Commemoration practices of conflict in Armenia

After the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh, every street in Yerevan bears a reminder of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. These reminders take the form of colorful murals featuring images and portraits of soldiers. However, they are not limited to public spaces alone; they can also be found on the windows of private vehicles, blocks of buildings, and shop walls. It’s worth noting that these images do not depict graphic representations of war and death but rather focus on portraits of individual males who lost their lives during the conflict.

This tradition of commemoration emerged after the first Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 1988-1994, the main difference in commemoration between the eras is the scale and colors of the murals. In the 90s, small marble portraits covered the walls of the streets, while today, large colored images stretch from nine-story buildings to the glass walls of shops and cars.

Another way fallen soldiers are commemorated is through “Martyr’s Spring”.  These memorials consist of decorated concrete walls displaying pictures of the martyrs, whose names are engraved on mounted black marble. These memorials are strategically placed in neighborhood locations where many passers-by can see them, and a water tap is installed on-site to supply drinking water, thus the name “Martyr’s Spring.”

This photo project serves to illustrate the way memorialization has preserved the collective memory of the conflict over the past 30 years in Armenia and Azerbaijan. However, beneath the captivating visuals lies a complex web of politics and nationalism that must be understood to ensure a more nuanced and reflective approach to commemorating the fallen and preventing the glorification of war.

An apartment block in the center of Yerevan, Armenia. A mural of Rost, a soldier who died in the 44-day Nagorno-Karabakh war in 2020.

A mural of two brothers on an apartment wall in Yerevan, Artur and Ara- fallen soldiers of 2020 Nagorno Karabakh war.

Inside the café in Yerevan. The wall painting shows the battlefront in Nagorno Karabakh.

A water fountain (also called “pulpulak”) dedicated to a soldier, Davit, who died in the Second Nagorno Karabakh war. Օn the front of the fountain is the symbol of eternity, on the other side is a poem.

“You lived and died like a hero. Fearless likee the hero of an epic. You left a wound on my heart, a deep groove. No matter what they say, no matter what they do, it will never heal Let my wound be a cure for your wounds…”

A window on the apartment block is covered with the photograph of a soldier, Albert Hovhannisyan, who died soon after the photograph was taken during the Second Nagorno Karabakh war.

A collective monument dedicated to the fallen soldiers of the 2020 Karabakh war.

The names and birth dates of dozens young soldiers are carved one after another.

“Mkho, forever friend” The portrait of fallen soldier Mkho ( Mkhitar Galeyan) on an apartment block.

“His weapon was the tank, your weapon is the knowledge” The portrait of fallen soldier Benjamin Eghoyan on the wall of Yerevan State University”.