With its impressive cache of brutalist architecture and repurposed USSR-style public spaces, Armenia’s ‘Pink City’ and capital Yerevan artfully melds its Soviet past with a proud, new post-socialist national identity
By Raul Dias
While I had heard a lot about the Armenian nationalistic pride—often with the words “bordering on jingoism” loosely bandied about—I couldn’t have been more ill-prepared for what I was about to witness. And I had not even landed on Armenian soil! All it took was the sight of the double-peaked Mount Ararat in all its snow-capped glory, emerging from a cloudy veil on the port side of the aircraft, for pandemonium to ensue in the narrow cabin around me.
And the row that I was seated in certainly wasn’t immune to this pre-landing frenzy. While the man to my left quickly whipped out his phone for a series of selfies with the mountain in the background, the stylish septuagenarian lady to my right kept muttering something in Armenian, making the sign of the cross every 10 seconds or so. All this, while reverently looking at the mountain where Noah’s Ark is said to have come to a rest after the great flood mentioned in the Book of Genesis.
Celebrating the past
It was only a few hours after landing at my destination, Armenia’s capital city of Yerevan, does the irony of it all strike me. Mount Ararat, one the greatest symbols of Armenia—the similitude of which can be found emblazoned on everything, from bottles of brandy and beer to Toblerone doppelgänger chocolate bars—isn’t even located in Armenian territory anymore. In fact, it can be found just over the border, in present day Turkey.
As I stroll through leafy Yerevan, with its Parisian-style wide boulevards and drinking water fountains called pul pulaks at every corner, I soon realise that for the former USSR country, symbolism is everything. How else can one explain the continued presence of a five-point Soviet star atop the main spire of the city’s Central Railway Station? It is the likeness of Mount Ararat below said star that makes the station one of the few places in Armenia that continue to use this coat of arms, never mind its Soviet underpinning.
Reclaiming glory
Speaking of which, Yerevan’s grand Republic Square was once known as Lenin Square housing a giant, mid-stride statue of Vladimir Lenin that was taken down post Armenia’s independence in the Autumn of 1991. Today, the square is surrounded on all four sides by grand architectural examples of Soviet Modernism, with their brutalist façades clad in the indigenous pink volcanic stone called tuff that gives Yerevan its ‘Pink City’ moniker.
At another popular attraction—the hill-topped Victory Park overlooking Yerevan—another former Soviet leader, General Secretary Joseph Stalin has been dethroned. Quite literally! Replacing his monumental statue and sitting on the same pedestal is the sword-brandishing, 22-meters tall, neo-art deco statue of ‘Mother Armenia’ made from hammered copper. Here too there is ample symbolism on display. The statue is said to not only show peace through strength, but also mirrors the role of prominent female figures in Armenian history who joined the men in fending off Turkish troops during the 1915 Armenian genocide.
Joining a group of the Yerevan Couchsurfing chapter on a post-beer walkabout the city, I learn about how in 2010 a Facebook group called “SAVE Cinema Moscow Open-Air Hall,” successfully petitioned the Armenian Government to stall the demolition of the open-air hall of the Moscow Cinema on the city’s arterial Abovyan Street. Built in 1936 in the constructivist-style—a form of modern Soviet architecture, with a facade adorned with scenes from famous Soviet-Armenian movies—the cinema itself replaced the 5th century St. Peter and Paul Church. Presently, it remains one of the city’s premier recreational spots with its life-size chess board set shadowed by a giant spider sculpture by Armenian artist Ara Alekyan.
Parting shots
We walk towards the Republic Square Metro Station, where I notice how well the Soviet style of almost harsh, geometric ornamentation is merged with the more oriental features of the station. The entrance houses a decorative fountain of an eight-petal concrete flower in bloom, with a huge vaulted ceiling held up by plain columns featuring sculpted eaves in the shape of bird heads.
From Republic Square we take a dirt-cheap metro train ride (100 dram or Rs 15) to Charbak a few kilometers away to get the real feel of Soviet suburban Yerevan with its many ‘Khrushchyovkas’. Developed all over the Soviet Union during the early 1960s, these concrete-panelled apartment buildings were named after Soviet statesman Nikita Khrushchev to provide low-cost housing in a gargantuan communal setting.
It is from the terrace of one of these 15-storied (and yes, elevator-bereft!) grim-looking buildings do I spy the ultimate remnant of the Soviet past a few yards away, eerily backlit by the setting sun. Constructed in such a way that they spell out the alphabets CCCP (which is ‘USSR’ in the Cyrillic script) when seen from above, I’m told that they were built so that the Soviets could feel patriotic as they flew in from Moscow.
Truly, one man’s Mount Ararat is another’s alphabetised Khrushchyovka!
Travel log
Getting There
As there are no direct flights from India to Armenia, one can reach Yerevan by connecting flights from Dubai on airlines such as Emirates and the low-cost carrier FlyDubai. Given its compact size, most of Yerevan can easily be accessed on foot or by its super cheap metro train system which comprises of 10 stations. Costing a very affordable US$ 6 for a 21-day or less stay, the easy-to-procure Armenian visa can be availed of either online (evisa.mfa.am) or on arrival at Yerevan’s Zvartnots International Airport by most nationalities, including Indians.
Stay
Offering a range of hotels to choose from, Yerevan has accommodation options to suit all budgets. One such recommended accommodation option is the conveniently located, city-centered Double Tree by Hilton (Rs 6,600 for two with breakfast, doubletree3.hilton.com). The Ibis Yerevan Center Hotel (Rs 3,200 for two with breakfast, accorhotels.com) along the city’s pedestrian-only Northern Avenue is another good, value-for-money accommodation option.
Tip
* Every night from 9pm to 11pm, Tuesday to Sunday, the grand fountains outside the History Museum and the National Gallery in Yerevan’s Republic Square put on a very informative free sound and light show with plenty of local folk music and snippets of Armenian history narrated in both Armenian and English.
(An edited version of this article first appeared in the 19th October 2019 issue of The Hindu Business Line newspaper's BLink section on page 20 https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/takeaway/yerevan-armenias-pink-city/article29732640.ece)
By Raul Dias
While I had heard a lot about the Armenian nationalistic pride—often with the words “bordering on jingoism” loosely bandied about—I couldn’t have been more ill-prepared for what I was about to witness. And I had not even landed on Armenian soil! All it took was the sight of the double-peaked Mount Ararat in all its snow-capped glory, emerging from a cloudy veil on the port side of the aircraft, for pandemonium to ensue in the narrow cabin around me.
And the row that I was seated in certainly wasn’t immune to this pre-landing frenzy. While the man to my left quickly whipped out his phone for a series of selfies with the mountain in the background, the stylish septuagenarian lady to my right kept muttering something in Armenian, making the sign of the cross every 10 seconds or so. All this, while reverently looking at the mountain where Noah’s Ark is said to have come to a rest after the great flood mentioned in the Book of Genesis.
Celebrating the past
It was only a few hours after landing at my destination, Armenia’s capital city of Yerevan, does the irony of it all strike me. Mount Ararat, one the greatest symbols of Armenia—the similitude of which can be found emblazoned on everything, from bottles of brandy and beer to Toblerone doppelgänger chocolate bars—isn’t even located in Armenian territory anymore. In fact, it can be found just over the border, in present day Turkey.
As I stroll through leafy Yerevan, with its Parisian-style wide boulevards and drinking water fountains called pul pulaks at every corner, I soon realise that for the former USSR country, symbolism is everything. How else can one explain the continued presence of a five-point Soviet star atop the main spire of the city’s Central Railway Station? It is the likeness of Mount Ararat below said star that makes the station one of the few places in Armenia that continue to use this coat of arms, never mind its Soviet underpinning.
Reclaiming glory
Speaking of which, Yerevan’s grand Republic Square was once known as Lenin Square housing a giant, mid-stride statue of Vladimir Lenin that was taken down post Armenia’s independence in the Autumn of 1991. Today, the square is surrounded on all four sides by grand architectural examples of Soviet Modernism, with their brutalist façades clad in the indigenous pink volcanic stone called tuff that gives Yerevan its ‘Pink City’ moniker.
At another popular attraction—the hill-topped Victory Park overlooking Yerevan—another former Soviet leader, General Secretary Joseph Stalin has been dethroned. Quite literally! Replacing his monumental statue and sitting on the same pedestal is the sword-brandishing, 22-meters tall, neo-art deco statue of ‘Mother Armenia’ made from hammered copper. Here too there is ample symbolism on display. The statue is said to not only show peace through strength, but also mirrors the role of prominent female figures in Armenian history who joined the men in fending off Turkish troops during the 1915 Armenian genocide.
Joining a group of the Yerevan Couchsurfing chapter on a post-beer walkabout the city, I learn about how in 2010 a Facebook group called “SAVE Cinema Moscow Open-Air Hall,” successfully petitioned the Armenian Government to stall the demolition of the open-air hall of the Moscow Cinema on the city’s arterial Abovyan Street. Built in 1936 in the constructivist-style—a form of modern Soviet architecture, with a facade adorned with scenes from famous Soviet-Armenian movies—the cinema itself replaced the 5th century St. Peter and Paul Church. Presently, it remains one of the city’s premier recreational spots with its life-size chess board set shadowed by a giant spider sculpture by Armenian artist Ara Alekyan.
Parting shots
We walk towards the Republic Square Metro Station, where I notice how well the Soviet style of almost harsh, geometric ornamentation is merged with the more oriental features of the station. The entrance houses a decorative fountain of an eight-petal concrete flower in bloom, with a huge vaulted ceiling held up by plain columns featuring sculpted eaves in the shape of bird heads.
From Republic Square we take a dirt-cheap metro train ride (100 dram or Rs 15) to Charbak a few kilometers away to get the real feel of Soviet suburban Yerevan with its many ‘Khrushchyovkas’. Developed all over the Soviet Union during the early 1960s, these concrete-panelled apartment buildings were named after Soviet statesman Nikita Khrushchev to provide low-cost housing in a gargantuan communal setting.
It is from the terrace of one of these 15-storied (and yes, elevator-bereft!) grim-looking buildings do I spy the ultimate remnant of the Soviet past a few yards away, eerily backlit by the setting sun. Constructed in such a way that they spell out the alphabets CCCP (which is ‘USSR’ in the Cyrillic script) when seen from above, I’m told that they were built so that the Soviets could feel patriotic as they flew in from Moscow.
Truly, one man’s Mount Ararat is another’s alphabetised Khrushchyovka!
Travel log
Getting There
As there are no direct flights from India to Armenia, one can reach Yerevan by connecting flights from Dubai on airlines such as Emirates and the low-cost carrier FlyDubai. Given its compact size, most of Yerevan can easily be accessed on foot or by its super cheap metro train system which comprises of 10 stations. Costing a very affordable US$ 6 for a 21-day or less stay, the easy-to-procure Armenian visa can be availed of either online (evisa.mfa.am) or on arrival at Yerevan’s Zvartnots International Airport by most nationalities, including Indians.
Stay
Offering a range of hotels to choose from, Yerevan has accommodation options to suit all budgets. One such recommended accommodation option is the conveniently located, city-centered Double Tree by Hilton (Rs 6,600 for two with breakfast, doubletree3.hilton.com). The Ibis Yerevan Center Hotel (Rs 3,200 for two with breakfast, accorhotels.com) along the city’s pedestrian-only Northern Avenue is another good, value-for-money accommodation option.
Tip
* Every night from 9pm to 11pm, Tuesday to Sunday, the grand fountains outside the History Museum and the National Gallery in Yerevan’s Republic Square put on a very informative free sound and light show with plenty of local folk music and snippets of Armenian history narrated in both Armenian and English.
(An edited version of this article first appeared in the 19th October 2019 issue of The Hindu Business Line newspaper's BLink section on page 20 https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/takeaway/yerevan-armenias-pink-city/article29732640.ece)
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