31.05.2026


Many children who survived the Armenian Genocide were placed in orphanages in Yerevan.

In 1915-1916, the renowned Armenian poet Vahan Teryan visited Yerevan twice, went to the orphanage on Tsarskaya Street, and interacted with the orphans who had survived the Armenian Genocide. He wanted to collect information regarding the massacres and deportations, giving the children an opportunity to share their stories. Taking into account the delicate and vulnerable inner world of children, Teryan organized this through a "game-lesson."

Children aged 8 to 15 put their stories on paper through these essays, documenting unique episodes regarding the massacres in Arjesh, Shatakh, and Alashkert, the abduction of women and children, the self-defense of Van, and the Vaspurakan migration.

Resistance battles hold a special place in the children's memories, often titled "The Battle of Van" or "The Van War," in which many of them had actively participated. These essays (30 in total, consisting of 46 manuscript pages) are kept at the Yeghishe Charents Museum of Literature and Arts.

One hundred years later, in 2016, these memories of Armenian orphans were published for the first time by Vahan Teryan’s great-grandson, literary critic Gevorg Emin-Teryan. He titled the book "Teryan’s Unknown Initiative: Memories of Armenian Orphans."

The essays are not only unique testimonies of the Armenian Genocide but are also witnesses to that era, preserved and passed down through the eyes and fresh memories of children.



Seda Parsamyan
Researcher at AGMI, Head of Museum Exhibition Organization