The faded celebrations

For Armenians, May 9 has long symbolized a triple victory: victory in the Great Patriotic War, the liberation of Shushi and the establishment of the Artsakh Defense Army.

For many years, the day was marked in both Armenia and Artsakh with official ceremonies and public celebrations honoring the memory of the heroes who contributed to those victories and reaffirming the belief that Armenians are a victorious nation. Today, however, commemorations have been reduced to what remains within Armenia’s diminished borders — visits to Yerablur Military Pantheon and events held at Victory Park. Shushi is gone. Artsakh has been lost. The Artsakh Defense Army no longer exists.

Unsurprisingly, no official ceremonies have been organized. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, meanwhile, is in Kapan as part of the election campaign tour, enjoying a perfectly brewed coffee in splendid weather and high spirits. One can only hope that, a few years from now, he will not declare that Kapan, too, was once a “dreary and miserable city”.