Yerevan’s Cascade Memorial to Victims of Repression: Returning from Hilltop Marginalization

Abstract

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There is an extraordinary monument to the victims of Soviet-era repressions in a landmark location above Yerevan that hardly anyone in Armenia knows about. On June 14, a handful of activists gathered at this Cascade Memorial to pay their respects in a moving event. Fitting as that event was, it also had limited reach. Less than thirty people attended, illustrating how marginalized the history of Soviet repression remains in public engagement.

An Ethics of Political Commemoration can help to reconceptualize this approach to commemoration. With the focus on the Cascade Memorial and the memorial day of June 14, Armenians, led and supported by memorial activist, could make this outstanding location come more alive, also by linking visits to the experience of being part of a larger chain of evoking the names of victims. Researchers, too, could contribute more insight and document their findings through Wikipedia. This effort could highlight the challenges of the authoritarian legacy in Armenia, and perhaps also contribute to a more civil tone as the country moves towards more democracy amidst geopolitical uncertainty. 

Keywords: Armenia, Soviet Union, commemoration, history, ethics, Yerevan

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