Armenia marks 199th anniversary of  Battle of Oshakan

ArmInfo. A solemn rally was held on August 17 at the "Heroes of Oshakan" monument in the Armavir Province to mark the 199th anniversary of the victory of  Russian soldiers and Armenian volunteers over vastly superior forces of the Persian army in the Battle of Oshakan. The ceremony was organized by the NGO "Russia" with the support of the Russian House in Yerevan.

According to the Moscow Cultural and Business Center ("Moscow House")  in Yerevan, the event began with attendees observing a moment of  silence to honor the memory of the heroes, followed by the laying of  flowers and wreaths at the "Heroes of Oshakan" monument. The brass  band then performed the national anthems of Armenia and Russia.

During the official ceremony, Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey  Kopyrkin delivered a speech emphasizing that the Battle of Oshakan is  a pivotal event in the shared history of Russia and Armenia, serving  as an enduring example of unity in the face of severe trials and in  the name of a common victory.  "199 years ago, one of the bloodiest  battles of the Russo-Persian War took place on this land the Battle  of Oshakan. Lieutenant General Afanasy Krasovsky's detachment,  numbering fewer than 3,000 men, accomplished an unprecedented feat by  fighting its way through vastly superior enemy forces to the besieged  Etchmiadzin Monastery," Kopyrkin noted. "Today we recall not only the  valor of Russian arms, but also the fact that Armenian militia  members fought selflessly side by side with the Russians in this  battle. Under enemy fire, the local population delivered water to the  Russian soldiers and aided the wounded. The joint feat of the Russian  soldiers and Armenian volunteers saved the shrines of the spiritual  center of the Armenians the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin," he  added, stressing the importance of preserving the memory of our  ancestors' shared victory and passing it on to descendants as a role  model and moral compass.

Following the speeches, clergy from the Armenian Apostolic and  Russian Orthodox Churches performed memorial services for the souls  of the soldiers who fell in battle.  The event was attended by Hayk  Melikyan, Director of the Moscow House in Yerevan; Vadim Fefilov,  Head of the Rossotrudnichestvo representative office in Armenia;  representatives of the Russian and Belarusian embassies in the  Republic of Armenia; the Armenian Ministry of Education, Science,  Culture, and Sports; the Border Guard Directorate of the Russian  Federal Security Service in Armenia; and public organizations.