Memorial Day for the Victims of Repression in Armenia Date in the current year: June 14, 2024

The date of June 14 was chosen because on that day in 1949 about 3,000 families were forced to leave Armenia for settlements in Altai, one of the underpopulated remote areas of the Soviet Union. This resettlement was the culmination of political repression that had begun in the late 1930s.

Throughout the history of the USSR, millions of people of different nationalities became victims of political repression. Population transfer was one of the forms of repression; millions of people were made to settle in remote areas. Many Armenians were deported for membership in the nationalist Dashnaktsutyun Party.

Besides, a number of Armenian intellectuals, statesmen, religious and military figures were killed during the so-called Great Purge, a campaign of political repression aimed at wiping out all political opposition in the USSR.

On June 14, Armenians honor the victims of political repression in the Soviet Union with solemn remembrance ceremonies. This is a memorial day and not a public holiday.