page_title: Shusha
section_title: Nagorno-Karabakh War
hierarchical_section_title: Shusha / History / Nagorno-Karabakh War
caption_attribution_description: English: Part of Shushi was still in ruins in 2010, some 18 years after the Armenian forces captured the city.
context_page_description: Shusha, or Shushi, is a city in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus. It has been under the control of the self-proclaimed Artsakh Republic since its capture in 1992 during the Nagorno-Karabakh War. However, it is a de jure part of the Republic of Azerbaijan, with the status of an administrative division of the surrounding Shusha Rayon. According to the United Nations General Assembly by the Resolution No.62/243, the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan was partially recognized and they include a demand of withdrawal of the Armenian forces. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres in the Karabakh mountains, Shusha was a mountain recreation resort in the Soviet era.
  According to some sources the town of Shusha was founded in 1752 by Panah Ali Khan. From the mid-18th century to 1822 Shusha was the capital of the Karabakh Khanate. The town became one of the cultural centers of the South Caucasus after the Russian conquest of the Caucasus region in the first half of the 19th century over Qajar Iran. Over time, it became a city and a home to many Azerbaijani intellectuals, poets, writers and especially, musicians.
context_section_description: With the start of Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1988 Shusha became the most important Azeri stronghold in Karabakh, from where Azeri forces constantly shelled the capital Stepanakert. On May 9, 1992 the town was captured by Armenian forces and the Azeri population fled. The city was looted and burnt by Armenians. As of 2002, ten years later after the city's capture by the Armenian forces, some 80% of the town was in ruins.
  After the end of the war, the town was repopulated by Armenians, mostly refugees from Azerbaijan and other parts of Karabakh, as well as members of the Armenian diaspora. While the population of the town is barely half of the pre-war number, and the demographic of the town has changed from mostly Azeri to completely Armenian, a slow recovery can be seen. The Goris-Stepanakert Highway passes through the town, and is a transit and tourist destination for many. There are some hotels in the city, and reconstruction work continues, in particular, the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral recently finished going through the restoration process.
  After the war, a T-72 tank commanded by the Karabakhi Armenian Gagik Avsharian was placed as a memorial. The tank had been hit during the town's capture, killing the driver and gun operator, but Avsharian jumped free from the hatch. The tank was restored and its number, 442, repainted in white on the side.
caption: Part of Shusha in ruins in 2010
exif: {}