Why the Statue of Garegin Nzhdeh Was Removed from the Yerevan Academic High School Yard

Today, we received reports from residents of Gyumri that the statue of Garegin Nzhdeh has been removed from the yard of the Academic High School for some time now, with the reasons remaining unclear.  

“That statue has been there since the school’s establishment. It disappeared after the regime change. Where is it, what happened? Is this part of the current government's agenda to erase our heroes, the nationalists, and their philosophies, turning us into a rootless nothing?” a concerned citizen told Hraparak.am.

Regarding the issue, the news outlet talked to Armen Martirosyan, director of the Gyumri Academic High School: “Since the school was formerly known as Gyumri No. 17, named after Garegin Nzhdeh, the statue was located in the old part of the building until the school was reprofiled and became a high school. Construction work on the building began in 2018-19 and was completed in 2021. Now, the educational institution is no longer called the school named after Garegin Nzhdeh, but rather the Academic High School. There has been no decision yet on whether the statue will be reinstated or not. But I would like to remind the concerned citizens why they were not worried about the fate of the school and the statue back in 2018-19 when the construction began, rather than now.”