When Regimes Fall Their Statues Fall With Them

Abstract

This thesis examines the complex process of memory making and unmaking during Armenia’s early, mid and post-transition periods as a Soviet republic. By positioning the statue of Vladimir Lenin, which once stood at the central square of its capital city, as a focal element of the discourse, this thesis uses the analysis of the bodily interplay between the statue and its viewers to narrate the transitional conditions of each time period. Drawing on multidisciplinary references and archival materials, it identifies key themes that define the main transitional reconfigurations in the three stages of the statue’s lifespan in the center: birth, life and death. By discussing alterations of semiotics, perceptions and emotions, this thesis argues that the statue is not a passive object subject to transformation, but rather a pivotal player in the process of the transformation that in turn plays an important role in the construction and deconstruction of the collective memory.