More than 2,000 attendees at Hill of Honor every day

Today marks a week as the Hill of Honor was opened by Presidents of Armenia and Russia in the second largest city of Armenia, Gyumri.

A spokesperson to the Armenian-Russian Charity Foundation “The Matters of Honor” told media that more than 2,000 people attend the Memorial every day. Citing Hrach Galoyan, a Keeper at the St Archangel Michael Church, which is near the Hill, the Foundation spokesperson said that a great number of flowers were laid here over the week.

The Hill of Honor is a renovated Russian military cemetery where 156 Russian Army officers, killed in the Russian-Turkish wars of the 19th century, are buried. The military cemetery has a history from 1856, when the Commander of the Caucasian Corps, General Nikolay Muravyev ordered to bury officers here, opening a Russian military burial place. Later, a Russian Orthodox chapel was built here for services to commemorate the killed soldiers and officers. In mid 1950s, in the Soviet-era times, here right in the middle of the graves, there was built a children’s dispensary.

After Russia’s Ambassador to Armenia, Vyacheslav Kovalenko proposed to renovate the Hill the idea was supported and pushed forward by governments of Armenia and Russia.

In 2009, a working group was established to coordinate the project, with a public figure, president of the All-Armenian International Youth Center, Andranik Nikogosian on the head. The Armenian-Russian Charity Foundation “Matters of Honor” was established to coordinate the project-related issues. Its co-chairs are Chief of the Armenian Office of the Rossotrudnichestvo Viktor Krivopuskov, and Andranik Nikogosian.

A copy of the 13-meter monument to Russian soldiers killed during wars of 1828, 1855 and 1877 (the master copy by Boris Mikeshin was crushed by Turks in 1918 after 8 years of installation), was installed here projected by an Ulyanovsk native, architect Oleg Vladimirov. An obelisk by sculptor Yuri Minasian was installed here on March 31, 2010.

A stamp and postal block featuring the Hill of Honor was issued by the opening of the restored memorial.