Armenian Independence Day celebrated with parade at Sardarapat

In Armenia, celebrations in honour of the 100th anniversary for the proclamation of the First Republic were held at the Sardarapat memorial complex, where the decisive battle for independence took place. The authorities of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh congratulated the people on the centennial of the First Republic. Residents of Yerevan believe the proclamation of independence gave the Armenians the right to be a state and a nation.

The First Republic of Armenia was proclaimed on May 28, 1918, and it existed for almost 2.5 years. It was a democratic republic with a parliamentary government. Then its population was 700,000 people.

An unprecedented event took place in the history of Armenia 100 years ago  "for the first time, a state was founded, where the power belonged not to a tsar, but to people," said Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

"For the first time in history, Armenian people were not servants, but masters," he emphasized.

"The people, who lost a huge part of their homeland, underwent the genocide and were able to defeat the Turkish army. Thus, the people showed the spirit of Armenians," said David Babayan, the press secretary for the President of Nagorno-Karabakh.

He has also added that the people of Nagorno-Karabakh contributed to the victory over the Turkish army.