Documents on the Execution of Armenian Officers in 1937 to Be Published

The first large encyclopedia about the officers of Armenia is to be published. It will be published in Russian since the documents it is based on are all Russian.

According to the Director of the National Archives of Armenia Amatuni Virabyan, most of the Armenian officers were shot in 1937 in one of the cellars of the current National Security building (the former KGB building). Only a few managed to survive, among them USSR Marshal Hovhannes Baghramyan.

This was one of the four works showcased by the National Archives of Armenia at the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Armenia and the May heroic battles in 2018.

The second work was the political history of the Republic of Armenia. According to Amatuni Virabyan, it is planned to be a collection of documents where each researcher will be able to find the answer to their questions.

In 2018 was also the centenary of the end of WWI. The National Archive of Armenia together with its Russian colleague institutions was preparing a Caucasian Front collection.

The collection “The Mother See of Holy Echmiadzin in 1914-1918” on the enormous role the church played in the absence of statehood was also showcased.

In addition to the publication of documents, demonstrations of documents are planned to be organized in April.

“The works of the national archive are certainly not limited to anniversary publications,” Virabyan said, “We will continue the processes we have planned, and we’ll soon present ‘Cilicia in 1918-1923’ describing the events when the French troops liberated Cilicia, the Armenian population returned, and sovereignty was established. Then, we’ll describe how the Armenians left Cilicia for the second time because of the so-called treacherous policy of the Kemalists and the French side.”

The Director of the National Archives of Armenia also said that they would receive Armenian military archives of WWII by the decision of the then Minister of Defense Vigen Sargsyan.

According to Virabyan, in 2018, 50.000 people signed up to access the historical archives, mainly from Armenia and Russia, as well as from Ukraine, the Czech Republic, and Germany.

Հայ սպաները գնդակահարվեցին ԱԱԾ նկուղներից մեկում. Ամատունի Վիրաբյան