In the letter of 1921, addressed to the communists of the Caucasus, the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR, Vladimir Lenin formulated an idea of importance of irrigation, which became a key starting point for the social and economic development of the region. The humanitarian mission of the Norwegian polar explorer and public figure Fridtjof Nansen in Armenia, directly related to irrigation projects, proved the relevance of Lenin's ideas at the international level. During the same period, archaeological research on ancient irrigation systems and related monuments called "vishap" were intensified resulting in a scientific discourse according to which irrigation in ancient times conditioned the emergence of statehood.

KeywordsV. Lenin F. Nansen irrigation “vishap” stelae soviet ideology socialist realism archaeological investigations.