Nagorno-Karabakh

This article is about the region in the Caucasus. For the unrecognized country in Nagorno-Karabakh, see Republic of Artsakh.
See also: First Nagorno-Karabakh War and 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war
Map of Nagorno-Karabakh

Nagorno-Karabakh is a region in the South Caucasus. It is recognized by other countries as part of Azerbaijan, but from 1994 until the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, most of it was militarily controlled by Armenians as the Republic of Artsakh, which was not officially recognized by any other country, including Armenia which supported it.

In September of 2023, Azerbaijan invaded the Artsakh Republic after a long siege. Within a few days, Artsakh surrendered and came under the control of Azerbaijan. Nearly all of Artsakh's population fled to Armenia as refugees.

Demographics

Year Armenians Azerbaijanis[a] Others Total
Number % Number % Number %
1921[1][2] 122,426 94.73% 6,550 5.07% 267 0.21% 129,243[b]
1923[3][1] 149,600 94.8% 7,700 4.9% 500 0.3% 157,800
1925[3] 142,470 90.28% 15,261 9.67% 76 0.05% 157,807
Historical ethnic composition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast in 1921–1989
Ethnic group 1926[3][4] 1939[3][5] 1959[3][6] 1970[3][7] 1979[3][8] 1989[9]
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Armenians 111,694 89.24 132,800 88.04 110,053 84.39 121,068 80.54 123,076 75.89 145,450 76.92
Azerbaijanis[c] 12,592 10.06 14,053 9.32 17,995 13.80 27,179 18.08 37,264 22.98 40,688 21.52
Russians 596 0.48 3,174 2.10 1,790 1.37 1,310 0.87 1,265 0.78 1,922 1.02
Ukrainians 35 0.03 436 0.29 238 0.18 193 0.13 140 0.09 416 0.22
Belarusians 12 0.01 11 0.01 32 0.02 35 0.02 37 0.02 79 0.04
Greeks 68 0.05 74 0.05 67 0.05 33 0.02 56 0.03 72 0.04
Tatars 6 0.00 29 0.02 36 0.03 25 0.02 41 0.03 64 0.03
Georgians 5 0.00 25 0.02 16 0.01 22 0.01 17 0.01 57 0.03
Others 151 0.12 235 0.16 179 0.14 448 0.30 285 0.18 337 0.18
Total 125,159 100.00 150,837 100.00 130,406 100.00 150,313 100.00 162,181 100.00 189,085 100.00

Etymology

The names for the region in the different local languages all translate to "mountainous Karabakh", or "mountainous black garden". The word "nagorno" is Russian for "mountainous/on the mountain", "kara" is Turkish for "black", and "bakh" means "garden" in Azerbaijani.

History

Around 180 BC, Artsakh became one of the 15 provinces of the Armenian Kingdom and remained so until the 4th century.[10] Then it became part of the Sasanian Empire. In the 7th century, the region was conquered by the invading Muslim Arabs. The House of Khachen, then ruled Artsakh until the early 19th century.[11] Persia formally ceded the whole of Karabakh to the Russian Empire by the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813. In April 1920 Azerbaijan was taken over by the Bolsheviks. It was in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In the 1980s there was a movement to have the autonomous oblast transferred to the Armenian SSR.[12] When Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in Moscow and started campaigns of publicity and democratic reforms at the end of the 20th century, Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh sent letters to Gorbachev demanding him to move the autonomous oblast to the control of Armenia. When it was declined, the Armenians started an independence movement.

In November 1991, seeking to stop this movement, the Parliament of Azerbaijan abolished the autonomous status of the region. In response, the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians held a referendum on December 10, 1991, which was boycotted by Azerbaijanis living in Nagorno-Karabakh and none of them participated in it, therefore the overwhelming majority of the population voted for independence.

  • In the 1500s
    In the 1500s
  • In 1930
    In 1930
  • In 2006
    In 2006
  • In 2006
    In 2006
  • Nearby countries
    Nearby countries
  • Map of the war in 2020
    Map of the war in 2020
  • The Gandzasar monastery, built in the 1200s
    The Gandzasar monastery, built in the 1200s

References

  1. ↑ Until 1936, Azerbaijanis were known as "Tatars" or "Turkish-Tatars".
  2. ↑ With the city of Shusha included, the NKAO's total population was 138,466, the adjusted ethnic composition is as follows:
    • Armenians – 122,715 (88.62%)
    • Azerbaijanis – 15,444 (11.15%)
    • Others – 307 (0.22%)
  3. ↑ Until 1936, Azerbaijanis were known as "Tatars" or "Turkish-Tatars".

Other websites

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cory D., Welt (2004). Explaining ethnic conflict in the South Caucasus: Mountainous Karabagh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia (PDF). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. p. 116. OCLC 59823134. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 September 2022.
  2. ↑ "Перепись населения АзССР в 1921 г." [Census of the population of the AzSSR in 1921]. karabagh.am. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Beglaryan, Ashot. "The population of Nagorno-Karabakh for a year. Union of Armenians of Russia - Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Excursion into history". losevskaya.ru. Stepanakert. Archived from the original on 31 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  4. ↑ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1926 года. Национальный состав населения по регионам республик СССР Archived 5 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine Демоскоп
  5. ↑ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1939 года. Распределение городского и сельского населения областей союзных республик по национальности и полу Archived 5 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine Демоскоп
  6. ↑ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1959 года. Городское и сельское население областей республик СССР (кроме РСФСР) по полу и национальности Archived 5 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine Демоскоп
  7. ↑ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1970 года. Городское и сельское население областей республик СССР (кроме РСФСР) по полу и национальности Archived 5 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine Демоскоп
  8. ↑ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1979 года. Городское и сельское население областей республик СССР (кроме РСФСР) по полу и национальности Archived 5 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine Демоскоп
  9. ↑ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года.Распределение городского и сельского населения областей республик СССР по полу и национальности Archived 5 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine Демоскоп
  10. ↑ Hewsen, Robert H. "The Kingdom of Artsakh", in T. Samuelian & M. Stone, eds. Medieval Armenian Culture. Chico, CA, 1983.
  11. ↑ Robert H. Hewsen, Armenia: A Historical Atlas. The University of Chicago Press, 2001, pp. 119, 155, 163, 264–65.
  12. ↑ Audrey L. Altstadt. The Azerbaijani Turks: power and identity under Russian rule. Hoover Press, 1992. ISBN 0817991824, 9780817991821