Stepanakert Memorial

Stepanakert Memorial / Victory Monument
Stepanakert Memorial / Victory Monument
Qələbə abidəsi (Azerbaijani) Ստեփանակերտի հուշարձան (Armenian)
	The monument
	Location within Azerbaijan Location within Karabakh Economic Region
Location	Stepanakert/Khankendi, Azerbaijan
Coordinates	39°48′41″N 46°45′44″E / 39.81139°N 46.76222°E
Created	1945
Operator	Azerbaijan SSR (1945–1991); Republic of Artsakh (1991–2024); Azerbaijan (2024–present)
Status	All year

The Khankendi Memorial (Armenian: Ստեփանակերտի հուշարձան), or Victory Monument (Azerbaijani: Qələbə abidəsi), is a memorial located in Stepanakert (Khankendi), Azerbaijan.

History

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]