Azerbaijan has destroyed the monument of Armenian marine painter Ivan (Hovhannes) Ayvazovsky, which was located in Stepanakert, according to the Artsakh Agency for Tourism and Cultural Development.
The agency stated that it continues to document and publicize cases of cultural destruction in depopulated Artsakh.
“With deep regret, we report that the Ayvazovsky monument, installed in Stepanakert in 2021, has been destroyed by the Azerbaijani occupation administration following the forced displacement of the entire population of Artsakh in 2023,” reads the agency's statement.
The statue was created by sculptor S. Shcherbakov and dedicated not only to the globally renowned Armenian artist, but also to the cultural ties connecting Artsakh to Armenian and pan-national heritage.
The destruction is described as further evidence of a systematic campaign to erase Armenian cultural presence in Artsakh. “We continue to document and publicize these facts, confident that they will not be forgotten and that the international community will deliver a just assessment.”
“We remember. We have documented. We will return,” the statement concludes.
Azerbaijan launched a large-scale attack on Artsakh on September 19, 2023, subjecting the entire territory to massive shelling. A day later, Artsakh’s authorities accepted a Russian-mediated ceasefire under Azerbaijani terms, agreeing to disarm the defense army and dissolve the Republic of Artsakh. The forced displacement of over 100,000 people to Armenia began on September 24. By some estimates, only about 20 Armenians remained in Artsakh. On September 28, Artsakh President Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree on the republic’s dissolution, effective January 1, 2024.
