Azerbaijan has destroyed the monument of world-renowned Armenian marine painter Hovhannes (Ivan) Aivazovsky, which was located in Stepanakert, the capital of Artsakh.
The news was reported on July 30 by the Artsakh Agency for Tourism and Cultural Development, on the birthday of the artist.
“With deep regret, we report that the Ayvazovsky monument, installed in Stepanakert in 2021, has been destroyed by the Azerbaijani occupation administration following the forced displacement of the entire population of Artsakh in 2023,” the agency said in a statement.
The monument, created by sculptor S. Shcherbakov, was dedicated not only to Aivazovsky himself but also to the deep cultural ties connecting Artsakh to Armenian and pan-national heritage.
The destruction, the agency noted, is yet another example of Azerbaijan’s systematic campaign to erase Armenian cultural presence in the region.
“We continue to document and publicize these facts, confident that they will not be forgotten and that the international community will deliver a just assessment,” the statement reads.
“We remember. We have documented. We will return,” it concludes.
Azerbaijan launched a large-scale assault on Artsakh on September 19, 2023, subjecting the region to intense shelling. One day later, under a Russian-mediated ceasefire, Artsakh authorities agreed to disarm. The forced displacement of over 100,000 Armenians to Armenia began on September 24. On September 28, President Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree on the republic’s dissolution, effective January 1, 2024.
