Artsakh ( ), officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh ( ), was a

breakaway state Breakaway or Break Away may refer to: Film, television and radio * ''Breakaway'' (1955 film), a British film * ''Breakaway'' (1966 film), an American short film by Bruce Conner * ''Breakaway'' (1990 film), an Australian film featuring Deborah ...

in the

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...

whose territory was internationally recognised as part of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. Between 1991 and 2023, Artsakh controlled parts of the former

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 Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, including its capital

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 ...

. It had been an

enclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is so ...

within Azerbaijan from the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding occupied territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involvi ...

until the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive, when the Azerbaijani military took control over the remaining territory controlled by Artsakh. Its only overland access route to

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 ...

after the 2020 war was via the

Lachin corridor __NOTOC__ The Lachin corridor was a mountain road in Azerbaijan that linked Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Being the only road between these two territories, it was considered a humanitarian corridor or "lifeline" to the Armenian population of ...

, which was placed under the supervision of Russian peacekeeping forces. The predominantly Armenian-populated region of

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh (, ; ) 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 Province, Syunik. Its ter ...

was claimed by both the

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (), also known as the Azerbaijan People's Republic (; ), was the first secular democracy, democratic republic in the Turkic peoples, Turkic and Muslim worlds. *Tadeusz Swietochowski. ''Russia and Azerbaijan: ...

and the

First Republic of Armenia The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia, was an independent History of Armenia, Armenian state that existed from May (28th ''de jure'', 30th ''de facto'') 1918 to 2 December 1920 in ...

when both countries became independent in 1918 after the fall 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 ...

. A brief war over the region broke out in 1920. The dispute was largely shelved after the

Soviet Union 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 ...

established control over the area, and created the

(NKAO) within 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 ...

in 1923. Throughout the Soviet period, Armenians in the

were heavily discriminated against. The Soviet Azerbaijani authorities worked to suppress Armenian culture and identity in Nagorno-Karabakh, pressured Armenians to leave the region and encouraged Azerbaijanis to settle within it, although Armenians remained the majority population. In the lead-up to the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

in the late 1980s, the region re-emerged as a source of dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In 1991, a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

held in the NKAO and the neighbouring Shahumyan Province resulted in a declaration of independence. The conflict erupted into a full-out war in 1992. The war was won by Artsakh with support from Armenia. Although a ceasefire agreement was signed in 1994, the frozen situation left the predominantly Armenian-populated territory de facto independent, with a self-proclaimed government in Stepanakert, but still heavily reliant on and closely integrated with Armenia, in many ways functioning as a ''de facto'' part of Armenia. Even though Armenia never officially recognized the region's independence, it became the main financial and military supporter of the territory. In 2017, a referendum in the area approved a new constitution that transformed the system of government from a

semi-presidential A semi-presidential republic, or dual executive republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamen ...

to a

presidential Presidential may refer to: * "Presidential" (song), a 2005 song by YoungBloodZ * Presidential Airways (charter), an American charter airline based in Florida * Presidential Airways (scheduled), an American passenger airline active in the 1980s * ...

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

with a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

in addition to changing the name of the state from the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh to the Republic of Artsakh, although both names remained official. From 1994 until 2020, Armenian and Azerbaijani troops remained separated by a contested line of contact which saw sporadic deadly incidents during the intervening years. In 2020, a new war was fought in the region, with Azerbaijan achieving victory and regaining all the surrounding occupied districts and a significant portion of Artsakh's claimed territory. The Lachin corridor linking Artsakh to Armenia was blockaded by Azerbaijan in December 2022. In September 2023, Azerbaijan launched another military offensive. The government of Artsakh agreed to disarm and enter talks with Azerbaijan, prompting a flight of ethnic Armenians from the area. On 28 September 2023, the president of Artsakh signed a decree to dissolve all of the republic's institutions by 1 January 2024, though the president later attempted to annul this decree. * * * * * By 1 October 2023, almost the entire population of the region had fled to Armenia, marking the end of a millennia-old Armenian presence in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Etymology

According to scholars, inscriptions dating to the

Urartian Urartian or Vannic is an extinct Hurro-Urartian language which was spoken by the inhabitants of the ancient kingdom of Urartu (''Biaini'' or ''Biainili'' in Urartian), which was centered on the region around Lake Van and had its capital, Tushp ...

period mention the region under a variety of names: "Ardakh", "Urdekhe", and "Atakhuni". In his ''

Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

'', the classical historian

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

refers to an Armenian region which he calls "Orchistene", which is believed by some to be a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

version of the old name of Artsakh. According to another hypothesis put forth by David M. Lang, the ancient name of Artsakh possibly derives from the name of King

Artaxias I Artaxias I (from ) was the founder of the Artaxiad dynasty of Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), Armenia, ruling from 189 BC to 160 BC. Artaxias was a member of a branch of the Orontid dynasty, the earlier ruling dynasty of Armenia. He expanded his ...

of Armenia (190–159 BC), founder of the

Artaxiad dynasty The Artaxiad dynasty (also Artashesian) ruled the Kingdom of Armenia from 189 BC until their overthrow by the Romans in 12 AD. It was founded by Artaxias I, who claimed kinship with the previous ruling dynasty of Armenia, the Orontids. Their ...

and the kingdom of Greater Armenia.

Folk etymology Folk etymology – also known as (generative) popular etymology, analogical reformation, (morphological) reanalysis and etymological reinterpretation – is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a mo ...

holds that the name is derived from "Ar" (Aran) and "tsakh" (woods, garden) (i.e., the gardens of Aran Sisakean, the first

nakharar ''Nakharar'' ( ''naxarar'', from Parthian ''naxvadār'' "holder of the primacy") was a hereditary title of the highest order given to houses of the ancient and medieval Armenian nobility. ''Nakharar'' system Medieval Armenia was divided into l ...

of northeastern Armenia). The name "Nagorno-Karabakh", commonly used in English, comes from the Russian name which means "Mountainous Karabakh". Karabakh is a Turkish/Persian word thought to mean "black garden". The Azerbaijani name for the area, "Dağlıq Qarabağ", has the same meaning as the Russian name. The term "Artsakh" lacks the non-Armenian influences present in "Nagorno-Karabakh". Artsakh was revived for use in the 19th century, and was the preferred term used by the population, in English and Russian as well as Armenian. "Mountainous Karabakh" was sometimes employed directly as part of the official English name, "Republic of Mountainous Karabakh". This reflected an attempt to shift away from the negative associations thought linked with "Nagorno-Karabakh" due to the war.

History

Dissolution of the USSR; First Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988–1994)

In the lead-up to the

, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was revitalised. In 198788, a mass movement started in Nagorno-Karabakh and Soviet Armenia calling on the Soviet authorities to transfer the region to Armenia, citing self-determination laws in the Soviet constitution. Starting with the pogrom against Armenians in the Azerbaijani town of

Sumgait Sumqayit (or Sumgait; ; , ) is a city in Azerbaijan, located near the Caspian Sea, on the Absheron Peninsula, about away from the capital Baku. The city had a population of 427,000 at the beginning of 2024, making it the List of cities in Azerb ...

in February 1988, the conflict became increasingly violent, and attempts by Moscow to resolve the dispute failed. In summer 1988, the legislatures of Soviet Armenia and the NKAO passed resolutions declaring the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, which were rejected by Azerbaijani and central Soviet authorities. Azerbaijan declared its independence from the Soviet Union on August 30, 1991, and Azerbaijan formally achieved its sovereignty following a referendum on September 21, 1991. Later, on November 27, 1991, the parliament revoked the autonomous status of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, prompting local leaders to call for a referendum on independence from Azerbaijan on December 10, 1991. The result saw approximately 99 percent of ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region vote for separation.

Artur Mkrtchyan Artur Aslani Mkrtchyan (; 16 February 1959 – 14 April 1992) was the first Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, who was elected on 7 January 1992. He made an important contribution to reinforcing the defensive cap ...

was chosen as president of the Nagorno-Karabakh region following parliamentary elections on December 28, 1991. On January 2, 1992, President

Ayaz Mutallibov Ayaz Niyazi oghlu Mutallibov (12 May 1938 – 27 March 2022) was an Azerbaijani politician who served as the first president of Azerbaijan. He was the last leader of Soviet Azerbaijan, and first President of Azerbaijan from 18 May 1990 until 6 M ...

of Azerbaijan placed the Nagorno-Karabakh region under direct presidential control, and Nagorno-Karabakh formally declared its independence from Azerbaijan on January 6, 1992. The declaration was rejected by newly independent

, leading to the outbreak of full-scale war with Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh on one side and Azerbaijan on the other. The

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, 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 Nag ...

ended with a ceasefire in May 1994, with Armenian forces controlling practically the entire territory of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast as well as most of seven adjacent districts of Azerbaijan. According to

UNHCR The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and Humanitarian protection, protect refugees, Internally displaced person, forcibly displaced communities, and Statelessness, s ...

, the conflict resulted in over 600,000

internally displaced people An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee. I ...

within

De facto post-war independence (1994–2020)

The Republic of Artsakh became a de facto independent country, though closely integrated with Armenia, while its territory remained internationally recognised as part of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Professor Matt Qvortrup considered it hypocritical that Western Europe countries had eagerly recognised the succession of several states from

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, ignoring the laws of territorial integrity, but simultaneously did not show the same interest for the Nagorno-Karabakh referendum, noting "the practice of independence referendums seemingly owes more to national interest than to adherence to principles of

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

". Intermittent fighting over the region continued after the 1994 ceasefire without significant territorial changes, while long-standing international mediation attempts to create a peace process were initiated by the

OSCE Minsk Group The OSCE Minsk Group was created in 1992 by the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), now Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), to encourage a peaceful, negotiated resolution to the conflict between ...

in 1994.

Second Nagorno-Karabakh War (2020), Azerbaijan gains

Wall with images of fallen Armenian soldiers during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war

On 27 September 2020, a war broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Artsakh. Fighting continued until November, and Azerbaijan recaptured territories, primarily in the southern part of the region, as well as the strategic town of

Shushi Shusha (, ) or Shushi () is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet Union, Soviet ...

. A ceasefire agreement signed on 10 November 2020 between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia declared an end to the renewed fighting, and established that Armenia would withdraw from remaining occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh over the next month. The agreement included provisions for a Russian peacekeeping force to deploy to the region, with Russian President Vladimir Putin stating that the ceasefire agreement would "create the conditions for a long-term settlement". The war may have claimed thousands of lives.

Aftermath of 2020 war

After the 2020 war, the Republic of Artsakh maintained control over the areas of the former oblast that had not been captured during the war. In 2021, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia held a trilateral meeting about Artsakh. This was expected to be the first of a regular series of meetings between the three countries, per an agreement to promote economic and infrastructure development throughout the region.

Blockade (2022–2023)

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. 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; 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. Limited traffic was conducted by Russian peacekeepers and the

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of rules of war and ...

to transport patients in need of medical care and provide humanitarian supplies. However, from 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.

2023 Azerbaijani offensive, exodus, and dissolution

Ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh seeking refuge due to attacks by Azerbaijani armed forces

On 19 September, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive into Artsakh-controlled territory. The following day, the government of the Republic of Artsakh agreed to disarm and a ceasefire took effect. Initial negotiations between representatives of the Karabakh Armenian community and the Government of Azerbaijan took place on 21 September in

Yevlakh Yevlakh (, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, 265 km west of the capital of Baku. It is surrounded by but administratively separate from the Yevlakh District. Etymology The settlement is mentioned by the 13th century Armenian historian Stephen O ...

to discuss security, rights and "integration". The talks, which lasted two hours, ended without a formal agreement; however, a statement by Azerbaijani Presidency said that they were "constructive and positive" and that further negotiations would continue. On 24 September, a mass evacuation of ethnic-Armenian civilians started, fearing persecution and

ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, or religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making the society ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal such as deportation or population transfer, it ...

if they remained. A second round of negotiations between representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians and Azerbaijan took place in Khojaly on 25 September, where humanitarian issues were discussed. A third meeting between took place in

on 29 September. On 28 September, Artsakh president Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree stating that all state institutions would be dissolved by 1 January 2024, bringing the existence of the republic to an end. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev visited the region on 15 October and officially raised the flag of Azerbaijan at the building that was previously used as the Artsakh Presidential Palace. On 22 December 2023, Shahramanyan said that there was no official document stipulating the dissolution of government institutions, and his office stated that it was "empty paper".

Geography

The Artsakh Republic was mountainous, a feature which has given it its former name (from the Russian for "Mountainous/Highland Karabakh"). It is in area. The largest water body is the Sarsang Reservoir, and the major rivers are the Tartar and

Khachen The Principality of Khachen ( Modern Armenian: ) was a medieval Armenian principality on the territory of historical Artsakh (present-day Karabakh).''Abū-Dulaf Misʻar Ibn Muhalhil's Travels in Iran (circa A.D. 950)'', ed. and trans. Vladim ...

rivers. The country is on a plateau which slopes downwards towards the east and southeast, with the average altitude being

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. Most rivers in the country flow towards the Artsakh Valley. The geology of Artsakh is primarily part of the Kussary-Divichi Foredeepthe northern foredeep of the

Greater Caucasus The Greater Caucasus, ''Didi K’avk’asioni''; is the major mountain range of the Caucasus Mountains. It stretches for about from west-northwest to east-southeast, from the Taman Peninsula of the Black Sea to the Absheron Peninsula of t ...

. The trough is filled with

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

age deepwater,

molasse __NOTOC__ In geology, "molasse" () are sandstones, shales and conglomerates that form as terrestrial or shallow marine deposits in front of rising mountain chains. The molasse deposits accumulate in a foreland basin, especially on top of flys ...

and marine sedimentary rocks. The climate is mild and temperate. The average temperature is , which fluctuates annually between in July and in January. The average precipitation can reach in some regions, and it is foggy for over 100 days a year. Over 2,000 kinds of plants exist in Artsakh, and more than 36% of the country is forested. The plant life on the

steppes In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropical gr ...

consists mostly of semi-desert vegetation, while

subalpine zone Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

and

alpine tundra Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...

ecosystems can be found above the forest in the highlands and mountains.

Government and politics

Artsakh was a

(transformed from a semi-presidential one, after the 2017 referendum). The

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

's post was abolished and

executive power The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

resided with the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

who was both the

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

and

head of government In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...

. The president was directly elected for a maximum of two-consecutive five-year terms. The last President was Samvel Shahramanyan. The

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

was a unicameral legislature. It had 33 members who were elected for 5-year terms. Elections took place within a

multi-party system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system where more than two meaningfully-distinct political parties regularly run for office and win elections. Multi-party systems tend to be more common in countries using proportional ...

; in 2009, the American NGO

Freedom House Freedom House is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. It is best known for political advocacy surrounding issues of democracy, Freedom (political), political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, wi ...

ranked the Republic of Artsakh above the republics of

and

with respect to

civil and political rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

. Five parties had members in the parliament: the Free Motherland party had 15 members, the

Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (, abbr. ARF (ՀՅԴ) or ARF-D), also known as Dashnaktsutyun (Armenians, Armenian: Դաշնակցություն, Literal translation, lit. "Federation"), is an Armenian nationalism, Armenian nationalist a ...

had 8 members, Democratic Party of Artsakh had 7 members, Movement 88 had 2 members and the

National Revival National revival or national awakening is a period of ethnic self-consciousness that often precedes a political movement for national liberation but that can take place at a time when independence is politically unrealistic. In the history of Euro ...

party had one member. A number of non-partisan candidates had also taken part in the

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

, with some success; in 2015, two of the 33 members to the National Assembly took their seats without running under the banner of any of the established political parties in the republic. Elections in Artsakh were not recognised by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, the United States and the

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC; ; ), formerly the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1969. It consists of Member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, 57 member s ...

, as well as numerous other countries, who called them a source of increased tensions. Artsakh was heavily dependent on Armenia, and in many ways ''de facto'' functioned and was administered as part of Armenia. However, Armenia was hesitant to officially recognise Artsakh.

Constitution

The founding documents of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic were the ''Proclamation of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic'' and the ''Declaration of State Independence of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic''. For a long time no constitution was created, with the republic instead declaring Armenian law applied on its territory through a 1992 law. Even when new laws were passed, they were often copies of equivalent Armenian laws. On 3 November 2006, the then-president of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic,

Arkadi Ghukasyan Arkadi Arshaviri Ghukasyan (; born 22 June 1957) is an Armenian politician who served as the second President of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. He was elected as the President on 8 September 1997 and re-elected in 2002, until his ...

, signed a decree to hold a referendum on a draft Nagorno-Karabakh constitution. It was held on 10 December of the same year and according to official preliminary results, with a turnout of 87.2%, as many as 98.6 per cent of voters approved the constitution. The first article of the document described the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, alternatively called the Republic of Artsakh, as "a sovereign, democratic state based on social justice and the rule of law." More than 100 non-governmental international observers and journalists who monitored the poll evaluated it positively, stating that it was held to a high international standard. However, the vote was criticised harshly by the European Union,

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...

and

GUAM Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

, which rejected the referendum, deeming it illegitimate. The EU announced it was "aware that a 'constitutional referendum' has taken place," but emphasised its stance that only a negotiated settlement between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenians could bring a lasting solution.

Secretary General of the Council of Europe The Secretary General of the Council of Europe () is elected by the Parliamentary Assembly from a shortlist proposed by the Committee of Ministers for a term of five years. The secretary general is entrusted with the responsibility of meetin ...

Terry Davis asserted that the poll "will not be recognized... and is therefore of no consequence". In a statement, the OSCE chairman in office

Karel De Gucht Karel Lodewijk Georgette Emmerence De Gucht (; born 27 January 1954) is a Belgian politician who was the European Commissioner for Trade from February 2010 until 31 October 2014. The holding of the referendum was also criticised by Turkey, which traditionally supports Azerbaijan because of common ethnic Turkic roots, and has historically had severe tensions with Armenia. Another referendum was held on 20 February 2017, with an 87.6% vote in favour on a 76% turnout for instituting a new constitution. This constitution among other changes turned the government from a semi-presidential to a fully presidential model. Its name was changed from "Constitution of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic" to "Constitution of the Republic of Artsakh", though both remained official names of the country. The referendum was seen as a response to the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh clashes.

Administrative divisions

Artsakh was divided into seven provinces and one special

administrative city The largest cities of South Korea have an autonomous status equivalent to that of provinces. Seoul, the largest city and capital, is classified as a ''teukbyeolsi'' ( Special City), while the next six-largest cities are classified as ''gwangyeo ...

. According to its authorities, it consisted of the territories in which the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was proclaimed in 1991: the former

(NKAO), the Shahumyan Region and the Getashen subdistrict; and those territories that formed part of the Republic of Artsakh before the

Second Nagorno-Karabakh War The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, surrounding occupied territories. It was a major esca ...

. Also claimed by Artsakh was the Shahumyan Region of the Azerbaijan SSR, which has been under Azerbaijani control since the

. While the Shahumyan Region was not part of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, representatives from Shahumyan declared independence along with the Oblast, and the proclamation of Artsakh includes the Shahumyan region within its borders. After the end of the

, an

agreement Agreement may refer to: Agreements between people and organizations * Gentlemen's agreement, not enforceable by law * Trade agreement, between countries * Consensus (disambiguation), a decision-making process * Contract, enforceable in a court of ...

was signed according to which most of the controlled territories of the Republic of Artsakh were transferred to Azerbaijani control, but the Republic of Artsakh continues to claim these territories. Following the Republic of Artsakh's declaration of independence, the Azerbaijani government abolished the NKAO and created Azerbaijani districts in its place. As a result, some of Artsakh's divisions corresponded with the Azerbaijani districts, while others had different borders.

Law enforcement

Law enforcement in Artsakh was inconsistent, as the region was a de facto

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

and officially part of

.Mr David Atkinson, United Kingdom, European Democrat Group, (Rapporteur
The conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference
,

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up of ...

, 29 November 2004 Law enforcement in Nagorno-Karabakh was the responsibility of the

Interior Ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

and the NSS.

Police of Artsakh

After the annexation of Artsakh to the

, on 4 August 1923, the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs of the

was established. In the years following the

, the Republic of Artsakh created its own police force. In 2001, the National Assembly's law "On Police" was adopted on 30 November 2006. On 11 March 2014,

Police Day Several nations observe or formerly observed a Police Day to recognize the public holiday, professional holiday or anniversary of their national police force. By country Armenia Celebrated on 16 April, Police Workers Day () in Armenia commemorate ...

in Artsakh was declared for 16 April. The police force followed an organization similar to that of the

Police of Armenia The Police of the Republic of Armenia () is the national police of Armenia. History Soviet era The first police service of Armenia was formed in 1918, under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the First Republic of Armenia. On April 21, 1920, ...

National Security Service

Artsakh had its own National Security Service, based on the NSS of Armenia. It was a republican body that elaborated and implemented the policies of the government in the national security sector. By decree of the NKR Supreme Council adopted on 18 January 2006, the NKAO State Security Department was named the State Department of National Security under the NKR Council of Ministers. By order of the NKR National Assembly on 26 November 2003, the NKR laws "On National Security Bodies" and "On Service in National Security Bodies" were adopted. The activities of the NSS were based in the decrees of 25 September 2012. The NSS was headed by Lieutenant General Kamo Aghajanyan.

Military

According to the Constitution of Artsakh, the army was under the civilian command of the government. The

Artsakh Defense Army The Artsakh Defence Army () was the defence force of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh. Established in 1992, it united previously disorganized defence units which were formed in the early 1990s. It was disbanded on 20 September 2023 under t ...

was officially established on 9 May 1992 as a defence against Azerbaijan, but was subsequently disbanded on 21 September 2023 under the terms of Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement following the 2023 Azerbaijani military offensive. It fought the Azerbaijani army to a ceasefire on 12 May 1994. At its peak, the Artsakh Defense Army consisted of around 18,000–20,000 officers and soldiers. However, only around 8,500 citizens from Artsakh served in the army; some 10,000 came from Armenia. There were also 177–316

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

s, 256–324 additional fighting vehicles, and 291–322 guns and

mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...

. Armenia supplied arms and other military necessities to Artsakh. Several battalions of Armenia's army were deployed directly in the Artsakh zone on occupied Azerbaijani territory. The Artsakh Defense Army fought in Shusha in 1992, opening the

between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh (1992), and staged the defence of the

Martakert Martakert (, , also , ) or Aghdara ( ) is a town in the Aghdara District of Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Until 2023 it was controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh, as the centre of its Martakert Province. The villa ...

front from 1992 to 1994.

Foreign relations

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was based in

. Since no UN member or observer ever recognised Artsakh, none of its foreign relations were of an official diplomatic nature. However, the Republic of Artsakh operated five permanent Missions and one Bureau of Social-Politic Information in France. Artsakh's Permanent Missions existed in

, Australia, France, Germany, Russia, the United States, and one for Middle East countries based in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

. The goals of the offices were to present the Republic's positions on various issues, to provide information and to facilitate the peace process. In his 2015 speech, the President of Armenia

Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan (, ; born 30 June 1954)Official biography of Serzh Sargsyan

stated that he considered Nagorno-Karabakh "an inseparable part of Armenia". The Republic of Artsakh was neither a member nor observer of the UN or any of its specialised agencies. However, it was a member of the

Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations The Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations, also commonly and colloquially known as the Commonwealth of Unrecognized States, rarely as CIS-2, is an international organization in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus of three breakaway ...

, commonly known as the "Commonwealth of Unrecognized States". While no UN member states recognised Artsakh, some unrecognised and partially recognised states had done so, including

Transnistria Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

and

South Ossetia South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia or the State of Alania, is a landlocked country in the South Caucasus with International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, partial diplomatic recognition. It has an offici ...

. Various sub-national governments, including several

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

s, had issued calls for recognition of Artsakh by their national governments.

De facto independent Artsakh (1993–2023): conflicting ideologies and diplomacy

Artsakh–Armenia relations

Artsakh was a ''de facto''

state, calling itself the ''Republic of Artsakh''. It had close relations with

and used the same currency, the

dram Dram, DRAM, or drams may refer to: Technology and engineering * Dram (unit), a unit of mass and volume, and an informal name for a small amount of liquor, especially whisky or whiskey * Dynamic random-access memory, a type of electronic semicondu ...

. According to

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

, "from the beginning of the Karabakh conflict, Armenia provided aid, weapons, and volunteers. Armenian involvement in Artsakh escalated after a December 1993 Azerbaijani offensive. The Republic of Armenia began sending conscripts and regular Army and Interior Ministry troops to fight in Artsakh." The politics of Armenia and the de facto Artsakh are so intertwined that

Robert Kocharyan Robert Sedraki Kocharyan ( ; born 31 August 1954) is an Armenian politician. He served as the President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from 1994 to 1997 and Prime Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh from 1992 to 1994. He served as the second Presiden ...

served as the first President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, from 1994 to 1997, then as prime minister of Armenia from 1997 to 1998, and then as the second President of Armenia, from 1998 to 2008. However, Armenian governments have repeatedly resisted internal pressure to unite the two, due to ongoing negotiations under the auspices of the

. In his case study of Eurasia, Dov Lynch of the Institute for Security Studies of WEU believes that "Karabakh's independence allows the new Armenian state to avoid the international stigma of aggression, despite the fact that Armenian troops fought in the war between 1991 and 1994 and continue to man the Line of Contact between Karabakh and Azerbaijan." Lynch also cites that the "strength of the Armenian armed forces, and Armenia's strategic alliance with Russia, are seen as key shields protecting the Karabakh state by the authorities in

". Some sources consider Artsakh as functioning ''de facto'' as a part of Armenia.

Negotiations, outside mediation (2001–2007)

2001 Paris, Key West talks

Representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan, France, Russia and the United States met in Paris and in

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

, Florida, in early 2001. Despite rumours that the parties were close to a solution, the Azerbaijani authorities – both during

Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev (10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was an Azerbaijani politician who was a Soviet party boss in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic from 1969 to 1982, and the third president of Azerbaijan from October 1993 to ...

's period of office, and after the accession of his son

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005. The son and second child of former Aze ...

in the October 2003 elections – have firmly denied that any agreement was reached in Paris or Key West.

2004 Astana talks

Further talks between the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents,

and

, were held in September 2004 in Astana,

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

, on the sidelines of the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

(CIS) summit. Reportedly, one of the suggestions put forward was the withdrawal of the occupying forces from the Azeri territories adjacent to Artsakh and then holding

s (plebiscites) in Artsakh and Azerbaijan proper regarding the future status of the region.

2006 Rambouillet talks

On 10 and 11 February 2006, Kocharyan and Aliyev met in

Rambouillet Rambouillet (, , ) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region of France. It is located beyond the outskirts of Paris, southwest of its Kilometr ...

, France, to discuss the fundamental principles of a settlement to the conflict. Contrary to the initial optimism, the Rambouillet talks did not produce any agreement, with key issues such as the status of Artsakh and whether Armenian troops would withdraw from Kalbajar still being contentious.

2006 Bucharest meeting

Talks were held at the Polish embassy in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

in June 2006. Again, American, Russian, and French diplomats attended the talks that lasted over 40 minutes. Earlier, Armenian President Kocharyan announced that he was ready to "continue dialogue with Azerbaijan for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and with Turkey on establishing relations without any preconditions". According to the Armenian foreign minister in 2006,

Vardan Oskanyan Vartan Minasi Oskanian (born February 7, 1955) is an Armenian politician and diplomat who served as the Foreign Minister of Armenia from 1998 to 2008 under President Robert Kocharyan. He is the founder of the Civilitas Foundation. Early life a ...

, no progress was made at this latest meeting. Both presidents failed to reach a consensus on the issues from the earlier Rambouillet conference. He noted that the Kocharyan-Aliyev meeting was held in a normal atmosphere. "Nevertheless," he added, "the foreign ministers of the two countries are commissioned to continue talks over the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and try to find common points before the next meeting of the presidents." The major disagreement between both sides at the Bucharest conference was the status of Artsakh. Azerbaijan's preferred solution would be to give Artsakh the "highest status of autonomy adopted in the world". Armenia, on the other hand, endorsed a popular vote by the inhabitants of Artsakh to decide their future, a position that was also taken by the international mediators. On 27 June, the Armenian foreign minister said both parties agreed to allow the residents of Artsakh to vote regarding the future status of the region. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially refuted that statement. According to Azeri opposition leader Isa Gambar, Azerbaijan did indeed agree to the referendum, but his claim was never substantiated.

2006 Prague Process

The "Prague Process" overseen by the OSCE Minsk Group was brought into sharp relief in the summer of 2006 with a series of rare public revelations seemingly designed to jump-start the stalled negotiations. After the release in June of a paper outlining its position, which had until then been carefully guarded, U.S. State Department official Matthew Bryza told

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

that the Minsk Group favoured a referendum in Karabakh that would determine its final status. The referendum, in the view of the OSCE, should take place not in Azerbaijan as a whole, but in Artsakh only. This was a blow to Azerbaijan, and despite talk that their government might eventually seek a more sympathetic forum for future negotiations, this did not occur.

2007 Azerbaijan's PKK claim

On 10 December 2007 Azerbaijan's deputy foreign minister said Azerbaijan would be prepared to conduct anti-terrorist operations in Nagorno-Karabakh against alleged bases of the

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or the PKK, isDespite the PKK's 12th Congress announcing plans for total organisational dissolution, the PKK has not yet been dissolved de facto or de jure. a Kurds, Kurdish militant political organization and armed ...

(PKK). Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Vladimir Karapetian previously rejected the allegations as "fabricated" and suggested the accusations of the PKK presence were a form of provocation.

Armenian, Artsakh fundamental positions (c. 2007–10)

Armenia did not recognise Azerbaijani claims to Nagorno-Karabakh and believed the territory should have self-determination. Both the Armenian and Artsakhi governments emphasized that the independence of Artsakh was declared around the time the Soviet Union dissolved and its members became independent. The Armenian government insisted that the government of Artsakh be part of any discussions on the region's future, and rejected ceding occupied territory or allowing refugees to return before talks on the region's status. In 2009, the president of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Bako Sahakyan declared that "Artsakh will never be a part of Azerbaijan. Artsakh security should never be an article of commerce either. As to other issues, we are ready to discuss them with Azerbaijan". In 2010 president of Republic of Armenia

Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan (, ; born 30 June 1954)Official biography of Serzh Sargsyan

in his speech in the Chatham House of the British Royal Institute of International Affairs declared that "Karabakh was never a part of independent Azerbaijan: it was annexed to Azerbaijan by a decision of the Soviet Union party body. The people of Karabakh never put up with this decision, and upon the first opportunity, seceded from the Soviet Union fully in line with the laws of the Soviet Union and the applicable international law".

Aliyev: fundamental position on Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh (2008)

In 2008, Azerbaijani president

stated that "Nagorno-Karabakh will never be independent; the position is backed by international mediators as well; Armenia has to accept the reality" and that "in 1918,

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

was granted to the

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 ...

. It was a great mistake. The khanate of Iravan was

Azeri Azeri or Azeri Turk may refer to: * Azeri people, an ethnic group also known as Azerbaijanis * Citizens of Azerbaijan * Azeri language, the modern-day Turkic language * Old Azeri, an extinct Iranian language * Azeri Turk (journal), Academic jour ...

territory, the Armenians were guests here".

UN, EU, Minsk Group diplomacy (2008–10)

On 14 March 2008, the United Nations General Assembly passed a

non-binding resolution A non-binding resolution is a motion adopted by a deliberative body that does not enact a law or a substantive rule, and is simply used to make known what the opinions of that body are in relation to a certain fact or event. This type of resoluti ...

by a vote of 39 to 7, with 100 abstentions, reaffirming Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, expressing support for that country's internationally recognised borders and demanding the immediate withdrawal of all Armenian forces from all occupied territories there. The resolution was supported mainly by members of the

(OIC) and

. Azerbaijan is a member of both groups, which include other nations facing breakaway regions. The resolution was opposed by all three members of the

Minsk Group. On 20 May 2010, the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

adopted a resolution "on the need for an

EU strategy for the South Caucasus The EU Strategy for the South Caucasus is a long term strategy which is directed to create a secure political, economical and social environment next to the eastern borders of the European Union. This is an objective of the European Neighbourhoo ...

", which states that the EU must pursue a strategy to promote stability, prosperity and conflict resolution in the South Caucasus. The resolution "calls on the parties to intensify their peace talk efforts for the purpose of a settlement in the coming months, to show a more constructive attitude and to abandon preferences to perpetuate the status quo created by force and with no international legitimacy, creating in this way instability and prolonging the suffering of the war-affected populations; condemns the idea of a military solution and the heavy consequences of military force already used, and calls on both parties to avoid any further breaches of the 1994 ceasefire". The resolution also calls for the withdrawal of Armenian forces from all occupied territories of Azerbaijan, accompanied by the deployment of international forces to be organised with respect of the UN Charter in order to provide the necessary security guarantees in a period of transition, which will ensure the security of the population of Artsakh and allow the displaced people to return to their homes and further conflicts caused by homelessness to be prevented; and states that the EU believes that the position according to which Artsakh includes all occupied Azerbaijani lands surrounding Artsakh should rapidly be abandoned. It also notes "that an interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh could offer a solution until the final status is determined and that it could create a transitional framework for peaceful coexistence and cooperation of Armenian and Azerbaijani populations in the region." On 26 June 2010, the presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group's co-chair countries, France, Russia, and United States made a joint statement, reaffirming their "commitment to support the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan as they finalize the Basic Principles for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict".

Armenian position (2019)

During his August 2019 visit to Stepanakert, the

Prime Minister of Armenia The prime minister of Armenia () is the head of government and most senior minister within the Government of Armenia, Armenian government, and is required by the constitution to "determine the main directions of policy of the Government, manage ...

Nikol Pashinyan Nikol Vovayi Pashinyan (born 1 June 1975) is an Armenian politician who is serving as the 16th and current Prime Minister of Armenia, prime minister of Armenia since 8 May 2018. A journalist by profession, Pashinyan founded his own newspaper in ...

presented the strategic development goals set for Armenia for the next three decades. He added that he made no special provision for Nagorno-Karabakh because "Artsakh is Armenia and there is no alternative". Soon afterwards, Armenia's Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan commented on Pashinyan's statement by saying he had "nothing to add" to Pashinyan's formulation of Armenia's position in the conflict.

Displacement, landmines problem during conflict (1988–2023)

Displaced people

Azeri and other non-Armenian refugees

The first Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resulted in the displacement of 597,000 Azerbaijanis (this figure includes 230,000 children born to

(IDPs) and 54,000 who had returned) including Artsakh, and 220,000 Azeris, 18,000 Kurds and 3,500 Russians fled from Armenia to Azerbaijan from 1988 to 1989. The Azerbaijani government estimated that 63% of IDPs lived below the poverty line, compared to 49% of the total population. About 154,000 lived in the capital, Baku. According to the

International Organization for Migration The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations related organization working in the field of migration. The organization implements operational assistance programmes for Human migration, migrants, including internally displa ...

, 40,000 IDPs lived in camps, 60,000 in dugout shelters, and 20,000 in railway cars. Forty-thousand IDPs lived in EU-funded settlements and UNHCR provided housing for another 40,000. Another 5,000 IDPs lived in abandoned or rapidly deteriorating schools. Others lived in trains, on roadsides in half-constructed buildings, or in public buildings such as tourist and health facilities. Tens of thousands lived in seven tent camps where poor water supply and sanitation caused

gastrointestinal infection Gastrointestinal diseases (abbrev. GI diseases or GI illnesses) refer to diseases involving the Human gastrointestinal tract, gastrointestinal tract, namely the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and rectum; and the accessory or ...

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, and

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

. The government required IDPs to register their place of residence in an attempt to better target the limited and largely inadequate national and international assistance due to the Armenian advocated and US imposed restrictions on humanitarian aid to Azerbaijan. Many IDPs were from rural areas and found it difficult to integrate into the urban labour market. Many international humanitarian agencies reduced or ceased assistance for IDPs citing increasing oil revenues of the country. The infant mortality among displaced Azerbaijani children was 3–4 times higher than in the rest of the population. The rate of

stillbirth Stillbirth is typically defined as fetus, fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without vital signs, signs of life. A stillbirth can often result in the feeling of guilt (emotio ...

was 88.2 per 1,000 births among the internally displaced people. As of 2003, the majority of the displaced had lived in difficult conditions for more than 13 years. During the 2020 war President Aliyev stated he intended for refugees to return to the area. While many former cities are currently uninhabitable, the Azerbaijani government and some Azerbaijani companies have announced plans to rebuild infrastructure and invest in the newly controlled territories. The Azerbaijani military is clearing mines prior to resettlement, which may take 10–13 years.

Armenian refugees

280,000 peoplevirtually all ethnic Armenians who fled Azerbaijan during the 1988–1993 war over the disputed region of Artsakhwere living in refugee-like circumstances in Armenia. Some left the country, principally to Russia. Their children born in Armenia acquire citizenship automatically. Their numbers are thus subject to constant decline due to departure, and de-registration required for naturalisation. Of these, about 250,000 fled Azerbaijan (areas outside Nagorno-Karabakh); approximately 30,000 came from Nagorno-Karabakh. All were registered with the government as refugees at year's end. According to the Nagorno Karabakh Republic information, Some 350,000 Armenians were expelled from Azerbaijan and some 36,000 of them came to Nagorno Karabakh. Additionally some 71,000 Karabakh Armenians were internally displaced; see:

Land mines

Mines were laid in the region from 1991 to 1994 by both conflicting parties in the

first Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, 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 Nag ...

. In 2005, the

United Nations Development Program The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries Poverty reduction, eliminate poverty and achieve Sustainable development, sustainable economic growth and Human development (economics), hu ...

(UNDP) claimed that 123 people had been killed and over 300 injured by landmines near Nagorno-Karabakh since the 1994 truce.

HALO Trust The HALO Trust (Hazardous Area Life-support Organization) is a humanitarian non-government organisation which primarily works to clear landmines and other explosive devices left behind by conflicts. With over 10,000 staff worldwide, HALO has ope ...

, a UK-based demining NGO, was the only international organisation conducting

demining Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By cont ...

in Nagorno-Karabakh. They destroyed 180,858 small arms ammunition, 48,572 units of "other explosive items", 12,423 cluster bombs, 8,733 anti-personnel landmines, and 2,584 anti-tank landmines between 2000 and 2016. By 2018, they had cleared 88% of the territory's minefields, with a target to clear the rest by 2020. The main cities of

and

Shusha Shusha (, ) or Shushi () is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet Union, Soviet ...

, as well as the main north–south highway, had been cleared and were safe for travel. The demining effort had been largely funded by the

United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 1961 and reorganized in 1998 ...

(USAID).

Economy

The socio-economic situation of the Republic of Artsakh was greatly affected by the 1991–1994 conflict. Yet, foreign investments began to come. The origin of most venture capital comes from Armenians in Armenia, Russia, United States, France, Australia, Iran, and the Middle East. Notably the telecommunications sector was developed with Karabakh Telecom investing millions of dollars in mobile telephony, spearheaded by a Lebanese company. Karabakh Telecom was disconnected from external communication on 27 September 2023, calls and internet traffic to the Nagorno-Karabakh region are carried out from then on only through telecom operators and providers of Azerbaijan. Copper and gold mining has been advancing since 2002 with development and launch of operations at

Drmbon Drmbon () or Heyvaly () is a village in the Aghdara District of Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Until 2023 it was controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh. The village had an ethnic Armenian-majority population until the e ...

deposit. Approximately 27–28 thousand tons (wet weight) of concentrates are produced with average copper content of 19–21% and gold content of 32–34 g/t. Azerbaijan considers any mining operations in Nagorno-Karabakh illegal and has vowed to engage an international audit company to determine the damages suffered by Azerbaijan's state-run ore management company as a result. In 2018, the government of Azerbaijan announced that it was planning to appeal to an international court and the law enforcement agencies of the countries where the mining companies involved are registered. The banking system was administered by Artsakhbank (a Yerevan-based Armenian bank fulfilling the functions of the state bank of Nagorno-Karabakh) and a number of other Armenian banks. The republic used the

Armenian dram The Armenian dram (; Armenian dram sign, sign: ֏; abbreviation: դր.; ISO 4217, ISO code: AMD) is the currency of Armenia. It was historically subdivided into 100 luma (). The Central Bank of Armenia is responsible for issuance and circulation ...

. Wine growing and processing of agricultural products, particularly wine (i.e., storage of wine, wine stuffs, cognac alcohol) was one of the prioritised directions of the economic development.

Tourism

The republic developed a tourist industry geared to Armenia and the

Armenian diaspora The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout the world. ...

. The republic showed a major increase in tourists over the last several years of its existence because of Artsakh's many cultural sights. Before the 2020 war there were nine hotels in

. The Artsakh development agency said 4,000 tourists visited Artsakh in 2005. The figures rose to 8,000 in 2010 (excluding visitors from Armenia). The agency cooperated with the Armenia Tourism Development Agency (ATDA) as Armenia is the only way tourists (mainly Armenians) could access Artsakh. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh reported continuous expansion of visitors' geography. Tourist infrastructure was developed around sites such as monasteries that showcase the Armenian history in the region, with Islamic sites rarely restored, while some ghost cities and areas near the front line were off limit to tourists. The Tourism Development Agency of Artsakh was established in Yerevan as a non-governmental organisation in the Republic of Armenia to promote tourism further in Artsakh. It made preparations for tour operators, travel agencies and journalists covering the region, and arranges for hotel services, shopping, catering, recreation centers. Tourist attractions included: * Gandzasar monastery, main tourist attraction. *

Ghazanchetsots Cathedral Holy Savior Cathedral (, ''Surb Amenap′rkich mayr tachar''), commonly referred to as Ghazanchetsots (), is an Armenian Apostolic cathedral in Shusha in Azerbaijan. It is the ''cathedra'' of the Diocese of Artsakh of the Armenian Apostolic C ...

of the Holy Savior (Under Azerbaijani control since 2020 war) * Church of the Holy Mother of God " Kanach Zham" (Under Azerbaijani control since 2020 war) *

Amaras Monastery Amaras Monastery () is an Armenian monastery near the village of Sos, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan. It was a prominent religious and educational center in medieval Armenia. Azerbaijan denies the monastery's Armenian Apostolic ...

* Tsitsernavank Monastery (Under Azerbaijani control since 2020 war) * St. Yeghishe Arakyal Monastery * Dadivank Monastery * Gtichavank monastery (Under Azerbaijani control since 2020 war) * Bri Yeghtsi monastery *

Yerits Mankants Yerits Mankants Monastery () is a 17th-century Armenian monastery, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan. The monastery is located in the mountains to the west of Maghavuz, southwest of Tonashen, and close to the fortress of Jraberd. ...

* Katarovank Monastery (Under Azerbaijani control since 2020 war) Other tourist attractions included: * Fort Mayraberd (10th–18th centuries) served as the primary bulwark against Turko-nomadic incursions from the eastern steppe. The fort is found to the east of the region's capital city of

. * Govharagha Mosque (18th century), a mosque located in the city of Shusha, now under Azerbaijani control.

Janapar Janapar Trail () was a marked trail through mountains, valleys, and villages of the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which passed by monasteries and fortresses along its route. The trail consisted of several day hikes, taking hikers to a different vill ...

Trail is a marked trail, through mountains, valleys, and villages of Artsakh, with monasteries and fortresses along the way. It is not hikable since the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. The trail was broken into day hikes, which brought tourists to a different village each night. The paths have existed for centuries but now are marked specifically for hikers. The Himnakan Janapar (backbone trail), marked in 2007, leads from the northwest region of Shahumian to the southern town of

Hadrut Hadrut (, ) is a town in the Khojavend District of Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The town had an ethnic Armenian-majority population prior to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. Numerous Armenian civilians were killed in and around H ...

, now under Azerbaijani control. Side trails and mini trails take one to additional parts of Artsakh. The important sites passed along this hike include Dadivank Monastery, Gandzasar monastery,

, the Karkar Canyon with its high cliffs, Zontik Waterfall, and the ruins of Hunot and Gtichavank monastery. One of the noteworthy side trails is the Gtichavank Loop Trail. This loop starts from Tugh Village, now under Azerbaijani control. However, those who travelled to Artsakh without the Azerbaijani government's prior consent and permission were denied entry to Azerbaijan since the country considered Artsakh their territory unlawfully occupied by the

Armenian army The Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia (, abbreviated ՀՀ ԶՈՒ, ''HH ZU''), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Army (), is the national military of Armenia. It consists of personnel branches under the General Staff of the Armenian Arm ...

. The Azerbaijani government also kept and published online a list of foreign nationals who visited these occupied areas without prior approval. In late 2017, the list contained 699 names with additional details (date, country, profession, purpose of visit). The earliest entry recorded a visit to Artsakh that occurred on an unspecified date sometime between 1993 and 1996. The list included many journalists and members of parliaments of foreign countries.

Artsakh Wine Fest

Before the 2020 war, the Artsakh Wine Fest took place annually in Togh since 2014. The festival was held on the third Saturday of each September. The festival was initiated by the Department of Tourism and Protection of Historical Places of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Youth Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh and was aimed to develop tourism in Artsakh. It was meant to restore Artsakh

winemaking Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its Ethanol fermentation, fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over ...

traditions. The festival provided a platform to the winemakers of Artsakh and Armenia giving them an opportunity to sell their products, exchange knowledge, promote their wine etc. The annual festival's program included grape stomping, tasting of traditional Artsakh cuisine, an exhibition of artworks, an exhibition of ancient artefacts that belonged to the Melik Yegan's Palace, as well as an exhibition and sale of local wine, where one could find products from 5 different regions of Artsakh and

. Traditionally, the festival was accompanied by Armenian national singing and dancing. The festival evolved into a national holiday.

Transportation

The transportation system had been damaged by the 1991–1994 conflict. The North–South Artsakh motorway alone largely facilitated the development of the transportation system. Before the 2020 war, the Hadrut-Stepanakert-Askeran-Martakert motorway was the lifeline of Artsakh, and $25 million donated during the Hayastan All-Armenian Foundation telethons was allotted for the construction of the road. A new route from the Armenian capital

to Stepanakert was planned to bypass the 8–9 hours drive via the Lachin corridor. It was opened in September 2017. A third road was planned in 2019. Authorities in the USSR opened a railway line in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast in 1944. It connected the capital, Stepanakert, and Yevlax in Azerbaijan. It was built to

Russian gauge 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 ...

of 1520mm. Due to the first Nagorno-Karabakh War, the line the railway was badly damaged and the line was closed.

Stepanakert Airport Stepanakert Airport () or Khojaly Airport () is an airport in the town of Khojaly, 10 kilometers north-east of Stepanakert, Azerbaijan. The airport, in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, had been under the control of the self-proclaimed Republic of ...

, the sole civilian airport of the Republic of Artsakh, located about east of the capital, has been closed since the onset of the war in 1990. It was expected that the airport would have regular flight services only to

, with state-owned carrier Artsakh Air, but no flights had ever started.

Communications

Karabakh Telecom (KT), the only telecommunications company in Artsakh, was started on February 1, 2002 by the Lebanese-Armenian businessman and Chairman Pierre Fattouch. In 2019, Fattouch was charged with tax evasion in Lebanon and in July 2019 a Lebanese Prosecutor General ordered a closure of quarries owned by Fattouch for failure to acquire a legal license. On December 10, 2020, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) investigated the offshore firm Crossbridge Capital, which manages billions in shareholder assets, including those of Pierre Fattouch. KT was also run by the General Director Ralf Yerikian, a Lebanese-born businessman of Armenian origin. The company was considered a CJSC, a closed

joint stock company A joint-stock company (JSC) is a business entity in which shares of the company's capital stock, stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their share (finance), shares (certifi ...

, in which shares of company stock can be bought or sold by shareholders. The company had USD $9.9 million in revenue in the 4th quarter of 2019. From Q1 of 2020 until Q2 of 2021, it shared the same amount in revenue for every quarter – USD $11.1 million. The company has not publicly disclosed their accurate financials between 2020 and 2021. It has invested over USD $12 millions in mobile telecommunication projects throughout Artsakh.

Demographics

In September 2023, over half of Artsakh's ethnic Armenian population fled the country. According to Armenian Prime Minister

, 100,417 people arrived in Armenia from Artsakh. In 2015, the country's population was 145,000, made up of 99.7% Armenians. This composition represents a sharp change from the 1979 and 1989 census, when the Azerbaijani population was 23 and 21.5 per cent, respectively. The annual birth rate was recorded at 2,200–2,300 per year, an increase from nearly 1,500 in 1999. OSCE report, released in March 2011, estimates the population of the "seven occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh" to be 14,000, and states "there has been no significant growth in the population since 2005." An

International Crisis Group The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a global non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, conducting research and analysis on global crises. ...

report published in December 2019 recorded the population of these territories to be 17,000, or 11.48% of the total population: 15,000 west and southwest of the former oblast, and 2000 in the

Agdam District Aghdam District () is one of the 66 administrative divisions of Azerbaijan. It is located in the west of the country and belongs to the Karabakh Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Khojaly, Kalbajar, Tartar, Khojavend, A ...

. Until 2000, the country's net migration was at a negative. For the first half of 2007, 1,010 births and 659 deaths were reported, with a net emigration of 27. According to age group: 15,700 (0–6), 25,200 (7–17) 75,800 (18–59) and 21,000 (60+) Population by province (2006): *

54,500 (2013) * Martuni 23,200 *

19,000 *

Askeran Askeran ( or , ; ) is a town in the Khojaly District of Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Until 2023 it was controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh, as the centre of its Askeran Province. The town had an ethnic Armenian-m ...

17,400 (2007) *

12,300 (2009) * Kashatagh 9,800 *

5,000 (2009) * Shahumyan 2,800 Population of the Republic of Artsakh (2000–2008)

Resettlement attempts after 1994

From 1989 to 1994, there was significant depopulation in the territory that ended up held by Artsakh, leaving only around 40% of the pre-war population. Much of this was due to the displacement and death of Azerbaijani residents in both the former NKOA and the surrounding territories, leaving some former urban areas virtually empty. The Russian minority present also declined, meaning the resulting population was almost 100% Armenian. Beginning in 1995, the population began to increase due to births and immigration. While the territory captured outside the former NKAO was initially treated as a potential bargaining chip, it slowly began to be seen as part of the country by both officials and the general population. The

-based administration launched various programs aimed at bringing in permanent Armenian settlers to the depopulated lands, including into regions previously populated by Azeris, with those that bordered Armenia – Lachin and Kalbajar – being the priority. Lachin was key to a land connection between Armenia and the former NKAO, and Kalbajar had water resources utilised by both Artsakh and Armenia. Azerbaijan regards this as a violation of Article 49 of the

Fourth Geneva Convention The Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (), more commonly referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention and abbreviated as GCIV, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was adopted in August 1 ...

, to which Armenia became party in 1993, whereby " e Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies". The ruling party of Azerbaijan accuses the Armenian side of artificially changing the demographic situation and the ethnic composition of the occupied region so that it can lay future claims to them, comparing this to the 1950s campaign of resettling diaspora Armenians in previously Azeri-populated locales in Soviet Armenia where Azeris were forcibly deported from in 1948–1950. In 1979, the total Armenian population of the districts of Kalbajar, Lachin, Qubadli, Zangilan, Jabrayil, Fuzuli and Agdam was around 1,400 people. An OSCE fact-finding mission established at Azerbaijan's request visited these regions in February 2005 with the intention to assess the scale of the settlement attempts. The mission's findings showed that these districts had as of 2005 an overall population of 14,000 people, mostly living in precarious social conditions. It consisted primarily of ethnic Armenians displaced from the non-conflict zones of Azerbaijan during the war. It was noted, however, that most of them had settled in the conflict zone after having lived in Armenia for several years and some held Armenian passports and even voted in Armenian elections. A smaller segment of the settlers was originally from the towns of

Gyumri Gyumri (, ) is an urban municipal community and the List of cities and towns in Armenia, second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th centur ...

and

Spitak Spitak (), is a town and urban municipal community in the northern Lori Province of Armenia. It is north of the capital, Yerevan, and west of the provincial center, Vanadzor. Spitak was entirely destroyed during the devastating 1988 Armenian e ...

in Armenia who had lived in temporary shelters following the devastating

1988 earthquake 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

before moving to Karabakh, as well as a small number of natives of Yerevan who moved there for financial reasons. A field assessment mission revisited the region in October 2010, confirming that there had not been much growth in population or change in the living conditions of the settlers. The Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group who visited Nagorno-Karabakh, Kalbajar and Lachin in 2014 reported seeing signs of improvements in the infrastructure but could not observe any indications that the size of the population had changed in recent years. By June 2015, an estimated 17,000 of

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

's once 80,000-strong Armenian population had fled the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

and sought refuge in Armenia.

David Babayan David Klimi Babayan (, ''Davit' Klimi Babayan''; born 5 April 1973) is a politician who served as the advisor to the president of Artsakh from 17 January 2023 until the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh. He previously served as th ...

, spokesperson of the Artsakh leader Bako Sahakyan, confirmed that some of those refugees had been resettled in Artsakh. ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' put the number of the resettled families at 30 as of June 2017. In December 2014, Armenian media cited local municipal authorities in stating that dozens of Syrian Armenian families had been resettled in the disputed zone, in particular in the city of

Lachin Lachin (, , ; ) is a town in Azerbaijan and the administrative centre of the Lachin District. It was located within the strategic Lachin corridor, which used to link the Nagorno-Karabakh region with Armenia. The town was under control of Armen ...

and the village of

Xanlıq Xanlıq (; ) is a village in the Qubadli District of Azerbaijan. It is situated along the Hakari (river), Hakari river. History Khanlyg was part of the Jebrail Uyezd of Elisabethpol Governorate during the Russian Empire. According to 1886 cens ...

in Qubadli. Azerbaijan's Minister of Foreign Affairs

Elmar Mammadyarov Elmar Maharram oglu Mammadyarov (, ; born July 2, 1960) is an Azerbaijani diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan between 7 April 2004 and 16 July 2020. Early life Mammadyarov was born in Baku, then part of the Azerbai ...

expressed his concern over Armenia's attempts to change the demographic situation in the region and informed of his intention to raise this issue with the Minsk Group. In February 2019, Armenia's National Security Service director

Artur Vanetsyan Artur Gagiki Vanetsyan (, born 8 December 1979) is an Armenian politician who served as the director of the National Security Service of Armenia (2018–2019), president of Football Federation of Armenia (2018–2019), and is the founder and chai ...

visited Nagorno-Karabakh amid public concern about

's government alleged readiness to cede some of the Armenian-controlled territories as part of a peace settlement. Vanetsyan pointed out that settling Armenians and investing into infrastructural projects along the Iranian border, in the previously Azeri-populated regions outside of the former autonomous province, was "a clear message" to the international community that there would be no territorial concessions. He referred to the ongoing settlement efforts as a method of "guaranteeing security". Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry reacted by qualifying Vanetsyan's statement as an "attempt to undermine the peace talks and defy the work of the mediators" and vowed to address the issue to the UN and the OSCE. The ceasefire ending the 2020 war stipulated that these territories were to be turned over to Azerbaijani control. Armenian settlers in these areas evacuated prior to the arrival of Azerbaijani forces.

Ethnic composition

Ethnic Groups of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (1926–1989) and the Republic of Artsakh (2015) according to census data

Languages

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

functioned as the only state language and an official language in the Republic of Artsakh, and was the native language of over 99% of the population. Under Soviet rule, the ethnic Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh became more proficient in Russian than both Azerbaijanis in the region and Armenians in the Armenian SSR. Few Armenians learnt Azerbaijani, and the language was actively removed following the Nagorno-Karabakh War. While Russian remained in some use after this time, and was valued as a second language, it was not widely spoken at a native level.

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 ...

was widely spoken in Artsakh, with efforts having been made since late 2020 in the parliament in Stepanakert to establish it as an additional official language; the official justifications for this being that Russian was already the second language of many residents, and that it would create "conditions for deepening cooperation in all spheres,

s well as contributing S, or s, is the nineteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and other latin alphabets worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. ...

to the development of relations within the legal framework." The Parliament of Artsakh approved a bill grating Russian official status on March 25, 2021, with 27 votes in favour, 0 votes against and 2 abstentions.

Religion

Most of the Armenian population in Artsakh was Christian and were adherents of the

Armenian Apostolic Church The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...

, which is an

Oriental Orthodox The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysitism, Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 50 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches adhere to the Nicene Christian ...

Church. Some

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

and

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

denominations also existed.

Armenian monasteries and churches

(4th century), located near the villages of

Sos SOS is a Morse code distress signal (), used internationally, originally established for maritime use. In formal notation SOS is written with an overscore line (), to indicate that the Morse code equivalents for the individual letters of "SOS" a ...

and Machkalashen in the

Martuni Province Martuni Province (, ) was a province of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh, ''de facto'' and ''de jure'' part of the Republic of Azerbaijan. History The territory was formed from the Soviet-era raion of Martuni District within the former Na ...

. According to medieval chroniclers Faustus Byuzand and

Movses Kaghankatvatsi Movses Kaghankatvatsi ( 'Moses of Kaghankatuk'), or Movses Daskhurantsi ( 'Moses of Daskhuran'), is the reputed author (or the alias of several authors) of a tenth-century Classical Armenian historical work on Caucasian Albania and the eastern ...

, St. Gregory the Illuminator, the patron saint and evangeliser of Armenia, founded the Amaras Monastery at the start of the fourth century. At the beginning of the fifth century

Mesrop Mashtots Mesrop Mashtots (; , ' 362February 17, 440 AD) was an Armenians, Armenian Linguistics, linguist, composer, Christian theology, theologian, Politician, statesman, and Hymnology, hymnologist. He is venerated as a saint in the Armenian Apostolic C ...

, the inventor of the

Armenian alphabet The Armenian alphabet (, or , ) or, more broadly, the Armenian script, is an alphabetic writing system developed for Armenian and occasionally used to write other languages. It is one of the three historical alphabets of the South Caucasu ...

, established in Amaras the first-ever school that used his script. * Yeghishe Arakyal Monastery (5th–13th centuries) commemorating St. Yeghishe, the famous evangeliser of Armenia's eastern lands. The church serves as a burial ground for the fifth century's King Vachagan II the Pious, the most well-known representative of the Arranshahik line of east Armenian monarchs. The monastery is located in the

Martakert Province Martakert Province () was a de facto province of the Republic of Artsakh, when it was ''de jure'' part of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The population was mainly Armenian. The province had 43 communities of which one was considered urban and 42 a ...

. * Bri Yeghtsi Monastery (13th century) that centres on embedded khachkars, unique-to-Armenia stone memorials with engraved crosses. The monastery is located near the village of Hatsi in the

. * Gandzasar monastery (13th century), ("Գանձասար" in Armenian) is a historical monastery in Artsakh. Artsakhi government's aim is to include the Gandzasar Monastery into the directory of the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. * Yerits Mankants Monastery (meaning "three infants" in Armenian; 17th century) is known for hosting the seat of Artsakh's rival clergy to that of the Holy See of Gandzasar. The monastery is located in the

. * Saint John the Baptist Church, located in the town of

, built in 1883. * Church of St. Nerses the Great, located in the town of Martuni, consecrated in 2004. It is dedicated to the famous

Armenian Catholicos The Catholicos of All Armenians () is the chief bishop and spiritual leader of Armenia's national church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, and the worldwide Armenian diaspora. The Armenian Catholicos (plural Catholicoi) is also known as the Armenian ...

, Saint Narses the Great. * Holy Mother of God Cathedral in the city of

, consecrated in 2019. * Katarovank Monastery was founded in the fourth century, and is located close to the village of

Hin Tagher Hin Tagher () or Kohne Taghlar (; ) is a village in the Khojavend District of Azerbaijan. The village had an ethnic Armenian-majority population prior to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, and also had an Armenian majority in 1989. The Katarovank Mon ...

in the

Hadrut Province Hadrut Province () was a province of the Republic of Artsakh. The provincial capital was Hadrut city. The last governor was Valery Gevorkian. The province was captured by the armed forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan during the 2020 Nagorno-Ka ...

. The present-day chapel is a 17th-century structure. There are Armenian

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 ...

near the chapel. The monastery offers a unique panoramic view to the River Araxes. * Tsitsernavank Monastery (4th century) is the best-preserved example of an Armenian basilica with three naves. The monastery is located in the village of

Tsitsernavank Tsitsernavank () is a fifth-to-sixth century Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenian Apostolic monastery in the Lachin District of Azerbaijan. The monastery is within five kilometers of the border of Armenia's province of Syunik Region, Syunik, in an ...

in the

Kashatagh Province Kashatagh Province () was a Administrative divisions of the Republic of Artsakh, province of the Republic of Artsakh. It was the largest province by area (3,376.60 km2). The population as of 2013 was 9,656. Its capital was Lachin, Berdzor. ...

. * Dadivank Monastery (), also known as Khutavank ( – Monastery on the Hill), that was built between the 9th and 13th century. It is one of the most architecturally and culturally significant monasteries in Artsakh. The western façade of Dadivank's Memorial Cathedral bears one of the most extensive Armenian lapidary (stone-inscribed) texts, and has one of the largest collection of medieval Armenian

frescoes Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

. Dadivank is named after St. Dadi, a disciple of Apostle Thaddeus who preached the Holy Gospel in Artsakh in the first century. St. Dadi's tomb was later discovered by archaeologists in 2007. The monastery is in the Shahumyan Province and has been placed under the protection of the Russian peacekeeping forces. * Gtichavank Monastery (13th century) has design features shared with the architectural style of medieval Armenia's capital city of Ani. The monastery is located in the

. *

, built 1868–1888 (Սուրբ Ամենափրկիչ Ղազանչեցոց Եկեղեցի – "Surb Amenap'rkich Ghazanchets'ots' Yekeghets'i" in

), also known as the ''Cathedral of Christ the Savior'' and the ''Shushi Cathedral'', is an

Armenian church Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

located in

. It is the main cathedral and headquarters of the

's "Diocese of Artsakh". * Just uphill from the cathedral in Shusha is the church of Kanach Zham ('Green Church' in Armenian), built in 1847.

Education

Education in Artsakh was compulsory, and was free up to the age of 18. The education system was inherited from the old system of the

. Artsakh's school system was severely damaged because of the 1991–1994 conflict. But the government of the Republic of Artsakh with considerable aid from the Republic of

and with donations from the

, rebuilt many of the schools. Prior to the 2020 war, Artsakh had around 250 schools of various sizes, with more than 200 lying in the regions. The student population was estimated at more than 20,000, with almost half in the capital city of

. Artsakh State University was founded by Artsakh and Armenian governments' joint efforts, with main campus in Stepanakert. The university opening ceremony took place on 10 May 1992. Yerevan University of Management also opened a branch in Stepanakert.

Universities

This is a list of universities in Republic of Artsakh, a former

in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

region.

= State universities

= * Artsakh State University ''(

)'' * Stepanakert branch of the

Armenian National Agrarian University Armenian National Agrarian University (ANAU) (), is a state university and higher educational institution based in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.The university trains and prepares specialists for the agricultural sphere. Overview On May 6, 1930 ...

''(Stepanakert)''

= Commercial universities

= * Grigor Narekatsi University ''(Stepanakert)'' * University Mesrop Mashtots ''(Stepanakert)'' * Hagop Gyurjyan Institute of Applied Art ''(

)''

= Colleges

= * Stepanakert Agricultural College ''(Stepanakert)'' * Stepanakert Choreographic College ''(Stepanakert)'' * Stepanakert Medical College named after T. Kamalian ''(Stepanakert)'' * Stepanakert Musical College named after Sayat-Nova ''(Stepanakert)'' * Shushi Liberal Arts College named after Arsen Khachatryan ''(Shushi)''

= Military academies

= * Suvorov and Madatov Military Academy ''(

)'' * Kristapor Ivanyan Military Academy ''(

)''

Culture

Monuments

We Are Our Mountains We Are Our Mountains (; ) is a monument north of Stepanakert in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan. The sculpture, completed in 1967 by Sargis Baghdasaryan, is widely regarded as a symbol of the Armenian heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh, wi ...

" () by Sargis Baghdasaryan is a monument located in

. The sculpture was widely regarded as a symbol of the Republic of Artsakh. It is a large monument from

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock co ...

of an old Armenian man and woman hewn from rock, representing the

mountain people Hill people, also referred to as mountain people, is a general term for people who live in the hills and mountains. This includes all rugged land above and all land (including plateaus) above elevation. The climate is generally harsh, with s ...

of Artsakh. It is also known as ''Tatik yev Papik'' (Տատիկ և Պապիկ, "Grandma and Grandpa") in Armenian. The sculpture was featured prominently on Artsakh's coat of arms. Artsakh has often been portrayed as a "shield" to the Armenian nation that protects it from

Pan-Turkism Pan-Turkism () or Turkism () is a political movement that emerged during the 1880s among Turkic intellectuals who lived in the Russian region of Kazan (Tatarstan), Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917), South Caucasus (modern-day Azerbaijan) and th ...

. When lecturing his fighters during the First Nagorno Karabakh-War,

Monte Melkonian Monte Melkonian (; 25 November 1957 – 12 June 1993) was an Armenian-American revolutionary and left-wing nationalist militant. He was a commander in the Artsakh Defence Army and was killed while fighting against Azerbaijan in the First Na ...

would say "If we lose this land, we turn the last page on Armenian history."

Museums

Artsakh State Museum was the historical museum of the Republic of Artsakh. Located at 4 Sasunstsi David Street, in

, the museum offered an assortment of ancient artefacts and Christian manuscripts. There were also more recent items, ranging in date from the 19th century to World War II and from events of the Karabakh Independence War.

Publications

'' Azat Artsakh'' (

: , ) was the official newspaper of the Republic of Artsakh. It had a daily print and was offered in Armenian, English, and Russian. Typical topics included 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 ...

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

, and other Armenian-related issues. Aside from Azat Artsakh, many print media were published in more than one

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

, usually offering

and English sections in addition to the main

section.

Sports

Sports in the Republic of Artsakh were organised by the Artsakh Ministry of Culture and Youth. Due to the non-recognition of Artsakh, sports teams from the country could not compete in most international tournaments.

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

was the most popular sport in Artsakh.

had a well-built football stadium. In mid-1990s, football teams from Artsakh started taking part in some domestic competitions in Armenia. Lernayin Artsakh FC represented the city of

. In Artsakh, domestic football clubs played in the Artsakh Football League. The Artsakh football league was launched in 2009. The Artsakh national football team was formed in 2012 and played their first competitive match against the

Abkhazia national football team The Abkhazia national football team is the team representing the partially recognised state of Abkhazia. They are not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA, and therefore cannot compete for the FIFA World Cup or the UEFA European Championship. They com ...

Sokhumi Sukhumi or Sokhumi is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the Capital city, capital and largest city of Abkhazia, a partially recognised state that most countries consider a part of Georgia (country), Georgia. The ...

, a match that ended with a result of 1–1 draw. The return match between the unrecognised teams took place at the Stepanakert Stadium, on 21 October 2012, when the team from Artsakh defeated the Abkhazian team 3–0. There was also interest in other sports, including basketball and volleyball. Sailing was practised in the town of

. Artsakh sports teams and athletes also participated in the Pan-Armenian Games organised in Armenia.

Holidays

The following is a list of

public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, federal holiday, statutory holiday, bank holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Types Civic holiday A ''civic holiday'', also k ...

s in the Republic of Artsakh:

Notes

References

External links

Zinapah – National Foundation For Servicemen Insurance

Artsakh Investment Fund

Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Artsakh

Ministry of Finance and Economy of Artsakh

Artsakh Public Radio

Artsakh Relief
{{DEFAULTSORT:Artsakh States and territories established in 1991 States and territories disestablished in 2023 1991 establishments in Azerbaijan * Former unrecognized countries Post-Soviet states Separatism in Azerbaijan South Caucasus Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Armenian-speaking countries and territories Countries and territories where Russian is an official language

Etymology

History

Dissolution of the USSR; First Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988–1994)

De facto post-war independence (1994–2020)

Second Nagorno-Karabakh War (2020), Azerbaijan gains

Aftermath of 2020 war

Blockade (2022–2023)

2023 Azerbaijani offensive, exodus, and dissolution

Geography

Government and politics

Constitution

Administrative divisions

Law enforcement

Police of Artsakh

National Security Service

Military

Foreign relations

De facto independent Artsakh (1993–2023): conflicting ideologies and diplomacy

Artsakh–Armenia relations

Negotiations, outside mediation (2001–2007)

2001 Paris, Key West talks

2004 Astana talks

2006 Rambouillet talks

2006 Bucharest meeting

2006 Prague Process

2007 Azerbaijan's PKK claim

Armenian, Artsakh fundamental positions (c. 2007–10)

Aliyev: fundamental position on Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh (2008)

UN, EU, Minsk Group diplomacy (2008–10)

Armenian position (2019)

Displacement, landmines problem during conflict (1988–2023)

Displaced people

Azeri and other non-Armenian refugees

Armenian refugees

Land mines

Economy

Tourism

Artsakh Wine Fest

Transportation

Communications

Demographics

Resettlement attempts after 1994

Ethnic composition

Languages

Religion

Armenian monasteries and churches

Education

Universities

= State universities

= Commercial universities

= Colleges

= Military academies

Culture

Monuments

Museums

Publications

Sports

Holidays

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links