Sentence:  Unlike the Armenians in the NKAO they are deprived even of those opportunities represented by <WSD>autonomous oblast</WSD> status. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  One of the administrative divisions of the former Soviet Union created for certain “smaller” nations and characterized by following features: they were given an autonomy within a (union republic) or, in the RSFSR, within a krai; had a status lower than an (autonomous republic); had a different (titulary nation) from that of their union republic/krai. Abbreviated as AO.