Few people know that in the Soviet years, the monument to Ghukas Ghukasyan used to stand in Yerevan.
At the age of 18, Ghukas joined the Communist Party. Three years later, he was killed by the Dashnaks during the May uprising.
The May Uprising was an armed rebellion of the pro-communist forces against the government of the First Republic of Armenia in 1920. It was organized and led by the Communist Party of Armenia with the support of the Turkish-Tatar groups from Armenia and the Bolsheviks of Russia and Azerbaijan. The goal of the uprising was to overthrow the Dashnak government and establish the Soviet regime in the country.
Later, the Soviet government made Ghukas a model communist. It’s known that during his time in the Armenian army, Ghukasyan would damage shells in order to save the lives of the “Red” Turks at the very cost of the lives of Armenians.
On May 1, 1935, the name of the young communist was immortalized in Yerevan. The monument sculptured by Suren Stepanyan from basalt depicted an energetic young communist with a gun, a flag, and a gaze fixed on a bright future. Soviet power made Ghukas a model for Armenian youth.
After the collapse of the USSR, the monument was destroyed.
