From Independence Day to Republic Day

Vahe H. Apelian

Throughout my pre-University schooling in Armenian schools in Beirut, May 28 was celebrated as Armenia’s Independence Day. The Sourp (saint) Nshan school which, looking back, may be characterized as a middle school, observed May 28 by giving the students a day off. After graduating from it, I started attending the Armenian Evangelical College, which is a high school. May 28 was the Armenian Evangelical schools’ yearly trip day. They had separate school trips on May 28. The schools were thus naturally closed on May 28 and the students were on a holiday, attending their yearly school trip. 

The American University of Beirut bought the Armenian high school graduates together. It is there that we started intermingle pursuing our academic careers, at times attending same classes, and also hanging out together, as college students do. 

After I successfully completed my two years pre admission requirements, I was accepted to the school of pharmacy. It was my first year there and I was with one of my Armenian classmates in their house. Her younger sister attended the famed AGBU affiliated Taruhi-Hagopian high school. I was surprised to learn there that her younger sister was preparing her school work for the following day, which happened to be May 28. When I asked her if their school is not closed on May 28. She was utterly surprised to hear that an Armenian school closes on May 28. She had no inkling of the significance of May 28, let alone her not having heard of May 28 as part of the modern Armenian history. It is there, in that moment and for the very first time I realized that not all Armenian schools in greater Beirut closed on May 28. The incident happened in 1967/1968 time frame. 

During the seven decades of Soviet Armenia, celebrating May 28, as the Armenian Independence Day, remained a contested feast between two politically opposing polars, until the establishment of the third republic in 1991, whose founding we celebrate on September 21, as the Independence Day, which is a non-working holiday in Armenia. 

But for a brief period, the second  - or may be the third - republic appeared to continue celebrating May 28, as Independence Day, as attested by the first day cover of the very first stamps the postal service of the Republic of Armenia issued on May 28, 1992, as the attached copy indicates. It is marked as First Day Cover, Independence Day. A few months before the issuance of the Republic of Armenia's first stamps as their first day cover, a philatelic tradition, on September 21, 1991, a referendum was held and over 90% of the citizens of Soviet Armenia voted in favor of seceding from the crumbling Soviet Union. 

Quoting Wikipedia: “In November 1991, Levon Ter-Petrosyan was elected the first president of Armenia. A few months later, in December 1991, Armenia joined the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Finally, on December 26, 1991, in connection with the dissolution of the USSR, Armenia gained independence. It is the second declaration of independence in modern Armenian history. The first took place on May 28, 1918, when the First Republic of Armenia was established as a nation-state.”

According to Wikipedia, since 1992, May 28th has been formally celebrated in Armenia as Republic Day. It is a non-working holiday. There appears to have been an overlap in 1992.  As noted, Armenia’s postal service marked May 28, 1992 as Independence Day.

Coming to May 28, 2023, some communities in the Diaspora will continue celebrating May 28 as Armenia’s Independence Day, much like it was celebrated in the Diaspora, during Soviet Armenia era. The Armenian government will celebrate May 28, as Armenia’s Republic Day. Since it is a non-working day, the Armenian embassies, consulates will be closed that day. The Republic's officials may also have celebratory get together.

It does not matter for me, whether May 28 is celebrated as Independence Day or Republic Day, although it may behoove us to celebrate May 28 as (independent / Independent) Republic of Armenia Day because May 28, 1918 has an historical solemnity that overshadows September 21, 1991. It was on that day that after centuries without a state of its own, Armenians brought forth the short lived first Republic of Armenia that lasted 2 years, 6 months and 1 day or 916 days. But it laid the foundation of the Armenian statehood.