Stepanakert Memorial

The Memorial Complex of Stepanakert (Armenian: Ստեփանակերտի հուշարձան; Azerbaijani: Qələbə abidəsi, lit. 'Victory Monument'), also known as the Victory Monument, is a memorial located in Stepanakert or Khankendi, Azerbaijan.

Stepanakert Memorial/Victory Monument
The monument
Location	Stepanakert/Khankendi, Azerbaijan
Coordinates	39°48′41″N 46°45′44″E / 39.81139°N 46.76222°E
Created	1945
Operated by	Azerbaijan SSR (1945–1991)  Republic of Artsakh (1991–2024)  Azerbaijan (2024–present)
Status	All year

The memorial complex, built in honor of the 22,000 inhabitants of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of the Azerbaijan SSR who died during World War II, is centered around a 21-meter-high (69 ft) obelisk in the center. Those who died were entombed in the common grave formed on the opposite hill. Another part of the complex is a cascade pool with a fountain and seven ‘weeping’ springs constructed in the style of traditional Armenian monuments and classic ornamental art. On the granite pedestals are portraits of Armenian-Soviet soldiers of the Red Army who were honored as Heroes of the Soviet Union. The newest part of the complex is a cemetery where the Armenian military casualties of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War are buried. From 1945 to 1990, the memorial was managed by the Nagorno-Karabakh Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan. From 1991 to 2023, it was owned by the government of the Republic of Artsakh.^[1][2][3]

The following structures are in the complex:^[4]

• Victory Monument (also known as the Monument to the Unknown Soldier)
• Wall of Triumph
• Monument to the Victims of the Armenian genocide
• Monument to the Victims of the Sumgait Massacre (erected in 1988)
• Memorial to the Victims of the 1988 Armenian earthquake
• Memorial to the Chairman of the NKR Supreme Council Artur Mkrtchyan
• Mass Grave of Armenian Soldiers

• A protest at the memorial on February 20, 1988.