April 24, 1965 – Demonstration in Armenia Dispersed by the KGB and MVD of the USSR

On the 50th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 on April 24, 1965, a nationwide demonstration took place in Yerevan, Armenia. Representatives of all social layers participated in it. Such a large-scale demonstration occurred in the history of the USSR for the first time.

The demonstration would be dispersed by the units of Militsiya (police forces of the USSR) and the KGB. The participants and the organizers of the event would be penalized. In spite of this, the demonstration would give a beginning to the awakening of the national consciousness of Armenia.

By the decree of the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Armenia Yakov Zarobian, a dedicated monument would be built in honor of the victims of the Armenian Genocide. Completed in 1967, the Armenian Genocide memorial complex Tsitsernakaberd in Yerevan became a place of national pilgrimage.

These leaflets were scattered around Yerevan on the day of the demonstration. They read “Return our lands” and “Freedom to Western Armenia.”