139-690: (Redirected from Nagorno-Karabakh War ) Nagorno-Karabakh war may refer to: Most often [ edit ] First Nagorno-Karabakh war (1988–1994) Second Nagorno-Karabakh war (2020) 2008 Mardakert clashes 2010 Mardakert clashes 2010 Nagorno-Karabakh clashes 2012 Armenian–Azerbaijani border clashes 2014 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict September 2022 Armenia–Azerbaijan clashes 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh Military clashes outside Nagorno-Karabakh but part of
278-516: A Soviet nationality policy that sought to create divisions within different ethnic and national groups. In addition to Nagorno-Karabakh, the Soviets also turned Nakhichevan, a region with a large Armenian minority population, into an exclave of Azerbaijan, separated by Armenia's border. More recent research has pointed to geography, Soviet economic policy, and ensuring close relations with Turkish nationalist leader Mustafa Kemal as factoring heavily in
417-718: 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. 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
556-592: A full-scale war. One month prior, on 26 November, the Azerbaijani Parliament had rescinded Karabakh's status as an autonomous region and renamed Stepanakert "Xankandi." In response, on 10 December, a referendum was held in Karabakh by parliamentary leaders (the local Azerbaijani community boycotted the referendum), with the Armenians voting overwhelmingly in favour of independence. On 6 January 1992,
695-546: 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. 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. On 10 December 1991, in
834-468: A land corridor for them to escape through. When the attack began, the attacking Armenian force easily outnumbered and overwhelmed the defenders who along with the civilians attempted to retreat north to the Azerbaijani held city of Agdam. The airport's runway was found to have been intentionally destroyed, rendering it temporarily useless. The attacking forces then went on to pursue those fleeing through
973-449: A large number of mercenaries from Ukraine and Russia. Between fifteen and twenty-five hundred Afghan mujahideen , along with fighters from Chechnya , participated in the fighting on Azerbaijan's side. Russia provided Armenia with heavy artillery and tanks. 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
1112-705: A military operation . On 19 September 2023, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive on Nagorno-Karabakh. 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. Azerbaijan held a meeting with representatives of the Artsakh Armenian community on 21 September in Yevlakh to start
1251-491: 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. The Artsakh forces collapsed rapidly, resulting in an Azerbaijani victory, the dissolution of the Republic of Artsakh, the exodus of almost the entire Armenian population from the region and the entry of Azerbaijani security forces into
1390-526: 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. On 1 January 1973, the oblast had a population of 153,000. 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 as
1529-486: A referendum boycotted by local Azerbaijanis, 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. According to Armenia's former president, Levon Ter-Petrossian ,
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#17327657329041668-514: A result of "migratory influx" — indicative of the socio-economic difficulties local Armenians experienced under Soviet Azerbaijani leadership which led them to emigrate from Karabakh. 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
1807-460: A result of the Shusha massacre, 5,000–6,000 Armenians were displaced to the regions of Varanda and Dizak . 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). 1923 statistics indicate that the NKAO was 94.8 percent Armenian, numbering 149,600, whilst
1946-621: 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 . In July 1918, the First Armenian Assembly of Nagorno-Karabakh declared the region self-governing and created a National Council and government. Later, Ottoman troops entered Karabakh, meeting armed resistance by Armenians. After
2085-691: A total of five divisions and five military air bases. Furthermore, Armenia had approximately 500 railroad cars of ammunition compared to Azerbaijan's 10,000. As MVD forces began pulling out, they bequeathed the Armenians and Azerbaijanis a vast arsenal of ammunition and armored vehicles. The government forces initially sent by Gorbachev three years earlier were from other Soviet republics and many had no wish to stay too long. Most were poor, young conscripts and many simply sold their weapons for cash or even vodka to either side, some even trying to sell tanks and armored personnel carriers (APCs). The unsecured weapons caches led both sides to accuse Gorbachev of allowing
2224-464: Is over 950 metres (3,120 ft) above sea level . 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
2363-732: 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
2502-670: The Armenian SSR , started a movement to have the autonomous oblast transferred to the Armenian SSR. In August 1987, Karabakh Armenians sent a petition for union with Armenia with tens of thousands of signatures to Moscow. 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,
2641-508: The BM-21 Grad multiple-launch rocket system during the bombardment. The indiscriminate shelling and aerial attacks, terrorized the civilian population and destroyed numerous civilian buildings, including homes, hospitals and other non- legitimate military targets . Human Rights Watch reported that main bases used by Azerbaijani armed forces for the bombardment of Stepanakert were the towns of Khojaly and Shusha. In February 1992, Khojaly
2780-727: The Elizavetpol Governorate within the Russian Empire. In 1823 the five districts corresponding roughly to modern-day Nagorno-Karabakh were 90.8% Armenian-populated. After the October Revolution , 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
2919-547: The First Republic of Armenia and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in three regions in particular: Nakhchivan , Zangezur (today the Armenian provinces of Syunik and Vayotz Dzor ) and Karabakh itself. Armenia and Azerbaijan quarreled over the prospective boundaries of the three regions. The Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh sought to unite the region with the Armenian republic. Following
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#17327657329043058-606: 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. 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
3197-686: The Lachin corridor , the sole road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and the outside world. On 23 April 2023, Azerbaijani forces installed a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor. 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
3336-620: 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. However, its new status was only confirmed following the outcome of the Russo-Persian War (1804-1813) , when through
3475-588: The Sarsang reservoir , Hadrut , and the south. The entire region lies, on average, 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) above sea level . 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
3614-455: The Shahumyan region and began to forcibly expel their Armenian inhabitants. The operation involved the use of ground troops, armored vehicles and artillery. The deportations of the Armenian civilians was accompanied by allegations of gross human rights violations. Operation Ring was viewed by many Soviet and Armenian government officials as a heavy-handed attempt by Moscow to intimidate
3753-536: 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. In this period, Azerbaijani forces carried out massacres against Armenians in Ghaibalishen, Jamilli, Karkijahan, and Pahlul (600–700 dead ), Stepanakert (several hundred dead ), and Shusha (several hundred to 12,000 dead ). As
3892-528: 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
4031-461: The Armenian forces reportedly warned about the upcoming attack and issued an ultimatum that unless the Azerbaijanis stopped the shelling from Khojaly they would seize the town. By late February, Khojaly had largely been cut off. On 26 February, Armenian forces, with the aid of some armored vehicles from the 366th, mounted an offensive to capture Khojaly. According to the Azerbaijani side and
4170-641: The Armenian populace and forced them to give up their demands for unification. In the end, the operation proved counter-productive, with the violence only reinforcing the belief among Armenians that armed resistance remained the only solution to the conflict. The initial Armenian resistance inspired volunteers to start forming irregular volunteer detachments. In September 1991, Russian president Boris Yeltsin and Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev tried their first hand at mediation efforts. After peace talks in Baku, Ganja, Stepanakert, and Yerevan on 20–23 September,
4309-583: The Armenians began to come back to Karabagh, and they accounted for the majority of its population by the mid-19th century". 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." According to an 1823 Russian survey published in Tiflis (present-day Tbilisi ) in 1866, Armenians made up 97 percent of
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4448-487: The Armenians settled in the region as early as the 7th century BC. Around 180 BC, Artsakh became one of the 15 provinces of the Armenian Kingdom and remained so until the 4th century. 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
4587-627: The Armenians, a reporter from Time magazine confirmed that "the Azerbaijani fighters in the region [were] far better equipped with Soviet military weaponry than their opponents." Following Gorbachev's resignation as president of the USSR on 25 December 1991, the remaining republics, including Kazakhstan, Belarus and Russia itself, declared their independence and the Soviet Union ceased to exist on 31 December 1991. This dissolution removed any barriers that were keeping Armenia and Azerbaijan from waging
4726-401: The Armenians. In the ensuing months after the capture of Khojaly, Azerbaijani commanders holding out in the region's last bastion of Shusha began a large-scale artillery bombardment with Grad rocket launchers against Stepanakert. By April, the shelling had forced many of the 50,000 people living in Stepanakert to seek refuge in underground bunkers and basements. Facing ground incursions near
4865-617: The Azerbaijani OMON and "the militia, still in uniform and some still carrying their guns, were interspersed with the masses of civilians" which may have been the reason why Armenian troops fired upon them. Under pressure from the APF due to the mismanagement of the defence of Khojaly and the safety of its inhabitants, Mutalibov was forced to submit his resignation to the National Assembly of Azerbaijan. On 26 January 1992,
5004-488: The Azerbaijani forces stationed in Shusha encircled and attacked the nearby Armenian village Karintak (located on the way from Shusha to Stepanakert) in an attempt to capture it. This operation was conducted by Azerbaijan's then-defence minister Tajedin Mekhtiev and was supposed to prepare the ground for a future attack on Stepanakert. The operation failed as the villagers and the Armenian fighters strongly retaliated. Mekhtiev
5143-530: 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. 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. In 1933, Nagorno-Karabakh had
5282-940: 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 ). The oblast's borders were drawn to include Armenian villages and to exclude as much as possible Azerbaijani villages. The resulting district ensured an Armenian majority. With
5421-754: The Caucasus by the Iranian king Nader Shah , in return for the meliks' victories over the invading Ottoman Turks in the 1720s. These five principalities in Karabakh were ruled by Armenian families who had received the title Melik (prince) and were the following: 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. The Armenian meliks maintained full control over
5560-459: The Caucasus. On 4 July 1921 the committee voted 4–3 in favor of assigning Nagorno-Karabakh to the newly created Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia , but a day later the Kavburo reversed its decision and voted to leave the region within the Azerbaijan SSR . Historians to this day debate the reason for the Kavburo's last-minute reversal. Early scholarship argued that the decision was driven by
5699-462: The Christian heritage of the Karabakh region and all their people were admitted to the Russian suzerainty. 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. The Armenian meliks were granted supreme command over neighbouring Armenian principalities and Muslim khans in
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5838-481: The Karabakh authorities. As a result, a ceasefire was reached on 12 May 1994 through Russian mediation. Despite the ceasefire, fatalities due to armed conflicts between Armenian and Azerbaijani soldiers continued. On 25 January 2005, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted PACE Resolution 1416 , which condemned ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis. On 15–17 May 2007
5977-421: The Karabakh leadership approach was maximalist and "they thought they could get more." 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
6116-511: The Moscow-based Human Rights organization Memorial , at the same time, as a result of attacks by Armenian armed forces, several thousand residents of Azerbaijani villages in the former Shahumian, Hadrut, Martakert, Askeran and Martuni rayons of Azerbaijan left their homes. Some villages (e.g., Imereti and Gerevent) were burned by the militants. There were instances of violence against the civilian population (in particular, in
6255-635: 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
6394-523: The Ottoman Empire and Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. According to a biographer of one of the men who served in these units, the detachments lacked organization at the outset of the war, often choosing to attack or defend certain targets and areas without much coordination. Insubordination was common, as many men simply chose not to show up, looted the belongings of dead soldiers, and sold supplies, such as diesel oil intended for armoured vehicles, on
6533-589: The Republic of Armenia stayed in the country proper. In an overall military comparison, the number of men eligible for military service in Armenia, in the age group of 17–32, totalled 550,000, while in Azerbaijan it reached 1.3 million. Most men on both sides had served in the Soviet army and so had some form of military experience prior to the conflict, including men who had served tours of duty in Afghanistan . Among Karabakh Armenians, about 60% had served in
6672-485: The Republic of Artsakh armed forces. Women were allowed to enlist in the Nagorno-Karabakh military, sometimes taking part in the fighting but mainly serving in auxiliary roles such as providing first-aid and evacuating wounded men from the battlefield. Azerbaijan's military functioned in much the same manner. It was better organized during the first years of the war. The Azerbaijan government carried out conscription and many Azerbaijanis enthusiastically enlisted for combat in
6811-501: The Sassanid satrapy of Caucasian Albania , which in turn came under strong Armenian religious and cultural influence. At the time the population of Artsakh and Utik consisted of Armenians and several Armenized tribes. 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
6950-779: The Soviet Eleventh Army invaded the Caucasus and within two years, the Caucasian republics were formed into the Transcaucasian SFSR of the Soviet Union. The Bolsheviks created a seven-member committee, the Caucasus Bureau (known as the Kavburo). Established under the auspices of the People's Commissariat for Nationalities , the Kavburo was tasked with resolving a myriad of national-related issues in
7089-563: The Soviet Azerbaijani authorities in Baku. After Stalin's death, Armenian discontent began to be voiced. In 1963, around 2,500 Karabakh Armenians signed a petition calling for Karabakh to be put under Armenian control or to be transferred to Russia . The same year saw violent clashes in Stepanakert, leading to the death of 18 Armenians. In 1965 and 1977, there were large demonstrations in Yerevan calling to unify Karabakh with Armenia. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev came to power as
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#17327657329047228-486: 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
7367-447: The Soviet Union on 23 August 1990, whereas Azerbaijan voted in favor of joining). As many Armenians and Azerbaijanis in Karabakh began acquiring arms located in caches throughout Karabakh, Mutalibov turned to Gorbachev for support in launching a joint military operation in order to disarm Armenian militants in the region. Codenamed Operation Ring , Soviet forces, acting in conjunction with the local Azerbaijani OMON , entered villages in
7506-427: The Soviet amy. Most Azerbaijanis were often subject to discrimination during their service in the Soviet military and relegated to work in construction battalions rather than fighting corps. Despite the presence of two military academies, including a naval school in Azerbaijan , the lack of such military experience was one factor that left Azerbaijan unprepared for the war. During the winter of 1991–1992 Stepanakert,
7645-644: The Soviet decision-making. The creation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) in 1923 left the region with a 94% Armenian population. The region's capital was moved from Shusha to Khankendi , which was subsequently renamed Stepanakert . Over the following decades of Soviet rule, the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians retained a strong desire to reunite with Armenia. A number of Armenian Communist Party officials attempted to persuade Moscow to reconsider
7784-492: 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. This caused widespread outrage in the Azeri town of Aghdam . The first direct confrontation of
7923-651: The Union Treaty which would decide if the Soviet republics would remain together. Newly elected non-communist leaders had come to power in the Soviet republics, including Boris Yeltsin in Russia (Gorbachev remained the President of the Soviet Union), Levon Ter-Petrosyan in Armenia, and Ayaz Mutalibov in Azerbaijan. Armenia and five other republics boycotted the referendum (Armenia declared its independence from
8062-426: The Zamirhakan family of kings," and in the year 837–838 he acquired sovereignty over Armenia, Georgia, and Albania. The name "Khachen" originated from Armenian word "khach," which means "cross". By 1000 the House of Khachen proclaimed the Kingdom of Artsakh with John Senecherib as its first ruler. Initially Dizak in southern Artsakh also formed a kingdom ruled by the ancient House of Aranshahik , descended from
8201-405: The affirmation of other sources including Human Rights Watch, the Moscow-based human rights organization Memorial and the biography of a leading Armenian commander, Monte Melkonian , documented and published by his brother, after Armenian forces captured Khojaly, they killed several hundred civilians evacuating from the town. Armenian forces had previously stated they would attack the city and leave
8340-402: 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. 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
8479-514: The agreement. The agreement itself was soon annulled by the Ninth Karabagh Assembly, which declared union with Armenia in April. 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. In 1921, Armenia and Georgia were also taken over by
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#17327657329048618-425: 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 . Nagorno-Karabakh falls within the lands occupied by peoples known to modern archaeologists as the Kura-Araxes culture who lived between
8757-429: The black market. Some former troops in the Soviet military offered their services to both sides. One of the most prominent officers to serve on the Armenian side, for example, was General Anatoly Zinevich , who remained in Nagorno-Karabakh for five years (1992–1997) and was involved in the planning and implementation of many operations of the Armenian forces. By the end of the war, he held the position of Chief of Staff of
8896-472: The broader conflict [ edit ] 2018 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes July 2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes 2021–2022 Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis See also [ edit ] Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Armenian–Azerbaijani war (disambiguation) 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh clashes (disambiguation) Battle of Qarabagh Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
9035-439: The capital of Nagorno-Karabakh was blockaded by Azerbaijani forces and many civilian targets in the city were intentionally bombarded by artillery and aircraft. The bombardment of Stepanakert and adjacent Armenian-held towns and villages during the blockade caused widespread destruction and the Interior Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh claimed that 169 Armenians died between October 1991 and April 1992. Azerbaijan used weapons such as
9174-504: The citizens of Azerbaijan, condemned ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis and Assembly requested immediate withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the region concerned. Several world leaders have met with the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan over the years, but efforts to maintain the ceasefire have failed. On 2 April 2016 Azerbaijani and Armenian forces again clashed in the region. The Armenian Defense Ministry alleged that Azerbaijan launched an offensive to seize territory in
9313-410: The city's outlying areas, military leaders in Nagorno-Karabakh organized an offensive to take the town. Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh ( / n ə ˌ ɡ ɔːr n oʊ k ər ə ˈ b ɑː k / , nə- GOR -noh kər-ə- BAHK ; lit. ' Upper Karabakh ' ) is a region in Azerbaijan , covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Part of
9452-530: The conflict and called on both sides to deescalate tensions and resume meaningful negotiations without delay. The war ended on 10 November 2020, when a trilateral ceasefire agreement was signed among Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia. 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 . In December 2022, Azerbaijanis claiming to be environmental activists blocked
9591-475: The conflict occurred as a large group of Azeris marched from Agdam to the Armenian populated town of Askeran. 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. Large numbers of refugees left Armenia and Azerbaijan as violence began against
9730-485: The corridor and opened fire upon them, killing scores of civilians. Facing charges of an intentional massacre of civilians by international groups, Armenian government officials denied the occurrence of a massacre and asserted an objective of silencing the artillery coming from Khojaly. An exact body count was never ascertained but conservative estimates have placed the number to 485. The official death toll according to Azerbaijani authorities for casualties suffered during
9869-463: The countries of the CIS . According to historian Deon Geldenhuys, "[t]his was due to Baku's deliberate promotion of Azerbaijani settlement in Karabagh as part of a policy of 'cultural de-Armenization' of the region"; further adding that Azerbaijan "neglected the economic needs of the territory". Stuart J. Kaufman, a professor of political science and international relations, writes of the difficulties of Karabakh Armenians: … Armenian-language education
10008-504: The country under the organization's "collective security umbrella". In January 1992, CIS forces established their new headquarters at Stepanakert and took up an active role in peacekeeping. The CIS incorporated older Soviet formations, including the 366th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment and elements of the Soviet 4th Army the longtime Ground Forces garrison in the Azerbaijani SSR. Sporadic battles between Armenians and Azerbaijanis intensified after Operation Ring. Thousands of volunteers joined
10147-806: 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 . 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
10286-459: The defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, forces led by Armenian general Andranik Ozanian entered Karabakh and made for the regional capital of Shusha in December 1918 when they were stopped by newly arrived British troops. The British commander suggested Andranik desist from marching on to Shusha and allow Armenia's and Azerbaijan's territorial disputes be left to the diplomats meeting at
10425-536: The deployment was approved by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar . The estimated manpower and equipment of each side in 1993–1994 was: Because Armenia did not have any secure treaty guarantees like those it would conclude with Russia (in 1997 and 2010) and the CSTO , it had to divide some of its own forces for the defense of its western border with Turkey. For the duration of the war, most of the military personnel and equipment of
10564-490: 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. The region is usually equated with the administrative borders of
10703-404: The earliest Kings of Caucasian Albania. In 1261, after the daughter of the last king of Dizak married the king of Artsakh, Armenian prince Hasan Jalal Dola , the two states merged into one Armenian Principality of Khachen . Subsequently, Artsakh continued to exist as a de facto independent principality. In the 15th century, the territory of Karabakh was part of the states ruled subsequently by
10842-602: The efforts of St. Mesrop Mashtots , the inventor of the Armenian alphabet . 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 . 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. Around
10981-539: The enclave itself, threatening the involvement of other countries in the region. By the end of the war in 1994, the Armenians were in full control of the enclave, in addition to surrounding Azerbaijani territories, most notably the Lachin corridor – a mountain pass that links Nagorno-Karabakh with mainland Armenia. A Russian-brokered ceasefire was signed in May 1994. As a result of the conflict, approximately 724,000 Azerbaijanis were expelled from Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and
11120-735: The enclave until the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020. The territorial ownership of Nagorno-Karabakh today is heavily contested between Armenians and Azerbaijanis. The current conflict has its roots in events following World War I . Amid the dissolution of the Russian Empire in November 1917 and seizure of power by the Bolsheviks , the three main ethnic groups of the South Caucasus , Armenians, Azerbaijanis and Georgians , struggled to come to an agreement on
11259-505: The events of 25–26 February is 613 civilians, of them 106 women and 83 children. On 3 March 1992, the Boston Globe reported over 1,000 people had been slain over four years of conflict. It quoted the mayor of Khojaly, Elmar Mamedov, as also saying 200 more were missing, 300 were held hostage and 200 injured in the fighting. A report published in 1992 by the human rights organization Helsinki Watch stated that their inquiry found that
11398-643: The final blow brought about by the shooting down of an Mi-8 helicopter near the village of Karakend in the Martuni District . The helicopter contained a peace mediating team made up of Russian and Kazakh observers and Azerbaijani high-ranking officials. In late 1991, Armenian militia groups launched a number of operations to capture Armenian-populated villages seized by Azerbaijani OMON in May–July 1991. A number of Azerbaijani units burned these villages down as they withdrew from their positions. According to
11537-423: The first Nagorno-Karabakh war. By the end of 1993, the conflict had caused about 30,000 casualties and created hundreds of thousands of refugees on both sides. By May 1994, the Armenians were in control of 14% of the territory of Azerbaijan. 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
11676-522: The first months after the Soviet collapse. Azerbaijan's national army consisted of roughly 30,000 men, as well as nearly 10,000 in its OMON paramilitary force and several thousand volunteers from the Popular Front. Suret Huseynov , a wealthy Azerbaijani, improvised by creating his own military brigade, the 709th, and purchased weapons and vehicles from the former Soviet 23rd Motor Rifle Division . Isgandar Hamidov 's Grey Wolves ( bozqurt ) Brigade
11815-537: The following months, as the Soviet Union disintegrated , it gradually grew into an increasingly violent conflict between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, resulting in ethnic cleansing , including the Sumgait (1988) and Baku (1990) pogroms directed against Armenians, and the Gugark pogrom (1988) and Khojaly Massacre (1992) directed against Azerbaijanis. Inter-ethnic clashes between the two broke out shortly after
11954-418: 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). On 27 September 2020, the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War broke out with an Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding territories. Azerbaijan made significant gains during
12093-420: The former Artsakh capital of Stepanakert , known as Khankendi by Azerbaijan. On 1 January 2024, the Republic of Artsakh was formally dissolved. 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
12232-621: The forthcoming Paris Peace Conference . The British in the meantime decided to appoint Khosrov bey Sultanov , an Azerbaijani statesman, as provisional governor, but insisted that all sides await the decision made at the peace conference. Intermittent fighting broke out shortly after and accelerated following the British pull-out in early 1919. The violence culminated in Shusha's partial destruction by Azerbaijani forces in April 1920. In April 1920,
12371-416: The greater region of Karabakh , it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik . Its terrain mostly consists of mountains and forestland. 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
12510-488: 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. 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". Historian Victor Schnirelmann writes that "In
12649-521: The internationally recognised territory of Azerbaijan) during the First Nagorno-Karabakh war , hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis were expelled from their lands. 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. During the rule of the Soviet Union, the Yevlakh – Aghdam – Stepanakert line connected
12788-582: The king of Armenia. King Tigran the Great of Armenia (who ruled from 95 to 55 BC) founded in Artsakh one of four cities named "Tigranakert" after himself. 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
12927-590: The loss in the war, Persia formally ceded Karabakh to the Russian Empire per the Treaty of Gulistan (1813), 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
13066-601: 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 prince Sahl Smbatian revolted in Artsakh and established the House of Khachen , which ruled Artsakh as a principality until the early 19th century. According to other sources, Sahl Smbatian "was of
13205-464: 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]
13344-599: The minority populations of the respective republics. 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. On 29 November 1989, direct rule in Nagorno-Karabakh was ended and the region was returned to Azerbaijani administration. The Soviet policy backfired, however, when
13483-413: 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
13622-436: The mountainous heights of Karabakh as Azerbaijan attempted to curb the secessionist movement in Nagorno-Karabakh. The enclave's parliament had voted in favor of uniting with Armenia and a referendum , boycotted by the Azerbaijani population of Nagorno-Karabakh, was held, in which a 99.89% voted in favor of independence with an 82.2% turnout. The demand to unify with Armenia began in a relatively peaceful manner in 1988; in
13761-477: The nature of political government in the region. An attempt at shared political authority in the form of the Transcaucasian Federation in the spring of 1918 came to naught in the face of an invasion by the forces of the Ottoman Empire . In May 1918, separate Armenian, Azerbaijani and Georgian national republics declared their formal independence from Russia. Fighting soon broke out between
13900-552: The new armies Armenia and Azerbaijan were trying to build from the ground up. In addition to the formation of regular army units, in Armenia many men volunteered to join detachments ( jokats ), units of about forty men, which, combined with several others, were placed under the command of a lieutenant colonel. Many styled themselves in the mold of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Armenian revolutionary figures, such as Andranik Ozanian and Garegin Nzhdeh , who had fought against
14039-568: The new general secretary of the Soviet Union and began implementing plans to reform the Soviet Union through his policies of perestroika and glasnost . Many Armenians took advantage of the unprecedented opening of political expression offered by his policies and brought the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh back into the limelight. Karabakh Armenian leaders complained that the region had neither Armenian language textbooks in schools nor in television broadcasting, and that Azerbaijan's Communist Party General Secretary Heydar Aliyev had attempted to "Azerify"
14178-643: The occupied Azerbaijani territories". 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". 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
14317-558: The occupied territories. 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
14456-412: The parliament of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) in Azerbaijan voted to unite the region with Armenia on 20 February 1988. The declaration of secession from Azerbaijan was the culmination of a territorial conflict. As Azerbaijan declared its independence from the Soviet Union and removed the powers held by the enclave's government, the Armenian majority voted to secede from Azerbaijan and in
14595-508: The population in the five districts ( mahals ) of Nagorno-Karabakh, 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
14734-506: The process of re-integrating the region into Azerbaijan. Ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan were nonetheless reported by both Artsakh and local residents in Stepanakert on 21 September. In the aftermath of the offensive, an exodus of Armenians from the region started. On 28 September 2023, the Republic of Artsakh agreed to dissolve itself by 1 January 2024. Nagorno-Karabakh has a total area of 4,400 square kilometres (1,699 sq mi). Approximately half of Nagorno-Karabakh terrain
14873-623: The process proclaimed the unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh . Full-scale fighting erupted in early 1992. Turkey sent mercenaries to fight for Azerbaijan and assisted in blockading trade to Armenia, including humanitarian aid . International mediation by several groups including the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) failed to bring an end resolution that both sides could work with. In early 1993, Armenian forces captured seven Azerbaijani-majority districts outside
15012-605: The question, to little avail. In 1936, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Armenia Aghasi Khanjian was murdered by the deputy head (and soon head) of the NKVD Lavrentiy Beria after submitting Armenian grievances to Stalin, which included requests to return Nagorno-Karabakh and Nakhichevan to Armenia. The Armenians of the region frequently complained over the span of Soviet rule that their cultural and national rights were continually trampled upon by
15151-451: The region by increasing the influence and number of Azerbaijanis living in Nagorno-Karabakh while at the same time pressuring its Armenian population to emigrate (Aliyev himself moved to Moscow in 1982, when was promoted to the position of the first deputy prime minister of the USSR). Over the course of seventy years, the Armenian population of Karabakh had dwindled to nearly three-quarters of
15290-472: The region declared its independence from Azerbaijan. The withdrawal of Soviet interior troops from Nagorno-Karabakh did not necessarily lead to the complete drawdown of former Soviet military power. In February 1992, the former Soviet republics came to form the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). While Azerbaijan abstained from joining, Armenia, fearing a possible invasion by Turkey, did, bringing
15429-523: The region to slip into conflict. The Azerbaijanis purchased a large quantity of vehicles, with the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan reporting in November 1993 the acquisition of 286 tanks, 842 armored vehicles and 386 artillery pieces during the power vacuum. The emergence of black markets helped facilitate the import of Western-made weaponry. Most weaponry was of either Russian or former Eastern bloc manufacture; although, some improvisation
15568-533: The region until the mid-18th century. 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 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,
15707-523: The region. 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. 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. On 19 September, Azerbaijan launched
15846-445: 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. On 27 September 2020, a new war erupted in Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding territories. The United Nations strongly condemned
15985-460: The region. The initial advantage tilted in Azerbaijan's favour. During the Cold War , Soviet military doctrine for the defense of the Caucasus had outlined a strategy where Armenia would become a combat zone in the event that NATO member Turkey invaded from the west. Thus, there were only three military divisions stationed in the Armenian SSR, and the country had no airfields, while Azerbaijan had
16124-601: The report by Evgeni Kirilov , the Bulgarian member of the Parliament. The resolution states in particular that "the occupied Azerbaijani regions around Nagorno-Karabakh must be cleared as soon as possible". 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
16263-405: 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." According to Armenian sources,
16402-521: The salaries of the separatists, but denied sending any of its own men into combat. Armenia faced a debilitating blockade by the now Republic of Azerbaijan , as well as pressure from neighbouring Turkey, which decided to side with Azerbaijan and build a closer relationship with it. In early February, the Azerbaijani villages of Malıbəyli, Karadagly and Agdaban were conquered and their population evicted, leading to at least 99 civilian deaths and 140 wounded. The only land connection Armenia had with Karabakh
16541-651: The services of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar , a veteran of the Afghan war against the Soviets. Recruitment took place mostly in Peshawar by commander Fazle Haq Mujahid and several groups were dispatched to Azerbaijan for different duties. According to Washington post , who refers to unidentified diplomats, the Afghans started arriving in August 1993 after Azerbaijani Deputy Interior Minister Roshan Jivadov had visited Afghanistan and
16680-568: The sides agreed to sign the Zheleznovodsk Communiqué in the Russian city of Zheleznovodsk taking the principles of territorial integrity, non-interference in internal affairs of sovereign states, observance of civil rights as a base of the agreement. The agreement was signed by Yeltsin, Nazarbayev, Mutalibov and Ter-Petrosyan. The peace talks came to an end, however, due to continuing bombardment and atrocities by Azerbaijani OMON in Stepanakert and Chapar in late September. with
16819-680: The surrounding territories, while 300,000–500,000 Armenians living in Azerbaijan or Armenian border areas were displaced. After the end of the war and over a period of many years, regular peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan were mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group but failed to result in a peace treaty. This left the Nagorno-Karabakh area in a state of legal limbo, with the Republic of Artsakh remaining de facto independent but internationally unrecognized. Ongoing tensions persisted, with occasional outbreaks of armed clashes. Armenian forces occupied approximately 9% of Azerbaijan's territory outside
16958-765: The title Nagorno-Karabakh war . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nagorno-Karabakh_war&oldid=1257763027 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages First Nagorno-Karabakh war De facto independence of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and de facto unification with Armenia 42,600 (1993–94) Civilian deaths: Civilians missing: Civilians displaced: 1994 ceasefire 2020 ceasefire 2023 ceasefire The First Nagorno-Karabakh War
17097-572: The titles of meliks . 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
17236-456: The total population by the late 1980s. In February 1988, Armenians began protesting and staging workers' strikes in Yerevan, demanding unification with the enclave. On 20 February 1988, the leaders of the regional Soviet of Karabakh voted in favour of unifying the autonomous region with Armenia in a resolution. In early 1991, President Gorbachev held a special countrywide referendum called
17375-399: The two rivers Kura and Araxes . The ancient population of the region consisted of various autochthonous local and migrant tribes who were mostly non-Indo-Europeans. 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. Other scholars suggest that
17514-569: The unrecognised Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, and Shusha , which lies partially in ruins. Vineyards, orchards, and mulberry groves for silkworms are developed in the valleys. 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 . Historically,
17653-415: The village Meshali ). Starting in late 1991, when the Azerbaijani side started its counter-offensive, the Armenian side began targeting Azerbaijani villages. According to Memorial, the villages Malibeyli and Gushchular , from which Azerbaijani forces regularly bombarded Stepanakert, were attacked by Armenians. Houses were burned and dozens of civilians were killed. Each side accused the other of using
17792-470: The villages for military purposes. On 19 December, interior ministry troops began to withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh, completing their departure on 27 December. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the withdrawal of interior ministry troops from Nagorno-Karabakh, the situation in the region spiraled out of control. As the dissolution of the Soviet Union accelerated in late 1991, both sides sought to acquire weaponry from military caches located throughout
17931-503: The war, regaining all of the occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh and capturing one-third of Nagorno-Karabakh, including Shusha and Hadrut . 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
18070-540: 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
18209-554: Was also made by both sides. Azerbaijan received substantial military aid and provisions from Turkey, Israel and numerous Middle East countries. The Armenian Diaspora donated a significant amount of aid to Armenia through the course of the war and even managed to push for legislation in the United States Congress to ban American military aid to Azerbaijan in 1992. While Azerbaijan charged the Russians with helping
18348-417: Was ambushed and up to 70 Azeri soldiers died. After this debacle, Mekhtiev left Shusha and was fired as defence minister. On 28 March, Azerbaijani troops deployed to attack Stepanakert, attacked Armenian positions above the village Kərkicahan from the village of Dzhangasan. During the afternoon of the next day, Azerbaijani units took up positions in close proximity to the city, but were quickly repulsed by
18487-447: Was an ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan , between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by Armenia , and the Republic of Azerbaijan with support from Turkey . As the war progressed, Armenia and Azerbaijan, both former Soviet republics , entangled themselves in protracted, undeclared mountain warfare in
18626-503: Was another privately funded military outfit. According to Mariana Budjeryn's 2022 book Inheriting the Bomb , in winter 1990 Azerbaijani nationalist militias even attempted to secure or prevent the Soviet military from removing tactical nuclear weapons stationed on Azerbaijani territory. The Azerbaijani government sought foreign support as well, flush with money from oil revenues, it hired foreign mercenaries . The military further retained
18765-491: Was captured by a mixed force of ethnic Armenians and, according to international observers, the 366th CIS Regiment. After its capture, Khojaly became the site of the largest massacre to occur during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. Human Rights Watch estimates that at least 161 Azerbaijani civilians, as well as a number of unarmed hors de combat soldiers, were killed as they fled the town. The siege
18904-462: Was finally lifted a few months later, in May 1992, when Armenian forces scored a decisive victory by capturing Shusha . On 2 January 1992 Ayaz Mutalibov assumed the presidency of Azerbaijan. Officially, the newly created Republic of Armenia publicly denied any involvement in providing any weapons, fuel, food, or other logistics to the secessionists in Nagorno-Karabakh. Ter-Petrosyan later did admit to supplying them with logistical supplies and paying
19043-410: 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. Karabakh (including modern-day Nagorno-Karabakh), became a protectorate of
19182-435: 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, … 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
19321-563: Was through the narrow, mountainous Lachin corridor which could only be reached by helicopters. The region's only airport was in Khojaly , a small town 7 kilometres (4 miles) north of Stepanakert and a population of somewhere between 6,000 and 10,000 people. Khojaly had been serving as an artillery base from which Grad rockets were launched upon the civilian population of capital Stepanakert: On some days as many as 400 Grad rockets rained down on Armenian multi-story apartments. By late February,
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