02.05.2025


In commemoration of the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, in collaboration with the ANIV Foundation and the "Heritage and Progress" Foundation, has published the Russian translation of Garnik Banian’s memoir under the title: Garnik Banian. Memories of Childhood and Orphanhood: The Story of a Boy Who Survived the Genocide (Гарник Банян. Воспоминания о детстве и сиротстве: история мальчика, пережившего геноцид).

The book recounts the memories of five-year-old Garnik Banian, describing peaceful life in Western Armenia, the outbreak of World War I, his father’s conscription, the forced deportation of his family, and the deaths of his mother, brother, and sister in the Syrian desert. Banian also describes his four years in the Turkish orphanage of Antoura, where Armenian children were subjected to systematic Turkification and policies aimed at erasing their national identity.

The publication is academic in nature and includes a foreword, annotations, and a scholarly article by Dr. Narine Margaryan—Scientific Secretary of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute and Head of the Department of Genocide Source Studies—titled The Struggle for Life and Identity: The Fate of Garnik Banian and His Peers in Ottoman State Orphanages During the Armenian Genocide. The article explores the Ottoman government’s policy toward Armenian orphans during the genocide.

The book presentation took place on April 23 of this year in Moscow. Dr. Suren Manukyan, Head of the Vahakn Dadrian Department of Comparative Genocide Studies at the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, participated in the event and delivered a lecture. He reflected on the significance of the Armenian Genocide, the importance of both armed and spiritual resistance, and the impact of genocide memory on contemporary Armenian identity. Dr. Manukyan also stressed the importance of continued efforts toward the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide and outlined necessary steps for the coming years.