Nagorno-Karabakh is a region in Azerbaijan, covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Part of the greater region of Karabakh, it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik. Its terrain mostly consists of mountains and forestland.
The national flag of Armenia, also known as the tricolour, consists of three horizontal bands of equal width, red on the top, blue in the middle, and apricot on the bottom. The Armenian Supreme Soviet adopted the current flag on 24 August 1990. On 15 June 2006, the Law on the National Flag of Armenia, governing its usage, was passed by the National Assembly of Armenia.
Stepanakert or Khankendi is a city in Karabakh Economic Region, Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The city is located in a valley on the eastern slopes of the Karabakh mountain range, on the left bank of the Qarqarçay (Karkar) river.
Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, was a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory was internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Between 1991 and 2023, Artsakh controlled parts of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, including its capital Stepanakert. It had been an enclave within Azerbaijan from the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war until the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive, when the Azerbaijani military took control over the remaining territory controlled by Artsakh. Its only overland access route to Armenia after the 2020 war was via the 5 km (3.1 mi) wide Lachin corridor, which was placed under the supervision of Russian peacekeeping forces.
The Artsakh Defence Army was the defence force of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh. Established in 1992, it united previously disorganized self-defence units which were formed in the early 1990s with the goal of protecting the ethnic Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh from attacks by Soviet and Azerbaijani armed forces.
The Republic of Artsakh was a republic with limited recognition in the South Caucasus region. The Republic of Artsakh controlled most of the territory of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. It was recognized only by three other non-UN member states, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria. The rest of the international community recognized Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan. In November 2012, a member of Uruguay's foreign relations committee stated that his country could recognize Nagorno-Karabakh's independence. In 2012, Armenia and Tuvalu established diplomatic relations, which led to speculation of possible recognition of Artsakh by Tuvalu. In October 2012, the Australian state of New South Wales recognized Nagorno-Karabakh. In September 2014, the Basque Parliament in Spain adopted a motion supporting Artsakh's right to self-determination and in November 2014, the Parliament of Navarre, also in Spain, issued a statement supporting Artsakh's inclusion in taking part in settlement negotiations.
The coat of arms of the Republic of Artsakh consisted of an eagle above which is an ornamented crown. On the chest of the eagle is a shield with a panorama of a mountain range and under it a vertically set Flag of the Republic of Artsakh. Over this are the two stone heads of "Granny and Gramps" from the We Are Our Mountains monument in Stepanakert, the capital of Artsakh. The eagle's feet clutch various agricultural products including wheat and grapes. The outer rim is made up of a golden circular ribbon bearing inscription "Լեռնային Ղարաբաղի Հանրապետություն-Արցախ, Lerrnayin Gharabaghi Hanrapetut’yun-Arts’akh" in Armenian.
Artur Aslani Mkrtchyan was the first Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, elected on 7 January 1992. He made an important contribution to reinforcing the defensive capabilities of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, but was fatally shot under unclear circumstances in April 1992.
Arayik Vladimiri Harutyunyan is an Armenian politician who served as the fourth president of the Republic of Artsakh from May 2020 to September 2023. Under his predecessor Bako Sahakyan, he served as the sixth and last Prime Minister from 2007 until the abolishment of that position in 2017 and as the first State Minister of the Republic of Artsakh from 2017 until his resignation in 2018. Harutyunyan led Artsakh through the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War with Azerbaijan, during which the republic lost most of the territory under its control. He resigned on 1 September 2023 in the midst of the Azerbaijani blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Before the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, the economy of the Republic of Artsakh was small, but rapidly growing. The economy of Karabakh showed a relatively quick and confident recovery from the 1991-1994 war. In 1999, the GDP figure was $59 million, 80 percent down on the figure in Soviet times. Yet, the GDP of the Republic of Artsakh reached $114 million in 2005, double the figure in 2001, registering economic growth of 14% in 2005, and in 2009 it registered a GDP of $260 million, which increased to $320 million by 2010. Nagorno-Karabakh's GDP (PPP) for 2010 was estimated at $1.6 billion.
Kalbajar is a city and the capital of the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan. Located on the Tartar river valley, it is 458 kilometres (285 mi) away from the capital Baku.
Martakert or Aghdara is a town in the Tartar District of Azerbaijan, in Nagorno-Karabakh. It was formerly controlled by the de facto breakaway Republic of Artsakh as the administrative capital of its Martakert Province before the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive. The town has an ethnic Armenian-majority population, and also had an Armenian majority in 1989. The town underwent heavy destruction by Azerbaijani forces while under their control during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Khojaly is a town in the Khojaly District of Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Tugh or Togh is a village in the Khojavend District of Azerbaijan. The village had a mixed Armenian-Azerbaijani population before the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, the Azerbaijani inhabitants fled the fighting in 1991, and the Armenian population fled the village during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.
The Lachin corridor is a mountain road in Azerbaijan that links Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.
The political status of Nagorno-Karabakh remained unresolved from its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union on 10 December 1991, to its September 2023 collapse. During Soviet times, it had been an ethnic Armenian autonomous oblast of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, a conflict arose between local Armenians who sought to have Nagorno-Karabakh join Armenia and local Azerbaijanis who opposed this.
Artsakhi passports were issued to Artsakhi citizens to travel outside the partially recognized Republic of Artsakh. They were also used as proof of identity within the country. Passports of the Republic of Artsakh were issued based on amendments to the Constitution of Artsakh of 2006.
The Ministry of Defence of Artsakh was a government agency of the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh. It was the executive body in implementing defence policies of the Artsakh Defence Army. The final minister of defence was Lieutenant General Kamo Vardanyan. Following an Azerbaijani assault on 19 September 2023, Artsakh agreed to dissolve itself by 1 January 2024.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Artsakh also known as the Ministry of the Interior was an official government agency of the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh, serving as the executive law enforcement body in the state. It follows an organization similar to that of the Police of Armenia. Following an Azerbaijani assault on 19 September 2023, Artsakh agreed to dissolve itself by 1 January 2024.
From the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 to the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, the city of Stepanakert was the capital of the unrecognized breakaway Republic of Artsakh, while being internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
