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Nagorno-Karabakh

April 13, 2024

This article is about the geopolitical region. For the former state located within the region, see Republic of Artsakh.

Nagorno-Karabakh (/nəˌɡɔːrnoʊ kərəˈbɑːk/ ⓘ nə-GOR-noh kər-ə-BAHK)[3] is a region in Azerbaijan, covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Part of the greater region of Karabakh, it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik. Its terrain mostly consists of mountains and forestland.

Nagorno-Karabakh
(lit. 'Upper Karabakh')
Location and extent of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (lighter color)
Area
• Total
4,400 km2 (1,700 sq mi)
• Water (%)
negligible
Population
• 2013 estimate
146,573[1]
• 2010 census
141,400[2]
• Density
29/km2 (75.1/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+4

Most of Nagorno-Karabakh was governed by ethnic Armenians under the breakaway Republic of Artsakh—also known as the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR)—from the end of the first Nagorno-Karabakh War between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 1994 to the announcement of the dissolution of the republic in September 2023. Representatives from the two sides held numerous inconclusive peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group regarding the region's disputed status, with its majority-Armenian population over time variously advocating either for Artsakh's independence from both states or for its integration into Armenia.[4]

The region is usually equated with the administrative borders of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, comprising 4,400 square kilometres (1,700 sq mi); however, the region's historical extent encompasses approximately 8,223 square kilometres (3,175 sq mi).[5][6]

On 27 September 2020, the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War broke out with an Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding territories.[7] Azerbaijan made significant gains during the war, regaining all of the occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh and capturing one-third of Nagorno-Karabakh, including Shusha and Hadrut.[8][9][10][11] The war ended on 10 November 2020 when a trilateral ceasefire agreement was signed between Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia, under which all the remaining occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh were formally returned to Azerbaijani control. The Republic of Artsakh became an isolated rump state connected with Armenia only by a narrow Russian-controlled corridor.

On 19 September 2023, after a blockade lasting several months, Azerbaijan launched a fresh large-scale military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh.[12][13][14][15][16] The Artsakh forces collapsed rapidly, resulting in an Azerbaijani victory, the dissolution of the Republic of Artsakh,[17] the exodus of almost the entire Armenian population from the region[18] and the entry of Azerbaijani security forces into the former Artsakh capital of Stepanakert, known as Khankendi by Azerbaijan.[19] On 1 January 2024, the Republic of Artsakh was formally dissolved.[20]

Etymology

 
June 2001 NASA photograph of the snow-covered Lesser Caucasus in the south of the Greater Caucasus. Around the year 1800, the Karabakh Khanate was based in the southeast corner of the Lesser Caucasus. It extended east into the lowlands, hence the name Nagorno- or "Highland-" Karabagh for the western part.
For the etymology of Karabakh, see Karabakh § Etymology.

The prefix Nagorno- derives from the Russian attributive adjective nagorny (нагорный), which means "highland". The Azerbaijani names of the region include the similar adjectives dağlıq (mountainous) or yuxarı (upper). Such words are not used in the Armenian name, but appeared in the region's official name during the Soviet era as Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. Other languages apply their own wording for mountainous, upper, or highland; for example, the official name used for the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in French is Haut-Karabakh, meaning "Upper Karabakh".

The names for the region in the various local languages all translate to "mountainous Karabakh", or "mountainous black garden":

Armenians living in the area often call Nagorno-Karabakh Artsakh (Armenian: Արցախ), the name of the 10th province of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia. Urartian inscriptions (9th–7th centuries BC) use the name Urtekhini for the region. Ancient Greek sources called the area Orkhistene.[21]

History

Main article: History of Nagorno-Karabakh

Antiquity and Early Middle Ages

 
The Amaras Monastery, founded in the 4th century by St Gregory the Illuminator. In the 5th century, Mesrop Mashtots, inventor of the Armenian alphabet, established at Amaras the first school to use his script.[22][23]
 
The monastery at Gandzasar was commissioned by the House of Khachen and completed in 1238

Nagorno-Karabakh falls within the lands occupied by peoples known to modern archaeologists as the Kura-Araxes culture who lived between the two rivers Kura and Araxes.[24]

The ancient population of the region consisted of various autochthonous local and migrant tribes who were mostly non-Indo-Europeans.[25] According to the prevailing western theory, these natives intermarried with Armenians who came to the region after its inclusion into Armenia in the 2nd (or possibly earlier, the 4th) century BC.[26] Other scholars suggest that the Armenians settled in the region as early as the 7th century BC.[27]

Around 180 BC, Artsakh became one of the 15 provinces of the Armenian Kingdom and remained so until the 4th century.[28] While formally having the status of a province (nahang), Artsakh possibly formed a principality on its own — like Armenia's province of Syunik. Other theories suggest that Artsakh was a royal land, belonging directly to the king of Armenia.[29] King Tigran the Great of Armenia (who ruled from 95 to 55 BC) founded in Artsakh one of four cities named "Tigranakert" after himself.[30] The ruins of the ancient Tigranakert, located 50 km (30 mi) north-east of Stepanakert, are being studied by a group of international scholars.

In 387 AD, after the partition of Armenia between the Roman Empire and Sassanid Persia, two Armenian provinces — Artsakh and Utik — became part of the Sassanid satrapy of Caucasian Albania, which in turn came under strong Armenian religious and cultural influence.[31][32] At the time the population of Artsakh and Utik consisted of Armenians and several Armenized tribes.[25]

Armenian culture and civilization flourished in the early medieval Nagorno-Karabakh. In the 5th century, the first-ever Armenian school was opened on the territory of modern Nagorno-Karabakh at Amaras Monastery through the efforts of St. Mesrop Mashtots, the inventor of the Armenian alphabet.[33] St. Mesrop was very active in preaching the Gospel in Artsakh and Utik. Overall, Mesrop Mashtots made three trips to Artsakh and Utik, ultimately reaching pagan territories at the foothills of the Greater Caucasus.[34] The 7th-century Armenian linguist and grammarian Stephanos Syunetsi stated in his work that Armenians of Artsakh had their own dialect, and encouraged his readers to learn it.[35]

High Middle Ages

Main article: Principality of Khachen

Around the mid 7th century, the region was conquered by the invading Muslim Arabs through the Muslim conquest of Persia. Subsequently, it was ruled by local governors endorsed by the Caliphate. According to some sources, in 821 the Armenian[36] prince Sahl Smbatian revolted in Artsakh and established the House of Khachen, which ruled Artsakh as a principality until the early 19th century.[37] According to other sources, Sahl Smbatian "was of the Zamirhakan family of kings," and in the year 837–838 he acquired sovereignty over Armenia, Georgia, and Albania.[38][39] The name "Khachen" originated from Armenian word "khach," which means "cross".[40] By 1000 the House of Khachen proclaimed the Kingdom of Artsakh with John Senecherib as its first ruler.[41] Initially Dizak in southern Artsakh also formed a kingdom ruled by the ancient House of Aranshahik, descended from the earliest Kings of Caucasian Albania. In 1261, after the daughter of the last king of Dizak married the king of Artsakh, Armenian[42] prince Hasan Jalal Dola, the two states merged into one[37] Armenian[43] Principality of Khachen. Subsequently, Artsakh continued to exist as a de facto independent principality.

Late Middle Ages

Main articles: Karabakh Khanate and Melikdoms of Karabakh
 
The Shusha fortress, built by the Karabakh Khanate ruler Panah Ali Khan in the 18th century
 
The semi-independent Five Principalities (Armenian: Խամսայի Մելիքություններ) of Karabakh (Gyulistan, Jraberd, Khachen, Varanda, and Dizak), widely considered to be the last relic of Armenian statehood (15th–19th century).[44][45]

In the 15th century, the territory of Karabakh was part of the states ruled subsequently by the Kara Koyunlu and Ak Koyunlu Turkic tribal confederations. According to Abu Bakr Tihrani, during the period of Jahan Shah (1438–1468), the ruler of Kara Koyunlu, Piri bey Karamanli held the governorship of Karabakh.[46] However, according to Robert H. Hewsen, the Turkoman lord Jahan Shah (1437–67) assigned the governorship of upper Karabakh to local Armenian princes, allowing a native Armenian leadership to emerge consisting of five noble families led by princes who held the titles of meliks.[37] These dynasties represented the branches of the earlier House of Khachen and were the descendants of the medieval kings of Artsakh. Their lands were often referred to as the Country of Khamsa (five in Arabic). In a Charter (2 June 1799) of the Emperor Paul I titled "About their admission to Russian suzerainty, land allocation, rights and privileges", it was noted that the Christian heritage of the Karabakh region and all their people were admitted to the Russian suzerainty.[47] However, according to Robert Hewsen, the Russian Empire recognized the sovereign status of the five princes in their domains by the charter of Emperor Paul I dated 2 June 1799.[48]

The Armenian meliks were granted supreme command over neighbouring Armenian principalities and Muslim khans in the Caucasus by the Iranian king Nader Shah, in return for the meliks' victories over the invading Ottoman Turks in the 1720s.[49] These five principalities[50][51] in Karabakh were ruled by Armenian families who had received the title Melik (prince) and were the following:

  • Principality of Gulistan – under the leadership of the Melik-Beglarian family
  • Principality of Jraberd – under the leadership of the Melik-Israelian family
  • Principality of Khachen – under the leadership of the Hasan-Jalalian family
  • Principality of Varanda – under the leadership of the Melik-Shahnazarian family
  • Principality of Dizak – under the leadership of the Melik-Avanian family

From 1501 to 1736, during the existence of the Safavid Empire, the province of Karabakh was governed by the Ziyadoghlu Qajar dynasty, until Nader Shah took over Karabakh from their rule.[52] The Armenian meliks maintained full control over the region until the mid-18th century.[citation needed] In the early 18th century, Iran's Nader Shah took Karabakh out of control of the Ganja khans in punishment for their support of the Safavids, and placed it under his own control[53][54] In the mid-18th century, as internal conflicts between the meliks led to their weakening, the Karabakh Khanate was formed. The Karabakh khanate, one of the largest khanates under Iranian suzerainty,[55] was headed by Panah-Ali khan Javanshir. For the reinforcement of the power of Karabakh khanate, Khan of Karabakh, Panah-Ali khan Javanshir, built up “the fortress of Panahabad (today Shusha)” in 1751. During that time, Otuziki, Javanshir, Kebirli, and other Turkic tribes constituted the majority of the overall population.

Modern era

 
Palace of the former ruler (khan) of Shusha. Taken from a postcard from the late 19th–early 20th century.
 
Aftermath of the Shusha massacre: Armenian half of Shusha destroyed by Azerbaijani armed forces in 1920, with the defiled Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Savior in the background.

Karabakh (including modern-day Nagorno-Karabakh), became a protectorate of the Russian Empire by the Kurekchay Treaty, signed between Ibrahim Khalil Khan of Karabakh and general Pavel Tsitsianov on behalf of Tsar Alexander I in 1805, according to which the Russian monarch recognized Ibrahim Khalil Khan and his descendants as the sole hereditary rulers of the region.[56][57][58] However, its new status was only confirmed following the outcome of the Russo-Persian War (1804-1813), when through the loss in the war, Persia formally ceded Karabakh to the Russian Empire per the Treaty of Gulistan (1813),[59][60][61][62] before the rest of Transcaucasia was incorporated into the Empire in 1828 by the Treaty of Turkmenchay, which came as an outcome of the Russo-Persian War (1826-1828).

In 1822, 9 years after it passed from Iranian to Russian control, the Karabakh Khanate was dissolved and the area became part of the Elizavetpol Governorate within the Russian Empire. In 1823 the five districts corresponding roughly to modern-day Nagorno-Karabakh were 90.8% Armenian-populated.[63][64]

Soviet era

Main article: Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast
 
Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast in the Soviet era.
 
Ethnic make-up of Nagorno-Karabakh in the late Soviet era.

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Karabakh became part of the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic, but this soon dissolved into separate Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian states. Over the next two years (1918–1920), there were a series of short wars between Armenia and Azerbaijan over several regions, including Nagorno-Karabakh. Between 1918 and 1920, Nagorno-Karabakh's de jure affiliation with Armenia or Azerbaijan was disputed and not adjudicated by the League of Nations.[65][66]

In July 1918, the First Armenian Assembly of Nagorno-Karabakh declared the region self-governing and created a National Council and government.[67] Later, Ottoman troops entered Karabakh, meeting armed resistance by Armenians.

After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, British troops occupied Karabakh. The British command provisionally affirmed Khosrov bey Sultanov (appointed by the Azerbaijani government) as the governor-general of Karabakh and Zangezur, pending a final decision by the Paris Peace Conference.[68] The decision was opposed by Karabakh Armenians. In February 1920, the Karabakh National Council preliminarily agreed to Azerbaijani jurisdiction, while Armenians elsewhere in Karabakh continued guerrilla fighting, never accepting the agreement.[67] The agreement itself was soon annulled by the Ninth Karabagh Assembly, which declared union with Armenia in April.[67][69]

In April 1920, while the Azerbaijani army was locked in Karabakh fighting local Armenian forces, Azerbaijan was taken over by Bolsheviks. On 10 August 1920, Armenia signed a preliminary agreement with the Bolsheviks, agreeing to a temporary Bolshevik occupation of these areas until final settlement would be reached.[70] In 1921, Armenia and Georgia were also taken over by the Bolsheviks. After the Sovietization of Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Kavbiuro (Caucasian Bureau of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik)) decided that Karabakh would remain within Azerbaijan SSR with broad regional autonomy, with the administrative centre in the city of Shusha (the administrative center was later moved to Stepanakert).[71] The oblast's borders were drawn to include Armenian villages and to exclude as much as possible Azerbaijani villages.[72] The resulting district ensured an Armenian majority.

With the Soviet Union firmly in control of the region, the conflict over the region died down for several decades until the beginning of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the question of Nagorno-Karabakh re-emerged. Accusing the Azerbaijani SSR government of conducting forced Azerification of the region, the majority Armenian population, with ideological and material support from the Armenian SSR, started a movement to have the autonomous oblast transferred to the Armenian SSR.[73] In August 1987, Karabakh Armenians sent a petition for union with Armenia with tens of thousands of signatures to Moscow.[74]

War and secession

Main article: First Nagorno-Karabakh War
 
A restored Armenian T-72, knocked out of commission while attacking Azeri positions in Askeran District, serves as a war memorial on the outskirts of Stepanakert.

On 13 February 1988, Karabakh Armenians began demonstrating in Stepanakert, in favour of unification with the Armenian republic. Six days later they were joined by mass marches in Yerevan. On 20 February, the Soviet of People's Deputies in Karabakh voted 110 to 17 to request the transfer of the region to Armenia. This unprecedented action by a regional Soviet brought out tens of thousands of demonstrations both in Stepanakert and Yerevan, but Moscow rejected the Armenians' demands. On 20 February 1988, 2 Azeri girls were raped in Stepanakert.[citation needed] This caused widespread outrage in the Azeri town of Aghdam. The first direct confrontation of the conflict occurred as a large group of Azeris marched from Agdam to the Armenian populated town of Askeran.[citation needed] The confrontation between the Azeris and the police near Askeran degenerated into the Askeran clash, which left two Azeris dead, one of them allegedly killed by an Azeri police officer. Fifty Armenian villagers and an unknown number of Azeris and police officers were injured.[75][76][77] Large numbers of refugees left Armenia and Azerbaijan as violence began against the minority populations of the respective republics.[78] On 7 July 1988, the European Parliament passed a resolution that condemned the violence employed against Armenian demonstrators in Azerbaijan, and supported the demand of the Armenians for reunification with the Soviet Republic of Armenia.[79]

On 29 November 1989, direct rule in Nagorno-Karabakh was ended and the region was returned to Azerbaijani administration.[80] The Soviet policy backfired, however, when a joint session of the Armenian Supreme Soviet and the National Council, the legislative body of Nagorno-Karabakh, proclaimed the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.[citation needed] On 26 November 1991 Azerbaijan abolished the status of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, rearranging the administrative division and bringing the territory under direct control of Azerbaijan.[81]

On 10 December 1991, in a referendum boycotted by local Azerbaijanis,[77] Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh approved the creation of an independent state. A Soviet proposal for enhanced autonomy for Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan satisfied neither side and a full-scale war subsequently erupted between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, with the latter receiving support from Armenia.[82][83][84][85] According to Armenia's former president, Levon Ter-Petrossian, the Karabakh leadership approach was maximalist and "they thought they could get more."[86][87][88]

The struggle over Nagorno-Karabakh escalated after both Armenia and Azerbaijan attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. In the post-Soviet power vacuum, military action between Azerbaijan and Armenia was heavily influenced by the Russian military. Furthermore, both the Armenian and Azerbaijani military employed a large number of mercenaries from Ukraine and Russia.[89] Between fifteen and twenty-five hundred Afghan mujahideen, along with fighters from Chechnya, participated in the fighting on Azerbaijan's side.[77] Russia provided Armenia with heavy artillery and tanks.[77] Many survivors from the Azerbaijani side found shelter in 12 emergency camps set up in other parts of Azerbaijan to cope with the growing number of internally displaced people due to the first Nagorno-Karabakh war.[90]

By the end of 1993, the conflict had caused about 30,000 casualties[91] and created hundreds of thousands of refugees on both sides.[citation needed] By May 1994, the Armenians were in control of 14% of the territory of Azerbaijan.[92] At that stage, for the first time during the conflict, the Azerbaijani government recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as a third party in the war and started direct negotiations with the Karabakh authorities. As a result, a ceasefire was reached on 12 May 1994 through Russian mediation.

Post-1994 ceasefire

Further information: Madrid Principles, Prague Process (Armenian–Azerbaijani negotiations), Nagorno-Karabakh Declaration, Astrakhan Declaration, Land mine situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and Second Nagorno-Karabakh War
 
The final borders of the conflict after the Bishkek Protocol. Armenian forces of Nagorno-Karabakh controlled almost 9% of Azerbaijan's territory outside the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast,[77] while Azerbaijani forces control Shahumian and the eastern parts of Martakert and Martuni.
 
Ilham Aliyev, Dmitry Medvedev and Serzh Sargsyan in Moscow on 2 November 2008

Despite the ceasefire, fatalities due to armed conflicts between Armenian and Azerbaijani soldiers continued.[93] On 25 January 2005, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted PACE Resolution 1416, which condemned ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis.[94][95] On 15–17 May 2007 the 34th session of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of Islamic Conference adopted resolution No. 7/34-P, considering the occupation of Azerbaijani territory as the aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan and recognizing the actions against Azerbaijani civilians as a crime against humanity, and condemning the destruction of archaeological, cultural and religious monuments in the occupied territories.[96] The 11th session of the summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference held on 13–14 March 2008 in Dakar adopted resolution No. 10/11-P (IS). In the resolution, OIC member states condemned the occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenian forces and Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan, ethnic cleansing against the Azeri population, and charged Armenia with the "destruction of cultural monuments in the occupied Azerbaijani territories".[97] On 14 March of the same year the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution No. 62/243 which "demands the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of all Armenian forces from all occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan".[98] On 18–20 May 2010, the 37th session of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of Islamic Conference in Dushanbe adopted another resolution condemning the aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan, recognizing the actions against Azerbaijani civilians as a crime against humanity and condemning the destruction of archaeological, cultural, and religious monuments in occupied territories.[99] On 20 May of the same year, the European Parliament in Strasbourg adopted the resolution on "The need for an EU Strategy for the South Caucasus" on the basis of the report by Evgeni Kirilov, the Bulgarian member of the Parliament.[100][101] The resolution states in particular that "the occupied Azerbaijani regions around Nagorno-Karabakh must be cleared as soon as possible".[102] On 26 January 2016, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted Resolution 2085, which deplored the fact that the occupation by Armenia of Nagorno-Karabakh and other adjacent areas of Azerbaijan creates humanitarian and environmental problems for the citizens of Azerbaijan, condemned ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis and Assembly requested immediate withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the region concerned.[103][104][105]

Several[quantify] world leaders have met with the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan over the years, but efforts to maintain the ceasefire have failed.[106]

On 2 April 2016 Azerbaijani and Armenian forces again clashed in the region.[citation needed] The Armenian Defense Ministry alleged that Azerbaijan launched an offensive to seize territory in the region. At least 30 soldiers were killed during the fighting and a Mil Mi-24 helicopter and tank were also destroyed, with 12 of the fallen soldiers belonging to the Azerbaijani forces and the other 18 belonging to the Armenian forces, as well as an additional 35 Armenian soldiers reportedly wounded.[107][108]

2020 war and ceasefire agreement

Main articles: Second Nagorno-Karabakh War and 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement

On 27 September 2020, a new war erupted in Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding territories.[7] The United Nations strongly condemned the conflict and called on both sides to deescalate tensions and resume meaningful negotiations without delay.[109]

The war ended on 10 November 2020, when a trilateral ceasefire agreement was signed among Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia.[110] According to the ceasefire agreement, Azerbaijan regained all of the occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh and capturing one-third of Nagorno-Karabakh proper, including Shusha and Hadrut.[8][9][10][11][111]

Blockade (2022–2023)

Main article: Blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh

In December 2022, Azerbaijanis claiming to be environmental activists blocked the Lachin corridor, the sole road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and the outside world.[112] On 23 April 2023, Azerbaijani forces installed a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor.[113] The blockade led to a humanitarian crisis for the population in Artsakh and imports of essential goods were blocked, as well as humanitarian convoys of the Red Cross and the Russian peacekeepers, trapping the 120,000 residents of the region.[114][115][116][117][118] Limited traffic had been conducted by Russian peacekeepers and the International Committee of the Red Cross to transport patients in need of medical care and provide humanitarian supplies.[119][120] However, starting on 15 June 2023, Azerbaijan intensified the blockade, blocking all passage of food, fuel, and medicine from the Red Cross and the Russian peacekeepers through the Lachin corridor.[121][122][123] On 19 September, Azerbaijan launched a military operation.

Azerbaijani offensive (2023)

Main article: Republic of Artsakh § Renewed conflict, ceasefire and negotiations (2023–present)

On 19 September 2023, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive on Nagorno-Karabakh.[12][13][14][15][16] One day after the offensive started, on 20 September, an agreement on establishing a complete cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh was reached at the mediation of the Russian peacekeeping command in Nagorno-Karabakh.[124][125] Azerbaijan held a meeting with representatives of the Artsakh Armenian community on 21 September in Yevlakh to start the process of re-integrating the region into Azerbaijan.[126][127] Ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan were nonetheless reported by both Artsakh and local residents in Stepanakert on 21 September.[128][129] In the aftermath of the offensive, an exodus of Armenians from the region started.[18] On 28 September 2023, the Republic of Artsakh agreed to dissolve itself by 1 January 2024.[17]

Geography

 
The Sarsang Reservoir
 
A view of the forested mountains of Nagorno-Karabakh

Nagorno-Karabakh has a total area of 4,400 square kilometres (1,699 sq mi).[130] Approximately half of Nagorno-Karabakh terrain is over 950 metres (3,120 ft) above sea level.[131] The borders of Nagorno-Karabakh resemble a kidney bean with the indentation on the east side. It has tall mountain ridges along the northern edge and along the west and mountainous south. The part near the indentation of the kidney bean itself is a relatively flat valley, with the two edges of the bean, the districts of Martakert and Martuni, having flatlands as well. Other flatter valleys exist around the Sarsang reservoir, Hadrut, and the south. The entire region lies, on average, 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) above sea level.[131] Notable peaks include the border mountain Murovdag and the Great Kirs mountain chain in the junction of Shusha and Hadrut districts. The territory of modern Nagorno-Karabakh forms a portion of the historic region of Karabakh, which lies between the rivers Kura and Araxes, and the modern Armenia-Azerbaijan border. Nagorno-Karabakh in its modern borders is part of the larger region of Upper Karabakh.

Nagorno-Karabakh does not directly border Armenia but is connected to the latter through the Lachin corridor, a mountain pass under the control of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The major cities of the region are Stepanakert, which serves as the capital of the unrecognised Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, and Shusha, which lies partially in ruins. Vineyards, orchards, and mulberry groves for silkworms are developed in the valleys.[132]

Environment

Nagorno-Karabakh's environment vary from steppe on the Kura lowland through dense forests of oak, hornbeam, and beech on the lower mountain slopes to birchwood and alpine meadows higher up. The region possesses numerous mineral springs and deposits of zinc, coal, lead, gold, marble, and limestone.[133]

Demographics

 
Ethnic groups of the region in 1995, after the deportations of Armenians and Azerbaijanis. (See entire map)

Antiquity – 1918

Historically, the inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh—then part of the province of Artsakh—were confirmed by Ancient Greek and Roman sources "long before our era" to be Armenian.[134][better source needed] In the early 15th century, German traveller Johann Schiltberger after visiting the region stated that "although the Muslims had taken possession of Karabagh, there were still Armenian villages in the region".[135] Historian Victor Schnirelmann writes that "In the mid-18th century, … Turkic tribes … gained access to the highland territories [of Karabakh] and began to settle in Shusha … by the end of the 18th century, a substantial number of its former Armenian inhabitants had left Nagorny Karabagh. Just at the turn of the 19th century, the Turkic population significantly outnumbered the local Armenians, but this only lasted … [until the] end of the 1820s, [when] the Armenians began to come back to Karabagh, and they accounted for the majority of its population by the mid-19th century".[136] Edmund Herzig and Marina Kurkchiyan present an alternative view that "Armenians had already been a majority in some areas such as mountainous Karabagh", compared to the Yerevan province which had "regained an Armenian majority for the first time in several hundred years."[137]

According to an 1823 Russian survey published in Tiflis (present-day Tbilisi) in 1866,[135] Armenians made up 97 percent of the population in the five districts (mahals) of Nagorno-Karabakh,[138] thus proving, contrary to claims in Azerbaijani historiography, that Armenians formed an overwhelming majority of Nagorno-Karabakh prior to 1828. Historian George Bournoutian writes that Russian statistics from 1810 show that Armenians made up 21 percent of the Karabakh region's population; In 1823, the Armenian population of Karabakh had increased by 30 percent "after the return of those who had fled the region", and by 1832, the Armenian population had increased to one-third of Karabakh. Moreover, the "one-third" of the population of Karabakh composed of Armenians resided in one-third of the territory of Karabakh, the mountainous territory (i.e. Nagorno-Karabakh), where they "constituted an overwhelming majority of the population."[135]

1918–1920

According to Armenian sources, the "historical Nagorno-Karabakh" region had a population of 300,000–330,000 in 1918–1920, rising to 700,000–800,000 by 1988. As a result of "Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression", the region's population declined by 20 percent in 1918–1920.[139] In this period, Azerbaijani forces carried out massacres against Armenians in Ghaibalishen, Jamilli, Karkijahan, and Pahlul (600–700 dead[140]), Stepanakert (several hundred dead[141]), and Shusha (several hundred[142] to 12,000 dead[143]). As a result of the Shusha massacre, 5,000–6,000 Armenians were displaced to the regions of Varanda and Dizak.[144] By 11 April 1920, some thirty villages in Nagorno-Karabakh had been "devastated" by Azerbaijani forces as a result of the uprising, leaving 25,000 homeless (including nearly 6,000 refugees from Shusha).[145]

1921–1987

1923 statistics indicate that the NKAO was 94.8 percent Armenian, numbering 149,600, whilst the Azerbaijani population numbered 7,700. Historian Cory Welt writes of a "discrepancy" of the Armenian population jumping by over 25,000 individuals between the 1921 and 1923 censuses, also pointing out that the Armenian population declined to 111,700 in 1926, thus indicating an "unexplained drop" of 38,000 individuals.[146] In the 1920s, the NKAO had a population of 131,500 people, 94.4 percent (124,136) of whom were ethnic Armenians and only 5.6 percent (7,364) of whom were ethnic Azerbaijanis.[137] In 1933, Nagorno-Karabakh had a population of 147,308, 10,751 (7.3 percent) of whom were urban dwellers, and 136,557 (92.7 percent) of whom were rural residents.[147] On 1 January 1973, the oblast had a population of 153,000.[148]

Discrimination and stagnation

Whilst the region was a part of the Azerbaijan SSR, the Armenian share of the population dropped from 94.7 to 76.9 percent, whilst the Azerbaijani share of the population quadrupled from 5.1 to 21.5 percent[137] as a result of "migratory influx"[139]—indicative of the socio-economic difficulties local Armenians experienced under Soviet Azerbaijani leadership which led them to emigrate from Karabakh.[137] Emeritus professor of law M. Cherif Bassiouni writes of the stagnation of the Armenian population "due to the discriminatory policies of Azerbaijani authorities that compelled Armenians to emigrate"; also adding that 600,000 Armenians from Karabakh reside in Armenia and the countries of the CIS.[139] Stuart J. Kaufman, a professor of political science and international relations,[149] writes of the difficulties of Karabakh Armenians:

In Mountainous Karabagh, Armenian-language education was not easily available, Armenian history was not taught at all, and those who went to Armenia for training were discriminated against in competing for jobs in the province, since even routine hiring had to be cleared with Baku. Underinvestment in the region—also blamed on Baku—meant less economic development and poor infrastructure even by Soviet standards, and therefore fewer jobs overall, especially for Armenians. Cultural ties with Armenia were strangled in red tape in Baku, and a decision to make Armenian-language television available in the region was left unimplemented. One result of these policies was a continuing exodus of Armenians from Karabagh in search of greener pastures.[150]

1988–present

Following the Sumgait pogrom and the exodus of Azerbaijanis from Armenia, Azerbaijanis in Stepanakert and Armenians in Shusha were expelled in September 1988. As local Armenian forces gained possession of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts (amounting to 14 percent of the internationally recognised territory of Azerbaijan) during the First Nagorno-Karabakh war, hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis were expelled from their lands.[77] During the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, Azerbaijan regained control over the surrounding districts and southern parts of the former NKAO, thus displacing approximately 70,000 Armenians.[151]

Historical ethnic composition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast in 1921–1989
Ethnic group 1921[146][152] 1923[134][146] 1925[134] 1926[134][153] 1939[134][154] 1959[134][155] 1970[134][156] 1979[134][157] 1989[158]
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Armenians 122,426 94.73 149,600 94.8 142,470 90.28 111,694 89.24 132,800 88.04 110,053 84.39 121,068 80.54 123,076 75.89 145,450 76.92
Azerbaijanis[a] 6,550 5.07 7,700 4.9 15,261 9.67 12,592 10.06 14,053 9.32 17,995 13.80 27,179 18.08 37,264 22.98 40,688 21.52
Russians 267 0.21 500 0.3 46 0.03 596 0.48 3,174 2.10 1,790 1.37 1,310 0.87 1,265 0.78 1,922 1.02
Ukrainians 30 0.02 35 0.03 436 0.29 238 0.18 193 0.13 140 0.09 416 0.22
Belarusians 12 0.01 11 0.01 32 0.02 35 0.02 37 0.02 79 0.04
Greeks 68 0.05 74 0.05 67 0.05 33 0.02 56 0.03 72 0.04
Tatars 6 0.00 29 0.02 36 0.03 25 0.02 41 0.03 64 0.03
Georgians 5 0.00 25 0.02 16 0.01 22 0.01 17 0.01 57 0.03
Others 151 0.12 235 0.16 179 0.14 448 0.30 285 0.18 337 0.18
Total 129,243[b] 100.00 157,800 100.0 157,807 100.00 125,159 100.00 150,837 100.00 130,406 100.00 150,313 100.00 162,181 100.00 189,085 100.00

Transport

Location ICAO DAFIF IATA Airport name Coordinates
Stepanakert UBBS UB13 Stepanakert Airport[159] 39°54′05″N 46°47′13″E / 39.90139°N 46.78694°E / 39.90139; 46.78694 (Stepanakert Air Base)

During the rule of the Soviet Union, the Yevlakh–Aghdam–Stepanakert line connected the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region with the main part of Azerbaijan. After the Nagorno-Karabakh war and the abandonment of Ağdam, the line's service was cut back to service only between Yevlax and Kətəlparaq, without any present section at the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The former railway line between Kətəlparaq and Stepanakert has been almost completely destroyed.

The (Tbilisi–Gyumri–)Yerevan–Nakhchivan–Horadiz–Shirvan(–Baku) main railway was also dismantled from the NKR between Ordubad and Horadiz, as well as a by-line from Mincivan to the Armenian city of Kapan. Currently, the Azerbaijani trains only travel to Horadiz. The Ordubad–Horadiz section has been demolished, leaving the NKR with no intact, active railway line in their territory. The railway at the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic still operates, but it is separated from the main Azerbaijani lines, and only has a connection to Iran.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Until 1936, Azerbaijanis were known as "Tatars" or "Turkish-Tatars".
  2. ^ With the city of Shusha included, the NKAO's total population was 138,466, the adjusted ethnic composition is as follows:
    • Armenians – 122,715 (88.62%)
    • Azerbaijanis – 15,444 (11.15%)
    • Others – 307 (0.22%)

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Bibliography

  • Ali; Ekinciel (1 August 2015). (1 ed.). Russia: Sage. ISBN 9786059932196. Archived from the original on 2 March 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2015.

Further reading

  • Tsibenko, Veronika (2018). "Karabakh, Nagorno". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Brill Online. ISSN 1873-9830.
  • Torres, Ricardo Juan (2022). "The role of Nagorno-Karabakh in the shaping of Armenian and Azeri identity". Consejo Argentino para las Relaciones Internacionales (CARI). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

External links

  • Articles and Photography on Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) from UK Photojournalist Russell Pollard
  • All UN Security Council resolutions on Nagorno-Karabakh, courtesy U.S. State department
  • Nagorno-Karabakh Agreement of 2 November 2008 and country profile from BBC News Online
  • The conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference — Report by rapporteur David Atkinson presented to Political Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
  • also key texts & agreements and chronology (in English & Russian)
  • Independence of Kosovo and the Nagorno-Karabakh Issue 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  • Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Nagorno-Karabakh: Timeline Of The Long Road To Peace
  • from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
  • , by Patricia Carley, Publication of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP)
  • by Galina Starovoitova, Publication of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP)
  • Photo Series Nagorno-Karabakh 2008–2011 – daily life, front line, mine clearance, culture, religion.

April 13, 2024
nagorno, karabakh, this, article, about, geopolitical, region, former, state, located, within, region, republic, artsakh, ɔːr, ɑː, kər, bahk, region, azerbaijan, covering, southeastern, stretch, lesser, caucasus, mountain, range, part, greater, region, karabak. This article is about the geopolitical region For the former state located within the region see Republic of Artsakh Nagorno Karabakh n e ˌ ɡ ɔːr n oʊ k er e ˈ b ɑː k ne GOR noh ker e BAHK 3 is a region in Azerbaijan covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range Part of the greater region of Karabakh it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Its terrain mostly consists of mountains and forestland Nagorno Karabakh lit Upper Karabakh Location and extent of the former Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast lighter color Area Total4 400 km2 1 700 sq mi Water negligiblePopulation 2013 estimate146 573 1 2010 census141 400 2 Density29 km2 75 1 sq mi Time zoneUTC 4Most of Nagorno Karabakh was governed by ethnic Armenians under the breakaway Republic of Artsakh also known as the Nagorno Karabakh Republic NKR from the end of the first Nagorno Karabakh War between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 1994 to the announcement of the dissolution of the republic in September 2023 Representatives from the two sides held numerous inconclusive peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group regarding the region s disputed status with its majority Armenian population over time variously advocating either for Artsakh s independence from both states or for its integration into Armenia 4 The region is usually equated with the administrative borders of the former Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast comprising 4 400 square kilometres 1 700 sq mi however the region s historical extent encompasses approximately 8 223 square kilometres 3 175 sq mi 5 6 On 27 September 2020 the Second Nagorno Karabakh War broke out with an Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding territories 7 Azerbaijan made significant gains during the war regaining all of the occupied territories surrounding Nagorno Karabakh and capturing one third of Nagorno Karabakh including Shusha and Hadrut 8 9 10 11 The war ended on 10 November 2020 when a trilateral ceasefire agreement was signed between Azerbaijan Armenia and Russia under which all the remaining occupied territories surrounding Nagorno Karabakh were formally returned to Azerbaijani control The Republic of Artsakh became an isolated rump state connected with Armenia only by a narrow Russian controlled corridor On 19 September 2023 after a blockade lasting several months Azerbaijan launched a fresh large scale military offensive in Nagorno Karabakh 12 13 14 15 16 The Artsakh forces collapsed rapidly resulting in an Azerbaijani victory the dissolution of the Republic of Artsakh 17 the exodus of almost the entire Armenian population from the region 18 and the entry of Azerbaijani security forces into the former Artsakh capital of Stepanakert known as Khankendi by Azerbaijan 19 On 1 January 2024 the Republic of Artsakh was formally dissolved 20 Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2 1 Antiquity and Early Middle Ages 2 2 High Middle Ages 2 3 Late Middle Ages 2 4 Modern era 2 5 Soviet era 2 6 War and secession 2 7 Post 1994 ceasefire 2 8 2020 war and ceasefire agreement 2 9 Blockade 2022 2023 2 10 Azerbaijani offensive 2023 3 Geography 4 Environment 5 Demographics 5 1 Antiquity 1918 5 2 1918 1920 5 3 1921 1987 5 3 1 Discrimination and stagnation 5 4 1988 present 6 Transport 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 Bibliography 11 Further reading 12 External linksEtymology nbsp June 2001 NASA photograph of the snow covered Lesser Caucasus in the south of the Greater Caucasus Around the year 1800 the Karabakh Khanate was based in the southeast corner of the Lesser Caucasus It extended east into the lowlands hence the name Nagorno or Highland Karabagh for the western part For the etymology of Karabakh see Karabakh Etymology The prefix Nagorno derives from the Russian attributive adjective nagorny nagornyj which means highland The Azerbaijani names of the region include the similar adjectives dagliq mountainous or yuxari upper Such words are not used in the Armenian name but appeared in the region s official name during the Soviet era as Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast Other languages apply their own wording for mountainous upper or highland for example the official name used for the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in French is Haut Karabakh meaning Upper Karabakh The names for the region in the various local languages all translate to mountainous Karabakh or mountainous black garden Armenian Լեռնային Ղարաբաղ transliterated Leṙnayin Ġarabaġ pronounced lɛrnɑˈjin ʁɑɾɑˈbɑʁ listen Azerbaijani Dagliq Qarabag Daglyg Garabag lit mountainous Karabakh pronounced dɑɣˈlɯɣ ɡɑˈɾɑbɑɣ listen or Yuxari Qarabag Јuhary Garabag lit upper Karabakh pronounced juxɑˈɾɯ ɡɑˈɾɑbɑɣ listen Russian Nagornyj Karabah transliterated Nagorny Karabakh pronounced nɐˈɡornɨj kerɐˈbax Armenians living in the area often call Nagorno Karabakh Artsakh Armenian Արցախ the name of the 10th province of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia Urartian inscriptions 9th 7th centuries BC use the name Urtekhini for the region Ancient Greek sources called the area Orkhistene 21 HistoryMain article History of Nagorno Karabakh Antiquity and Early Middle Ages nbsp The Amaras Monastery founded in the 4th century by St Gregory the Illuminator In the 5th century Mesrop Mashtots inventor of the Armenian alphabet established at Amaras the first school to use his script 22 23 nbsp The monastery at Gandzasar was commissioned by the House of Khachen and completed in 1238Nagorno Karabakh falls within the lands occupied by peoples known to modern archaeologists as the Kura Araxes culture who lived between the two rivers Kura and Araxes 24 The ancient population of the region consisted of various autochthonous local and migrant tribes who were mostly non Indo Europeans 25 According to the prevailing western theory these natives intermarried with Armenians who came to the region after its inclusion into Armenia in the 2nd or possibly earlier the 4th century BC 26 Other scholars suggest that the Armenians settled in the region as early as the 7th century BC 27 Around 180 BC Artsakh became one of the 15 provinces of the Armenian Kingdom and remained so until the 4th century 28 While formally having the status of a province nahang Artsakh possibly formed a principality on its own like Armenia s province of Syunik Other theories suggest that Artsakh was a royal land belonging directly to the king of Armenia 29 King Tigran the Great of Armenia who ruled from 95 to 55 BC founded in Artsakh one of four cities named Tigranakert after himself 30 The ruins of the ancient Tigranakert located 50 km 30 mi north east of Stepanakert are being studied by a group of international scholars In 387 AD after the partition of Armenia between the Roman Empire and Sassanid Persia two Armenian provinces Artsakh and Utik became part of the Sassanid satrapy of Caucasian Albania which in turn came under strong Armenian religious and cultural influence 31 32 At the time the population of Artsakh and Utik consisted of Armenians and several Armenized tribes 25 Armenian culture and civilization flourished in the early medieval Nagorno Karabakh In the 5th century the first ever Armenian school was opened on the territory of modern Nagorno Karabakh at Amaras Monastery through the efforts of St Mesrop Mashtots the inventor of the Armenian alphabet 33 St Mesrop was very active in preaching the Gospel in Artsakh and Utik Overall Mesrop Mashtots made three trips to Artsakh and Utik ultimately reaching pagan territories at the foothills of the Greater Caucasus 34 The 7th century Armenian linguist and grammarian Stephanos Syunetsi stated in his work that Armenians of Artsakh had their own dialect and encouraged his readers to learn it 35 High Middle Ages Main article Principality of Khachen Around the mid 7th century the region was conquered by the invading Muslim Arabs through the Muslim conquest of Persia Subsequently it was ruled by local governors endorsed by the Caliphate According to some sources in 821 the Armenian 36 prince Sahl Smbatian revolted in Artsakh and established the House of Khachen which ruled Artsakh as a principality until the early 19th century 37 According to other sources Sahl Smbatian was of the Zamirhakan family of kings and in the year 837 838 he acquired sovereignty over Armenia Georgia and Albania 38 39 The name Khachen originated from Armenian word khach which means cross 40 By 1000 the House of Khachen proclaimed the Kingdom of Artsakh with John Senecherib as its first ruler 41 Initially Dizak in southern Artsakh also formed a kingdom ruled by the ancient House of Aranshahik descended from the earliest Kings of Caucasian Albania In 1261 after the daughter of the last king of Dizak married the king of Artsakh Armenian 42 prince Hasan Jalal Dola the two states merged into one 37 Armenian 43 Principality of Khachen Subsequently Artsakh continued to exist as a de facto independent principality Late Middle Ages Main articles Karabakh Khanate and Melikdoms of Karabakh nbsp The Shusha fortress built by the Karabakh Khanate ruler Panah Ali Khan in the 18th century nbsp The semi independent Five Principalities Armenian Խամսայի Մելիքություններ of Karabakh Gyulistan Jraberd Khachen Varanda and Dizak widely considered to be the last relic of Armenian statehood 15th 19th century 44 45 In the 15th century the territory of Karabakh was part of the states ruled subsequently by the Kara Koyunlu and Ak Koyunlu Turkic tribal confederations According to Abu Bakr Tihrani during the period of Jahan Shah 1438 1468 the ruler of Kara Koyunlu Piri bey Karamanli held the governorship of Karabakh 46 However according to Robert H Hewsen the Turkoman lord Jahan Shah 1437 67 assigned the governorship of upper Karabakh to local Armenian princes allowing a native Armenian leadership to emerge consisting of five noble families led by princes who held the titles of meliks 37 These dynasties represented the branches of the earlier House of Khachen and were the descendants of the medieval kings of Artsakh Their lands were often referred to as the Country of Khamsa five in Arabic In a Charter 2 June 1799 of the Emperor Paul I titled About their admission to Russian suzerainty land allocation rights and privileges it was noted that the Christian heritage of the Karabakh region and all their people were admitted to the Russian suzerainty 47 However according to Robert Hewsen the Russian Empire recognized the sovereign status of the five princes in their domains by the charter of Emperor Paul I dated 2 June 1799 48 The Armenian meliks were granted supreme command over neighbouring Armenian principalities and Muslim khans in the Caucasus by the Iranian king Nader Shah in return for the meliks victories over the invading Ottoman Turks in the 1720s 49 These five principalities 50 51 in Karabakh were ruled by Armenian families who had received the title Melik prince and were the following Principality of Gulistan under the leadership of the Melik Beglarian family Principality of Jraberd under the leadership of the Melik Israelian family Principality of Khachen under the leadership of the Hasan Jalalian family Principality of Varanda under the leadership of the Melik Shahnazarian family Principality of Dizak under the leadership of the Melik Avanian familyFrom 1501 to 1736 during the existence of the Safavid Empire the province of Karabakh was governed by the Ziyadoghlu Qajar dynasty until Nader Shah took over Karabakh from their rule 52 The Armenian meliks maintained full control over the region until the mid 18th century citation needed In the early 18th century Iran s Nader Shah took Karabakh out of control of the Ganja khans in punishment for their support of the Safavids and placed it under his own control 53 54 In the mid 18th century as internal conflicts between the meliks led to their weakening the Karabakh Khanate was formed The Karabakh khanate one of the largest khanates under Iranian suzerainty 55 was headed by Panah Ali khan Javanshir For the reinforcement of the power of Karabakh khanate Khan of Karabakh Panah Ali khan Javanshir built up the fortress of Panahabad today Shusha in 1751 During that time Otuziki Javanshir Kebirli and other Turkic tribes constituted the majority of the overall population Modern era nbsp Palace of the former ruler khan of Shusha Taken from a postcard from the late 19th early 20th century nbsp Aftermath of the Shusha massacre Armenian half of Shusha destroyed by Azerbaijani armed forces in 1920 with the defiled Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Savior in the background Karabakh including modern day Nagorno Karabakh became a protectorate of the Russian Empire by the Kurekchay Treaty signed between Ibrahim Khalil Khan of Karabakh and general Pavel Tsitsianov on behalf of Tsar Alexander I in 1805 according to which the Russian monarch recognized Ibrahim Khalil Khan and his descendants as the sole hereditary rulers of the region 56 57 58 However its new status was only confirmed following the outcome of the Russo Persian War 1804 1813 when through the loss in the war Persia formally ceded Karabakh to the Russian Empire per the Treaty of Gulistan 1813 59 60 61 62 before the rest of Transcaucasia was incorporated into the Empire in 1828 by the Treaty of Turkmenchay which came as an outcome of the Russo Persian War 1826 1828 In 1822 9 years after it passed from Iranian to Russian control the Karabakh Khanate was dissolved and the area became part of the Elizavetpol Governorate within the Russian Empire In 1823 the five districts corresponding roughly to modern day Nagorno Karabakh were 90 8 Armenian populated 63 64 Soviet era Main article Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast nbsp Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast in the Soviet era nbsp Ethnic make up of Nagorno Karabakh in the late Soviet era After the Russian Revolution of 1917 Karabakh became part of the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic but this soon dissolved into separate Armenian Azerbaijani and Georgian states Over the next two years 1918 1920 there were a series of short wars between Armenia and Azerbaijan over several regions including Nagorno Karabakh Between 1918 and 1920 Nagorno Karabakh s de jure affiliation with Armenia or Azerbaijan was disputed and not adjudicated by the League of Nations 65 66 In July 1918 the First Armenian Assembly of Nagorno Karabakh declared the region self governing and created a National Council and government 67 Later Ottoman troops entered Karabakh meeting armed resistance by Armenians After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I British troops occupied Karabakh The British command provisionally affirmed Khosrov bey Sultanov appointed by the Azerbaijani government as the governor general of Karabakh and Zangezur pending a final decision by the Paris Peace Conference 68 The decision was opposed by Karabakh Armenians In February 1920 the Karabakh National Council preliminarily agreed to Azerbaijani jurisdiction while Armenians elsewhere in Karabakh continued guerrilla fighting never accepting the agreement 67 The agreement itself was soon annulled by the Ninth Karabagh Assembly which declared union with Armenia in April 67 69 In April 1920 while the Azerbaijani army was locked in Karabakh fighting local Armenian forces Azerbaijan was taken over by Bolsheviks On 10 August 1920 Armenia signed a preliminary agreement with the Bolsheviks agreeing to a temporary Bolshevik occupation of these areas until final settlement would be reached 70 In 1921 Armenia and Georgia were also taken over by the Bolsheviks After the Sovietization of Armenia and Azerbaijan the Kavbiuro Caucasian Bureau of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party Bolshevik decided that Karabakh would remain within Azerbaijan SSR with broad regional autonomy with the administrative centre in the city of Shusha the administrative center was later moved to Stepanakert 71 The oblast s borders were drawn to include Armenian villages and to exclude as much as possible Azerbaijani villages 72 The resulting district ensured an Armenian majority With the Soviet Union firmly in control of the region the conflict over the region died down for several decades until the beginning of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s when the question of Nagorno Karabakh re emerged Accusing the Azerbaijani SSR government of conducting forced Azerification of the region the majority Armenian population with ideological and material support from the Armenian SSR started a movement to have the autonomous oblast transferred to the Armenian SSR 73 In August 1987 Karabakh Armenians sent a petition for union with Armenia with tens of thousands of signatures to Moscow 74 War and secession Main article First Nagorno Karabakh War nbsp A restored Armenian T 72 knocked out of commission while attacking Azeri positions in Askeran District serves as a war memorial on the outskirts of Stepanakert On 13 February 1988 Karabakh Armenians began demonstrating in Stepanakert in favour of unification with the Armenian republic Six days later they were joined by mass marches in Yerevan On 20 February the Soviet of People s Deputies in Karabakh voted 110 to 17 to request the transfer of the region to Armenia This unprecedented action by a regional Soviet brought out tens of thousands of demonstrations both in Stepanakert and Yerevan but Moscow rejected the Armenians demands On 20 February 1988 2 Azeri girls were raped in Stepanakert citation needed This caused widespread outrage in the Azeri town of Aghdam The first direct confrontation of the conflict occurred as a large group of Azeris marched from Agdam to the Armenian populated town of Askeran citation needed The confrontation between the Azeris and the police near Askeran degenerated into the Askeran clash which left two Azeris dead one of them allegedly killed by an Azeri police officer Fifty Armenian villagers and an unknown number of Azeris and police officers were injured 75 76 77 Large numbers of refugees left Armenia and Azerbaijan as violence began against the minority populations of the respective republics 78 On 7 July 1988 the European Parliament passed a resolution that condemned the violence employed against Armenian demonstrators in Azerbaijan and supported the demand of the Armenians for reunification with the Soviet Republic of Armenia 79 On 29 November 1989 direct rule in Nagorno Karabakh was ended and the region was returned to Azerbaijani administration 80 The Soviet policy backfired however when a joint session of the Armenian Supreme Soviet and the National Council the legislative body of Nagorno Karabakh proclaimed the unification of Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia citation needed On 26 November 1991 Azerbaijan abolished the status of Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast rearranging the administrative division and bringing the territory under direct control of Azerbaijan 81 On 10 December 1991 in a referendum boycotted by local Azerbaijanis 77 Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh approved the creation of an independent state A Soviet proposal for enhanced autonomy for Nagorno Karabakh within Azerbaijan satisfied neither side and a full scale war subsequently erupted between Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh with the latter receiving support from Armenia 82 83 84 85 According to Armenia s former president Levon Ter Petrossian the Karabakh leadership approach was maximalist and they thought they could get more 86 87 88 The struggle over Nagorno Karabakh escalated after both Armenia and Azerbaijan attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 In the post Soviet power vacuum military action between Azerbaijan and Armenia was heavily influenced by the Russian military Furthermore both the Armenian and Azerbaijani military employed a large number of mercenaries from Ukraine and Russia 89 Between fifteen and twenty five hundred Afghan mujahideen along with fighters from Chechnya participated in the fighting on Azerbaijan s side 77 Russia provided Armenia with heavy artillery and tanks 77 Many survivors from the Azerbaijani side found shelter in 12 emergency camps set up in other parts of Azerbaijan to cope with the growing number of internally displaced people due to the first Nagorno Karabakh war 90 By the end of 1993 the conflict had caused about 30 000 casualties 91 and created hundreds of thousands of refugees on both sides citation needed By May 1994 the Armenians were in control of 14 of the territory of Azerbaijan 92 At that stage for the first time during the conflict the Azerbaijani government recognized Nagorno Karabakh as a third party in the war and started direct negotiations with the Karabakh authorities As a result a ceasefire was reached on 12 May 1994 through Russian mediation Post 1994 ceasefire Further information Madrid Principles Prague Process Armenian Azerbaijani negotiations Nagorno Karabakh Declaration Astrakhan Declaration Land mine situation in Nagorno Karabakh 2016 Nagorno Karabakh conflict and Second Nagorno Karabakh War nbsp The final borders of the conflict after the Bishkek Protocol Armenian forces of Nagorno Karabakh controlled almost 9 of Azerbaijan s territory outside the former Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast 77 while Azerbaijani forces control Shahumian and the eastern parts of Martakert and Martuni nbsp Ilham Aliyev Dmitry Medvedev and Serzh Sargsyan in Moscow on 2 November 2008Despite the ceasefire fatalities due to armed conflicts between Armenian and Azerbaijani soldiers continued 93 On 25 January 2005 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe PACE adopted PACE Resolution 1416 which condemned ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis 94 95 On 15 17 May 2007 the 34th session of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of Islamic Conference adopted resolution No 7 34 P considering the occupation of Azerbaijani territory as the aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan and recognizing the actions against Azerbaijani civilians as a crime against humanity and condemning the destruction of archaeological cultural and religious monuments in the occupied territories 96 The 11th session of the summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference held on 13 14 March 2008 in Dakar adopted resolution No 10 11 P IS In the resolution OIC member states condemned the occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenian forces and Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan ethnic cleansing against the Azeri population and charged Armenia with the destruction of cultural monuments in the occupied Azerbaijani territories 97 On 14 March of the same year the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution No 62 243 which demands the immediate complete and unconditional withdrawal of all Armenian forces from all occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan 98 On 18 20 May 2010 the 37th session of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of Islamic Conference in Dushanbe adopted another resolution condemning the aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan recognizing the actions against Azerbaijani civilians as a crime against humanity and condemning the destruction of archaeological cultural and religious monuments in occupied territories 99 On 20 May of the same year the European Parliament in Strasbourg adopted the resolution on The need for an EU Strategy for the South Caucasus on the basis of the report by Evgeni Kirilov the Bulgarian member of the Parliament 100 101 The resolution states in particular that the occupied Azerbaijani regions around Nagorno Karabakh must be cleared as soon as possible 102 On 26 January 2016 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe PACE adopted Resolution 2085 which deplored the fact that the occupation by Armenia of Nagorno Karabakh and other adjacent areas of Azerbaijan creates humanitarian and environmental problems for the citizens of Azerbaijan condemned ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis and Assembly requested immediate withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the region concerned 103 104 105 Several quantify world leaders have met with the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan over the years but efforts to maintain the ceasefire have failed 106 On 2 April 2016 Azerbaijani and Armenian forces again clashed in the region citation needed The Armenian Defense Ministry alleged that Azerbaijan launched an offensive to seize territory in the region At least 30 soldiers were killed during the fighting and a Mil Mi 24 helicopter and tank were also destroyed with 12 of the fallen soldiers belonging to the Azerbaijani forces and the other 18 belonging to the Armenian forces as well as an additional 35 Armenian soldiers reportedly wounded 107 108 2020 war and ceasefire agreement Main articles Second Nagorno Karabakh War and 2020 Nagorno Karabakh ceasefire agreement On 27 September 2020 a new war erupted in Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding territories 7 The United Nations strongly condemned the conflict and called on both sides to deescalate tensions and resume meaningful negotiations without delay 109 The war ended on 10 November 2020 when a trilateral ceasefire agreement was signed among Azerbaijan Armenia and Russia 110 According to the ceasefire agreement Azerbaijan regained all of the occupied territories surrounding Nagorno Karabakh and capturing one third of Nagorno Karabakh proper including Shusha and Hadrut 8 9 10 11 111 Blockade 2022 2023 Main article Blockade of Nagorno Karabakh In December 2022 Azerbaijanis claiming to be environmental activists blocked the Lachin corridor the sole road connecting Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia and the outside world 112 On 23 April 2023 Azerbaijani forces installed a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor 113 The blockade led to a humanitarian crisis for the population in Artsakh and imports of essential goods were blocked as well as humanitarian convoys of the Red Cross and the Russian peacekeepers trapping the 120 000 residents of the region 114 115 116 117 118 Limited traffic had been conducted by Russian peacekeepers and the International Committee of the Red Cross to transport patients in need of medical care and provide humanitarian supplies 119 120 However starting on 15 June 2023 Azerbaijan intensified the blockade blocking all passage of food fuel and medicine from the Red Cross and the Russian peacekeepers through the Lachin corridor 121 122 123 On 19 September Azerbaijan launched a military operation Azerbaijani offensive 2023 Main article Republic of Artsakh Renewed conflict ceasefire and negotiations 2023 present On 19 September 2023 Azerbaijan launched a military offensive on Nagorno Karabakh 12 13 14 15 16 One day after the offensive started on 20 September an agreement on establishing a complete cessation of hostilities in Nagorno Karabakh was reached at the mediation of the Russian peacekeeping command in Nagorno Karabakh 124 125 Azerbaijan held a meeting with representatives of the Artsakh Armenian community on 21 September in Yevlakh to start the process of re integrating the region into Azerbaijan 126 127 Ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan were nonetheless reported by both Artsakh and local residents in Stepanakert on 21 September 128 129 In the aftermath of the offensive an exodus of Armenians from the region started 18 On 28 September 2023 the Republic of Artsakh agreed to dissolve itself by 1 January 2024 17 Geography nbsp The Sarsang Reservoir nbsp A view of the forested mountains of Nagorno KarabakhNagorno Karabakh has a total area of 4 400 square kilometres 1 699 sq mi 130 Approximately half of Nagorno Karabakh terrain is over 950 metres 3 120 ft above sea level 131 The borders of Nagorno Karabakh resemble a kidney bean with the indentation on the east side It has tall mountain ridges along the northern edge and along the west and mountainous south The part near the indentation of the kidney bean itself is a relatively flat valley with the two edges of the bean the districts of Martakert and Martuni having flatlands as well Other flatter valleys exist around the Sarsang reservoir Hadrut and the south The entire region lies on average 1 100 metres 3 600 ft above sea level 131 Notable peaks include the border mountain Murovdag and the Great Kirs mountain chain in the junction of Shusha and Hadrut districts The territory of modern Nagorno Karabakh forms a portion of the historic region of Karabakh which lies between the rivers Kura and Araxes and the modern Armenia Azerbaijan border Nagorno Karabakh in its modern borders is part of the larger region of Upper Karabakh Nagorno Karabakh does not directly border Armenia but is connected to the latter through the Lachin corridor a mountain pass under the control of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno Karabakh The major cities of the region are Stepanakert which serves as the capital of the unrecognised Nagorno Karabakh Republic and Shusha which lies partially in ruins Vineyards orchards and mulberry groves for silkworms are developed in the valleys 132 EnvironmentNagorno Karabakh s environment vary from steppe on the Kura lowland through dense forests of oak hornbeam and beech on the lower mountain slopes to birchwood and alpine meadows higher up The region possesses numerous mineral springs and deposits of zinc coal lead gold marble and limestone 133 Demographics nbsp Ethnic groups of the region in 1995 after the deportations of Armenians and Azerbaijanis See entire map Antiquity 1918 Historically the inhabitants of Nagorno Karabakh then part of the province of Artsakh were confirmed by Ancient Greek and Roman sources long before our era to be Armenian 134 better source needed In the early 15th century German traveller Johann Schiltberger after visiting the region stated that although the Muslims had taken possession of Karabagh there were still Armenian villages in the region 135 Historian Victor Schnirelmann writes that In the mid 18th century Turkic tribes gained access to the highland territories of Karabakh and began to settle in Shusha by the end of the 18th century a substantial number of its former Armenian inhabitants had left Nagorny Karabagh Just at the turn of the 19th century the Turkic population significantly outnumbered the local Armenians but this only lasted until the end of the 1820s when the Armenians began to come back to Karabagh and they accounted for the majority of its population by the mid 19th century 136 Edmund Herzig and Marina Kurkchiyan present an alternative view that Armenians had already been a majority in some areas such as mountainous Karabagh compared to the Yerevan province which had regained an Armenian majority for the first time in several hundred years 137 According to an 1823 Russian survey published in Tiflis present day Tbilisi in 1866 135 Armenians made up 97 percent of the population in the five districts mahals of Nagorno Karabakh 138 thus proving contrary to claims in Azerbaijani historiography that Armenians formed an overwhelming majority of Nagorno Karabakh prior to 1828 Historian George Bournoutian writes that Russian statistics from 1810 show that Armenians made up 21 percent of the Karabakh region s population In 1823 the Armenian population of Karabakh had increased by 30 percent after the return of those who had fled the region and by 1832 the Armenian population had increased to one third of Karabakh Moreover the one third of the population of Karabakh composed of Armenians resided in one third of the territory of Karabakh the mountainous territory i e Nagorno Karabakh where they constituted an overwhelming majority of the population 135 1918 1920 According to Armenian sources the historical Nagorno Karabakh region had a population of 300 000 330 000 in 1918 1920 rising to 700 000 800 000 by 1988 As a result of Turkish Azerbaijani aggression the region s population declined by 20 percent in 1918 1920 139 In this period Azerbaijani forces carried out massacres against Armenians in Ghaibalishen Jamilli Karkijahan and Pahlul 600 700 dead 140 Stepanakert several hundred dead 141 and Shusha several hundred 142 to 12 000 dead 143 As a result of the Shusha massacre 5 000 6 000 Armenians were displaced to the regions of Varanda and Dizak 144 By 11 April 1920 some thirty villages in Nagorno Karabakh had been devastated by Azerbaijani forces as a result of the uprising leaving 25 000 homeless including nearly 6 000 refugees from Shusha 145 1921 1987 1923 statistics indicate that the NKAO was 94 8 percent Armenian numbering 149 600 whilst the Azerbaijani population numbered 7 700 Historian Cory Welt writes of a discrepancy of the Armenian population jumping by over 25 000 individuals between the 1921 and 1923 censuses also pointing out that the Armenian population declined to 111 700 in 1926 thus indicating an unexplained drop of 38 000 individuals 146 In the 1920s the NKAO had a population of 131 500 people 94 4 percent 124 136 of whom were ethnic Armenians and only 5 6 percent 7 364 of whom were ethnic Azerbaijanis 137 In 1933 Nagorno Karabakh had a population of 147 308 10 751 7 3 percent of whom were urban dwellers and 136 557 92 7 percent of whom were rural residents 147 On 1 January 1973 the oblast had a population of 153 000 148 Discrimination and stagnationWhilst the region was a part of the Azerbaijan SSR the Armenian share of the population dropped from 94 7 to 76 9 percent whilst the Azerbaijani share of the population quadrupled from 5 1 to 21 5 percent 137 as a result of migratory influx 139 indicative of the socio economic difficulties local Armenians experienced under Soviet Azerbaijani leadership which led them to emigrate from Karabakh 137 Emeritus professor of law M Cherif Bassiouni writes of the stagnation of the Armenian population due to the discriminatory policies of Azerbaijani authorities that compelled Armenians to emigrate also adding that 600 000 Armenians from Karabakh reside in Armenia and the countries of the CIS 139 Stuart J Kaufman a professor of political science and international relations 149 writes of the difficulties of Karabakh Armenians In Mountainous Karabagh Armenian language education was not easily available Armenian history was not taught at all and those who went to Armenia for training were discriminated against in competing for jobs in the province since even routine hiring had to be cleared with Baku Underinvestment in the region also blamed on Baku meant less economic development and poor infrastructure even by Soviet standards and therefore fewer jobs overall especially for Armenians Cultural ties with Armenia were strangled in red tape in Baku and a decision to make Armenian language television available in the region was left unimplemented One result of these policies was a continuing exodus of Armenians from Karabagh in search of greener pastures 150 1988 present Following the Sumgait pogrom and the exodus of Azerbaijanis from Armenia Azerbaijanis in Stepanakert and Armenians in Shusha were expelled in September 1988 As local Armenian forces gained possession of Nagorno Karabakh and surrounding districts amounting to 14 percent of the internationally recognised territory of Azerbaijan during the First Nagorno Karabakh war hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis were expelled from their lands 77 During the Second Nagorno Karabakh War Azerbaijan regained control over the surrounding districts and southern parts of the former NKAO thus displacing approximately 70 000 Armenians 151 Historical ethnic composition of the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast in 1921 1989 Ethnic group 1921 146 152 1923 134 146 1925 134 1926 134 153 1939 134 154 1959 134 155 1970 134 156 1979 134 157 1989 158 Number Number Number Number Number Number Number Number Number Armenians 122 426 94 73 149 600 94 8 142 470 90 28 111 694 89 24 132 800 88 04 110 053 84 39 121 068 80 54 123 076 75 89 145 450 76 92Azerbaijanis a 6 550 5 07 7 700 4 9 15 261 9 67 12 592 10 06 14 053 9 32 17 995 13 80 27 179 18 08 37 264 22 98 40 688 21 52Russians 267 0 21 500 0 3 46 0 03 596 0 48 3 174 2 10 1 790 1 37 1 310 0 87 1 265 0 78 1 922 1 02Ukrainians 30 0 02 35 0 03 436 0 29 238 0 18 193 0 13 140 0 09 416 0 22Belarusians 12 0 01 11 0 01 32 0 02 35 0 02 37 0 02 79 0 04Greeks 68 0 05 74 0 05 67 0 05 33 0 02 56 0 03 72 0 04Tatars 6 0 00 29 0 02 36 0 03 25 0 02 41 0 03 64 0 03Georgians 5 0 00 25 0 02 16 0 01 22 0 01 17 0 01 57 0 03Others 151 0 12 235 0 16 179 0 14 448 0 30 285 0 18 337 0 18Total 129 243 b 100 00 157 800 100 0 157 807 100 00 125 159 100 00 150 837 100 00 130 406 100 00 150 313 100 00 162 181 100 00 189 085 100 00TransportLocation ICAO DAFIF IATA Airport name CoordinatesStepanakert UBBS UB13 Stepanakert Airport 159 39 54 05 N 46 47 13 E 39 90139 N 46 78694 E 39 90139 46 78694 Stepanakert Air Base During the rule of the Soviet Union the Yevlakh Aghdam Stepanakert line connected the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region with the main part of Azerbaijan After the Nagorno Karabakh war and the abandonment of Agdam the line s service was cut back to service only between Yevlax and Ketelparaq without any present section at the Nagorno Karabakh Republic The former railway line between Ketelparaq and Stepanakert has been almost completely destroyed The Tbilisi Gyumri Yerevan Nakhchivan Horadiz Shirvan Baku main railway was also dismantled from the NKR between Ordubad and Horadiz as well as a by line from Mincivan to the Armenian city of Kapan Currently the Azerbaijani trains only travel to Horadiz The Ordubad Horadiz section has been demolished leaving the NKR with no intact active railway line in their territory The railway at the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic still operates but it is separated from the main Azerbaijani lines and only has a connection to Iran See also nbsp Geography portal nbsp Europe portalTimeline of Artsakh history Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations List of active separatist movements in Europe Janapar the hiking trail across Nagorno Karabakh Outline of Nagorno Karabakh Post Soviet states YekbunNotes Until 1936 Azerbaijanis were known as Tatars or Turkish Tatars With the city of Shusha included the NKAO s total population was 138 466 the adjusted ethnic composition is as follows Armenians 122 715 88 62 Azerbaijanis 15 444 11 15 Others 307 0 22 References Population of NKR as of 01 01 2013 NKR 1 January 2013 Archived from the original on 23 October 2019 Retrieved 20 February 2014 Official Statistics of the NKR Official site of the President of the NKR President nkr am 1 January 2010 Archived from the original on 22 January 2011 Retrieved 6 May 2012 Nagorno Karabakh Dictionary com Archived from the original on 2 September 2023 Tensions mount as Armenia and Azerbaijan continue fighting Dawn com Associated Press 29 September 2020 Archived from the original on 17 October 2020 Robert H Hewsen The Meliks of Eastern Armenia A Preliminary Study Revue des etudes Armeniennes NS IX 1972 pp 288 Robert H Hewsen 2001 Armenia A Historical Atlas The University of Chicago Press p 264 ISBN 978 0 226 33228 4 a b Fighting erupts between Armenia Azerbaijan over disputed region Al Jazeera 27 September 2020 Archived from the original on 27 September 2020 Retrieved 27 September 2020 a b Armenia and Azerbaijan A blockade that never ended and a peace deal hanging by a thread Global Voices 19 July 2023 Archived from the original on 27 July 2023 Retrieved 24 July 2023 a b Violence and Politics in Armenia Azerbaijan Relations Baku Research Institute 14 October 2022 Archived from the original on 8 June 2023 Retrieved 27 June 2023 As a result of the 2020 war however Azerbaijan received all territories around Soviet era Nagorno Karabakh that were occupied by Armenian forces during the first Karabakh war plus the two regions of Nagorno Karabakh proper Shushi Shusha and Hadrut a b Cheterian Vicken 20 October 2022 Technological determinism or strategic advantage Comparing the two Karabakh Wars between Armenia and Azerbaijan Journal of Strategic Studies 1 24 doi 10 1080 01402390 2022 2127093 ISSN 0140 2390 S2CID 253061240 The Armenian side also lost territories within the former NKAO namely the district of Hadrut and the strategic town of Shusha Shushi areas that were not even considered for handover to Azerbaijan during the long years of diplomatic negotiations between the two wars a b Lynch Ian J 18 November 2020 A cold winter for peace in Nagorno Karabakh Ahval Archived from the original on 2 December 2020 Retrieved 27 June 2023 The new agreement allows Azerbaijan to keep the territory it took by force including Shusha and Hadrut within the historic boundaries of Nagorno Karabakh It also requires Armenian forces to turn over other territories they have occupied for the last 26 years including the so called Lachin corridor which is Nagorno Karabakh s primary link to Armenia proper a b Azerbaijan Launches Offensive in Breakaway Nagorno Karabakh Children Among Casualties Radiofreeeurope Radioliberty Archived from the original on 19 September 2023 Retrieved 19 September 2023 a b Azerbaijani forces strike Armenian controlled Karabakh raising risk of new Caucasus war Reuters 19 September 2023 Archived from the original on 19 September 2023 Retrieved 19 September 2023 a b Azerbaijan launches attack in Nagorno Karabakh announces evacuation of Armenian population 19 September 2023 Archived from the original on 19 September 2023 Retrieved 19 September 2023 a b Live updates Stepanakert under fire as Azerbaijan launches assault on Nagorno Karabakh OC Media 19 September 2023 Archived from the original on 19 September 2023 Retrieved 19 September 2023 a b Azerbaijan says it has begun anti terrorist operations in Nagorno Karabakh France 24 19 September 2023 Archived from the original on 19 September 2023 Retrieved 19 September 2023 a b MSN MSN a b Nagorno Karabakh talks separatists lay down arms amid fears of refugee crisis The Guardian 23 September 2023 ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 24 September 2023 Azerbaycan polisi Xankendide VIDEO Publika AZ in Azerbaijani 29 September 2023 Retrieved 30 September 2023 Sauer Pjotr 28 September 2023 Nagorno Karabakh s breakaway government says it will dissolve itself The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 1 January 2024 Strabo ed H C Hamilton Esq W Falconer M A Geography Archived 23 September 2023 at the Wayback Machine The Perseus Digital Library 11 14 4 Retrieved 21 November 2007 Viviano Frank March 2004 The Rebirth of Armenia National Geographic Magazine John Noble Michael Kohn Danielle Systermans Georgia Armenia and Azerbaijan Lonely Planet 3 edition 1 May 2008 p 307 Edens Christoper August November 1995 Transcaucasia at the End of the Early Bronze Age Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 299 300 The Archaeology of Empire in Ancient Anatolia The American Schools of Oriental Research 53 pp 53 64 56 doi 10 2307 1357345 JSTOR 1357345 S2CID 163585471 a b Hewsen Robert H 1982 Ethno History and the Armenian Influence upon the Caucasian Albanians In Samuelian Thomas J ed Classical Armenian Culture Influences and Creativity Chicago Scholars Press pp 27 40 ISBN 0 89130 565 3 Hewsen Robert H Armenia a Historical Atlas Chicago IL University of Chicago Press 2001 p 32 33 map 19 shows the territory of modern Nagorno Karabakh as part of the Orontids Kingdom of Armenia R Schmitt M L Chaumont Armenia and Iran Encyclopaedia Iranica Archived from the original on 21 January 2012 Retrieved 20 February 2012 Hewsen Robert H The Kingdom of Artsakh in T Samuelian amp M Stone eds Medieval Armenian Culture Chico CA 1983 Hewsen Armenia pp 100 103 ISTORIYa IMPERATORA IRAKLA Sochinene episkopa Sebeosa pisatelya VII veka Per s armyanskogo K Patkanyana vehi net Archived from the original on 30 March 2019 Retrieved 25 December 2008 Evgeny Dmitrievich Silaev 13 June 2023 Azerbaijan Encyclopaedia Britannica Archived from the original on 18 November 2008 Retrieved 15 January 2021 Walker Christopher J 1991 Armenia and Karabagh The Struggle for Unity Minority Rights Group Publications p 10 Viviano Frank The Rebirth of Armenia National Geographic Magazine March 2004 p 18 Movses Kalankatuatsi History of the Land of Aluank Book I chapters 27 28 and 29 Book II chapter 3 N Adonc Dionisij Frakijskij i armyanskie tolkovateli Pg 1915 181 219 The Cambridge History of Iran Archived 23 September 2023 at the Wayback Machine Cambridge University Press 1975 vol 4 p 506 He was handed to Afshin s troops by Sahl b Sunbadh an Armenian prince in 222 836 7 and executed in Samarra 223 837 while his brother and assistant Abd Allah was delivered to the prince of Tabaristan Ibn Sharvin who had him put to death in Baghdad a b c Robert H Hewsen Armenia A Historical Atlas The University of Chicago Press 2001 pp 119 155 163 264 65 Movses Dasxuranci translated by C J F Dowsett 1961 The History of the Caucasian Albanians By Movses Dasxuranci London Oxford University Press p 217 Ter Grigoryan T I Neizdannye stranicy Istorii Albanskoj strany Moiseya Kalankajtukskogo Arhiv In ta istorii AN Azerb SSR 1386 l 18 Christopher Walker The Armenian presence in Mountainous Karabakh in John F R Wright et al Transcaucasian Boundaries SOAS GRC Geopolitics 1995 p 93 Hewsen Robert H The Kingdom of Artsakh in T Samuelian amp M Stone eds Medieval Armenian Culture Chico CA 1983 Arḡun Aqa Encyclopaedia Iranica Archived 17 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine P Jackson It can only have caused resentment among the Muslims and the Christian author Kirakos in stark contrast with Jovayni has nothing favorable to say concerning Arḡun s exactions his harsh treatment of certain Armenian princes such as Jalal of Ḵacen whom he had executed in 659 1261 made him especially hateful Armenia Geography Population Map Religion amp History Encyclopaedia Britannica 13 June 2023 Archived from the original on 28 April 2019 Retrieved 23 June 2022 A few native Armenian rulers survived for a time in the Kiurikian kingdom of Lori the Siuniqian kingdom of Baghq or Kapan and the principates of Khachen Artzakh and Sasun Robert H Hewsen Russian Armenian relations 1700 1828 Society of Armenian Studies N4 Cambridge Massachusetts 1984 p 37 George A Bournoutian 1994 A History of Qarabagh An Annotated Translation of Mirza Jamal Javanshir Qarabaghi s Tarikh e Qarabagh Mazda Publishers ISBN 1 56859 011 3 Abu Bakr Ṭihrani Kitab i Diyarbakriyya original کتاب دیاربکریه از تواریخ قراقوینلو و چغاتای ویسنده ابوبکر طهرانی به تصحیح و اهتمام نجاتی لوغال فاروق سومه تهران کتابخانه طهوری ۱۳۵۶ p 138 Polnoe Sobranie Zakonov Rossijskoj Imperii c 1649 goda Tom XXV 1798 1799 SPb Pechatano v Tipografii II Otdeleniya Sobstvennoj Ego Imperatorskogo Velichestva Kancelyarii 1830 18 990 c 674 675 Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire since 1649 Volume XXV 1798 1799 SPb Printed at the Printing House of the II Branch of His Imperial Majesty s Own Office 1830 No 18 990 p 674 675 Robert H Hewsen Russian Armenian relations 1700 1828 Society of Armenian Studies N4 Cambridge Massachusetts 1984 p 37 Walker Christopher J Armenia Survival of a Nation London Routledge 1990 p 40 ISBN 0 415 04684 X Raffi The History of Karabagh s Meliks Vienna 1906 in Armenian In English Raffi The Five Melikdoms of Karabagh translated by Ara Stepan Melkonian Garod Books Ltd 2010 London ISBN 9781903656570 Pavlova I K Hronika vremen Sefevidov Soch Muhammad Masuma Isfahani Hulasat as sijar M Nauka 1993 c 59 61 in Russian Abbas gulu Aga Bakikhanov Golestan i Iram Archived 20 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine according to an 18th century local Turkic Muslim writer Mirza Adigezal bey Nadir shah placed Karabakh under his own control while a 19th century local Turkic Muslim writer Abbas gulu Aga Bakikhanov states that the shah placed Karabakh under the control of the governor of Tabriz MIRZA ADIGEZAL BEK gt KARABAG NAME gt GLAVY 1 6 www vostlit info Archived from the original on 21 August 2010 Retrieved 26 December 2006 Bournoutian George A 2016 The 1820 Russian Survey of the Khanate of Shirvan A Primary Source on the Demography and Economy of an Iranian Province prior to its Annexation by Russia Gibb Memorial Trust p xvii ISBN 978 1909724808 Serious historians and geographers agree that after the fall of the Safavids and especially from the mid eighteenth century the territory of the South Caucasus was composed of the khanates of Ganja Kuba Shirvan Baku Talesh Sheki Karabagh Nakhchivan and Yerevan all of which were under Iranian suzerainty KM RU novosti ekonomika avtomobili nauka i tehnika kino muzyka sport igry anekdoty kursy valyut KM RU www km ru Archived from the original on 13 June 2003 Muriel Atkin The Strange Death of Ibrahim Khalil Khan of Qarabagh Iranian Studies Vol 12 No 1 2 Winter Spring 1979 pp 79 107 George A Bournoutian A History of Qarabagh An Annotated Translation of Mirza Jamal Javanshir Qarabaghi s Tarikh e Qarabagh Mazda Publishers 1994 ISBN 1 56859 011 3 978 1 568 59011 0 Tim Potier M1 Conflict in Nagorno Karabakh Abkhazia and South Ossetia A Legal Appraisal Archived 9 September 2023 at the Wayback Machine Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2001 p 2 ISBN 90 411 1477 7 Leonidas Themistocles Chrysanthopoulos Caucasus Chronicles Nation building and Diplomacy in Armenia 1993 1994 Archived 9 September 2023 at the Wayback Machine Gomidas Institute 2002 p 8 ISBN 1 884630 05 7 The British and Foreign Review Archived 9 September 2023 at the Wayback Machine J Ridgeway and sons 1838 p 422 Taru Bahl M H Syed Encyclopaedia of the Muslim World permanent dead link Anmol Publications PVT 2003 p 34 ISBN 81 261 1419 3 Description of the Karabakh province prepared in 1823 according to the order of the governor in Georgia Yermolov by state advisor Mogilevsky and colonel Yermolov 2nd Russian Opisaniye Karabakhskoy provincii sostavlennoye v 1823 g po rasporyazheniyu glavnoupravlyayushego v Gruzii Yermolova deystvitelnim statskim sovetnikom Mogilevskim i polkovnikom Yermolovim 2 m Tbilisi 1866 Bournoutian George A A History of Qarabagh An Annotated Translation of Mirza Jamal Javanshir Qarabaghi s Tarikh E Qarabagh Costa Mesa CA Mazda Publishers 1994 page 18 Kruger Heiko June 2014 Nagorno Karabakh academic oup com pp 214 232 doi 10 1093 acprof oso 9780198702375 003 0011 ISBN 978 0 19 870237 5 Archived from the original on 23 September 2023 Retrieved 2 August 2023 Gardner Anne Marie 2011 Nagorno Karabakh Balancing Standards Democratic Governance and Non State Actors New York Palgrave Macmillan US pp 71 103 doi 10 1057 9780230117600 4 ISBN 978 1 349 29153 3 archived from the original on 23 September 2023 retrieved 2 August 2023 a b c The Nagorno Karabagh Crisis A Blueprint for Resolution PDF Archived PDF from the original on 30 March 2019 Retrieved 16 February 2006 New England Center for International Law amp Policy Circular by colonel D I Shuttleworth of the British Command Archived from the original on 7 May 2006 Retrieved 5 September 2006 Conflict in Nagorno Karabakh Abkhazia and South Ossetia A Legal Appraisal by Tim Potier ISBN 90 411 1477 7 Walker The Survival of a Nation pp 285 90 Q amp A with Arsene Saparov No Evidence that Stalin gave Karabakh to Azerbaijan armenian usc edu 10 December 2018 Archived from the original on 15 December 2020 Retrieved 31 October 2020 Of all the documents I have seen there is no direct evidence of Stalin doing or saying something in those 12 days in the summer of 1921 that resulted in this decision on Karabakh A lot of people just assume that since Stalin was an evil person it would be typical of someone evil to take a decision like that Potier Tim 2001 Conflict in Nagorno Karabakh Abkhazia and South Ossetia A Legal Appraisal The Hague Netherlands Kluwer Law International p 5 ISBN 9041114777 Audrey L Altstadt The Azerbaijani Turks power and identity under Russian rule Hoover Press 1992 ISBN 0817991824 9780817991821 Black Garden Thomas de Waal page 292 Black Garden Thomas de Waal p 15 Elizabeth Fuller Nagorno Karabakh The Death and Casualty Toll to Date RL 531 88 14 December 1988 pp 1 2 a b c d e f de Waal Thomas 2003 Black Garden Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War New York New York University Press ISBN 0 8147 1945 7 Lieberman Benjamin 2006 Terrible Fate Ethnic Cleansing in the Making of Modern Europe Chicago Ivan R Dee pp 284 92 ISBN 1 5666 3646 9 RESOLUTION on the situation in Soviet Armenia Archived 8 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine page 21 The Encyclopedia of World History Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2001 p 906 Roeder Philip G 2007 Where nation states come from institutional change in the age of nationalism Princeton University Press p 51 ISBN 978 0 691 13467 3 Archived from the original on 23 September 2023 Retrieved 10 October 2011 Human Rights Watch Playing the Communal Card Communal Violence and Human Rights Archived 11 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine By early 1992 full scale fighting broke out between Nagorno Karabakh Armenians and Azerbaijani authorities Karabakh Armenian forces often with the support of forces from the Republic of Armenia conducted large scale operations Because 1993 witnessed unrelenting Karabakh Armenian offensives against the Azerbaijani provinces surrounding Nagorno Karabakh Since late 1993 the conflict has also clearly become internationalized in addition to Azerbaijani and Karabakh Armenian forces troops from the Republic of Armenia participate on the Karabakh side in fighting inside Azerbaijan and in Nagorno Karabakh Human Rights Watch The former Soviet Union Human Rights Developments Archived 18 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine In 1992 the conflict grew far more lethal as both sides the Azerbaijani National Army and free lance militias fighting along with it and ethnic Armenians and mercenaries fighting in the Popular Liberation Army of Artsakh began United States Institute of Peace Nagorno Karabakh Searching for a Solution Foreword Archived 2 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine Nagorno Karabakh s armed forces have not only fortified their region but have also occupied a large swath of surrounding Azeri territory in the hopes of linking the enclave to Armenia United States Institute of Peace Sovereignty after Empire Self Determination Movements in the Former Soviet Union Hopes and Disappointments Case Studies Archived 1 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine Meanwhile the conflict over Nagorno Karabakh was gradually transforming into a full scale war between Azeri and Karabakh irregulars the latter receiving support from Armenia Azerbaijan s objective advantage in terms of human and economic potential has so far been offset by the superior fighting skills and discipline of Nagorno Karabakh s forces After a series of offensives retreats and counteroffensives Nagorno Karabakh now controls a sizable portion of Azerbaijan proper including the Lachin corridor By Giving Karabakh Lands to Azerbaijan Conflict Would Have Ended in 97 Says Ter Petrosian Asbarez Asbarez 19 April 2011 Archived from the original on 1 October 2012 Retrieved 21 May 2011 Ter Petrosyan on the BBC Karabakh conflict could have been resolved by giving certain territories to Azerbaijan ArmeniaNow ArmeniaNow 19 April 2011 Archived from the original on 19 May 2011 Retrieved 21 May 2011 Pervyj prezident Armenii o raspade SSSR i Karabahe BBC BBC 18 April 2011 Archived from the original on 3 September 2011 Retrieved 21 May 2011 Human Rights Watch Seven Years of Conflict in Nagorno Karabakh December 1994 p xiii ISBN 1 56432 142 8 citing Natsional nyi Sostav Naseleniya SSSR po dannym Vsesoyuznyi Perepisi Naseleniya 1989 g Moskva Finansy i Statistika Azerbaijan closes last of emergency camps Archived 24 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine UNHCR Armenia Azerbaijan clash as ceasefire fails to stick Dawn com Agence France Presse 12 October 2020 Archived from the original on 8 June 2022 Retrieved 8 June 2022 de Waal Thomas 2003 Black Garden PDF New York University Press p 3 Archived from the original PDF on 26 February 2019 Retrieved 6 May 2020 No End in Sight to Fighting in Nagorno Karabakh Archived 16 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine by Ivan Watson National Public Radio Weekend Edition Sunday 23 April 2006 Proekt zayavleniya po Nagornomu Karabahu ozhidaet odobreniya parlamentskih sil Armenii Archived from the original on 14 September 2016 Retrieved 10 December 2010 Rezolyuciya PASE po Karabahu chto dalshe Archived 25 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine BBC Russian Resolutions on Political Affairs Archived 12 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine The Thirty Fourth Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers Resolutions on Political Affairs Archived 12 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine Islamic Summit Conference 13 14 May 2008 A RES 62 243 E A RES 62 243 Desktop undocs org Archived from the original on 1 November 2020 Retrieved 3 January 2021 Resolutions on Political Issues Adopted by the Council of Foreign Ministers Session of Shared Vision of a More Secure and Prosperous Islamic World Dushanbe Republic of Tajikistan 4 6 Jamadul Thani 1431H 18 20 May 2010 PDF Archived from the original PDF on 3 March 2016 FM Azerbaijan welcomes resolution Need for EU Strategy for South Caucasus adopted by European Parliament Archived 19 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Trend az 21 May 2010 EU s Ashton Says Nagorno Karabakh Elections Illegal Archived 7 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine RFE RL 21 May 2010 Bulgarian MEPs Urge EU to Be Proactive in South Caucasus Archived 10 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine Inhabitants of frontier regions of Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe Archived from the original on 18 September 2016 Retrieved 14 March 2017 PACE Adopts Anti Armenian Measure Rejects Another Armenian Weekly Archived from the original on 31 August 2019 Retrieved 14 March 2017 Resolution Inhabitants of frontier regions of Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water sarsang org Archived from the original on 15 March 2017 Azerbaijan military threat to Armenia Archived 25 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine The Daily Telegraph 22 November 2009 Retrieved 23 November 2009 Hodge Nathan 2 April 2016 A Dozen Dead in Heavy Fighting Reported in Nagorno Karabakh Wall Street Journal Archived from the original on 2 April 2016 Retrieved 2 April 2016 Dozens killed in Nagorno Karabakh clashes www aljazeera com Archived from the original on 2 April 2016 Retrieved 3 April 2016 UN Security Council calls for immediate end to fighting in Nagorno Karabakh France 24 30 September 2020 Archived from the original on 9 October 2020 Retrieved 30 September 2020 Russia Steps In To End War Between 2 Former Soviet Republics NPR org Archived from the original on 10 November 2020 Retrieved 10 November 2020 Ethnic Armenian forces confirm loss of Karabakh s second city say enemy nearing capital Reuters 9 November 2020 Archived from the original on 29 November 2020 Retrieved 9 November 2020 Azerbajdzhanskie aktivisty blokiruyut dorogu iz Karabaha v Armeniyu Odnovremenno v Karabahe propal gaz Azerbaijani activists are blocking the road from Karabakh to Armenia At the same time gas disappeared in Karabakh BBC News Russkaya Sluzhba in Russian Archived from the original on 12 April 2023 Retrieved 13 September 2023 Loe Catherine 27 April 2023 Azerbaijan sets up checkpoints on the Lachin corridor Economist Intelligence Unit Archived from the original on 2 August 2023 Retrieved 3 May 2023 The move installation of a checkpoint has increased the blockade of Nagorny Karabakh A checkpoint on the border would give Azerbaijan the ability to stop any cars travelling between Armenia and Nagorny Karabakh Hauer Neil 31 July 2023 Karabakh blockade reaches critical point as food supplies run low www intellinews com Archived from the original on 14 August 2023 Retrieved 1 August 2023 Occasional ICRC and Russian traffic continued to pass until June 15 at which point Azerbaijan halted all humanitarian deliveries No food medicine or fuel has entered Nagorno Karabakh since Gavin Gabriel 19 December 2022 Supplies begin to run low as Nagorno Karabakh blockade continues eurasianet org Archived from the original on 1 February 2023 Retrieved 22 December 2022 Kitachayev Bashir 16 December 2022 Azerbaijani roadblock cuts tens of thousands off from food fuel and medicine openDemocracy Archived from the original on 26 February 2023 Retrieved 21 December 2022 New Troubles in Nagorno Karabakh Understanding the Lachin Corridor Crisis www crisisgroup org 22 May 2023 Archived from the original on 16 August 2023 Retrieved 23 May 2023 While travellers were already few due to the blockade the ICRC reports that its ability to get people across has been curtailed since the installation of the checkpoint leaving only the Russian peacekeepers to facilitate trips to Armenia for medical care June Alerts and May Trends 2023 www crisisgroup org 31 May 2023 Archived from the original on 22 June 2023 Retrieved 19 June 2023 Checkpoint on Lachin corridor faced fierce opposition amid humanitarian crisis Azerbaijani military consolidated the blockade however leading to even fewer crossings and reduced transportation of goods Shahverdyan Lilit 12 January 2023 Blackouts and food rationing as Karabakh blockade enters second month Eurasianet Archived from the original on 23 April 2023 Retrieved 17 January 2023 But the supplies are meager compared to the pre blockade delivery of 12 000 tons of goods monthly and barely meet the needs of the local population which Armenian sources estimate at around 120 000 Nagorno Karabakh reports gas cut for second time since start of blockade OC Media 17 January 2023 Archived from the original on 16 March 2023 Retrieved 18 January 2023 Nagorno Karabakh again faces shortages as Azerbaijan closes Lachin Corridor OC Media 20 June 2023 Archived from the original on 19 July 2023 Retrieved 14 July 2023 Food shortages and fear as peacekeepers refused entry to Nagorno Karabakh OC Media Archived from the original on 22 July 2023 Retrieved 14 July 2023 Karabakh blockade reaches critical point as food supplies run low www intellinews com 31 July 2023 Archived from the original on 14 August 2023 Retrieved 1 August 2023 Russian mediated ceasefire announced in Nagorno Karabakh Armenpress 20 September 2023 Retrieved 24 September 2023 Tim Lister Anna Chernova Christian Edwards Radina Gigova 21 September 2023 Azerbaijan says it has retaken breakaway Armenian enclave after separatists surrender CNN com Archived from the original on 21 September 2023 Retrieved 21 September 2023 Ethnic Armenians accept Russia ceasefire plan after Azerbaijan offensive in Nagorno Karabakh CNN 20 September 2023 Archived from the original on 20 September 2023 Retrieved 20 September 2023 BREAKING Stepanakert to disband army in ceasefire deal CIVILNET 20 September 2023 Archived from the original on 20 September 2023 Retrieved 20 September 2023 MVD Nagornogo Karabaha obvinilo Azerbajdzhan v narushenii dogovora o prekrashenii ognya Meduza Archived from the original on 21 September 2023 Retrieved 21 September 2023 Aserbaidschan soll Waffenruhe gebrochen haben Rheinische Post 21 September 2023 Archived from the original on 21 September 2023 Retrieved 21 September 2023 Nagorno Karabakh Republic Country Overview www nkrusa org Archived from the original on 19 April 2012 Retrieved 21 June 2006 a b Zurcher Christoph 2007 The post Soviet wars rebellion ethnic conflict and nationhood in the Caucasus NYU Press p 184 ISBN 978 0814797099 Nagorno Karabakh Britannica Archived from the original on 29 June 2011 Retrieved 30 November 2010 DeRouen Karl R ed 2007 Civil wars of the world major conflicts since World War II Volume 2 ABC CLIO p 150 ISBN 978 1851099191 a b c d e f g h Beglaryan Ashot The population of Nagorno Karabakh for a year Union of Armenians of Russia Nagorno Karabakh Republic Excursion into history losevskaya ru Stepanakert Archived from the original on 31 October 2022 Retrieved 31 October 2022 a b c Javanshir Mirza Jamal Adigozal Beg Mirza 2004 Two Chronicles On The History of Karabagh PDF Introduction and annotated translation by George A Bournoutian Costa Mesa California Mazda Publishers pp 6 21 amp 24 ISBN 1 56859 179 9 Shnirelman Victor A 2001 The Value of the Past Myths Identity and Politics in Transcaucasia PDF Senri Ethnological Studies 57 Osaka National Museum of Ethnology 153 Archived PDF from the original on 25 March 2022 a b c d Herzig Edmund Kurkchiyan Marina 2005 The Armenians Past and Present in the Making of National Identity London RoutledgeCurzon pp 66 amp 121 ISBN 0 203 00493 0 OCLC 229988654 Bournoutian George 2017 The Population of the South Caucasus according to the 1897 General Census of the Russian Empire Iran amp the Caucasus 21 3 330 doi 10 1163 1573384X 20170307 ISSN 1609 8498 JSTOR 26548902 Archived from the original on 21 June 2022 Retrieved 21 June 2022 a b c Bassiouni M Cherif ed 2010 The Pursuit of International Criminal Justice A World Study on Conflicts Victimization and Post conflict Justice Vol 2 Antwerp Intersentia p 839 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Retrieved 22 November 2022 Great Soviet Encyclopedia Vol 17 New York Macmillan 1973 p 301 Stuart Kaufman University of Delaware Archived from the original on 20 October 2022 Retrieved 22 November 2022 Kaufman Stuart J 2001 Modern Hatreds The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War Ithaca New York pp 58 59 ISBN 978 1 5017 0199 3 OCLC 1160511946 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Nagorno Karabakh Armenia and Azerbaijan shaky ceasefire in force BBC News 10 October 2020 Archived from the original on 10 October 2020 Retrieved 10 October 2020 Perepis naseleniya AzSSR v 1921 g Census of the population of the AzSSR in 1921 karabagh am Archived from the original on 26 May 2011 Retrieved 26 June 2022 Vsesoyuznaya perepis naseleniya 1926 goda Nacionalnyj sostav naseleniya po regionam respublik SSSR Archived 5 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine Demoskop Vsesoyuznaya perepis naseleniya 1939 goda Raspredelenie gorodskogo i selskogo naseleniya oblastej soyuznyh respublik po nacionalnosti i polu Archived 5 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine Demoskop Vsesoyuznaya perepis naseleniya 1959 goda Gorodskoe i selskoe naselenie oblastej respublik SSSR krome RSFSR po polu i nacionalnosti Archived 5 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine Demoskop Vsesoyuznaya perepis naseleniya 1970 goda Gorodskoe i selskoe naselenie oblastej respublik SSSR krome RSFSR po polu i nacionalnosti Archived 5 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine Demoskop Vsesoyuznaya perepis naseleniya 1979 goda Gorodskoe i selskoe naselenie oblastej respublik SSSR krome RSFSR po polu i nacionalnosti Archived 5 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine Demoskop Vsesoyuznaya perepis naseleniya 1989 goda Raspredelenie gorodskogo i selskogo naseleniya oblastej respublik SSSR po polu i nacionalnosti Archived 5 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine Demoskop Airports in Azerbaijan Worldaerodata com Archived from the original on 4 August 2013 Retrieved 13 August 2013 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint unfit URL link BibliographyAli Ekinciel 1 August 2015 Karabakh Diary 1 ed Russia Sage ISBN 9786059932196 Archived from the original on 2 March 2021 Retrieved 3 August 2015 Further readingTsibenko Veronika 2018 Karabakh Nagorno In Fleet Kate Kramer Gudrun Matringe Denis Nawas John Rowson Everett eds Encyclopaedia of Islam 3rd ed Brill Online ISSN 1873 9830 Torres Ricardo Juan 2022 The role of Nagorno Karabakh in the shaping of Armenian and Azeri identity Consejo Argentino para las Relaciones Internacionales CARI a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help External linksNagorno Karabakh at Wikipedia s sister projects nbsp Definitions from Wiktionary nbsp Media from Commons nbsp News from Wikinews nbsp Quotations from Wikiquote nbsp Texts from Wikisource nbsp Textbooks from Wikibooks nbsp Resources from Wikiversity Articles and Photography on Artsakh Nagorno Karabakh from UK Photojournalist Russell Pollard All UN Security Council resolutions on Nagorno Karabakh courtesy U S State department Nagorno Karabakh Agreement of 2 November 2008 and country profile from BBC News Online Article on the 10 December Referendum from Russia Profile The conflict over the Nagorno Karabakh region dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference Report by rapporteur David Atkinson presented to Political Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Conciliation Resources Accord issue The limits of leadership Elites and societies in the Nagorny Karabakh peace process also key texts amp agreements and chronology in English amp Russian Independence of Kosovo and the Nagorno Karabakh Issue Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Interview with Thomas De Waal Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty Nagorno Karabakh Timeline Of The Long Road To Peace Resolution 1416 from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe USIP Nagorno Karabakh Searching for a Solution Key points by Patricia Carley Publication of the United States Institute of Peace USIP USIP Sovereignty after Empire Self Determination Movements in the Former Soviet Union Case Studies Nagorno Karabakh by Galina Starovoitova Publication of the United States Institute of Peace USIP Photo Series Nagorno Karabakh 2008 2011 daily life front line mine clearance culture religion Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nagorno Karabakh amp oldid 1212874519, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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