Khachatur Abovyan - Legacy

Legacy

Abovian's life is well remembered in Armenia. During the years in which Armenia was under Soviet rule, Abovian's support for Russia and Russians was emphasized. Schools, streets, boulevards and parks were named after him. The village of Elar, located 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) northeast of Yerevan, was named after him in 1961. Two years later, as the village's population grew larger, Abovyan was accorded with city status. His home in Kanaker was turned into a house-museum in 1939, and many of his original writings are preserved there.

Two prominent statues of Abovian stand in Yerevan. The concept of the first statue dates back to 1908 when a number of Armenian intellectuals in Russian Armenia decided to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Abovian's disappearance and raise funds for a statue. These included Alexander Shirvanzade, Hovhannes Tumanyan and Gevorg Bashinjagyan. By 1910 they had collected enough funds to order the statue. It was designed by M. Grigoryan and sculpted by Andreas Ter-Manukyan in Paris between 1910 and 1913. The statue is 4.5 metres (15 ft) high and made of bronze on a granite pedestal. As a result of a misunderstanding the statue was only delivered to Yerevan in 1925 and first erected on Abovian street by the cinema Moscow in 1933 and then moved to the children's park on the banks of the Hrazdan river. In 1964 it found its permanent home by the Abovian house-museum in Kanaker. The second statue of Abovian in Yerevan was erected in Abovian square in 1950. The 9-metre (30 ft) high bronze statue was designed by Gevork Tamanian (son of Alexander Tamanian) and sculpted by Suren Stepanyan.

The work Abovian accomplished in the field of education was also remembered. Yerevan's State Pedagogic Institute was named after him. On February 28, 1964, a medal was also named in his honor (Աբովյանի Անվան Մեդալ) and which was awarded to school teachers who showed exceptional abilities in teaching and education. Between 1948 and 1984, five documentary films were produced in the Armenian SSR about the life and work of Abovian.