Inside Yerevan's "Victory Park" War Museum

I recently posted about the May 9 Victory Day celebrations in Yerevan, most of which took place at the city's Victory Park just above the Cascade. A park dedicated to the many that had fallen throughout the decades in various conflicts. A Soviet era creation that had certainly seen better years but still thrived with the many attractions and the main meaning to the park. Victory Park also holds the massive statue of Mother Armenia. And little did we know, beneath the statue, going underground, sits a museum. This museum was huge, many little halls that detailed the individuals and gave context to some of the conflicts. It was a war museum, there's no doubt about that. But not one that felt like it was glorifying anything, and in some ways it did quite the opposite. Instead, it gave faces and names to many of the objects on display. The museum despite seeming like it would be small, actually takes up quite a bit of time given how much there is to see. It's something that you'd want to attend a bit earlier on in the day given the area and the relatively early time it closes, around 5PM. On Victory Day one man even argued that it should remain open later given the context. Oh, and entry to this museum is free.

Each room does feel like it's a different time. A different conflict and under a different group of people. The initial room opens up with a view of the downstairs area, like a well almost. And you start to the left as you walk into a room and see the initial history of Mother Armenia and some of Victory Park's creation. This process coming from a group of Soviet Armenian architectures and sculptors. The same groups of people that worked on other creations within the city and general area, even the now unfortunately abandoned buildings that reside within the park itself. Seeing the history of the statue was quite fascinating, as well as the process. Given how huge the statue of Mother Armenia actually is, it certainly wasn't an easy creation. Especially in regards to the creators even finding a living reference to base the statue on, taking a woman's likeness and using that. Not searching for the most beautiful celebrity woman of the era as well. Simply searching for a regular looking woman to become the face to look down upon Yerevan for centuries to come.

I mentioned that many of the rooms have a different focus on the people and the conflict, and that started to be felt quite quickly. Much of the top floor focuses on the more recent side of history, with the conflicts that came around during the later years of the Soviet Union: the conflict with Afghanistan. The conflicts that later came with Azerbaijan and have still been ongoing, with shots fired over the borders frequently. With some of these displays, it shows the regular day-to-day items many of the participants had. From their personal pens, their uniforms, their weapons, as well as notebooks. I quite liked this more personal touch to the museum. Seeing weapons is one thing, but seeing items that aren't related directly to war adds a more emotional touch. You pay more attention to the fact that these were real people when you see their personal possessions that went with them into battles. Some of the museum was in English, though most of it was in Armenian and Russian, so not every little detail was made evident. I didn't mind though. I think the message was mostly quite clear.

It was once you step down into a spiral staircase that the museum takes another turn: it focuses more on the Second World War. Now, this was no surprise given the title of Victory Park that this resides in. The whole park being made to commemorate the actions of those within World War 2. And this of course being where everyone came on May 9, the day in which the Soviets considered the war effort finally won. Throughout the park are also big stone creations with beautiful designs which mention the years during the war and the people that died during those periods. Many Russian names, many Armenian ones. Anyway, descending down into the floor below, there are many images in black and white from World War 2, some of which detailing very important events. This is before the rooms open up and we really see some deeper history appear. Rooms full of uniforms from the Germans and Soviets. The weapons used ranging from artillery to light machine guns. One particular item on display felt like it told a very dark story for someone: a helmet with clear entry and exit holes.

I found it interesting that they displayed a bit of everything within. It was a different contrast to the previous room which focused more on the identity of the Armenian people and the more recent hardships faced. This felt a bit more faceless, more focused on general events and the many names that came and went, many of which never to be heard of again. Essentially war trophies that no longer belonged to any face or nation. Different types of weapons ranging from grenades to tank shells. Given the region, it was interesting seeing the different perspectives on the weaponry, not just the usual (western) Allied forces, but also the Soviet creations. A particular weapon that surprised me to see in person is something akin to the MG-42, a feared German weapon known for its incredibly high fire rate. A technological marvel at the time that had anyone near it certainly shaking in those military boots. There were a few notes about the types of weapons, though nothing that went into great detail on how they were used. More just aligned with images that showed them or who they may have belonged to.

A touching moment with letters that would've been folded into a triangular shape and sent home. How strange it must've been back then to know a loved one would be running around on a front-line of the world's deadliest battle with all kinds of modern horrors created to mangle, and all you receive is a potentially periodic vague triangular piece of paper that doesn't say a whole lot for security reasons. This was different to what I'd seen before, where letters would've been folded as normal. Alongside these, there were additional papers: passports and military documents, achievements from the front. It still wasn't so much about the people directly, but it was nice to see items that could connect to the idea of a face. A person that lived through that, that once held such weapons and the Hell they would've gone through. It's hard to imagine any of it, and especially hard to imagine their thoughts on it all later in life. Each room was different, but it felt like another saddening realisation of the past. Not something to be glorified. Something genuinely tragic. And the museum did this intentionally, down to one closed-off Hall of Fame room which essentially was just an entire room of portraits.