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102-585: The domes of the two main churches were heavily damaged in an earthquake in 1927. The buildings were conserved during the period of the Armenian SSR , and rebuilding work started in the 1980s. A series of nationwide problems led to a halt in the rebuilding for about a decade as the 1988 Armenian earthquake hit, the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the First Nagorno-Karabakh War broke out, and Armenia

204-460: A "jewel". The monastery consists of a narthex ( gavit ) and the main church, named for John the Baptist . The church's exterior dimensions are 12.3 by 17.75 metres (40.4 ft × 58.2 ft). The narthex or gavit , measured 11.8 by 13.25 metres (38.7 ft × 43.5 ft), is a square-plan hall with two columns near the eastern wall that support the roof. It is very similar to

306-449: A dramatic theater in Yerevan were built and established in the 1920s and 1930s, and popular works in the fields of art and literature were produced by Martiros Saryan , Avetik Isahakian , and Yeghishe Charents , who all adhered to the socialist dictum of creating works "national in form, socialist in content." Armenkino released the first Armenian feature film, Namus (Honor) in 1925 and

408-512: A highhanded manner and did not take into consideration the poor conditions of the republic and the general weariness of the people after years of conflict and civil strife. As the Soviet Armenian historian Bagrat Borian, who was to later perish during Stalin's purges , wrote in 1929: Such was the degree and scale of the requisitioning and terror imposed by the local Cheka that in February 1921

510-516: A monk from Gandzasar, among the participants of a 949 council convened in Khachen to reconcile Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian Armenians. Khachkars dated 1174, 1182, and 1202 have been found around the monastery, which also point to the existence of a church or monastery at the site. The main church was built between 1216 and 1238 by Hasan-Jalal Dawla, the Armenian prince of Inner Khachen and

612-631: A more moderate policy and one better attuned to Armenian national sensibilities. With the introduction of the New Economic Policy (NEP), Armenians began to enjoy a period of relative stability. Life under Soviet rule proved to be a soothing balm in contrast to the turbulent years of the First Republic. Alexander Tamanian began to realize his city plan for Yerevan and the population received medicine, food, as well as other provisions from Moscow. Prior to his debilitating illness, Lenin encouraged

714-526: A purge of the Communist Party of Armenia . During his trip to Armenia, Mikoyan tried, but failed, to save one individual ( Daniel "Danush" Shahverdyan ) from being executed. More than a thousand people were arrested and seven of nine members of the Armenian Politburo were sacked from office. The trip also resulted in the appointment of a new Armenian Party leadership, headed by Grigory Arutinov , who

816-402: A small vestry in front of it, is from the west. As distinct from the ordinary vestries, it has a vaulted ceiling, and is narrower than the church. A distinctive feature of the structure is that it has, on its western facade, twin openings topped with arches which rest on the wall-attached and intermediate columns. This gives the structure the appearance of an open passage. There are many graves in

918-496: A speech in Yerevan where he encouraged the republication of Raffi and Raphael Patkanian , the rehabilitation of Charents, and the revival of the memory of Miasnikian. Behind the scenes, he assisted Soviet Armenian leaders in the rehabilitation of former "enemies" in the republic. The massive statue of Stalin that towered over Yerevan was pulled down from its pedestal by troops literally overnight in 1962 and replaced in 1967 with that of Mother Armenia . Contacts between Armenia and

1020-429: A thorough search, including in the graveyard. Fierce fighting took place around Gandzasar in 1992, when Azerbaijan besieged the area. The Armenians broke the siege, which saved Gandzasar and enhanced its spiritual status, wrote Thomas de Waal . On August 16, 1992 some of the outlying buildings within the monastery complex were destroyed as a result of Azerbaijani bombardment by helicopters, which intentionally targeted

1122-454: A video posted online showed Azerbaijani police at the monastery. Simultaneously, Azerbaijan's State Service of Cultural Heritage issued a statement that claimed that the "Ganjasar monastery" is "one of the most prominent monuments of Christian architecture of Caucasian Albania". It claimed that under Armenian "occupation" it was "vandalized by Armenians" who carried out "illegal repair-restoration". Azerbaijani historian Rizvan Hüseynov claimed

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1224-461: Is located atop a hill, at an altitude of 1,270 metres (4,170 ft), to the south-west of the village of Vank (Azerbaijani: Vəngli ) in the province of Martakert . The walled monastery complex includes the church with its narthex ( gavit ), living quarters, bishop's residence, refectory, and a school building. The living quarters, located on the northern side contain eight cells (2.9 by 2.5 metres (9.5 ft × 8.2 ft)), were built in

1326-516: The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war , the more than one hundred manuscripts kept there were evacuated to Yerevan and displayed at the Yerevan Matenadaran in March 2021. In the 1970s, Soviet Azerbaijani historians, particularly Rashid Geyushev and Ziya Bunyadov , asserted a negationist theory that postulated that Gandzasar was a Caucasian Albanian monument. They based their claim on the fact that it

1428-776: The Great Purge of Joseph Stalin , but contributed significantly to the Soviet victory in the Great Patriotic War of World War II. After the death of Stalin , Armenia experienced a new period of liberalization during the Khrushchev Thaw . Following the Brezhnev era, Mikhail Gorbachev 's reforms of glasnost and perestroika led to the rise of the Karabakh movement . The republic declared state sovereignty on 23 August 1990, boycotted

1530-603: The Karabakh Armenians, and grew into what became known as the Karabakh movement . By the beginning of 1988, nearly one million Armenians from several regions of the republic engaged in these demonstrations, centered on Yerevan's Theater Square (currently Freedom Square ). However, in neighboring Azerbaijan, violence against Armenians erupted in the city of Sumgait . Ethnic rioting soon broke out between Armenians and Azeris , preventing any peaceful resolution from taking place. Armenians became increasingly disillusioned with

1632-633: The Kremlin's response toward the issue. Gorbachev, who had until then been viewed favorably in Armenia, saw his standing among Armenians deteriorate significantly. Tension between the central government in Moscow and the local government in Yerevan heightened in the final years of the Soviet Union. The reasons largely stemmed from Moscow's perceived indecision on Karabakh, ongoing difficulties with earthquake relief, and

1734-586: The March 1991 referendum on the New Union Treaty , and on 21 September 1991, held a successful independence referendum . It was recognized on 26 December 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union , although the republic's 1978 Soviet constitution remained in effect with major amendments until 5 July 1995, when the new Armenian constitution was adopted via referendum . Following the Sovietization of Armenia,

1836-692: The Sovietization of the short-lived First Republic of Armenia . Consequently, historians often refer to it as the Second Republic of Armenia . It became part of the Transcaucasian SFSR (TSFSR), along with neighboring Georgia and Azerbaijan, which comprised one of the four founding republics of the USSR. When the TSFSR was dissolved in 1936, Armenia became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union. As part of

1938-512: The Truman Doctrine in 1947, Turkey strengthened its ties with the West. The Soviet Union relinquished its claims over the lost territories, and Ankara joined the anti-Soviet NATO military alliance in 1952. With the republic suffering heavy losses after the war, Stalin allowed an open immigration policy in Armenia; the diaspora were invited to repatriate to Armenia ( nergaght ) and revitalize

2040-643: The Tsitsernakaberd hill above the Hrazdan gorge in Yerevan in 1967. Monuments in honor of other important events in Armenian history , such as that commemorating the Sardarapat and Bash Abaran , were also permitted to be erected, as was the sculpting of the statues of popular Armenian figures like the fifth-century military commander Vardan Mamikonian and the folk hero David of Sassoun . The Brezhnev era also saw

2142-795: The United Nations as part of the Soviet Union but it had Norair Sisakian as President of the 21st session of the UNESCO General Conference in 1964. The Soviet Union was also a member of Comecon , Warsaw Pact and the International Olympic Committee . The military forces of the Armenian SSR were provided by the Soviet Army 's 7th Guards Combined Arms Army of the Transcaucasian Military District . It

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2244-580: The clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces , which were the deadliest since the ceasefire of 1994. The monastery's 770th anniversary was commemorated in 2010 and the 777th anniversary in 2017. It remained under Armenian control after the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020. Following the Azerbaijani offensive of September 19–20, 2023, Nagorno-Karabakh was dissolved and the entire population fled to Armenia. In early October 2023,

2346-452: The gavit of the Holy Cross church of Haghpat Monastery . The portal on western facade of the gavit is richly decorated. The main church, named for John the Baptist , has a rectangular, cruciform plan with two-floored sacristies (chambers) on four corners. In its style, it is similar to the plans of the main churches of Geghard , Hovhannavank and Harichavank , also built in

2448-467: The oil fields in Azerbaijan. Still, Armenia played a valuable role in the war in providing food, manpower and war material. An estimated 300–500,000 Armenians served in the war, almost half of whom did not return. Many attained the highest honor of Hero of the Soviet Union . Over sixty Armenians were promoted to the rank of general, and with an additional four eventually achieving the rank of Marshal of

2550-431: The "oldest civilisation on the territory" of the Soviet Union. Like all the other republics of the Soviet Union, Armenia had its own flag and coat of arms. According to Nikita Khrushchev , the latter became a source of dispute between the Soviet Union and Turkey in the 1950s, when Ankara objected to the inclusion of Mount Ararat , which holds a deep symbolic importance for Armenians but is located on Turkish territory, in

2652-421: The 13th century) by the architect Vetsik, in whose memory a khachkar , ornamented with highly artistic carving, was put up a little south of the church. The Katoghike church belongs to the cross-winged domed type and has two-story annexes in all the four corners of the prayer hall. The entrances to the upper eastern annexes are from the side of the altar apse. Stone cantilever stairs lead to the western annexes of

2754-496: The 13th century. The church is prominent for its richly decorated 16-sided cupola . The bas-reliefs on its exterior depict the Crucifixion of Jesus , Mary with baby Jesus, Adam and Eve , two ktetors (patrons) holding the model of the church, geometrical figures, such as rosettes , head of a bull and an eagle. The bas-reliefs have been compared to the elaborate carvings of Aghtamar . The interior pendentives under

2856-425: The 17th century. On the eastern side there is a refectory , built circa 1689. The two-floored school building was erected in 1898. To the south of the monastery walls is the old cemetery, where priests, bishops and notable laypeople (such as meliks ) of the areas were buried. Anatoli L. Yakobson called Gandzasar an "encyclopedia" of Armenian architecture , while Bagrat Ulubabyan and M. S. Asatryan described it as

2958-543: The 1949 Soviet deportations to Central Asia and Siberia with earlier Ottoman deportations. Following the power struggle after Stalin's death in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev emerged as the country's new leader. In his "secret speech" " On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences " that he delivered before the 20th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party in 1956, Khrushchev sharply denounced Stalin and his crimes. During

3060-750: The 1980s fueled Armenian visions of a better life under Soviet rule. Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh , which was promised to Armenia by the Bolsheviks but transferred to Soviet Azerbaijan, began a movement to unite the area with Armenia. The majority Armenian population expressed concern about the forced "Azerification" of the region. On February 20, 1988, the Supreme Soviet of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast voted to unify with Armenia. Demonstrations took place in Yerevan in support of

3162-470: The Armenian NKVD. Under the command of Beria's allies, the campaign against "enemies" intensified. Expressions of "nationalism" were suspect and many leading Armenian writers, artists, scientists, and intellectuals were executed or imprisoned, including Charents, Axel Bakunts , Gurgen Mahari , Nersik Stepanyan , and others. According to Amatuni in a June 1937 letter to Stalin, 1,365 people were arrested in

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3264-657: The Armenian SSR of 1978 remained in effect until July 5, 1995, when the Constitution of Armenia was adopted. The structure of government in the Armenian SSR was identical to that of the other Soviet republics. The First Secretary was the administrative head of the republic, and the head of government was the Chairman of the Council of Ministers . The republic's legislative body was the Armenian Supreme Soviet , which included

3366-412: The Armenian diaspora, but who were suspected of being Dashnak party members. Lazare Indjeyan ' s Les Années volées and Armand Maloumian ' s Les Fils du Goulag are two repatriate narratives about being incarcerated and eventual escape from gulags . Many other repatriate narratives explore family memories of the genocide and the decision to resettle in the Soviet Union. Some writers compare

3468-704: The Armenians living in the Republic upon their arrival. The repatriates spoke the Western Armenian dialect, instead of the Eastern Armenian spoken in Soviet Armenia. They were often addressed as aghbars ("brothers") by Armenians living in the republic, due to their different pronunciation of the word. Although initially used in humor, the word went on to carry on a more pejorative connotation. Their treatment by

3570-507: The Armenians, led by former leaders of the republic, rose up in revolt and briefly unseated the communists in Yerevan. The Red Army , which was campaigning in Georgia at the time, returned to suppress the revolt and drove its leaders out of Armenia. Convinced that these heavy-handed tactics were the source of the alienation of the native population to Soviet rule, in 1921, Lenin appointed Myasnikyan, an experienced administrator, to carry out

3672-1206: The Diaspora were revived, and Armenians from abroad began to visit the republic more frequently. The Matenadaran , a facility to house ancient and medieval manuscripts was erected in 1959, and important historical studies were prepared by a new cadre of Soviet-trained scholars. Mikoyan was not the only Armenian figure who rose to prominence during this era. Other famed Soviet Armenians included composers Aram Khachaturian , Arno Babajanian , Konstantin Orbelyan , and Tigran Mansurian ; scientists Viktor Hambardzumyan and Artem Alikhanyan ; actors Armen Dzhigarkhanyan and Frunzik Mkrtchyan ; filmmakers Frunze Dovlatyan , Henrik Malyan , Sergei Parajanov , and Artavazd Peleshyan ; artists Minas Avetisyan , Yervand Kochar , Hakob Kojoyan , and Tereza Mirzoyan ; singers Georgi Minasyan , Raisa Mkrtchyan , and Ruben Matevosyan ; and writers Silva Kaputikyan , Sero Khanzadyan , Hrant Matevosyan , Paruyr Sevak , and Hovhannes Shiraz , among many others. After Leonid Brezhnev assumed power in 1964, many of Khrushchev's reforms were curtailed. However, although

3774-699: The Kalbajar region, is not Gandzasar, but Ganjasar, and has nothing to do with the Armenian Gregorian Church." Historians who have challenged the Azerbaijani state version of the region's local history, including Victor Schnirelmann , note that Caucasian Albania disappeared in the 10th century, and that the Armenian Church simply adopted the name for its easternmost diocese out of tradition. Schnirelmann notes that Azerbaijani historians intentionally omit

3876-579: The Soviet Union : Ivan Bagramyan (the first non- Slavic commander to hold the position of front commander when he was assigned to be the commander of the First Baltic Front in 1943), Admiral Ivan Isakov , Hamazasp Babadzhanian , and Sergei Khudyakov . Another prominent wartime figure was Artem Mikoyan , the younger brother of Anastas and the designer and co-founder of the Soviet MiG fighter jet company. In an effort to shore up popular support for

3978-575: The Soviet Union in a reformed form. Armenia confirmed its independence in a referendum on 21 September 1991 after the unsuccessful coup attempt in Moscow by the CPSU hardliners. The republic's independence became official with the Belovezh Accords and the formal dissolution of the Soviet state on December 26, 1991, making Armenia a sovereign independent state on the international stage. The constitution of

4080-509: The Soviet Union under Stalin. In 1936, Beria and Stalin worked to deport Armenians to Siberia in an attempt to bring Armenia's population under 700,000 in order to justify an annexation into Georgia. Armenia was spared the devastation and destruction that wrought most of the western Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War of World War II. The Wehrmacht never reached the South Caucasus , which they intended to do in order to capture

4182-544: The Soviet Union, Armenia initially experienced stabilization under the administration of Alexander Miasnikian during Vladimir Lenin 's New Economic Policy (NEP). During its seventy-one year history, the republic was transformed from a largely agricultural hinterland to an important industrial production center, while its population almost quadrupled from around 880,000 in 1926 to 3.3 million in 1989 due to natural growth and large-scale influx of Armenian genocide survivors and their descendants. Soviet Armenia suffered during

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4284-407: The Soviet government was not much better. A number of Armenian immigrants in 1946 had their belongings confiscated upon arrival at Odessa 's port, as they had taken with them everything they had, including clothes and jewelry. This was the first disappointment experienced by Armenians; however, as there was no possibility of return the Armenians were forced to continue their journey to Armenia. Many of

4386-411: The Soviet state remained ever wary of the resurgence of Armenian nationalism , it did not impose the sort of restrictions as were seen during Stalin's time. On 24 April 1965, thousands of Armenians demonstrated in the streets of Yerevan during the fiftieth anniversary of the Armenian genocide. In the aftermath of these demonstrations, the memorial in honor of the victims of the genocide was completed at

4488-541: The advancing 11th Soviet Red Army . Afterwards, in the treaties of Moscow and Kars , Turkey renounced its claims to Batumi to Georgia in exchange for Kars , Ardahan , and Surmalu , including the medieval Armenian capital Ani and the cultural icon of the Armenian people, Mount Ararat . Additionally, despite opposition from Armenian Bolshevik revolutionary Alexander Miasnikian , the Soviet government granted Nagorno-Karabakh and Nakhichevan to Soviet Azerbaijan , as they did not have direct control over those areas at

4590-446: The altar, gavit, and tiling of the floor. Hayrapetyan also funded the asphalting of the road leading to the church. Some controversy surrounded the tiling of the wall around the monastery in 2011. It was funded by Hayrapetyan and carried out by a company owned by Vladimir Hayrapetyan, his younger brother. While Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan said the wall was not medieval and did not have much architectural significance, therefore tiling

4692-572: The attacks against the Church. These attacks culminated in the 1938 murder of Khoren and the closing of the Catholicate of Ejmiatsin, an act for which Beria is usually held responsible. However, the Church survived and was later revived when Stalin eased restrictions on religion at the end of World War II . In addition to the repression of the Church, tens of thousands of Armenians were executed or deported, as with various other ethnic minorities living in

4794-407: The building are rather modest. The small windows are topped by profiled edges above which there are, in the middle window of the southern facade, octafoil rosettes and sun dials, widespread in Armenia and, on the western facade, jugs. As distinct from the portals of the churches, the only western entrance is built as a rectangular opening with a niche framed with bunches of small columns and an arch. In

4896-662: The church in his History of Armenia . Gandzasar became the seat of the Catholicosate of (Caucasian) Albania , a see of the Armenian Apostolic Church , in the late 14th century. Rouben Paul Adalian considers the foundation of the see a result of an ancient bishopric seeking "ecclesiastical autonomy to compensate for the lack of control and communication from a central pontificate" and part of various local strategies in an Armenia dominated by foreign and Islamic rule to "preserve some semblance of religious authority among

4998-561: The church is crowned by a broad cupola resting on spherical pendentives. The cupola and pendentives were destroyed by an earthquake in 1927, and reconstructed in 2000. The semicircular altar apse has two-storey vestries on either side. Three triangular niches behind the altar provide openings for light. The sole of the altar has carved geometrical ornament, alternating with rosettes in places. The church of Surp Nshan ( Armenian : Սուրբ Նշան , "Holy Sign of Cross" in Armenian), situated south of

5100-467: The church of Grigor, is a small cross-winged domed structure built, judging by the type of the building and by architectural details, in the 11th century, probably soon after the church of S. Grigor. The Katoghike (Cathedral) church stands south of S. Nshan, with a narrow passage dividing them. Judging by an inscription, it was built under Prince Vasak Khakhpakyan of the Proshyan clan (in the first quarter of

5202-472: The church which was probably a family burial vault. [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Armenian SSR The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic ( ArSSR ), also known as Soviet Armenia , or simply Armenia , was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union , located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia . Soviet Armenia bordered the Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Georgia and

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5304-467: The church. Corley writes that the attempted bombing of Gandzasar was not of any military importance and that its raid "appeared to be a deliberate attempt to attack the Armenian heritage in Karabakh." On August 31, 1992 Armenia's Defense Minister Vazgen Sargsyan and Serzh Sargsyan , the head of the self-defense committee of Karabakh Armenians, convened the first meeting of the region's commanders in one of

5406-418: The coat of arms. Turkey felt that the presence of such an image implied Soviet designs on Turkish territory. Khrushchev retorted by asking, "Why do you have a moon depicted on your flag? After all, the moon doesn't belong to Turkey, not even half the moon. Do you want to take over the whole universe?" Turkey dropped the issue after this. The Armenian SSR, as a Soviet republic, was internationally recognized by

5508-537: The collapse of the empire, in May 1918, Armenia, and its neighbors Azerbaijan and Georgia , declared their independence from Russian rule and each established their respective republics. After the near-annihilation of the Armenians during the Armenian genocide and the subsequent Turkish-Armenian War , the historic Armenian area in the Ottoman Empire was overrun with despair and devastation. A number of Armenians joined

5610-612: The country's population and bolster its workforce. Armenians living in countries such as Cyprus , France , Greece , Iraq , Lebanon , and Syria were primarily the survivors or the descendants of the genocide . They were offered the option of having their expenses paid by the Soviet government for their trip back to their homeland. An estimated 150,000 Armenians immigrated to Soviet Armenia between 1946 and 1948 and settled in Yerevan, Leninakan , Kirovakan and other towns. Lured by numerous incentives such as food coupons, better housing and other benefits, they were received coldly by

5712-454: The cupola where they alternate with flat arch motives. The gavit , built in the second half of the 12th century and attached to the western facade of S. Grigor church, is an early structure of this type. The rectangular hall is divided into nine sections by four heavy free-standing columns. The eastern corners of the interior are taken up by small two-storey annexes which first appeared in this form in this gavit. The architectural details of

5814-430: The cylindrical dome in the interior are decorated with geometrical ornaments such as stars, circles and squares, plants such as spiral shoots , palmettes . Each side of the pendentive has high reliefs depicting head of a sheep, heads of a bull and anthropomorphic figures. According to Yakobson, sheep and bulls were considered holy animals in this period and are used as protectors of the structure. Since its foundation

5916-784: The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, these were abolished in 1995 and replaced by larger marzer ("provinces"). Depending on the historical period, Soviet authorities would variously tolerate, co-opt, undermine, or sometimes even attempt to eliminate certain currents within Armenian society, such as nationalism and religion, to strengthen the cohesiveness of the Union. In the eyes of early Soviet policymakers, Armenians, along with Russians , Ukrainians , Belarusians , Georgians , Germans, and Jews were deemed "advanced" (as opposed to "backward") peoples, and were grouped together with Western nationalities. The Caucasus and particularly Armenia were recognized by academic scholars and in Soviet textbooks as

6018-468: The earthquake hit on the morning of 7 December 1988, the houses and apartments least able to resist collapse were those built during the Brezhnev years. Ironically, the older the dwellings, the better they withstood the quake. Armenian First Secretary Karen Demirchyan assumed office with a mandate to combat these abuses. Mikhail Gorbachev 's introduction of the reforms of glasnost and perestroika in

6120-523: The fact that Gandzasar is a typical example of Armenian architecture of 10th-13th centuries, as well as the numerous Armenian inscriptions on its walls. Thomas de Waal noted that in a 1997 pamphlet titled "The Albanian Monuments of Karabakh" by Igrar Aliyev and Kamil Mamedzade "carefully left out all the Armenian writing" in the depiction of the façade of Gandzasar on its cover. Rouben Galichian notes that Gandzasar, though presented in Azerbaijan as supposedly an "Albanian-Azerbaijani" historic monastery and

6222-461: The first Kurdish film, Zare , in 1926. Both were directed by Hamo Bek-Nazaryan , who would later direct the first Armenian sound film Pepo , released in 1935. The situation in Armenia and the USSR significantly changed after the death of Lenin and the rise of Joseph Stalin to Soviet leader. In the Caucasus, Stalin's ally in Georgia, Lavrentiy Beria , sought to consolidate his control over

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6324-564: The first church to be reopened after decades of suppression. According to Zori Balayan several KGB agents "could [have been] spotted among the crowd attending." Gandzasar served as seat of the bishop before it was moved to Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shusha (Shushi) in 1998. Gandzasar was attacked several times during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War . On July 6, 1991 Soviet soldiers and OMON (special police) officers raided Gandzasar allegedly in search of guns. They checked papers and conducted

6426-399: The first floor. The character of Katoghike church's decoration is connected with the artistic traditions of the time when it was built. The round cupola drum was destroyed by earthquake in 1927 (also rebuilt in by 2000), and is decorated with a 12-arch arcature. The front wall of the altar has carved khachkar-type crosses, and there are rosettes on the walls and on the spherical pendentives of

6528-515: The highest judicial branch of the republic, the supreme court. Members of the Supreme Soviet served for a term of five years, whereas regional deputies served for two and a half years. All officials holding office were mandated to be members of the Communist Party and sessions were convened in the Supreme Soviet building in Yerevan. The administrative divisions of the Armenian SSR from 1930 consisted of up 37 raions and 22 city districts. After

6630-568: The immigrants were targeted by Soviet intelligence agencies and the Ministry of Interior for real or perceived ties to Armenian nationalist organizations, and were later sent to labor camps in Siberia and elsewhere, where they would not be released until after Stalin's death . Thousands of Armenians were forcibly exiled to the Altai Krai in 1949. Many were repatriated Armenians who had arrived from

6732-480: The independent states of Iran and Turkey . The capital of the republic was Yerevan and it contained thirty-seven districts (raions). Other major cities in the ArmSSR included Leninakan , Kirovakan , Hrazdan , Etchmiadzin , and Kapan . The republic was governed by Communist Party of Armenia , a republican branch of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union . Soviet Armenia was established on 29 November 1920, with

6834-530: The inscriptions have been "falsified." Armenian archaeologist and historian Hamlet Petrosyan and the organization Monument Watch responded to the claims. Armenia's representative to UNESCO, Christian Ter-Stepanian accused Azerbaijan of an attempt to "appropriate and distort the identity of Gandzasar, one of the most famous medieval Armenian monasteries." In a Time article, Christina Maranci warned that its Armenian inscriptions, khachkars, and tombstones are endangered under Azerbaijani control. The monastery

6936-402: The interior, the fine geometrical ornaments on the capitals of the columns and on the cornice of the tent base immediately catch the eye. The chapels situated between the churches of Grigor and Surp Nshan were small rectangular ones, with an altar apse and vaulted ceilings. The chapel adjacent to the church of Gregory served as the burial vault of Grigor Magistros Pahlavuni, which means that it

7038-399: The labor of others. The economic life of the Republic is determined and guided by the state economic plan. By 1935, the gross product of agriculture was 132% of that of 1928 and the gross product of industry was 650% to that of 1928. The economic revolution of the 1930s, however, came at a great cost: it broke up the traditional peasant family and village institution and forced many living in

7140-470: The monastery is falsified. Azerbaijan authorities deny its Armenian heritage and instead call it a " Caucasian Albanian temple." The name Gandzasar , which means "treasure mountain" in Armenian , is believed to have originated from the tradition that the monastery was built on a hill containing ores of silver and other metals. The site was first mentioned in written records by the tenth century Catholicos Anania of Moks (r. 946-968), who listed Sargis,

7242-474: The monastery was for centuries a center of education and manuscript production. It served as the burial place of Armenian princes of Khachen. Gandzasar is the principal historic tourist attraction in all of Karabakh (Artsakh) and one of the top destinations overall. It is also a center of pilgrimage as the region's main historic cathedral both for Karabakh Armenians and tourists (of Armenian ancestry). Thomas de Waal noted as early as 1997 that Gandzasar,

7344-475: The monastic cells of Gandzasar. On January 20, 1993 an air strike conducted by two Azerbaijani attack aircraft caused serious damage to the monastery, killed several people nearby and wounded a priest. Following the war, the monastery was completely refurbished through the funding of Russia-based businessman and philanthropist Levon Hayrapetyan  [ hy ] , a native of Vank. Restoration works, which lasted from 2000 to 2002, included restoration of

7446-575: The most famous church in Karabakh, "has acquired a mythical status in Karabakh." Felix Corley wrote that it is, along with Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi (Shusha), a powerful symbol of history and identity of Karabakh Armenians regardless their religiosity. A branch of the Matenadaran , the Yerevan-based museum and research institute of manuscripts, was established at the monastery in 2015. During

7548-581: The name of both the Armenian and Georgian Soviet Republics. Turkey itself was in no condition to fight a war with the Soviet Union, which had emerged as a superpower after the Second World War. The Soviet territorial claims were supported by the Armenian Catholicos and by all shades of the Armenian diaspora, including the anti-Soviet Dashnaksutiun. However, with the onset of the Cold War , especially

7650-694: The newly founded Soviet state. From 1828, with the Treaty of Turkmenchay to the October Revolution in 1917, Eastern Armenia had been part of the Russian Empire and partly confined to the borders of the Erivan Governorate . After the October Revolution, Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin 's government announced that minorities in the empire could pursue a course of self-determination. Following

7752-559: The patriarch of the House of Hasan-Jalalyan . It was consecrated on July 22, 1240, on the Feast of the Transfiguration ( Vardavar ) in attendance of some 700 priests. The gavit ( narthex ), to the west of the church, was started in 1240 and completed in 1266 by Atabek, the son of Hasan-Jalal and his wife, Mamkan. Kirakos Gandzaketsi , a contemporary historian, described the construction of

7854-535: The people". In the 16th century it became subordinate to the Etchmiadzin catholicosate . According to contemporary sources, in early 1700s the patriarch of Gandzasar had authority over some 900 villages with hundreds of households in each, composed of peasant and merchant Armenians. In the 17th and 18th centuries Gandzasar became the center in the liberation efforts by Karabakh Armenian meliks , who were united around Catholicos Yesayi Hasan-Jalalyan (d. 1728). He

7956-418: The policy of korenizatsiya or " nativization " in the republics which essentially called for the different nationalities of the Soviet Union to "administer their republics", establishing native-language schools, newspapers, and theaters. In Armenia, the Soviet government directed all illiterate citizens up to the age of fifty to attend school and learn to read Armenian , which became the official language of

8058-505: The process of industrialization in Armenia. The Republic's economic foundation is the socialist system of economy and the socialist ownership of the means of production, which has two forms: state property and cooperative and collective-farm property. In addition to the socialist system of economy, which is the predominant form of economy in the Republic, the law permits small private undertakings of individual peasants and handicraftsmen based on their own labor and precluding exploitation of

8160-402: The region of Nagorno-Karabakh , Azerbaijan . It has historically been the most important church of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) since its foundation. One of the finest pieces of Armenian architecture of the mid-1200s, the building is best known among scholars for its richly decorated dome. In Azerbaijan , where it is referred to as "Ganjasar" ( Azerbaijani : Gəncəsər ), the history of

8262-602: The region, resulting in a political struggle with Armenian First Secretary Aghasi Khanjian . The struggle culminated in Khanjian's assassination by Beria in Tiflis (Tbilisi) on 9 July 1936, beginning the Great Purge in Armenia. At first, Beria framed Khanjian's death as "suicide", but soon condemned him for abetting "rabid nationalist elements". After Khanjian's death, Beria promoted his loyalists in Armenia, Amatuni Amatuni as Armenian First Secretary and Khachik Mughdusi as chief of

8364-711: The republic became officially known as the Socialist Soviet Republic of Armenia . After the dissolution of the TSFSR in 1936, the name was changed to the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic , which was used until 1991. In Armenian , the official name was initially " Socʼialistakan Xorhrdayin Hayastani Hanrapetutʼyun ". From 1936, the official name became " Hayastani Socʼialistakan Xorhrdayin Hanrapetutʼyun ". The form of " Hayastani "

8466-518: The republic. Throughout the Soviet era, the number of Armenian-language newspapers ( Sovetakan Hayastan ), magazines ( Garun ), and journals ( Sovetakan Grakanutyun , Patma-Banasirakan Handes ) grew. A Kurdish newspaper , Riya Teze ( The New Path ), was established in Armenia in 1930. An institute for culture and history was created in 1921 in Ejmiatsin , the Yerevan Opera Theater and

8568-401: The rise of the shadow economy and corruption. Materials allocated for the building of new homes, such as cement and concrete, were diverted for other uses. Bribery and a lack of oversight saw the construction of shoddily built and weakly supported apartment buildings. The impact of such developments was to be demonstrated several years later in the catastrophic earthquake that hit Spitak . When

8670-416: The rural countryside to settle in urban areas. Private enterprise came to a virtual end as it was effectively brought under government control. 40°14′N 44°34′E  /  40.23°N 44.57°E  / 40.23; 44.57 Gandzasar monastery Gandzasar ( Armenian : Գանձասար ) is a 13th-century Armenian Apostolic cathedral (historically a monastery) near the village of Vank , in

8772-568: The seat of the diocese of Artsakh, which was moved to Shusha. It was gradually abandoned and became dilapidated by the late 19th century. Gandzasar was closed down by the Soviet authorities no later than 1930. The diocese of Artsakh was reestablished in 1989. Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan was named its primate. Due to his efforts, Gandzasar reopened on October 1, 1989 after six months of renovations. The Soviet government had given permission, while that of Soviet Azerbaijan had not. Gandzasar became

8874-501: The shortcomings of the Soviet economy. On August 23, 1990, the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR adopted the Declaration of Independence of Armenia , declaring the Republic of Armenia to be a subject of international law . On 17 March 1991, Armenia, along with the Baltics , Georgia and Moldova , boycotted the union-wide referendum in which 78% of all voters voted for the retention of

8976-481: The side of a road leading to the forest. There still are many tombstones around these monuments. The main temple, the church of Saint Grigor, is the monastery's first structure erected by Grigor Magistros Pahlavuni in 1013. Being of a domed hall type, it is one of the typical church structures of the period of developed feudalism in Armenia. The interior of the temple is divided into three spaces by two pairs of wall-attached abutments. The central (and largest) space of

9078-582: The subsequent Khrushchev Thaw , the Soviet leadership largely loosened political restrictions and put more resources into housing and consumer goods. Almost immediately, Armenia underwent a cultural and economic rebirth. Religious freedom , to a limited degree, was granted to Armenia when Catholicos Vazgen I assumed the duties of his office in 1955. One of Khrushchev's advisers and close friends, Armenian Politburo member Anastas Mikoyan , urged Armenians to reaffirm their national identity . In March 1954, two years before Khrushchev denounced Stalin, Mikoyan gave

9180-725: The ten months after the death of Khanjian, among them 900 "Dashnak- Trotskyists ". The arrest and death of Sahak Ter-Gabrielyan in August 1937 was a turning point in the repressions. When being interrogated by Mughdusi, Ter-Gabrielyan "either jumped or was thrown from" the window of the NKVD building in Yerevan . Stalin was angered that Mughdusi and Amatuni neglected to inform him about the incident. In response, in September 1937, he sent Georgy Malenkov , Mikhail Litvin , and later Anastas Mikoyan to oversee

9282-712: The time and were primarily concerned with restoring regional stability. From 12 March 1922 to 5 December 1936, Armenia was a part of the Transcaucasian SFSR (TSFSR) together with the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic . The policies of the first Soviet Armenian government, the Revolutionary Committee ( Revkom ), headed by young, inexperienced, and militant communists such as Sarkis Kasyan and Avis Nurijanian , were implemented in

9384-427: The war effort, the Soviet government allowed certain expressions of nationalism with the publication of Armenian novels such as Derenik Demirchian 's Vardanank , the production of films like David Bek (1944), and the easing of restrictions placed against the Church. Stalin temporarily relaxed his attacks on religion during the war. This led to the election of bishop Gevorg in 1945 as new Catholicos Gevorg VI . He

9486-467: Was approved by Beria. The Armenian Apostolic Church was not spared from the repressions. Soviet attacks against the Church under Stalin were known since 1929, but momentarily eased to improve the Soviet Union's relations with the Armenian diaspora . In 1932, Khoren I became Catholicos of All Armenians and assumed the leadership of the church. However, in the late 1930s, the Armenian NKVD, led by Mughdusi and his successor, Viktor Khvorostyan , renewed

9588-433: Was blockaded by its two allied Turkic neighbors. Rebuilding work resumed at Kecharis in 1998 and finished in 2000. The restarted work was paid for by an Armenian donor from Vienna , Vladimir Harutyunian, in memory of his parents Harutyun and Arsenik. The main group of the complex consists of three churches, two chapels and a gavit , to the west of which, a few dozen meters away, there is another church with its own vestry at

9690-400: Was built in the early 11th century. The chapels were united by a small vaulted premise in which classes were probably conducted for the school's students. The church of Surp Harutyun (Holy Resurrection), standing on a forest glade, away from the main group, was built by a son of Hasan in 1220. This is a small, outwardly rectangular. domed-hall church with a lofty cupola. The only entrance, with

9792-494: Was justified, critics argued it was part of the historic complex. On October 16, 2008 a mass wedding , sponsored by Levon Hayrapetyan took place in Karabakh. Some 700 couples got married on that day, 500 of whom married at Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi and 200 at Gandzasar. On April 13, 2016 Catholicos Karekin II and Catholicos of Cilicia Aram I delivered a prayer for peace and safety of Nagorno-Karabakh. It came days after

9894-410: Was organized into the following: Under the Soviet system, the centralized economy of the republic banned private ownership of income-producing property. Beginning in the late 1920s, privately owned farms in Armenia were collectivized and placed under the directive of the state, although this was often met with active resistance by the peasantry. During the same time (1929–1936), the government also began

9996-481: Was replaced by " Haykakan ", as well as words "Soviet" and "socialist" were swapped the position, which making the name was changed to " Haykakan Xorhrdayin Socʼialistakan Hanrapetutʼyun ". In 1940, the direct borrowing translations of "Soviet" and "republic" replaced native Armenian words, adjusting the name to " Haykakan Sovetakan Socʼialistakan Respublika ". In the 1960s, the native word for "republic"

10098-629: Was restored. Prior to Soviet rule, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF, Dashnaksutiun) had governed the First Republic of Armenia . The Socialist Soviet Republic of Armenia was founded in 1920. Diaspora Armenians were divided about this; supporters of the nationalist Dashnaksutiun did not support the Soviet state, while supporters of the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) were more positive about

10200-604: Was staunchly pro-Russian and in a 1701 letter signed by Karabakh and Syunik meliks , he asked Peter the Great to protect Armenians from Muslims. However, it was not until the early 1800s that the Russian Empire took control of the region. The Karabakh Khanate eventually came under complete Russian control through the Treaty of Gulistan . Through the 1836 regulation by the Russian authorities, known as Polozhenie , Gandzasar ceased to be

10302-474: Was subsequently allowed to reside in Ejmiatsin . At the end of the war, after Germany's capitulation, the Soviet government attempted to annul the Treaty of Kars , allowing it to regain the provinces of Kars , Ardahan , Artvin , and Surmalu . On 7 June 1945, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov informed the Turkish ambassador in Moscow that the disputed provinces should be returned to Soviet Union in

10404-613: Was the seat of the Albanian Catholicosate of the Armenian Apostolic Church. This theory was adopted and promoted by other Azerbaijani historians, such as Davud Akhundov, and since been adopted by Azerbaijan's authorities. For instance, in 2017, Hikmet Hajiyev , Spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, stated that Gandzasar is an "Albanian Christian temple, occupied by the Armenian armed forces in

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