On 8 May 1992, during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, the Armenian forces captured Shusha, and its Azerbaijani population of about 15,000 people, was forced to flee. Most of the city came into ruins, with the city turning into a "ghost town". The Armenian forces heavily damaged the bust, with bullets marks being visible throughout the sculpture. It was transferred to Armenia, and then were purchased by the Azerbaijani authorities in Tbilisi, Georgia. The bust was transferred to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, and was kept in the courtyard of the headquarters of the Red Cross until being moved to the yard of the Azerbaijani National Museum of Art in Baku.