Armenia has started restoring a memorial complex for Russian soldiers who died at the Battle of Oshakan in 1827. The battle resulted in Armenia becoming free from Persia and joining Russia, RIA Novosti cites the Russian embassy in Yerevan as saying.
The Russian Ambassador to Armenia, Vyacheslav Kovalenko, initiated the works.
The Persian forces were commanded by Prince Abbas Mirza. The Russian forces were commanded by Lieutenant General Krasovsky, who was in a hurry to protect the Armenian Apostolic Church, besieged by the Persians. The victory at the village of Oshakan (Ashtarak District) was recorded in 1833-1834.
Maintenance of the memorial is carried out by the Russian-Armenian charity organization “Affair of Honor”, established in 2009. Its first project is restoration of Honour Hill in Gyumri (Leninakan), a military graveyard of Russian officers who died in a Russian-Turkish war in the 19th century.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan opened the memorial on August 20, 2010.
