On the anniversary of the Rebel Against the Soviet Rule of 1921 in Armenia led by ARF Dashnaktsutyun, members of the ARFD laid wreaths to the khachkar (cross stone) in commemorating the Dashnaks (members of Dashnaktsutyun party ) martyred by Bolsheviks in 1921 in Yerevan's prisons.

Secretary of the ARFD parliamentary group Artyusha Shahbazyan addressed a speech during the solemn ceremony. “The real purpose of Bolsheviks was the destruction of national thinking. What happened with the former leadership of ARFD was directed not just against Dashnaktsutyun party, but against the entire nation,” Shahbazyan said.

Armenia was released from the Bolshevik power for 42 days: the ARF controlled Yerevan and the surrounding regions for before being defeated by the numerically superior Red Army troops later in April 1921.

“February 18 must be a national holiday,” Shahbazyan said. According to him, Armenia is facing numerous challenges and the future of the country is under threat. “The processes of Armenian-Turkish reconciliation and Karabakh conflict settlement testify it,” he said.