Photos: The Famous Building from 'Our Childhood Tango' Film to Be Handed Over to Russians

In Gyumri, the building famous from the film 'Our Childhood Tango' is in a state of decay. Haykakan Zhamanak notes that there have been plans by the Ministry of Culture to restore the structure, but all have remained on paper.

“It is natural that there are rockfalls in the building, as it is unused and turning into ruins. The best way to preserve a monument is to put it to use. I have visited the building several times in recent months and can say that it is possible to restore it. The wooden balcony has already rotted and is falling apart. We have a very small budget, only 250 million drams, which is designated for all monuments, while we have about 25,000 of them. The amount is very little, considering that 1 million euros are needed for the restoration of this building, and we have half of that for all monuments. We are trying to spend the money on urgent monuments, meaning those that will perish if we do not restore them. There was a proposal to restore just the balcony, but after a year, the same story will repeat; in other words, a fundamental solution needs to be provided to the issue,” said Tigran Galstyan, Deputy Minister of Culture of Armenia, in an interview with Haykakan Zhamanak.

The deputy minister also informed that the future fate of the building is directly connected to the Russians.

“In 2017, a project was presented by the ministry, and the Russian side expressed interest in restoring it, probably considering its connection to Tsarist Russia. At that time, it was decided that an Armenian-Russian museum would be built. Discussions of this kind took place in 2018, which I also participated in, but there was no clear decision on when the construction works would start. Moreover, there are people who wish to restore and utilize the structure; here, since we need to present a plan and the Russian side has shown interest, we are awaiting their response. If we understand that the Russian side still wishes to restore it, we can provide answers to private investors,” he added.

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