Towering above the Armenian capital, the monumental statue of Mother Armenia commands attention from nearly every corner of the city. Standing 22 meters tall—excluding its colossal 50-meter pedestal—the statue dominates the skyline from its perch on a natural hilltop in the famous Victory Park (Ahtanak Park), a beloved summer retreat for Yerevan’s residents seeking respite from the heat.
More than just a sculpture, Mother Armenia is a powerful national symbol—an emblem not only of Yerevan, but of the entire Armenian people. Facing westward in the direction of Turkey, she appears as a vigilant guardian of the ancient Armenian land. Sword in hand and shield at her feet, she conveys the strength, endurance, and unyielding spirit of the Armenian nation. The figure also pays homage to the countless generations of Armenian women who stood alongside their husbands, taking up arms to defend their homeland.
Inside the imposing pedestal, built from Armenia’s signature black tuff stone, lies a military museum operated by the Ministry of Defense. The museum houses an extensive collection of artifacts from both the Great Patriotic War (World War II) and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Nearby, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier burns with an Eternal Flame, flanked by iconic examples of Soviet-era military hardware—a T-34 tank, the legendary Katyusha rocket launcher, machine guns, and armored vehicles.
Interestingly, the face and form of Mother Armenia were inspired by a real Armenian girl—17-year-old Yevgenia Muradyan, an acquaintance of the monument’s sculptor, Ara Harutyunyan. She served as his model during the creative process, her features immortalized in bronze and copper.
Before Mother Armenia stood on this site, the pedestal bore a very different statue: a monumental tribute to Joseph Stalin, erected in 1950 to commemorate the Soviet Union’s victory in World War II. The construction of that monument was overseen by Grigor Harutyunyan (also known as Grigory Arutinov), the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Armenia. The statue was considered a masterpiece by Soviet sculptor Sergey Merkurov, while the pedestal itself was designed by the visionary Armenian architect Rafael Israelyan.
Israelyan, anticipating the impermanence of Stalin’s reign, cleverly crafted the pedestal in the likeness of a traditional three-nave Armenian basilica. Years later, he confessed: “The glory of dictators is fleeting—so I built a simple Armenian church instead.” Unlike the severe, sharply defined exterior, the interior of the pedestal is awash with light and closely resembles the Church of Saint Hripsime in the Echmiadzin Monastery.
In 1962, amid the sweeping de-Stalinization campaign and efforts to dismantle the cult of personality, the statue of Stalin was removed from the pedestal. In its place, a new monument was erected—Mother Armenia, created by Ara Harutyunyan as a triumphant symbol of victory in the Great Patriotic War.
Israelyan’s foresight proved invaluable. The basilica-like base, adorned with traditional Armenian ornamentation, was ideally suited for a new icon rooted in Armenian identity. According to local legend, however, the dismantling team was either unable or unwilling to remove Stalin’s boots during the statue’s removal. Whispers persist to this day that Mother Armenia still wears the dictator’s boots—hidden beneath the folds of her gown and behind her shield.
Crafted from hammered copper, Mother Armenia soars to a height of 22 meters, and reaches 51 meters including the pedestal. The work of sculptor Ara Harutyunyan, the statue embodies the concept of peace through strength. It serves as a tribute to the formidable Armenian women who, throughout history, have played vital roles in their country’s defense and liberation—women like Sose Mayrik, a heroine of the Armenian national liberation movement, who took up arms to fight alongside her husband for freedom.
Beneath the statue, the military museum continues to preserve Armenia’s martial heritage, housing artifacts from both World War II and the wars in Karabakh.
