Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesperson Maria Zakharova has touched upon the possible dismantling of a monument in Artik, Armenia to the victims of the Great Patriotic War, and expressed concern about the dangerous trends to distort historical memory within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

During Thursday’s press briefing, Zakharova noted that the Russian side is concerned about the intentions of the local Armenian authorities to demolish the aforesaid monument perpetuating the memory of Soviet warriors, in whose place, according to available information, a fountain is planned to be built.

 “As far as we understand, the Artik administration, as well as higher authorities, intend to implement their plans regarding the monument to fellow citizens who died in the Great Patriotic War. And, according to our information, a fountain is planned to be built on the site of that memorial,” the Russian MFA spokesperson said.

She said that it is incomprehensible to the Russian side why it is not possible to find another place for the new structure.

“Of course, the question arises whether there was no other place for the fountain. Moreover, it is still unclear whether the monument will simply be demolished or moved to another place, which Armenia’s colleagues previously assured us about,” Zakharova said.

According to her, such initiatives are met with resistance in Armenia’s society, but the authorities do not respond to citizens’ complaints.

“We see how people speak out against this decision, understanding that if it is really about simply demolishing the monument without moving it, then this is sacrilege. However, we also see how Armenian’s leadership ignores completely fair appeals from people,” the Russian MFA spokesperson noted.

Zakharova stated that the situation regarding this monument is part of a broader context of revising historical memory.

“The story in connection with this monument testifies to an incomparably more dangerous trend, which can be characterized as a widespread distortion of historical memory,” she said.

In this regard, the Russian MFA spokesperson recalled a number of events that, in Moscow’s opinion, testify to similar processes taking place in Armenia. In particular, she pointed to the statements made earlier on the air of the Armenian state-funded Public Television, which, according to her, justified Nazism.

“At that time, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan urged the Russian side not to pay attention to individual statements and promised to clarify the facts. However, there was no response,” Zakharova said.

In addition, the Russian MFA spokesperson slammed Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy’s recent visit to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.

“Then neo-Nazism reached Yerevan in the person of Zelenskyy, the very Zelenskyy who trampled on the memory of his own ancestors and threatened to attack Red Square [in Moscow] during the Victory Parade [on May 9],” Zakharova said.

Also, she paid special attention to the changes in wording in CIS documents.

“In recent times, Yerevan has been systematically excluding the phrase ‘Great Patriotic War’ from draft CIS documents,” the Russian MFA spokesperson said.

According to her, such actions are more than puzzling, given the great contribution of the Armenian people to the victory over Nazism in.

“And this is against the background of the heroism that Armenians, the people of Armenia, and the ancestors of current citizens of Armenia showed during the years of the World War II and the Great Patriotic War,” Zakharova added.

Summing up, she expressed confidence that the majority of Armenian society is in favor of preserving historical memory.

"People are ready to stand up for historical memory and fight to preserve the glorious pages of their own history, because countries and peoples that forget their history have no future," the Russian MFA spokesperson concluded.