by Elina Amann, 21.06.2022
edited by Alla Vronskaya, 14.11.2022
The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (ArSSR) appeared on the map of the USSR in 1936, as a result of the reorganization of the Transcaucasian SFSR (TSFSR), which had united Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia since 1922. With an ancient culture connected to ancient Mesopotamian civilizations, and a later history tied to Persian, Macedonian, Roman, Arab, Byzantine, Mongol, and a number of other empires, Armenia had a long and eventful history. It accepted Christinity as early as the early 4th century, becoming one of the major centers of Eastern Christianity, and still contains a number of important Eastern-Christian architectural monuments. In the early-modern period, it became a site of Ottoman-Persian rivalry, its territory divided between the two countries. In the early 19th century, eastern part of Armenia was conquered from Iran by the Russian Empire, while western Armenia remained under the Ottoman rule. The latter became the site of what is commonly regarded as one of the first modern genocides in 1915-1917, with over a million people losing their lives in mass killings and deportations. Meanwhile, following the 1917 revolution in Russia, the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic was proclaimed in 1918; the same year, the Transcaucasian republic dissolved into independent Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. After Turkey’s defeat (alongside the Central Powers) in the First World War, the winning nations attempted attaching Turkish Armenia to it, which triggered Turkey’s attack on Armenia in 1920. Armenia lost the war, ceding all the newly-attached territories to Turkey, while shortly after the Soviet army entered Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, proclaiming the creation of the Transcaucasian SFSR.
During the Soviet period, education and health systems were created in Armenia, while women received a greater degree of emancipation in everyday life and work. As part of the Soviet economic system, the Armenian SSR, focused, among other things, on the chemical and electronic industries. Industrialization led to growth of settlements and urbanization.
Medieval Armenian architecture was typologically related to the Arabic and Georgian traditions, while modern architecture was influenced by western ideas. In the 1920s and 30s, architects Alexander Tamanian and Nikoghayos Buniatian redesigned Armenia’s capital Yerevan. Their work was later documented by historian Loretta (Lola) Dolukhanyan. Moreover, Armenia’s first female architects Anna Ter-Avetikian and Tamar Tumanyan were employed in their office and participated in the work.
Yerevan became the center of architectural work in Armenia. There, women were able to study, practice, and teach architecture. Anna Ter-Avetikian was able to start working in the office of Tamanian and Buniatian while studying at Yerevan State University. Many women studied at the Yerevan Polytechnic Institute (YerPl). Among them is Tamar Tumanyan, the daughter of a well-known poet Hovhannes Tumanyan, and eventually a well-known architect. Also having graduated from YerPI, Perchanush Msryan-Oksuzyan proceeded to work at another institution, the A. Tamanian Construction College.
Women also found themselves among construction supervisors and engineers. For instance, Yerevanproekt institute developed not only architectural projects but also also technical solutions for them. Among the specialists prepraing the latter were architects Zhanna Meshcheryakova and Margarita Hayrapetyan, who were also respected designers.
On 30 August 1991, Armenia received independence. In post-socialist, independent Armenia, women continue to play a key role in design and other subfields of architecture.
A list of women architects in Armenia, including award winners and architects, can be found on the website (in Russian):
http://ru.hayazg.info/%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F:%D0%90%D1%80%D1%85%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%8B
