__NOTOC__ The Freedom Square or Liberty Square (, ), also known as Opera Square and, formerly, Theatre Square (Թատերական հրապարակ, ''T'aterakan hraparak'') until 1991, is a

town square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

located in Kentron (Center) district of

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. The square is part of the Yerevan Opera Theater complex, located just to the south of the main opera building, between the opera park and the Swan lake. Along with the Republic Square, the Freedom Square is one of the two main squares in central Yerevan. It is bordered with four streets: Tumanyan Street, Teryan Street, Sayat Nova Avenue and

Mashtots Avenue Mashtots Avenue ( ''Mashtots'i Poghota''), known as Lenin Avenue until 1990, is an avenue in the central Kentron district of Yerevan, Armenia. The avenue starts with the Victory Bridge at the south and ends up with the Matenadaran museum to th ...

. The statues of writer

Hovhannes Tumanyan Hovhannes Tumanyan (, classical spelling: Յովհաննէս Թումանեան, – March 23, 1923) was an Armenian poet, writer, translator, and literary and public activist. He is the national poet of Armenia. Tumanyan wrote poems, q ...

and composer

Alexander Spendiaryan Alexander Afanasyevich Spendiarov (, November 1, 1871, Kakhovka, Russian Empire – May 7, 1928, Yerevan, Armenia) was a Russian composer and conductor of Armenian descent, founder of Armenian national symphonic music. Biography Alexander S ...

are located in the square.

History

The square was built together with the building of the Alexander Spendiaryan Opera and Ballet Theater. Alexander Spendiaryan's grave is located in the park surrounding the square. In 1957, bronze-granite statues of

and

were installed on the square to mark the 40th anniversary of the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

Park near the square

On the eastern side of the square at the intersection of Tumanyan and Teryan streets, an artificial reservoir was built in the early 1960s - “Swan Lake”, reminiscent of

Lake Sevan Lake Sevan () is the largest body of water in both Armenia and the Caucasus region. It is one of the largest freshwater Alpine lake, high-altitude (alpine) lakes in Eurasia. The lake is situated in Gegharkunik Province, at an altitude of abov ...

in shape. On July 4, 2003, near the square, on the shore of Swan Lake, a monument was erected in memory of the outstanding Armenian and Soviet composer Arno Babajanyan. In March 2019, Yerevan City Hall dismantled a number of cafes built in the green area of the square. On November 4, 2022, in honor of the 100th anniversary of conductor Ohan Duryan, his monument was unveiled near the square’s park. The author of the monument is sculptor Getik Baghdasaryan.

In politics

Due to a tradition of demonstrations at the square, it has been described as a "symbol of democracy" in Armenia. The square has variously been estimated to be able to hold 42,000–45,000 to 50,000 people.

1988: Karabakh movement

The semi-circular square is known for its prominent role in modern history of Armenia. Since the

Karabakh movement The Karabakh movement (), also known as the Artsakh movement (), was a national mass movement in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh from 1988 to 1991 that advocated for the transfer of the mainly Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast ...

in February 1988, the Freedom Square has become a center of popular demonstrations. To suppress the demonstrations the square was closed down several times within 1988 by Soviet police and military forces.

Post-election protests

After Armenia's independence in 1991 the square has been the main location of anti-government rallies, especially following presidential elections in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, 2008, and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. In the aftermath of the disputed 2008 presidential election, thousands of supporters of opposition leader and Armenia's first president

Levon Ter-Petrosyan Levon Hakobi Ter-Petrosyan (; born 9 January 1946), also known by his initials LTP, is an Armenian politician and historian who served as the first president of Armenia from 1991 until his resignation in 1998. A senior researcher at the Matena ...

gathered in the square and began

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

s. In the early morning of March 1, 2008 these peaceful protests were violently dispersed by the police and the square was closed down for civilians. For around 20 days, the square remained under occupation by police and armed forces to enforce the state of emergency. Subsequently, it was closed down for rallies for over three years, until March 17, 2011 when Ter-Petrosyan's

Armenian National Congress The Armenian National Congress () is an Armenian political party led by former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan and was formed in 2008. Its direct predecessor was the Pan-Armenian National Movement. It is often abbreviated as ՀԱԿ or HAK, in k ...

staged a large rally.

Underground parking lot

On August 28, 2008 the Armenian government made a decision to start a construction of an underground parking lot beneath the square to relieve the surrounding streets where parked cars often complicate the traffic. The opposition claimed the decision was intended to prevent demonstration there, although the government denied these allegations. The three-storey parking lot for up to 500 cars was opened on May 24, 2010 in attendance of Mayor Gagik Beglaryan and President

Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan (, ; born 30 June 1954)Official biography of Serzh Sargsyan

. The project cost about $10.5 million.

Gallery

File:Karabakh movement demonstration at Yerevan Opera square (4).jpg,

, 1988 File:Armenian Presidential Elections 2008 Protest Day 5 - Opera Square night.jpg,

2008 Armenian presidential election protests A series of anti-government riots took place in Armenia following 2008 Armenian presidential election, presidential elections held on 19 February 2008. Protests broke out in the Armenian capital Yerevan, organized by supporters of presidential ...

: Thousands of protesters at Liberty Square on a typical evening (February 24) File:Armenian Presidential Elections 2008 Protest Day 5 - Opera Square tents.jpg, 2008 protests: Tents set up File:Armenian Presidential Elections 2008 Protest Day 11 - Opera Square water cleaning.jpg, 2008 protests: A water tanker cleans Opera Square of debris and blood after the government's crackdown File:Armenian Presidential Elections 2008 Protest Mar 21 - Opera Square general view.jpg, 2008 protests: Riot police and army occupy and block access to Liberty Square as well as to other major squares in Yerevan, March 21 File:April 8 2011 ANC protest Yerevan.JPG,

2011 Armenian protests The 2011 Armenian protests were a series of civil demonstrations aimed at provoking political reforms and concessions from both the government of Armenia and the civic government of Yerevan, its capital and largest city. Protesters demanded Presid ...

File:Raffi Hovannisian 22 Feb 2013.jpg, 2013 Armenian protests File:Հոկտեմբերի 10, Ազատության հրապարակ.JPG, 10.10.2014

References

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