The Mother Armenia Monument was erected in honor of the Soviet Union’s victory in the Great Patriotic War. It stands 54 meters tall, of which 22 meters is the statue itself. The monument is located atop a hill in Akhtanak (Victory) Park, positioned along the main axis of Mesrop Mashtots Avenue, towering above the Matenadaran building.
From 1950 to 1962, a bronze statue of Stalin stood on the pedestal of the memorial complex. In 1967, it was replaced by the current sculpture — Mother Armenia, a symbol of strength and peace, created by sculptor Ara Harutyunyan. The statue is one of the most recognisable landmarks of Yerevan.
Made of chased copper, it embodies the power and grandeur of the Motherland. The female figure (symbolising a mother) is depicted at the moment she places a sword into its sheath — a sign of peace after struggle. At her feet lies a shield, and on her forehead there is a mole covered with the thinnest layer of gold. The image is distinguished by stylized hands and the strict lines of her garments.
The prototype for the Mother Armenia monument was 17-year-old Yevgenia Muradyan, whom sculptor Ara Harutyunyan happened to meet in a shop and invited to pose for him. He later admitted that he also incorporated features of his wife into the figure. A popular legend claims that under the shield at the monument’s base are the legs of the former Stalin statue, though this is not true.
In 1970, a museum dedicated to the Great Patriotic War was opened in the base of the monument. Twenty-five years later, in 1995, it was renamed the Mother Armenia Military Museum and came under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia. The museum’s exhibits are divided into two main thematic sections: one covers the participation of Armenians in the Great Patriotic War, and the other focuses on the events of the Karabakh conflict.
There is also a section dedicated to World War II, featuring personal belongings, weapons, documents, and portraits of Armenian heroes. Around the monument’s base, an open-air exhibition of Soviet military equipment is also displayed.
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