovation of the square, which architects criticized.[31][32]
The building is home to the Government of Armenia. It originally housed the People's Commissariat (the executive of Soviet Armenia).[2][10] The north-western portion, built in 1926–29, was designed by Alexander Tamanian.[3] The construction of the rest of the building was taken up by Gevorg Tamanian, Alexander's son, in 1938[33] and was completed in 1941.[2][10]
It was completed in 1958 according to the design of Mark Grigorian and Eduard Sarapian.[2][35] The hotel was called Armenia during the Soviet period. A luxury hotel, it is considered the flagship hotel of Armenia.[36][37] It has 380 rooms.[38]
Government House #2
The building was designed by Samvel Safaryan, Rafayel Israyelian, Varazdat Arevshatyan[2][39] and was completed in 1955.[2][40] The friezes above first-floor windows are incomplete.[41] The building housed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between 1996 and 2016.[40] In 2013 the Armenian government sold the building for over $51 million to a company owned by Argentine businessman Eduardo Eurnekian.[42] It has been effectively abandoned since the mid-2010s.[43]
Trade Unions and Communications Building
Built in 1933–56,[33] it was designed by Mark Grigorian and Eduard Sarapian.[2] The building housed the Ministry of Transport and Communications until 2016.[41] The Armenian government announced its intention to privatize the building in 2016, but has failed to do so so far.[44]
Lenin's statue
The statue of Lenin and the government house depicted on a 1978 Soviet stamp
A 7-metre (23 ft) statue of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, erected by Sergey Merkurov and standing atop an 11-metre (36 ft) high pedestal, was inaugurated in the square on November 24, 1940.[45][46] It faced the site of the planned National Gallery and "soon gained considerable acclaim as a great piece of monumental art."[47]
On March 28, 1991, the Yerevan City Council voted to remove Lenin's statue.[45] Mayor Hambardzum Galstyan abstained and argued in favor of a more nuanced and tolerant stance.[45] It was removed on April 13, 1991.[45] The statue was "placed on a truck and, like the body of a deceased person, driven round and round the central square as if in an open coffin" while people cheered.[48] Some people threw pebbles and coins at the statue.[49] It was placed in the backyard of the Museums Building,[50] where it remains as of 2023.[51] The Armenian-American singer Cher was famously photographed with the headless statue of Lenin when she visited Armenia in April 1993.[52][53]
In 1996 president Levon Ter-Petrosyan ordered the dismantling of the pedestal, causing significant controversy and a wave of protests from a wide range of groups and individuals who emphasized its fine aesthetics.[54]Levon Abrahamian notes that the pedestal was a "good piece of architecture" and despite its Soviet symbolism, it was perceived by many as a work of "national art." According to Abrahamian, "The fight for preserving the pedestal proved to be much more ferocious than the discourse on removing Lenin from the square. Journalists, architects, artists, poets, well-known figures of culture wrote articles in newspapers in defense of the pedestal."[55] The poet Silva Kaputikyan called its dismantling an "act of vandalism."[55] On July 31, 1996, some 50 members of the Armenian Communist Party temporarily stopped the dismantling when they broke through the barrier around the pedestal.[56] During the presidential election campaign in September 1996, a stage was built at the place of the pedestal, where Ter-Petrosyan gave a speech.[57]
Replacements
On December 31, 2000, a 24-metre (79 ft) cross lit by light-bulbs was erected in the space left empty by Lenin's pedestal. This installation was completed on the eve of 2001, which was when the Armenian state and the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrated the 1700th anniversary of being a Christian nation. The cross was lit by 1700 symbolic lamps, and continued to be at the center of celebrations that took place throughout the year of commemoration. However, at the end of 2001, the period of celebration ended and the cross was quietly dismantled. Since it was a temporary fixture, there was little discussion preceding its erection, as well as after its dismantling.[14] The placement of a cross on that spot was interpreted "as the final victory of the Christian faith over the antichrist Lenin."[57]
In February 2004 a billboard-sized television screen appeared in the empty space playing advertisements.[58] It was removed in 2006.[14]
In June 2019 the Yerevan municipality put up several karases (large clay wine amphorae) at the center of the lawn that has been grown in place of the statue.[59]
Proposals
Ter-Ghazaryan writes that "After the monument to Lenin was toppled, the balance of Republic Square was thrown off, and the empty space left where Lenin used to stand has been subject to various design proposals, but none has succeeded."[47] Several competitions have been held to find a replacement. In the early 1990s, when the pedestal was still standing, several candidates were put forth to be placed on it, including Noah, king Argishti I, General Andranik and Armenia's first president Levon Ter-Petrosyan.[60] One of the most common proposals is to move the statue of Sasuntsi Davit (David of Sasun) to the square. According to Ter-Ghazaryan the largely apolitical nature of this Armenian national hero of an epic novel would be a safe choice; however, she wrote in 2013 that the relocation of the monument from its current spot in front of Yerevan Railway Station "seems unlikely."[61] In 2019 human rights activist Avetik Ishkhanyan argued that Aram Manukian's statue should have been erected on Lenin's pedestal.[62]
Other landmarks
Fountains
After years of non-operation, the musical fountains were renovated by the French company Aquatique Show International[63] and cost around €1.4 million.[64] They were opened in September 2007.[65]
Christmas tree
A Christmas tree has been installed at the square every December since at least 1950.[66] In 2020, a month after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war ended, the Yerevan City Hall announced that no Christmas tree and other decorations will be installed at the square to honor the memory of the fallen soldiers.[67]
Drinking fountain
The water fountain
The drinking fountain (also known as pulpulak), located next to the museums' buildings, consists of seven fountains and is thus called Yot aghbyur ("Seven springs"). It was originally installed in 1965 and renovated in 2010.[63]
Notable events
Parades
During the Soviet era, military and non-military parades were held in the square on May 1 (the International Workers' Day), May 9 (Victory Day, until 1969)[45] and November 7 (October Revolution Day).[68][45] The leadership of Soviet Armenia stood at the podium, below Lenin's statue.[68] During Jubilee parades celebrating the anniversaries of the foundation of Soviet Armenia (1961, 1970, 1980),[69] a wooden extension was added to the podium, in order to accommodate all the guests from the national government.[70] The last of these parades were held in 1988.[45]
On the evening of January 20, 1974, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of Lenin's death, two dissidents and members of the underground National United Party, Razmik Zohrabyan [hy] and Smbat Avagyan, burned the large portrait of Lenin hanging from the arch of the History Museum in protest of Soviet rule. Zohrabyan was arrested and sentenced to seven years of imprisonment and three years of exile. Avagyan managed to escape, and another dissident, Azat Arshakyan [hy; ru], instead confessed to being Zohrabyan's accomplice to protect Avagyan.[90][91][92]
Demonstrations in Republic Square on April 20, 2018
Independent Armenia
Following the 2008 presidential election president-elect Serzh Sargsyan held a rally of around 60,000 to 70,000 "would-be supporters" who were brought from different parts of Yerevan and Armenia in buses. Many of them headed towards Freedom Square where a competing rally was being held by official runner-up Levon Ter-Petrosyan.[93] In March, following the violent crackdown of opposition demonstrations, the square was occupied for some time by the Armed Forces of Armenia.[94]
On May 4, 2012, at a Republican Party rally and concert at Republic Square during the parliamentary election campaign, dozens of balloons filled with hydrogen exploded, resulting in the injury of at least 144 people.[95][96]
From April 17 to 23, 2018 large demonstrations took place at Republic Square led by Nikol Pashinyan against the rule of Serzh Sargsyan. On April 22, when opposition leader Pashinyan was arrested, police forces were deployed in the square. Dozens of protesters were detained from the square.[97][98] By the evening, some 115,000 protesters filled the entire square and the nearby streets.[99] The next day, on April 23, after Sargsyan resigned, it became the center of mass celebrations.[100][101] On April 24, the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, dozens of protests came together to clean the square and its adjacent street.[102] More rallies took place at the square on May 1 and 8.[103] On May 8, when he was elected prime minister, Pashinyan delivered a speech to his supporters at the square.[104][105] On August 17, 2018, Pashinyan held a rally to celebrate his first 100 days in office.[106][107] Up to 150,000 attended the rally.[108]
^Pechakjian, Pauline (28 April 2016). "The 10 Best Hotels & Inns in Yerevan, Armenia". theculturetrip.com. Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2016. ...Republic Square, referred to by locals as the Hraparak...
^"De-Sovietized Streets". Armenian International Magazine: 17. September 2001. The street just off Hraparak...
^Louis, Victor E.; Louis, Jennifer M. (1987). Louis motorist's guide to the Soviet Union. Pergamon Press. p. 517. ISBN9780080318172. The centre of Erevan is Lenin Square; it was built as an architectural whole using the Armenian national style of architecture.
^Gregorian, Vartan (2008). The Road to Home: My Life and Times. Simon and Schuster. p. 178. ISBN9781439129111. Buildings around the square were designed to reflect some features of ancient Armenian architecture.
^Travel to the USSR (92–103): iii. 1983. The city's architectural highlight is Lenin Square, with its statue of Lenin, Government House, the Armenia Hotel, the picture gallery and other buildings. The main streets branch out from Lenin Square.
^Gross, Eugenie Harris; Gross, Jeffrey (1977). The Soviet Union: a guide for travellers. J. Murray. p. 255. Lenin Square, at the center of the city, contains the most outstanding architectural ensemble in Yerevan. The buildings surrounding the square express a single architectural concept.
^"Ջրատար խողովակ [Water pipe]". treasury.am (in Armenian). Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022. Հայտնաբերման վայրը՝ Երևան, նախկինում Լենինի, այժմ Հանրապետության հրապարակի տարածքից Ստեղծման/Արտադրման ժամանակը՝ 9-11-րդ դդ. Նյութը՝ Տուֆ((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
"Ջրատար խողովակ [Water pipe]". treasury.am (in Armenian). Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022. Հայտնաբերման վայրը՝ Երևան, Լենինի անվ. հրապարակի և Շահումյան փողոցի հատման վայրից Ստեղծման/Արտադրման ժամանակը՝ 9-11-րդ դդ. Նյութը՝ Տուֆ((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Հանրապետության հրապարակ [Republic Square]". yerevan.am (in Armenian). Yerevan Municipality. Մինչ թամանյանական նախագիծի իրագործումը, նույն տեղում եղել է բաց հրապարակ՝ ըստ Մեհրաբովի հատակագծի։
^"Հրապարակը 1947 թվականին [The square in 1947]" (in Armenian). Hovik Charkhchyan. 5 October 2013. Առաջին հայացքից նույնիսկ անհավանական է թվում, բայց այսօրվա Հանրապետության հրապարակը 1947 թ. այս տեսքն ուներ: / At first glance, it even seems unbelievable, but today's Republic Square is 1947. it looked like this.
^"Մաքրվող հրապարակը [The square being cleared]" (in Armenian). Hovik Charkhchyan. 6 October 2013. Մեր քաղաքի պատմությունից. Հրապարակն ազատում են ավելորդ շինություններից (1950 թ.): / From the history of our city. The square is freed from unnecessary buildings (1950).
^Gevorgian, A. O. (1979). "Yerevan". The Great Soviet Encyclopedia. The main architectural ensemble of the city is Lenin Square, at which several streets converge. On the square are a monument to V. I. Lenin (cast bronze, 1940, sculptor S. D. Merkurov), the Government House of the Armenian SSR (1926-41, A. I. and G. A. Tamanian), the second Government House (1955, S. A. Safarian, V. A. Arevshatian, and R. S. Israelian), the Armenian Historical Museum (1975), the Hotel Armenia (1958), and the building of the Communications Ministry and the Trade Union Council (1956-58); the last three were designed by M. V. Grigorian and E. A. Sarapian.view article online
^Karanian, Matthew; Kurkjian, Robert (2002). Edge of Time: Traveling in Armenia and Karabagh. Stone Garden Productions. p. 78. ISBN9780967212029. The country's flagship hotel is still the massive Hotel Armenia, which faces Republic Square in the heart of the city. In 2003 the hotel will be renamed the Armenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan to reflect its new ownership.
^"Marriott". Asian Hotel & Catering Times. 26: 7. 2001. ...the 380-room Armenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan.
^"Սամվել Սաֆարյան վաստակավոր ճարտարապետ [Samvel Safaryan]". archmuseum.am (in Armenian). National Museum-Institute of Architecture of Armenia. ...Կառավարական 2-րդ շենքը Երևանի Հանրապետության հրապարակում (համահեղինակներ՝ Ռ.Իսրաելյան, Վ.Արևշատյան)...
^ ab"History". mfa.am. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia. Archived from the original on 4 August 2016.
^Ishkhanyan, Avetik (1 July 2019). "Երկու արձան [Two statues]". Hetq (in Armenian). Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Եվ ճիշտ կլիներ Արամ Մանուկյանի արձանը կանգնեցնել Հանրապետության հրապարակում՝ Լենինի արձանի տեղում, պահպանելով պատվանդանը։
^Malkasian, Mark (1996). Gha-ra-bagh!: The Emergence of the National Democratic Movement in Armenia. Wayne State University Press. p. 76. ISBN9780814326046. They were also among the university students who skipped classes on 24 April 1965, marching instead toward Yerevan's Lenin Square...
^Petrone, Karen (2011). The Great War in Russian Memory. Indiana University Press. p. 288. ISBN9780253001443.
^Lieberman, Benjamin (2013). The Holocaust and Genocides in Europe. A&C Black. p. 213. ISBN9781441194787. On the fiftieth anniversary of the Armenian Genocide thousands gathered in Lenin Square in the Yerevan...
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