On May 24, 2025, it became clear from Ararat Petrosyan's (ararathau) announcement on his Telegram channel (https://t.me/ararathau/27168) that, in the village of Yemishchan in the Martuni District of Artsakh—currently under Azerbaijani control—the monument dedicated to the Great Patriotic War has been destroyed (Figs. 1-2).

It is important to note that, in recent weeks, the destruction of monuments commemorating the Great Patriotic War has intensified both in the lead-up to and following May 9—the 80th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War. Over the past five years, many similar monuments have already been destroyed in Shushi, Hadrut, Azokh, Mets Taghlar, and elsewhere.

Our Response

The destruction of the monument dedicated to the Great Patriotic War in the village of Yemishchan, Martuni District, violates Article 4 of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its Second Protocol of 1999.

The demolition of this monument also contravenes Rules 38, 39, 40, and 41 of international humanitarian law. It is critically important to emphasize that the International Court of Justice has affirmed that the regulations in force within occupied territories-including provisions for the protection of cultural heritage-have attained the status of customary international law. In other words, they function as universal, non-derogable rules that are binding on all states.

Furthermore, it should be noted that the 2003 UNESCO "Declaration Concerning the Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage," adopted at the 33rd session of its General Conference in Paris, explicitly prohibits the deliberate destruction of heritage.

Additional examples of the destruction of monuments dedicated to the Great Patriotic War can be found in our other publications. For instance, the joint memorial in Shushi commemorating both the Great Patriotic War and the Artsakh Liberation War was destroyed; the complex honoring martyrs in Hadrut and the village of Hakaku (Hakav) in Martuni was demolished. The monuments in Getavan and the building of the Union of Freedom Fighters were razed. Azerbaijani forces also destroyed the monument and khachkar in the village of Ukhtadzor, Hadrut District, dedicated to the Artsakh Liberation War. Monuments to heroes of the Great Patriotic War were eliminated as well, including the half-length statue of Marshal of Soviet Aviation-born in Artsakh-Armenak Khanperyants (Sergey Khudyakov) and the MiG-17 fighter in the village of Mets Taghlar, Hadrut District; as well as the half-length statue of Admiral Ivan Isakov-the Armenian-born Hero of the Soviet Union and naval theorist-in Stepanakert.