MONUMENTS

1913

The bronze statue of Khachatur Abovyan, a famous Armenian writer, enlightener, founder of new Armenian literature and pedagogy, is situated in the courtyard of his house-museum on Kanaker 2nd Street, on a high, polished granite pedestal.
The writer is depicted standing, his right leg slightly forward, his arms crossed on his chest. In his right hand is the book "Wounds of Armenia", the cornerstone of new Armenian literature. His clothing is a light, high-collared coat that falls below his knees. Abovyan, with his head uncovered, looks into the distance with a gentle, thoughtful gaze.
The pedestal is unadorned, and the inscription on the top is:
KHACHATUR ABOVYAN
1804 - DISAPPEARED IN 1848.
The height of the statue is 2.2 m, visible from all sides. The face is interpreted according to the portrait by the famous Dorpat artist Friedrich Ludwig von Meidel.
The idea of ​​creating a statue of Khachatur Abovyan was conceived by the progressive Armenian public in 1908, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the writer's disappearance. Prominent Armenian figures insisted that the statue of the great enlightener should be erected not in a church or cemetery (as was customary before), but in the very heart of Yerevan.
The process of creating the statue encountered many obstacles. The tsarist government did not allow the small nations of the empire, and especially the Armenians, to erect monuments to their prominent figures in city squares and other prominent places, as this could encourage their national liberation hopes. But under pressure from Armenian public opinion, the Viceroyalty of the Caucasus with great difficulty allowed the construction of the statue in Yerevan, hoping that the initiative would not be realized due to the large financial costs.
The organizational work was undertaken by the “Armenian Cultural Union” in Baku, involving wide sections of society in the work. Writers Hovhannes Tumanyan, Alexander Shirvanzade, artist Gevorg Bashinjaghyan and others in their articles called on everyone to participate in this national initiative by making donations. At the suggestion of Shirvanzade, the “Armenian Cultural Union” decided at its meeting on September 14, 1908 to announce an award ceremony and make a donation. This was published in Armenian and Russian newspapers so that wide sections of society and sculptors wishing to participate in the Transcaucasus and abroad would be informed about the initiative.
The creation of the statue required a large amount of money (according to preliminary calculations, 12,000 rubles, then at least 18,000 rubles), but the work was slow, and in two years a small amount (2,000 rubles) was collected. In order to accelerate this important national initiative, in 1910 many progressive figures (Tumanyan, Shirvanzadeh and others) again came out with articles. In particular, Tumanyan published his famous article “All Together” in the 266th issue of the “Horizon” newspaper in 1910, where he wrote: “It is not a statue of a talented writer, it is not a statue of an individual, it is a statue of the wounded heart of the Armenian people, which will stand there, in the sacred field of Ararat, for generations and centuries to see, so that they can see how many swords are stuck in it, how much pain and suffering. It must stand forever, silently telling the world the suffering and longing of the Armenians.” Tumanyan urges everyone to participate in this work, since the statue of his worthy son must be erected by the entire nation.
To accelerate the fundraising, in 1910-1912, literary and artistic evenings, concerts, and performances were organized in various cities of Transcaucasia, Moscow, and St. Petersburg. Interest in Abovyan and his monument grew so much that books and articles were published about them, and musical and artistic works were created. The "Armenian Cultural Union" in Baku addressed letters to 6 famous Armenian sculptors of the time, including Paris-based Andreas Ter-Marukyan and Hakob Gyurjyan (the latter had just graduated from the Paris Academy of Fine Arts), inviting them to also participate in the award ceremony (both submitted 2 projects each to the "Armenian Cultural Union" in 1910).
After long discussions, the project of sculptor Andreas Ter-Marukyan was approved. The sculptor worked on the statue and its sculpted pedestal in Paris from 1910 to 1913. In 1913, after completing the work, he cast them in bronze.
In 1911 and 1913, Ter-Marukyan came to Yerevan to collect additional information about the writer and determine the location of the statue. After conducting a site inspection with the city council architect, the place for the monument was specified: it was to be erected in the city square, between the boulevard and the later V. Lenin statue.
Due to the slow progress of the 5-year fundraising and the failure to raise the necessary funds, the statue and the pedestal remained in the Paris foundry; the manufacturer, who had not received the money, did not give them away. Moreover, after waiting 4 years, in 1917. the manufacturer decided to cast and sell the bronze at a higher price, especially since there was a great demand for metal during the First World War. And only after the author's persistent requests and persistent efforts was it preserved.
However, until his death (March 1919) the famous sculptor did not see the installation of the statue he had created in Yerevan and did not receive the intended amount.
In the early 1920s, the newly formed government of the Armenian SSR transferred the necessary amount to Paris and purchased the statue and pedestal of Abovyan, as well as a number of other works by Ter-Marukyan (the bust of Ghevond Alishan and high reliefs), which were sent from Paris to Yerevan on February 27, 1925. However, the cargo did not reach its destination. Ashot Patmagryan, an eyewitness and participant of the events, who lived in Paris, appealed to Sargis Lukashin (Srapionyan), the deputy of the Council of People's Commissars of the Transcaucasian Federation, who had moved from Yerevan to Tbilisi for work, asking him to take measures to find the statue and send it to Yerevan. It turns out that the Batumi customs officers opened the box and, thinking that it was a statue of an unknown European revolutionary donated to Georgia, placed it in the main square of the city. Lukashin ordered the statue to be urgently transported to Armenia, but for unknown reasons it did not reach Yerevan until 1933.
On July 6, 1933, Kh. The statue of Abovyan was finally erected in Yerevan, but not in the designated place, but on Abovyan Street, in a small square near the Moscow Cinema (now Charles Aznavour Square), on a newly built, four-seater, high and unadorned pedestal (the location of the pedestal built by Ter-Marukyan is still unknown). In 1950, under the pretext of the reconstruction of Abovyan Street, the statue was moved to a desolate place near the Circus, in front of the former railway station. In 1953, it was installed on the Tsitsernakaberd hill, away from people's eyes, and in 1957, in the Hrazdan Valley, near the Children's Park.
Yerkreerkir, after wandering from place to place, the work of the famous sculptor was finally completed in 1964. On September 10, 1980, on the eve of events dedicated to Estonian literature and art in Armenia, he found his last resting place in Kanaker, in the courtyard of the great writer's house-museum, where he stands to this day.
In the late 1980s, unknown individuals desecrated the statue, shooting it in the head and shoulders.
Kh. Abovyan's statue is one of the earliest and most successful sculptures created in memory of the great Armenian enlightener. It is also one of the few preserved works of A. Ter-Marukyan, a masterpiece of his work, the first classic example of monumental-statue sculpture in Armenian reality. It marked the beginning of Armenian monumental sculpture.