Independence Day (Armenia)

Military parades celebrating the independence of Armenia have been held on Republic Square in Yerevan in 1992, 1996, 1999, 2006, 2011, and 2016.[6]

The celebrations begin as the parade commander (Usually the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces with a billet of a Lieutenant General or Colonel General) arrives on Republic Square to receive the report from the Commandant of the Vazgen Sargsyan Military University on the readiness of the troops participating in the parade. At 10am, the President and the Prime Minister arrives as the parade commander orders the parade to present arms for the Defence minister of Armenia. The parade commander then is driven on a Nissan Patrol SUV to the center of the square to inform the defense minister that the parade is now ready for inspection. The minister then inspects the parade contingents and congratulates them on the holiday. At the conclusion of the inspection, the minister approaches the president on the tribune and says "Mr/Madam President, the troops of the Armed Forces of Armenia participating in the parade in honor of the anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Armenia", are ready for the parade. After the minister finishes their report to the president, the parade commander orders the parade to stand at ease, to where the Presidential Fanfare is then sounded, and the president then delivers a holiday address to the troops.

At the conclusion of the address, the parade formations shout a threefold Oorah, followed by the playing of Mer Hayrenik by the massed bands of the general staff. The parade is then ordered to prepare for the march past, with armed linemen and markers from the Honour Guard of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia marching to their post in front of the central tribune to provide the security for the march past. The parade commander then orders the parade to march past the saluting base with the Corps of Drums from the Monte Melkonian Military College setting the pace of the parade led by its drum major, followed by the national colour guard and then the parade contingents.

The parade in 1996 celebrated the 5th anniversary of independence.[7]

The 1999 parade that celebrated the 8th anniversary of independence was commanded by Major General Manvel Grigoryan and inspected by Lieutenant General Vagharshak Harutiunyan.

2006 celebrated the 15th anniversary of Armenia's independence. The parade began with Defense Minister Serzh Sargsyan, and Chief of Staff Mikael Harutyunyan inspecting the troops congratulating them on the holiday[8][9]

Armenia celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2011.[10][11][12] Inspecting the parade was Minister of Defence of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan, and the Chief of the General Staff Colonel General Yuri Khatchaturov.[13] A group representing the Russian Army's Base in Armenia took part in the parade alongside Armenian troops for the first time.[12] The Military Police, a Peacekeeping Brigade, Frontier Troops of the National Security Service, and Veterans of the Nagorno Karabakh Defense Army took part in the Parade.[12]

Armenia's 25th anniversary parade in 2016 was the biggest celebration in Armenia's history.[14][15] Commanding the parade was Major General Andranik Magariyan, the commander of the 4th Army corps of the ground forces. More than 350,000 people were spectators and participants of the events. An international peace brigade from the United States, Germany, Italy, Poland and Greece took part in the parade.[16]

Independence day celebrations are also held in diaspora countries such as Russia, Lebanon and the United States. In the United States specifically, Armenian-American youth organizations hold rallies and cultural programs on this day.[17]