Real Authors of the 'Yes' Logo Receive Certificates Worth One Million Drams Each

The Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures and head of the 'Yes' headquarters, Suren Papikyan, handed certificates worth one million drams each to Norik Yengibaryan, Tsolak Ghondilyan, and Stepan Naroyan's daughter, intended for the winner of the branding contest for 'Yes'.

It is worth mentioning that Norik Yengibaryan was the editor of the 'Evening Yerevan' newspaper in 1991, while Tsolak Ghondilyan and Stepan Naroyan were illustrators. The famous sketch that became part of the logo winning the branding competition for 'Yes' was published in the September 23, 1991 issue of this newspaper, for which the winner was to receive 3 million drams.

On February 25, the 'Yes' headquarters issued a statement, saying, 'We are pleased to announce that we have a winner for the branding contest for the constitutional amendments referendum “Yes”. A complex selection was made among dozens of worthy options. We present the logo that took first place, created by the Garoon agency.'

Later, information circulated on the internet that the logo was taken from the 90s. Criticisms arose, stating that it was unacceptable to pay 3 million drams for plagiarism. Suren Papikyan later issued a statement indicating that the 3 million dram prize money for the first place in the logo competition for the 'Yes' branding would be allocated among the heirs of Nikolay Yengibaryan, editor of the 'Evening Yerevan' newspaper from 1991, illustrator Tsolak Kantegh Gharibyan, and Stepan Naroyan's heir, with each receiving 1 million AMD.