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We Are Our Mountains

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Full article adapted from Wikipedia revision 1375926545 by Wikipedia contributors. Text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Formatting has been adapted; article text and references are retained. Snapshot imported 2026-10-09.
Monument in Stepanakert, Azerbaijan

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We Are Our Mountains
The monument in 2017
Map
ArtistSargis Baghdasaryan
Completion date
1967
Location

We Are Our Mountains (Armenian: Մենք ենք մեր լեռները, romanized: Menk' enk' mer leṙnerə; Azerbaijani: Biz və bizim dağlar) is a monument north of Stepanakert in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan. The sculpture, completed in 1967 by Sargis Baghdasaryan, is widely regarded as a symbol of the Armenian heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh, with some considering it to be a symbol of Armenian identity as a whole.

The monument is made from volcanic tuff and depicts an old man and woman hewn from rock, representing the mountain people of Karabakh. It is known colloquially as "Tatik-Papik" (տատիկ-պապիկ) in Armenian and "Dedo-Babo" (Դեդո-Բաբո) in the Karabakh dialect, which translates as "Grandmother and Grandfather". The sculpture is prominent in Artsakh's coat of arms.[1]

Recent History

Eurovision 2009 image controversy

Main article: Armenia–Azerbaijan relations in the Eurovision Song Contest

During the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, We Are Our Mountains was included, among other local symbols, in the introductory "postcard" preceding the Armenian performance. İctimai Television (İTV) complained to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) about the use of the monument in the Armenian intro, since the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is de jure part of Azerbaijan.[2] In response to the complaint, the image was edited out of the video in the finals. In response, the Public Television Company of Armenia (AMPTV) displayed images of the monument on a video screen in the background and on the back of the clipboard held by its spokesperson Sirusho, while presenting the Armenian votes at the finals.[3]

After Azeri occupation

On 29 September 2023, Azerbaijani officials placed the flag of Azerbaijan on the monument, on the same day of the Azerbaijani takeover of Stepanakert,[4] after the Azerbaijani military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh undertaken ten days earlier and the subsequent expulsion of the Armenian population.[5] Concerns were raised that Azerbaijan could demolish the monument.[6][7][8] Instead, the Azerbaijani government would appropriate the monument, claiming that "it was built in the city of Khankendi in Azerbaijan in 1967 and that it is one of the many examples of Azerbaijan's tolerance of multicultural and national-religious monument[s]", while also claiming that the monument was "Armenianised" and that it had always been an Azeri symbol.[9]

In November 2024, photos and videos were posted on Telegram, a social media site, revealing vandalism on both the front and back of the monument. Some of the damage are comments disparaging toward Armenians and Armenia. The area around the site has also been damaged. The Azerbaijani government is considering demolishing the monument.[10] As of June 2026, after AI videos of the monument being destroyed circulated, Azeri officials affirmed the monument was intact and there were no current plans to demolish the monument.[11]

5 Artsakh dram coin with Tatik Papik.
Plaque about the 2013 restoration (which was removed after the 2023 Azerbaijani seizure of Nagorno-Karabakh).

This monument is featured in the artwork of the 2020 songs "Protect the Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz" by the US band System of a Down to draw attention to the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.[12]

Replicas

  • There is a 9-foot-tall replica of the monument in Newhall, California[13]
  • There is a mounted replica in Cleveland, Ohio's Armenian Cultural Garden[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Coat of Arms". Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  2. ^ "A humanitarian disaster is under way in Nagorno-Karabakh". The Economist. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  3. ^ Krikorian, Onnik (16 May 2009). "Ethnic rivalry wins over kitsch in the Caucasus". Frontline Club. Retrieved 17 September 2008.
  4. ^ "Armenians describe journey to safety after fall of their homeland". The Independent. 29 September 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Presidential consultant in Karabakh shares picture from Azerbaijan's Khankendi". 29 September 2023. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  6. ^ "The Cultural Genocide Against Armenians". TIME. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  7. ^ Nayyar, Rhea (2 October 2023). "Symbolic Armenian Monument in Artsakh at Risk of Destruction". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  8. ^ Rusia, Redacción (27 September 2023). "Artsakh: the end of history". Pressenza. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  9. ^ "Azerbaijan starts process of appropriating Karabakh's 'We Are Our Mountains' monument". News.am. 26 August 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  10. ^ "Vandalism of the 'We Are Our Mountains' Monument". Monumentwatch.org. 8 November 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  11. ^ "Baku analysts pointed to Azerbaijan's right to decide the fate of the "We and Our Mountains" monument". Caucasian Knot. Retrieved 16 September 2026.
  12. ^ "Hear System of a Down's First New Music in 15 Years, 'Protect the Land' and 'Genocidal Humanoidz'". Rolling Stone. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  13. ^ https://signalscv.com/2022/05/garden-of-artsakh-dedicated-at-eternal-valley/
  14. ^ https://holocaust.ohio.gov/exhibits-and-memorials/memorials-museums-and-exhibits/we-are-our-mountains

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