What Sparked Discussions About the Demolition of Garegin Nzhdeh's Statue

For several days, conflicting information has been circulating regarding the potential demolition of Garegin Nzhdeh's statue in the town of Martuni, Artsakh. Initially, photos surfaced with the caption, 'The statue of Nzhdeh in Martuni was dismantled at the request of Azerbaijan.' Later, it was claimed that the Russians had urged the removal of the statue, a statement the town's mayor, Edik Avanesyan, has denied. One of the council members even shared a video showing the statue still standing. What has led to this uproar?

According to our source, the pedestal for the statue was built last year, and the bust was supposed to be installed in September, but the war disrupted those plans, leading to its installation on January 25, 2021, without an official opening ceremony. 'There are unfinished works that we need to complete before we hold a new opening. The street where it is installed should have been paved, but the war started, and we couldn't do it; it is now planned for next year. The sides of the statue are damaged, and the sculptor needs to come to fix it,' the mayor said. 'I don't know who went rogue and opened the statue, leading to such discussions.'

It was stated that the mayor was originally informed that the bust needed to be removed to complete the unfinished work. 'I don't know who said that or why,' they mentioned. However, the mayor assured that the statue will not be moved from its place: 'There is no such discussion at this moment.' The author of the bust is sculptor Armen Petrosyan.