the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Masis was granted the status of a town within the newly-formed Ararat Province, based on the new law of the territorial administration of the Republic of Armenia passed in 1995. Masis is connected with a number of villages stretching up to the Aras River at the border with Turkey. At nights, one can see the lights of many Kurdish villages on the slopes of Mount Ararat in Turkey. Geography Masis is located in the Ararat plain on the left bank of Hrazdan River, 16 km southwest of Yerevan on the road to the ancient city of Artashat. It has an average height of 854 meters above sea level. Summer in general is short but hot in Masis, while winter is relatively long and very cold. Demographics Culture Masis has a 16th-century chapel named after Saint Thaddeus, and a 19th-century church known as the Holy Mother of God. Currently, the town has a public library and a music school named after Arno Babajanian. The World War II monument erected in 1983 is one of the main landmarks of Masis. Transportation Masis has a railway station since the formation of the town. It used to connect Yerevan with Nakhchivan as well as Iran during the Soviet era. However, after the dissolution of the USSR, the station was abandoned. The M-2 Motorway that connects the capital Yerevan with southern Armenia, passes through the eastern borders of the town of Masis. Economy The industrial district of Masis occupies the western half of the town. Unfortunately, most of the Soviet industry in Masis was abandoned after the independence of Armenia. However, Masis is currently a major centre for tobacco products in Armenia and Transcaucasia, with 2 giant manufacturers: Masis Tobacco factory (since 1999) and International Masis Tabak factory (since 2002). It is also home to the Grand Master corrugated cardboard packaging manufacturing and label printing factory (since 1995), Masis Garun knitting factory (since 1995), Berma company for construction and building materials (since 1997), Masis Woodcraft factory (since 2004), Medical Horizons pharmaceuticals factory (since 2005), Masis Woodworking Center, and Sonomad plant for building materials . Masis is home to the largest slaughterhouse in Armenia, the Voske Katsin Armenian-Iranian joint-venture. It was founded in 2015 and became the first slaughterhouse in Armenia that provides its products with the Halal certification. Education As of 2017, Masis has 6 public education schools and