A 7-meter statue of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, erected by Sergey Merkurov and standing atop an 11 meter high pedestal, was inaugurated in the square on November 24, 1940.
The monument faced the site of the planned National Gallery and "soon gained considerable acclaim as a great piece of monumental art."
The statue was removed from the pedestal on April 13, 1991 prior to the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union.
It was "placed on a truck and, like the body of a deceased person, driven round and round the central square as if in an open coffin" while people cheered.
The pedestal survived until the summer of 1996, when it was demolished.
A 7-meter statue of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, erected by Sergey Merkurov and standing atop an 11 meter high pedestal, was inaugurated in the square on November 24, 1940. The monument faced the site of the planned National Gallery and "soon gained considerable acclaim as a great piece of monumental art." The statue was removed from the pedestal on April 13, 1991 prior to the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union. It was "placed on a truck and, like the body of a deceased person, driven round and round the central square as if in an open coffin" while people cheered. The pedestal survived until the summer of 1996, when it was demolished.
Republic Square, Yerevan