Nagorno-Karabakh

Nagorno-Karabakh (from the Russian (Нагорный Карабах) variant of the Azeri name Dağlıq Qarabağ meaning mountainous black garden, the Armenian name is Լեռնային Ղարաբաղ -- Lernayin Gharabagh, also referred mostly by Armenians as Artsakh (Armenian: Արցախ)), is a region of Azerbaijan, in southern Caucasus, located about 270 km (about 170 mi) west of the Azerbaijani capital of Baku. The region is predominantly ethnic Armenian and effectively under Armenian control. The local Armenian separatists declared independence from Azerbaijan on December 10, 1991 and formed "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" (NKR). The NKR's sovereign status is not recognized by any country in the world.

Nagorno-Karabakh / Լեռնային Ղարաբաղի Հանրապետություն / Dağlıq Qarabağ

The NKR Coat of Arms Flag of the NKR The NKR Coat of Arms
Map of the region
Map of the region. (Orange area indicates Armenian-controlled territory)
Political status	Unrecognized
Languages	Hayeren / Armenian
Capital	Stepanakert / Xankəndi
President	Arkadi Gukasian
Independence  – Declared  – Celebrated1  – Recognition	From Azerbaijan  December 10, 1991  September 2, 1991  none
Area	4,400 km²
Population2 Ethnic Composition3	145,000 (2002 est.) Over 95% Armenian 5% minorities
Currency	Dram (AMD) (Armenian)
Time zone	UTC +4 (DST +5)
Internet TLD	none
Calling Code	374 ???
1,2,3 nkrusa.org

The region's area is 4,400 km², and as of 1989 it had a population of 192,000. The population at that time was mainly Armenian (76%) and Azeri (23%), with Russian and Kurdish minorities. The capital is called Stepanakert (Xankəndi in Azeri). The other major city is Shusha, which today lies in ruins.

Nagorno-Karabakh comprised one of the historical parts of Aghbania, or Caucasian Albania. In ancient times the region was called Artsakh. In 95 BC it was conquered by Tigranes II, ruler of the Kingdom of Armenia. Following the defeat of Tigranes II at the hands of Romans in 66 BC, Albanians regained Artsakh. Ancient Albanians and Armenians switched control over the territory until the early 4th century AD when Albanians managed to reclaim Artsakh, and eventually in 387 AD it became a part of Aghbania again.

Christianity first came to Aghbania with the mission of St. Eliseus yet in 1st century AD. Christianity was widely accepted in the Vth century after St. Gregory the Illuminator converted and baptized Albanian king Urnayr. In 488 AD, following a church assembly near Aluan (situated in present-day Karabakh area), Christianity become the official religion in Aghbania.

In the 7th and 8th centuries, the region was invaded by Arabs, who pillaged it and converted a portion of the population to Islam. Under Arabs Albanian church was subordinated to the Armenian Church, which prompted rapid Gregorianization of the local population. Since the 8th century Albania diminished in size and came to exist only as a principality of Khachen in Artsakh.

In 15th century the territory of Karabakh was part of Kara Koyunlu and then Ak Koyunlu states. In the early 16th century, after fall of the Ak-Koyunlu state, control of the region passed to the Safavids dynasty ofIran, which created a Ganje-Karabakh province (beglarbekdom, bəylərbəyliyi); and in the mid-18th century the Karabakh khanate was formed. Karabakh passed to the Imperial Russia by the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813, before the rest of Russia-controlled Armenian territories, which were incorporated into the Empire in 1828. In 1822, the Karabakh khanate was dissolved and the area became part of a Russian province which later formed Azerbaijan.

After the Russian Revolution in 1917, Karabakh became part of the Transcaucasian Federation, which soon dissolved into separate Armenian, Azeri and Georgian states. Azerbaijan claimed sovereignty over the province and sought to secure its claims with help from the Ottoman Turkey. Despite the fact that the Ottomans were defeated in the course of World War I, Karabakh’s de-facto belonging to Azerbaijan was recognized in 1919 by the Allies, who recognized Khosrov-bey Sultanov appointed by the Azerbaijan government as general-governor of Karabakh. Whereas Azerbaijan commended this decision as a recognition of its rights to the territory, the Armenian side criticized it reasoning that this decision was adopted because of the Allies' economic interests in the oilfields nearby Azerbaijan's capital, Baku.

In 1920, Transcaucasia was taken over by the Bolsheviks who in order to attract public support made promises they would give Karabakh to Armenia along with Nakhchivan and Zangezur (presently part of Armenia separating Azerbaijan from Nakhchivan proper). However, Moscow also had a far-reaching plans concerning Turkey, hoping that it would, with a little help from Russia, develop along Communist lines. Needing to appease Turkey, Moscow agreed to a compromise solution giving Zangezur to Armenia and leaving Karabakh and Nakhchivan within Azerbaijan. As a result, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region was established within the Azerbaijan SSR in 1923. Most of the decisions on transfer of territories and establishing new autonomous entities were made largely under pressure from Stalin, who is still blamed by both Azeris and Armenians in arbitrary decisions against their national interests.

Ethnic groups of the region in 1995: (See entire map)

With the beginning of dissolution of the Soviet Union in late 1980s and early 1990s, the question of Nagorno-Karabakh reemerged. Complaining about "forced Azerification" of the region, the majority Armenian population started a movement to transfer it to Armenia. In November 1991, following the Karabakh Armenian's declaration of secession from Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijan Parliament retaliated by abolishing the autonomous status of the region. In response, the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians held a December 10, 1991 referendum in which the overwhelming majority of the population voted for outright independence. The Azeri community of Nagorno-Karabakh boycotted this referendum.

The spiralling conflict led to violent actions against Armenians living in Sumgait, Baku and elsewhere in Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis living in Vardenis, Masis,Ghukark and other regions of Armenia. As a result, a vast majority of Azerbaijanis in Armenia and Armenians in Azerbaijan (except for Nagorno-Karabakh) were displaced. A land war between Armenia and Azerbaijan followed the events of civil violence. Military actions were heavily influenced by the Russian military inspiring and balancing on the rivalry between the two neighboring nations to keep both under control.

Azerbaijanis were driven out of Nagorno-Karabakh and territories neighboring Nagorno-Karabakh (populated by Azerbaijanis), which are still under control of the Armenian military. An unofficial cease-fire was reached on May 12th, 1994 through Russian negotiation, and continues today. Today Armenians remain in control of the Soviet era autonomous region, a strip of land (called the Lachin corridor) linking it with the Republic of Armenia, as well as the so-called security zone--strips of territory along the region borders which had been used by Azerbaijan artillery during the war.

Today Nagorno-Karabakh is a de-facto independent state calling itself the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. It is closely tied to the Republic of Armenia and uses its currency, the dram. Successive Armenian governments have resisted internal pressure to unite the two, fearing reprisals from Azerbaijan and the international community, which still considers Nagorno-Karabakh part of Azerbaijan. The politics of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh are so intermingled that a former president of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Robert Kocharian, has become first prime minister (1997) and then the president of Armenia (1998 to the present).

At present, the mediation process is stalled and ongoing as both sides are equally intransigent. Azerbaijan insists that Armenian troops withdraw from all areas of Azerbaijan outside Nagorno-Karabakh and that all displaced persons be allowed to return to their homes before the status of Karabakh can be discussed. Armenia does not even admit that Nagorno-Karabakh is legally part of Azerbaijan, arguing that because the region declared independence at the same time that Azerbaijan became an independent state, both of them are equally successor states of the Soviet Union. The Armenian government insists that the government of Nagorno-Karabakh be part of any discussions on the region's future and rejects ceding occupied territory or allowing refugees to return prior to talks on the region's status.

In the latest episode, representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan, France, Russia and the United States met in Paris and Key-West, Florida in the spring of 2001. The details of the talks have remained largely secret, but reportedly the sides discussed non-hierarchical relationships between the central Azerbaijanian government and the Karabakh Armenian authorities. Despite rumours that the parties were again close to a solution, the Azerbaijanian authorities, both during Heydar Aliyev and after coming into power in October 2003 elections of his son Ilham Aliyev, have firmly denied any agreement has been reached in Paris or Key-West.

Recent round of talks between Azerbaijanian and Armenian presidents, Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharyan, were held in September 2004 in Astana, Kazakhstan on the sidelines of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit. Reportedly, one of the suggestions put forward was withdrawal of the occupying forces from the Azeri territories adjacent to Mountainous Karabakh and holding referendums in Mountainous Karabakh and in Azerbaijan regarding the future status of the region.

See also

• Elections in Nagorno-Karabakh

External links

• Regions and territories: Nagorno-Karabakh from BBC
• ArtsakhWorld.com – An Armenian site about Nagorno-Karabakh
• Karabakh.org– An Azeri site about Nagorno-Karabakh
• The official site of the 'NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs'
• 'Office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in the United States'
• Karabakh Travel Guide
• Special Karabakh on Caucaz.com, Weekly Online about South Caucasus
• Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Briefing