Armenia’s Sardarapat Memorial, honoring the May 1918 military victory of Armenian forces over the Ottoman Third Army, will be closed to the public on May 28 to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The Armenian victory ensured the survival of eastern Armenia and Armenian refugees who fled there from the Ottoman Empire.

May 28, 1918 is the day when the Armenian National Council, based in Tiflis, declared the independence of the Armenian provinces from the Russian Empire.