Krkjan () or Karkijahan () is a settlement near the city of

Stepanakert Stepanakert officially Khankendi is a city in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. It was the capital city of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh prior to the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in ...

. The village had an Armenian-majority population prior to the Khaibalikend massacre in 1919 and subsequently an Azerbaijani-majority population prior to the

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians until 2023, and seven surrounding districts, inhabited mostly by Azerbai ...

in 1988.

History

Pre-Soviet period

In 1886, the village had an Armenian-majority population, consisting entirely of farmers. In June 1919, the village and the neighboring villages of Ghaibalishen (Khaibalikend), Jamilli, and Pahlul were looted and destroyed in the Khaibalikend massacre with 600-700 ethnic

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

being killed by armed Kurdish irregulars and Azerbaijani soldiers.

Soviet Union

During the early

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

period, the village was a district within the city of Stepanakert in the

Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) was an Autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union, autonomous oblast within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic that was created on July 7, 1923. Its capital was the city of Stepanakert. The majori ...

of the

Azerbaijan SSR The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, also referred to as the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, Azerbaijani SSR, AzSSR, Soviet Azerbaijan or simply Azerbaijan, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union be ...

, known as ''Karkijan'' (). In 1988, the district was given the status of an urban-type settlement, after Azerbaijani IDPs from Stepanakert settled in the village. Tensions steadily grew between Azerbaijanis of Karkijahan and Armenians of Stepanakert. In one incident on 5 May 1989, three locals and four soldiers were wounded. Similar incidents were recorded in July 1989, and November 1991.

First Nagorno-Karabakh War

The settlement had an Azerbaijani-majority population of 1,796 inhabitants prior to the outbreak of the

in 1988. Following the expulsion of ethnic Azerbaijanis from the city of Stepanakert in 1988, most of them settled in Karkijahan. Armenian troops entered Karkijahan on 29 December 1991, and established full control over it the following day. By the time of its capture, most of the village's Azerbaijani population had already left the village.Юрий Романов. «Я снимаю войну»: Школа выживания. Москва, «Права человека», 2001 — p. 50 According to Azerbaijan, 34 people, including 3 women and 2 minors, were killed during the battles. During the hostilities in Karkijahan, a journalist of Radio Mayak, Leonid Lazarevich, was killed. Azerbaijani forces recaptured the village by 31 December, however it was finally retaken by Armenian forces in late January - early February 1992. The village was subsequently burned to the ground by Armenian forces.

Republic of Artsakh

Since the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, the settlement has been administrated as part of the city of

by the

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh ( ), officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh ( ), was a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory was internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Between 1991 and 2023, Artsakh cont ...

. It was renamed ''Krkjan'' ().

Gallery

Karkijahan, Azerbaijan 2.jpg, Karkijahan view in the past Karkicahan village in Azerbaijan.jpg, Old image of Karkijahan Karkijahan, Azerbaijan 1.jpg, View of Karkijahan Karkijahan, Azerbaijan.jpg, View of Karkijahan

References

External links

*
World Gazetteer: Azerbaijan
– World-Gazetteer.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Krkjan Stepanakert