Chambarak () is a town and capital of the

Chambarak Municipality Gegharkunik (, ) is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is Gavar. Gegharkunik is inhabited by approximately 209,669 people and the majority are ethnic Armenians. Gegharkunik Province is located at the eastern part ...

of the

Gegharkunik Province Gegharkunik (, ) is a provinces of Armenia, province (''Administrative divisions of Armenia, marz'') of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is Gavar. Gegharkunik is inhabited by approximately 209,669 people and the majority are ethnic Armenian ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. The current Chambarak town was formed by amalgamation of three settlements: Krasnoselsk, Lower Chambarak (Nerkin Chambarak) and Upper Chambarak (Verin Chambarak).

Etymology

The town was known as ''Mikhaylovka'' until 1920, ''Karmir Gyugh'' from 1920 to 1971 and ''Krasnoselsk'' from 1972 to 1991, after which the town has been known as ''Chambarak''. Karmir Gyugh and Krasnoselsk both mean "Red Village" in Armenian and

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

respectively.

History

A settlement existed in the area of Chambarak during the Middle Ages, remains of the 11th-century St. Grigor Church and many

khachkars A ''khachkar'' (also spelled as ''khatchkar'') or Armenian cross-stone (, , խաչ ''xačʿ'' "cross" + քար ''kʿar'' "stone") is a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross, and often with additional motifs such as rosettes, interlaces, and ...

(cross-stones) dating back to the 13th century can be found in the town. The modern town was founded in 1835–40 as ''Mikhaylovka'' on the place of the older Armenian settlement of ''Chambarak'' on the Getik River by Russian Molokan immigrants, from the areas of

Samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...

and

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. With the

sovietization Sovietization ( ) is the adoption of a political system based on the model of soviets (workers' councils) or the adoption of a way of life, mentality, and culture modeled after the Soviet Union. A notable wave of Sovietization (in the second me ...

of Armenia in 1920, Mikhaylovka was renamed ''Karmir Gyugh'' (Red Village). In December 1937, the ''Krasnoselsk Raion'' was formed as an administrative division of the

Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (ArSSR), also known as Soviet Armenia, or simply Armenia, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union, located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Soviet Armenia ...

, with the village of ''Karmir Gyugh'' as its centre. In 1971, ''Karmir Gyugh'' was enlarged with the merger of the nearby settlements of Verin (upper) and Nerkin (lower) Chambarak, and turned into an urban-type settlement. The following year, the settlement was officially renamed ''Krasnoselsk''. As the USSR imploded, so the majority of Krasnoselsk's Molokan-Russian population left to return to Russia. Many of their vacated homes were given to IDPs from

Artsvashen Artsvashen () or Bashkend (; ) is a ''de jure'' Armenian village in the Chambarak Municipality of the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. It is a exclave of Armenia, and is surrounded by the territory of Azerbaijan, which has '' de facto'' occupi ...

, an Armenian exclave within Azerbaijan which had been captured by Azerbaijani forces on August 8, 1992. The same year, after the independence of Armenia, ''Krasnoselsk'' was renamed ''Chambarak'' and became an urban community (municipality). In 2009, former residents of Artsvashen village, still resident in Chambarak, were promised six billion drams of Armenian government compensation for their lost property. Two payments of 50 million drams then, in 2011, a bigger one of 708 million drams was given out in 2011, with around 2,000 people getting about 360 thousand drams each. However, further payments stalled, leading to protests in September 2018 and December 2019, demanding further funds to repair the dilapidated housing stock in Chambarak. Armenian premier Pashinyan claimed that the state had fulfilled all its obligations to refugees with money already disbursed, and with the provision of housing certificates to about 112 families. In July 2020, Chambarak became a site for clashes with Azerbaijan.

Economy

The population of Chambarak is mainly involved in agriculture and

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...

. It used to have small farms for cheese production. However, in an interview in 2011, ArmeniaNow correspondent Gayane Mkrtchyan interviewed the mayor who said "Agriculture isn't profitable here because the soil is arid, and businesses don't invest because the region is considered to be at risk. It's termed a border zone, but it doesn't get specific privileges".

Demographics

According to the 2022 census, the population of the town was 5,468. The municipal community of Chambarak has a population of 12,416 people.

Gallery

Carretera de Chambarak.jpg, Highway in Chambarak Ճամբարակ2.jpg, Scenery Chambarak chapel (11).jpg, Khachkar monument Apicultura en Chambarak.jpg, Beekeeping in the town Edificio administrativo de Chambarak.jpg, Municipal building in Chambarak

References

{{Portal bar, Geography Populated places in Gegharkunik Province Populated places established in the 1830s Elizavetpol Governorate