The 50th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide was marked in 1965, and thanks to the efforts of the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Armenia Yakov Zarobyan, it became possible to get permission from Moscow not only to mark the 50th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, but also to build a monument dedicated to the memory of victims of the Armenian Genocide.
An open competition was announced, about 80 works were presented and it was a great surprise for young architects Arthur Tarkhanyan and Sashur Kalashyan that their project was approved:
“There were more experienced architects, and when we presented our work, we thought that this was our duty as patriots. But we could not even dream of our project being approved”, says Sashur Kalashyan.
On November 29, 1967, the day of the establishment of the Soviet Order in Armenia, the torch lit in Yerevan chemical plant and brought to Tsitsernakaberd by an armoured vehicle, was handed to Anton Kochinyan, who lit the eternal flame.
