Artsvashen

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For the village in Tartar Rayon, Azerbaijan, see Seysulan.

Artsvashen Արծվաշեն
Artsvashen
Coordinates: 40°38′46″N 45°30′56″E / 40.64611°N 45.51556°E / 40.64611; 45.51556
Country	Armenia
Province	Gegharkunik
Founded	1845

Artsvashen (Armenian: Արծվաշեն), also Romanized as Artzvashen, is an exclave of Armenia's Gegharkunik province which is controlled by Azerbaijani army since 1992,^[1] who have renamed it Bashkend(Azerbaijani: Başkənd).^[2] Its size is about 40 square kilometers, and it is completely surrounded by the territory of Azerbaijan and has been controlled by it since the Nagorno-Karabakh War. Today, the village is mostly inhabited by Azeris as the Azerbaijani army expelled its Armenian population after it seized the territory.^[3]

Contents 1 History 2 Artsvashen carpets 3 Famous natives 4 References 5 See also

[edit] History

 The ancestors of Artzvashen Armenians were natives of Jraberd District of Artsakh Province of Metz Hayk, who left their birthplace in the late 18th century, moving first to Choratan Village of Shamshadin District (the present-day sub-district of Shamshadin, Tavush Marz, Republic of Armenia, and then (in the mid-19th century) to the Armenian village site of Parakert (Paragyugh, Parakyand), where they founded Artzvashen (Bashgyugh)._*2 The existing sources are not unanimous in mentioning the exact date of their resettlement but, apparently, it took place between 1845 and 1859. Some records state the following with that regard, "The village was founded in 1845."_*3 "The village was established in 1852 by some resettlers from Nerkin Choratan..."_*4 "Some 39 families from Choratan... founded Artzvashen in 1854..."_*5 "The village dates back to 1859."_*6 [http://raa.am/Hs_Arcax/pict/Images/ab058007.jpg][http://raa.am/Hs_Arcax/pict/Images/hs_artsakh_e.jpg]
   Artzvashen Armenians recall the following legend connected with the establishment of their village: "...The residents of Artzvashen and the Turks inhabiting the nearby plain entered into a conflict, the latter demanding that the former leave the territory serving them as a pasture. The Armenians, however, refused to do so declaring that they were in their native land and had nowhere else to go to. The problem was finally settled through wrestling and a bullfight: the Armenian side won both of them thanks to wrestler Arzuman Dallakian and a bull named Tzaghik that belonged to a certain Sahak's family. Thus, the territorial dispute was resolved in favour of the Armenians."_*7 
   In the late 19th century, Artzvashen belonged to the Melik-Kalantarians' family of landowners._*8 
   Construction Activity. The centre of the village, where stood a House of Culture, was surroundeded by Nerkin (Lower) or Kachal_*9 Quarter. 
   Shushaniants' Quarter was located in the neighbourhood of the local secondary school, above which Haram extended. 
   Tsits Kar lay in the north of the village, and Verin (Upper) Quarter adjoined the Saribekiants' Quarter. 
   Another two quarters, one of them named Chinastagh (Chinastan), and the other ironically called Palkh-Kyand, came into being due to the development and enlargement of Artzvashen. 
   Water Supply. In 1945 Artzvashen inhabitants arranged the conveyance of the water of Varar (the Armenian equivalent for 'abundant') Aghbyur to their village._*10 With the expansion of the village, Gyagunts Aghbyur joined it to meet the local people's needs. They also received water from the springs of Chamchi, Sevjur, Shinataki, Tsits Kar, Ghazan and Sar. 
   In 1968 a water reservoir was built in Artzvashen for the irrigation of the village lands that covered 500 hectares. As the construction proceeded, a number of nearby tombs were left buried under it. 
   The Armeno-Turkish Fights between 1905 and 1906. An enclave encircled by Turkish villages, Artzvashen could not escape the Turkish assaults so that it had to resort to self-defence under Michael Astvatzatrian's leadership._*11 Assisted by Parish Priest Vahan Ter-Ghukassian_*12 and Sahak Ghukassian (commonly known as Nadirants Sahak (i.e. Sahak from the Nadiriants family) and Ofitser Sahak (i.e. Officer Sahak)), an officer of the Tsarist army, he "collected gold and silver jewellery from the local people and obtained fire-arms from Baku and Tiflis at their expense. The blacksmiths cast cannons from the alloy of samovars and different copper articles. Their shells did not explode and injure the enemy, but their formidable thunder created unspeakable panic among them."_*13
   The first attack against Artzvashen (on the whole, the enemy mounted 13 offensives against the village) was launched by the Turkish inhabitants of Ghazakh, Gandzak and Bayazed on 19 January (6 January according to the old calendar) 1906. The contemporary press wrote the following with that regard, "Bashkyand shared the fate of the other Armenian villages of Shamshadin and did not escape clashes which ended in the victory of the local residents thanks to the heroic self-defence put up by a number of prudent, valorous young fellows who were members of the Dashnaktsutiun. During the first assault, launched on 6 January, the Turks, between 4,000 and 5,000 in number, were repelled, suffering great losses."_*14 
   Despite that, however, the situation was truly critical, "Bashkend and Chambarak being doomed to most certain annihilation, if only the neighbouring principalities did not immediately come to their rescue."_*15 
   Artzvashen Armenians turned to haydook leader Sevkaretsy Sako_*16 for help, but he refused under the excuse that their situation was equally harrowing. He also added that "...if Bashkend fails to defend itself, it will be sacrificed for the sake of the salvation of the other Armenian villages."_*17 
   It was only the Armenians of Verin Chambarak who extended a helping hand to their compatriots in Artzvashen by sending an armed detachment there on the eve of the second Turkish attack._*18 
   Thanks to a well-organized self-defence, Artzvashen Armenians saved their village from devastation; moreover, they rendered help to a number of Armenian villages in Shamshadin, and also mounted attacks against some neighbouring Turkish villages, their actions mitigating the Turks' furiosity. 
   Artzvashen between 1918 and 1920. The Red Army failing to conquer Artzvashen in 1920, it was only after some negotiations that the Soviet powers took over the village, the only settlement throughout Northern Artsakh to have formed part of the Soviet Republic of Armenia. 
   Artzvashen between 1920 and 1930. Artzvashen was included within the territory of Soviet Armenia until the 1930s: a map of the republic, published by the Central Statistical Department of Armenia in 1927 (cartographer: A. Minassian; editor: Z. Korkotian) shows it linked with Dilijan District like a peninsula._*19 
   On 18 February 1929, the Soviet leadership made a decision concerning some border changes the three Transcaucasian republics were to undergo. Under the plea of settling certain frontier disputes and introducing verification into the territories of the aforementioned countries, it was decided to include the lands of Shinikh-Ayrum, covering 11,659 dessiatinas and lying between Karmir District and Artzvashen, in Ghazakh District of the Republic of Azerbaijan. That, however, meant the secession of Artzvashen from Armenia, although the same resolution stated that "...the Armenian village of Bashkend and the territories allocated to it remain part of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia. Since the aforementioned border changes will inevitably result in the inclusion of Artzvashen into Ghazakh District, it has been decided to cede an area, comprising the southern pastures of Shinikh-Ayrum, to Bashkend Village to territorially link it with Dilijan District of Soviet Armenia."_*20 
   A map of 1934 shows Artzvashen as still part of Soviet Armenia, but the first volume of the Grand Soviet Encyclopedia (Moscow, 1949, in Russian) mentions it as an enclave. This comes to suggest that the aforementioned resolution, if ever put into effect, was valid for only a short time, and the village was surreptitiously annexed to Soviet Azerbaijan between 1934 and 1949._*21 
   On 31 May 1945, Saribek Soghomon Chilingarian (born on 18 May 1925), a native of Artzvashen, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for his participation in an operation during which a five-member group had conquered a castle in the vicinity of Berlin in April of the same year: it was he who had hoisted the Red Flag over the occupied stronghold._*22 
   The year 1992 marked the beginning of another heavy struggle for survival in Artzvashen. The local inhabitants realized that "If anything happens, our situation will be even worse than that of entire Artsakh. They will regret it, but it will be too late: this fight is to be extremely different from the previous one... Absolute indifference reigns everywhere so that you cannot trace even an apology for a state structure to rest upon."_*23 
   Artzvashen was surrounded by the members of the Azerbaijani OMON (Russian:Îòðÿä ìèëèöèè îñîáîãî íàçíà÷åíèÿ; Otryad Militsii Osobogo Naznacheniya, "Special Purpose Detachment of Militsiya") armed with the latest military equipment. On the main road leading to the village was established a military outpost with the goal of banning the penetration of any arms and ammunition there. Although the village was being defended by police and the warriors of Yerkrapah,_*24 the forces were incredibly unequal. On 4 August 1992, Artzvashen, a village boasting a glorious history of self-defence, was completely devastated and stripped of its inhabitants. 
   As indicated by the table, the residents of Artzvashen continually increased. In the course of some years, however, certain reduction could be observed in their number due to fighting and resettlement (a considerable part of the inhabitants of Vahan Village and the township of Karmir (in Gegharkunik Marz of the Republic of Armenia) come from Artzvashen). In 1923 some of Artzvashen Armenians abandoned the village under the leadership of Michael Astvatzatrian (Hayk Ayunts) and founded Nor Bashgyugh (the present-day village of Getik in the sub-district of Karmir, Gegharkunik Marz, Republic of Armenia) on the south-western slope of Mount Merghuz, on the bank of the river Getik. 
   The highly unfavourable socio-economic conditions of Artzvashen gave rise to large-scale emigration into different cities in Armenia (Yerevan, Nor Hajn, Kanaker, Abovian, Charentsavan, Vanadzor, etc.) and the Russian Federation. As a result, by 1990 "the number of the local houses has dropped from 850 to 600, with some 50 to 60 of them standing semi-deserted. The number of the village's population, once totaling 5,000, has plummetted down to 2,750..., the majority of them aged people. It is growing smaller and smaller with every single passing day." _*43 
   The Local Families. Artzvashen's elderly inhabitants remembered that the family of the Madunts living in Nerkin (Kachal) Quarter was from Van, Western Armenia, in origin. 
   Below follows a list of the other outstanding families of the village: the Ghazariants,_*44 Thorossiants, Tukhaniants, Stepaniants, Saribekiants, Ayunts, Kherzaniants, Gyagunts (Kirakossiants), Tzaturiants, Ghalechiants, Ghulunts, Iskandariants, Yeritsiants, Terteriants, Khechoviants, Ghahermaniants, Tizunts, Damerchiants, Balunts, Brutiants, Shushaniants, Avaliants, etc. 
   The Village School. Beginning with 1907, some attempts were made to provide Artzvashen's population with education. Between 1915 and 1917, Archimandrite Yeghishe and a married couple (a certain Hovsep and his wife Sofia) carried out that work, the former teaching Religion and Russian, and the latter the Armenian language there. Later Hovsep and Sofia's pupils, Herik Dallakian, Rafael Sardarian and others, founded their own small private schools in the village. 
   In 1918/1919, a one-year secondary school of males functioned in Artzvashen._*45 
   In 1921 a state school opened there,_*46 its building having been erected by Zemstvo Russian Company. In the autumn of 1922, M. Astvatzatrian was appointed headmaster there. The institution had a children's theatre which is known to have staged a number of literary works, including a short story entitled Gikor by prominent Armenian writer Hovhannes Tumanian._*47 
   Later another two schools opened in Artzvashen, the pupils of those three institutions totaling 1,500 together. In the subsequent decades, however, their number was reduced due to mass emigration so that only a single school functioned in the village on the eve of its fall. 
   The territory of Artzvashen abounds in various ancient historical and cultural monuments, including Bronze Age tombs (they were destroyed during the construction of a local pond), medieval churches, cemeteries, sanctuaries, cross-stones, etc. 
   St. Minas Church, standing in the centre of the village and dating back to 1872, represents a structure of rectangular plan with two eastern vestries. A visitor who saw it in 1888 describes it in the following way, "...the church which represents a high building of tiled roof is distinguished for its splendid ornamentation."_*48 
   In the '30s of the 20th century, the sanctuary turned into a warehouse of agricultural products; moreover, under the plea of "repairs," the oaken logs of its roof were removed and replaced by ordinary boards. The interior of the former church underwent some changes,_*49 being adjusted to a hall for funeral feasts.Foundation. _*50[2]
  The monument was planned to go through some renovation in 1991. 

In May, 1991 the Armenian Interior Ministry reported that residents of Artsvashen averted an army occupation by surrendering their arms.^[4] According to New York Times, in 1992 Azerbaijani side announced that armed forces had "liberated" the town, destroying enemy tanks and weaponry and killing 300 Armenian "brigands", while Armenian reports mentioned no dead but said 29 people were "missing without trace."^[5]

Accusing Azerbaijan of mounting an "undeclared war," Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosyan sent a telegram to leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States saying that "aggression has been committed against a state that is a member of the C.I.S. and the system of collective security".^[5]

[edit] Artsvashen carpets

In the Soviet times there was a branch of Haygorg ("Armenian carpet" state company) in Artsvashen.^[6] After the invasion of the Azeri forces, the residents of Artsvashen migrated to Vardenis, Abovyan and Chambarak, where they continued traditions of this art:

"The women of Artsvashen learned carpet weaving from their mothers and grandmothers. Many of them had worked for Haygorg for decades. “It was shameful for a girl or woman in Artsvashen not to be able to weave carpets. Even if they didn’t work for Haygorg, they would have a weaving stand at home and make carpets,” said Irina Ghalechyan, a former resident of Artsvashen and carpet weaver."^[6]

[edit] Famous natives

• Aramais Sahakyan, Armenian poet
• Saribek Chilingaryan, a Hero of Soviet Union

[edit] References

• Artsvashen at GEOnet Names Server
• Report of the results of the 2001 Armenian Census, National Statistical Service of the Republic of Armenia

• Brady Kiesling, Rediscoving Armenia, p. 49, available online at the US embassy to Armenia's website

[edit] See also

• Barkhudarli
• Yukhari Askipara
• Karki (Azerbaijan)

Coordinates: 40°38′N 45°30′E / 40.633°N 45.5°E / 40.633; 45.5

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