Communist Party temporarily stopped the dismantling when they broke through the barrier around the pedestal. During the presidential election campaign in September 1996, a stage was built at the place of the pedestal, where Ter-Petrosyan gave a speech. Replacements Ter-Ghazaryan writes that "After the monument to Lenin was toppled, the balance of Republic Square was thrown off, and the empty space left where Lenin used to stand has been subject to various design proposals, but none has succeeded." Several competitions have been held to find a replacement. In the early 1990s, when the pedestal was still standing, several candidates were put forth to be placed on it, including Noah, king Argishti I, General Andranik and Armenia's first president Levon Ter-Petrosyan. One of the most common proposals is to move the statue of Sasuntsi Davit (David of Sasun) to the square. According to Ter-Ghazaryan the largely apolitical nature of this Armenian national hero of an epic novel would be a safe choice; however, she wrote in 2013 that the relocation of the monument from its current spot in front of Yerevan Railway Station "seems unlikely." In 2019 human rights activist Avetik Ishkhanyan argued that Aram Manukian's statue should have been erected on Lenin's pedestal. On December 31, 2000, a cross lit by light-bulbs was erected in the space left empty by Lenin’s pedestal. This installation was completed on the eve of 2001, which was when the Armenian state and the Armenian Apostolic Church celebrated the 1700th anniversary of being a Christian nation. The cross was lit by 1700 symbolic lamps, and continued to be at the center of celebrations that took place throughout the year of commemoration. However, at the end of 2001, the period of celebration ended and the cross was quietly dismantled. Since it was a temporary fixture, there was little discussion preceding its erection, as well as after its dismantling. The placement of a cross on that spot was interpreted "as the final victory of the Christian faith over the antichrist Lenin." In February 2004 a billboard-sized television screen appeared in the empty space playing advertisements. It was removed in 2006. In June 2019 the Yerevan municipality put up several karases (large clay wine amphorae) at the center of the lawn that has been grown in place of the statue. Other landmarks Fountains After years of non-operation, the musical fountains were renovated by the French company Aquatique Show