VIDEO. Fashion 'Party' at the Memorial for Victims of Stalinist Repression

A fashion event held last night at the Memorial for Victims of Stalinist Repression on Freedom Avenue has sparked widespread discussion on social media. During the event, Yerevan's Mayor Tigran Avinyan also delivered a speech.

“They organized some sort of fashion party. In a place dedicated to the memory of the painful lives and tragic deaths of hundreds of thousands. This is not some underground movement; these are not marginal individuals; this was done with official permission — 'under high patronage.' They have no moral or ideological brakes. I have no doubt that these people are capable of organizing a khash party on our graves one day,” stated media expert Hakob Karapetyan on his Facebook page.

Former Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Gemafin Gasparyan also addressed the issue, stating, “This is the area of the Memorial for Victims of Stalinist Repression. A fashion show is taking place; a lot of people are present, and there is zero opposition. It’s like holding a fashion show around the eternal flame of Tsitsernakaberd or at Yerablur, or over a mass grave. And the worst part is that neither the thinkers nor those granting permission even understand what they are doing. It’s just another area, a convenient space. And here I ask that we don’t equate this with art and artistic acts — this is a purely commercial event. Also, is the Yerevan City Hall treating the Stalinist repression and its victims like Charents, Bakunts, Gurgen Mahari, Yervand Kochar, and thousands of others in such a manner?”

The Yerevan City Hall argues that the exhibition at the Memorial for Victims of Stalinist Repression offers a chance to tell the world about Yerevan, its residents, and the memorial itself. “In general, the opening ceremony was not a celebration; it was a competition among eight young designers. The theme of the exhibition is ‘Freedom and Democracy,’” wrote Seda Akhbalyan, head of the tourism department at the City Hall. According to her, 25 international journalists and bloggers came to Yerevan to cover this event.