Lawmaker proposes adopting anthem of Soviet Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - Lawmaker from the ruling My Step party, Deputy President of the National Assembly Alen Simonyan proposes changing Armenia’s national anthem and going back to the one composed by Aram Khachaturian for the country back when it was a member of the Soviet Union.

While the Soviet anthem was used between 1944 and 1991, Armenia adopted the anthem "Mer Hayrenik" upon independence in 1991.

The current anthem, which was first adopted in 1918 as the anthem of the short-lived First Republic of Armenia, was composed by Barsegh Kanachyan, with lyrics authored by poet Mikayel Nalbandian.

“I will initiate discussions, my team will weigh in on the matter. I believe it’s high time for a public discussion,” Simonyan was quoted as saying by Galatv.am.

Simonyan says it will be better if the country adopts Aram Khachaturian’s music, which, according to him, is perfect.

The lawmaker maintains that Khachaturian’s music is “entirely Armenian” and even contains elements of religious Armenian chants.