Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex

Location: Yerevan, Armenia

Completed: 1968

Architects: Arthur Tarkhanyan and Sashur Kalashyan  (architects) and Hovhannes Khachatryan (artist)

Alternative names: Memorial to the Armenian Victims of the Genocide of 1915/Tsitsernakaberd

Genre: Soviet memorial, former USSR

The memorial complex commemorates the approximately 1.5 million ethnic Armenians who perished or were deported at the hands of the Turks of the Ottoman Empire during the Armenian Genocide (1915-1923). The complex comprises an eternal flame surrounded by a circular monument made of twelve basalt slabs. The slabs represent twelve provinces in Western Armenia that were lost to Turkey when the latter signed a post-World War I peace deal with Russia. The eternal flame is dedicated to the victims of the genocide and the 44-metre high stele represents the national rebirth of the Armenia people. There is also a subterranean museum on-site, which was added in 1995, as well as a mourning wall and a park where visiting dignitaries plant trees in memory of those who were lost during the genocide.