Friendship park

10 min.

Filmmaker: Sona Simonyan

Friendship park

10.03.23

When memories prompt action. 

For most of my childhood, Friendship Park was a no-go zone, a scary place where children were not allowed to play. The voice of Narine Azaryan, Khachatur Azaryan’s daughter, the last director of the Friendship Park, takes us back to Soviet times, when the park was full of people and joy. Through the images from their family photo album, we can witness the park in a different light.

For generations of Gyumri residents, Friendship Park and its arches and stage were the city’s calling card. A magical place for art and play. That changed after the 1988 earthquake. 

This film documents the park’s glorious past, its rebirth and reopening, the work of the Tourism and Urbanism Charitable Foundation (TUF), public and private supporters who believed the park should reclaim its role as a symbol of the city. 


This film was prepared with support from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) South Caucasus Regional Office. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of FES or Chai Khana.