Nagorno-Karabakh marks triple holiday on May 9 with folk festivals and parade

On May 9, Nagorno-Karabakh held final celebration events on the occasion of the triple holiday - the 68th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War (WW II), the 21st anniversary of creation of the Defence Army of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) and of the liberation of the city of Shushi (Shusha); the latter began back on May 5.

In the morning on May 9, military column made a solemn march through the main streets of Stepanakert and regional centres.

In the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh in the first half of the day, the public and the government of the republic led by President Serzh Sargsyan laid wreaths and flowers at the monument to Marshal Ovannes Bagramyan, pilot Nelson Stepanyan and Hero of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Ashot Gulyan (Bekor) at the Stepanakert memorial complex and at the graves of soldiers who perished at the Karabakh War.

After this, the official delegation headed to the city of Shushi, where they laid flowers at the memorial "Tank" and the monument to the first Minister of Defence of Armenia Vazgen Sarkisyan, and took part in the opening ceremony of the State Museum of Fine Arts.

In the capital, festivities and the performance of the State Wind Orchestra were held in the central square named "Pyatachok". The evening in Stepanakert was marked by the opening of a new building for the Union of Liberators of Artsakh. The event ended with a concert in the central Renaissance Square and fireworks.

Seda Aivazyan, a pensioner and a resident of Stepanakert, has confessed, while remembering the day, when 21 years ago Shushi was liberated, that it was the most horrible night and the happiest morning in her life. "We didn't know about the operation 'Wedding in the Mountains', but because of shelling delivered from Shushi, all Stepanakert for nearly two years lived in basements. We knew that someday Shushi would be taken by our forces," Seda Aivazyan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.