On March 14, the opening ceremony of the exhibition "Armenia in old maps" organized by the Embassy of Armenia to Estonia (residence Vilnius) was held at the National Library of Estonia. The event was attended by high-ranking officials from Estonian state agencies, public, political and cultural figures, Ambassadors accredited in Estonia, journalists and representatives of the Armenian community.

Opening the exhibition Tigran Mkrtchyan, Ambassador of Armenia to Estonia, said: "The purpose of the exhibition is to display the millenia-old Armenian history through maps drafted by foreign cartographers. The exhibition presents both periods of descent as well as ascent in the Armenian history." Condemning the attempts of aggression against Armenian history, the Ambassador added that the source of senseless attempts of denial of the Armenian genocide, as well as presenting Yerevan as a non-Armenian territory is the same- Armenophobia, the injection of which is commencing in kindergartens and schools. Ambassador Mkrtchyan also noted that the state which appeared on the political map just a hundred years ago, for the past decades has been attempting to apply pseudo-academic aggression towards Armenian history, which should everywhere and always be unequivocally condemned.

In his speech Jane Anderson, director of the Tallinn National Library, said: "Using this opportunity, I congratulate on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Armenia: it is a wonderful idea to celebrate this historic and worthy event for Armenia by presenting the country's territorial developments over the centuries. The display of such a cartographic material proves that in the rapidly changing times a valuable part of the cultural heritage has been preserved".

Rouben Galichian, representing maps, said: "As a result of my 40-year research of historical maps preserved in libraries and museums around the world, Armenia is represented in 60 different maps in different periods of history. Of course, it is not possible to present the story entirely exclusively by maps: at the same time, with one glance an opportunity is created to perceive the history of the country in a figurative way".

The event was followed by a cultural event organized by the Armenian community representing national, folklore repertoire. The exhibition, which is being held with the support of the Estonian National Library and the Union of Armenians of Estonia, will be open until April 4.