Armenia and Artsakh are celebrating triple victories
08.05.2020,
15:43
Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) are celebrating the WWII Victory Day, the liberation of Shushi in Nagorno-Karabakh and the Artsakh Defense Army Day. For the first time this year, all the holidays are being held in closed formats due to the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions on the movement of citizens.
YEREVAN, May 8. /ARKA/. Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) are celebrating the WWII Victory Day, the liberation of Shushi in Nagorno-Karabakh and the Artsakh Defense Army Day. For the first time this year, all the holidays are being held in closed formats due to the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions on the movement of citizens.
Armenians made a huge contribution to the victory over fascism. At least 320,000 residents of Armenia, then a republic of less than 1 million people, were drafted to the Soviet army during the WWII war. The total number of Soviet Armenian participants is estimated at more than 500,000. Another 100 thousand Armenian participants were from foreign countries. Only just over half of them returned home alive.
For such a small country as Armenia, it was a huge loss. A total of 117 citizens of Armenia including 10 non ethnic Armenians were awarded Hero of the Soviet Union. Of these, 36 had been killed in action and were awarded this title posthumously.
Over sixty Armenians were promoted to the rank of general, and with an additional four eventually achieving the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. Hovhannes Baghramyan was both the first non-Slavic Marshal and commander to hold the position of front commander when he was assigned to be the commander of the First Baltic Front in 1943.
Admiral Ivan Isakov became the second Admiral of Fleet of the Soviet Union. Hamazasp Babajanyan was the second of only two Chief Marshals of the Tank and Armored Troops and Sergey Khudyakov had been among the third to be Marshal of Aviation.
Six special military divisions were formed in Soviet Armenia in 1941–42, partly because so many draftees from the republic could not understand Russian. These six divisions alone had more than 67,000 soldiers. Five of them, the 89th, 409th, 408th, 390th, and 76th Divisions, would have a distinguished war record, while the sixth was ordered to stay in Armenia to guard the republic's western borders against a possible incursion by neighboring Turkey.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh turned into large-scale hostilities. A turning point in the war was the liberation of the second largest Karabakh town Shushi, its historical and cultural center in May 92. Later, May 9 was proclaimed the Day of the liberation of Shushi and the Day of the creation of the Karabakh army.
Deputy Minister of Defense of Armenia Gabriel Balayan told a news conference today that the entrance to the territory of the military pantheon Yerablur and Victory Park will be open exclusively for official events, which will be held from 10:30 to 11:00 on May 9.
"We have also organized a visit of WWII veterans to the Mother-Armenia memorial complex to congratulate and express our gratitude to them," said Balayan.
According to Deputy Chief of Police Hayk Mhryan, the police will ensure public order and safety these days along with measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. He also recalled that the fine for violation of the rules is 100-250 minimum wages. -0-
Armenians made a huge contribution to the victory over fascism. At least 320,000 residents of Armenia, then a republic of less than 1 million people, were drafted to the Soviet army during the WWII war. The total number of Soviet Armenian participants is estimated at more than 500,000. Another 100 thousand Armenian participants were from foreign countries. Only just over half of them returned home alive.
For such a small country as Armenia, it was a huge loss. A total of 117 citizens of Armenia including 10 non ethnic Armenians were awarded Hero of the Soviet Union. Of these, 36 had been killed in action and were awarded this title posthumously.
Over sixty Armenians were promoted to the rank of general, and with an additional four eventually achieving the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. Hovhannes Baghramyan was both the first non-Slavic Marshal and commander to hold the position of front commander when he was assigned to be the commander of the First Baltic Front in 1943.
Admiral Ivan Isakov became the second Admiral of Fleet of the Soviet Union. Hamazasp Babajanyan was the second of only two Chief Marshals of the Tank and Armored Troops and Sergey Khudyakov had been among the third to be Marshal of Aviation.
Six special military divisions were formed in Soviet Armenia in 1941–42, partly because so many draftees from the republic could not understand Russian. These six divisions alone had more than 67,000 soldiers. Five of them, the 89th, 409th, 408th, 390th, and 76th Divisions, would have a distinguished war record, while the sixth was ordered to stay in Armenia to guard the republic's western borders against a possible incursion by neighboring Turkey.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh turned into large-scale hostilities. A turning point in the war was the liberation of the second largest Karabakh town Shushi, its historical and cultural center in May 92. Later, May 9 was proclaimed the Day of the liberation of Shushi and the Day of the creation of the Karabakh army.
Deputy Minister of Defense of Armenia Gabriel Balayan told a news conference today that the entrance to the territory of the military pantheon Yerablur and Victory Park will be open exclusively for official events, which will be held from 10:30 to 11:00 on May 9.
"We have also organized a visit of WWII veterans to the Mother-Armenia memorial complex to congratulate and express our gratitude to them," said Balayan.
According to Deputy Chief of Police Hayk Mhryan, the police will ensure public order and safety these days along with measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. He also recalled that the fine for violation of the rules is 100-250 minimum wages. -0-
