Message of the third President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan
On the occasion of Victory and Peace Day
We have been celebrating our cherished triple holiday on May 9 for many years now. Unfortunately, two holidays that testify to our glorious victories of the last decades – the anniversary of the liberation of Shushi and the establishment of the Artsakh Defense Army – were senselessly brought to naught as a result of the anti-national policy of the current rulers of Armenia. However, nothing is lost irretrievably. We had glorious victories, and these victories call generations to new feats, to bring back our victorious holidays.
Today we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War and proudly recall the glorious examples of heroism and selflessness of the brave Armenians of Armenia and Artsakh during the Great Patriotic War. The children of our people passed this great and difficult path with honor. Two decades after the Armenian Genocide, the Armenians living in the Soviet Union raised about half a million soldiers and officers to fight the enemy. They were joined by our brothers from the Armenian Diaspora, about 100,000 of whom fought in the Allied armies during World War II.
World War II is one of the most brutal events in the history of mankind, which took about 50 million human lives, and the peoples of the Soviet Union laid down about 27 million lives on the altar of victory. The Armenian people, as a direct participant in this struggle, together with other peoples of the USSR, suffered enormous sacrifices and made a worthy contribution on the battlefield.
Eight decades ago, our fathers and grandfathers won the battle against the universal evil of fascism, tyranny and xenophobia. They defended our homeland, our homes, our dignity, our God-given right to live freely and independently, and they won. But today, fascism, taking on modern forms and disguised as fashionable slogans, is still alive. Many nations, including Armenians, in the 21st century again have to fight against neo-fascist ideology in all its manifestations.
Unfortunately, the Armenian people are also currently fighting against the policy of inciting ethnic hatred, genocide, unpunished destruction of spiritual and cultural heritage, and destruction of historical facts, pursued by Azerbaijan at the state level.
The lessons of the Great Patriotic War teach us that no agreement with evil is possible – evil must be defeated. We must continue to protect the values for which millions of lives were given 80 years ago.
Today, we bow our heads in gratitude to the memory of all our brave men who paid with their lives for the glorious victory and peace.
Glory to our heroes.
2025-05-09