THE SPECTRE OF FASCISM IS HAUNTING ARMENIA

Armenia is in its role again. After less than a month since the 71st anniversary of the Victory Day over fascism, Yerevan witnessed an event that became a blatant affront to the blessed memory of people who died in the fight against the Nazis.

At the very centre of Yerevan, next to the complex of government buildings and the headquarters of the ruling party of Armenia, a ceremony was held on 28 May to unveil a monument to Garegin Nzhdeh, a henchman of Hitler and one of the founders of the Armenian SS punitive detachment. The ceremony to immortalize the memory of the Nazi accomplice was attended personally by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, who congratulated his compatriots on the Victory Day twenty days earlier and took part in the parade a year before to mark the 70th anniversary of the Victory Day over fascism in Moscow.

The cynicism and hypocrisy of Yerevan goes overboard, but does not surprise. "In principle, this is not surprising. Since the statute of the ruling party of Armenia directly refers to the teachings of Garegin Nzhdeh, considering him an essential part of the Armenian national ideology," a department head at the Azerbaijani presidential administration, Fuad Axundov, told Interfax-Azerbaijan news agency.

He said that it was Nzhdeh and General Dro who created an Armenian legion within Nazi troops, and its formation began in 1942 after Nzhdeh visited Berlin to personally pay his respects to the Fuehrer.

"The Armenian legion became notorious for its brutal punitive operations in Yevpatoriya, Alushta, Kerch and other regions of the Crimea. After World War II, Nzhdeh was sentenced by a Soviet military court to 25 years' imprisonment and died at Vladimir Central in 1955," Axundov said.

By the way, even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Nzhdeh was not rehabilitated. The court upheld the sentence issued previously.

Thus, the Armenian leadership is clearly glorifying a fascist leader. Armenia mints commemorative coins and shoot films in honour of the Nazi criminals Dro and Nzhdeh. A square and a metro station are named after Garegin Nzhdeh in Yerevan. There is also a street named after General Dro (Drastamat Kananyan). Now, there is a monument to Nzhdeh in the heart of the Armenian capital.

The department head noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed that steps to review the outcome of World War II are unacceptable. "And the president of Armenia, who presents himself as the main ally of Russia in the South Caucasus, pompously unveils in the centre of Yerevan a monument to an anti-Soviet activist, who led units of Armenian thugs that killed Soviet soldiers and civilians. What is this if not an outright provocation not only against the Russian people, but against all the peoples of the world, including Armenians who fought the Nazi ideology?!" Axundov said.

"And if we add to this the recent protests outside the Russian embassy in Yerevan, when the diplomatic mission was pelted with eggs, the closure of all Russian-language schools and the complete immigration of Russians as a result of which their number in Armenia is much less than in any other country of the former USSR, the picture becomes clear and complete and reveals a clear and frank trend in Armenia's state policy," the department head said.

He noted that as a result of nationalist policies, there are no Russians left in Armenia to raise their voice of protest against the installation of a monument to Nzhdeh.

"But I think that Second World War veterans not only throughout the former USSR, but also in other countries should condemn such acts of the Armenian regime praising a man who killed their comrades," he said.

By the way, last year an international team of Azerbaijani war veterans adopted an appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop Armenian attempts to heroize accomplices of Hitler's fascism in Russia.

The veterans drew attention to the fact that Armenia uses Russian resources for bleaching the leaders of the Armenian SS punitive legion, Drastamat Kanayan and Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan, known as General Dro and Nzhdeh. "On the pages of the famous media, Nzhdeh, an accomplice of the Nazi regime and a friend of Hitler and Himmler, is equated to heroes and is called an 'outstanding son' of the Armenian people. Famous Russian actors Ch. Khamatova (the role of Nzhdeh's wife) and Mikhail Yefremov (Petko Khristov) starred in the film 'Garegin Nzhdeh'. We are confident that Khamatova and Yefremov were misled, not knowing that Nzhdeh was a Nazi thug. But the fact remains. The above film was broadcast in the whole of Russia," the appeal noted.

In addition, a book titled "Conversations with Garegin Nzhdeh, or a Monument for the 125th anniversary of Nzhdeh" was launched in Moscow. The Armenian diaspora of Russia also pointedly organizes pilgrimages to the grave of the Nazi thug at Prince Vladimir Cemetery and raises the question of building a memorial complex to Nzhdeh.

In an attempt to rehabilitate accomplices of the Nazi ideology, Yerevan sometimes gets carried away so much that it openly makes itself an object of ridicule. For example, what is the logic of someone who puts up pictures and texts about the "exploits" of Garegin Nzhdeh and his followers even at festive exhibitions on the occasion of the Victory Day over fascism? Although the "long-suffering" Armenia can be understood. They need to somehow fill the gaping voids in their history.