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 
YearArmeniansAzerbaijanisOthersTotalNumber%Number%Number%1921122,42694.73%6,550 5.07%2670.21%129,2431923149,60094.8%7,7004.9%5000.3%157,8001925142,47090.28%15,2619.67%760.05%157,807

+Historical ethnic composition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast in 1921–1989Ethnic group1926Всесоюзная перепись населения 1926 года. Национальный состав населения по регионам республик СССР  Демоскоп1939Всесоюзная перепись населения 1939 года. Распределение городского и сельского населения областей союзных республик по национальности и полу  Демоскоп1959Всесоюзная перепись населения 1959 года. Городское и сельское население областей республик СССР (кроме РСФСР) по полу и национальности  Демоскоп1970Всесоюзная перепись населения 1970 года. Городское и сельское население областей республик СССР (кроме РСФСР) по полу и национальности  Демоскоп1979Всесоюзная перепись населения 1979 года. Городское и сельское население областей республик СССР (кроме РСФСР) по полу и национальности  Демоскоп1989Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года.Распределение городского и сельского населения областей республик СССР по полу и национальности  ДемоскопNumber%Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%Armenians111,69489.24132,80088.04110,05384.39121,06880.54123,07675.89145,45076.92Azerbaijanis12,59210.0614,0539.3217,99513.8027,17918.0837,26422.9840,68821.52Russians5960.483,1742.101,7901.371,3100.871,2650.781,9221.02Ukrainians350.034360.292380.181930.131400.094160.22Belarusians120.01110.01320.02350.02370.02790.04Greeks680.05740.05670.05330.02560.03720.04Tatars60.00290.02360.03250.02410.03640.03Georgians50.00250.02160.01220.01170.01570.03Others1510.122350.161790.144480.302850.183370.18Total125,159100.00150,837100.00130,406100.00150,313100.00162,181100.00189,085100.00
 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.
 Armenian: , transliterated Lernayin Gharabagh
 Azerbaijani: Dağlıq Qarabağ, or Yuxarı Qarabağ (meaning "upper Karabakh" or "mountainous Karabakh")
 Russian: Нагорный Карабах, transliterated Nagornyj Karabakh

 History 
Around 180 BC, Artsakh became one of the 15 provinces of the Armenian Kingdom and remained so until the 4th century.Hewsen, Robert H. "The Kingdom of Artsakh", in T. Samuelian & M. Stone, eds. Medieval Armenian Culture. Chico, CA, 1983.  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.Robert H. Hewsen, Armenia: A Historical Atlas. The University of Chicago Press, 2001, pp. 119, 155, 163, 264–65.   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.Audrey L. Altstadt. The Azerbaijani Turks: power and identity under Russian rule. Hoover Press, 1992. , 9780817991821  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.

Gallery

References

 Other websites 
 Karabakh documents 
 Artsakh from ancient time till 1918 
 Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) - France 24 Report