Stepanakert Armenian: Ստեփանակերտ | |
---|---|
City | |
![]() From top left: Holy Mother of God Cathedral Renaissance Square • Downtown Stepanakert Stepanakert Airport • Stepanakert skyline Park Hotel Artsakh • We Are Our Mountains Artsakh University • Stepanakert Memorial | |
Location of Stepanakert in Artsakh, under its de facto borders from 2020 to 2023. | |
Coordinates: 39°48′55″N46°45′7″E / 39.81528°N 46.75194°E | |
Country (de facto) | Artsakh |
• Province | Stepanakert |
City status | 1940 [1] |
Government | |
• Type | Mayor–Council |
• Body | Stepanakert City Council |
• Mayor | David Sargsyan (2023) |
Area | |
• Total | 29.12 km2 (11.24 sq mi) |
Elevation | 813 m (2,667 ft) |
Population (2021) [2] | |
• Total | 75,000 |
• Density | 2,600/km2 (6,700/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+4 (GMT+4) |
Area code | +374 47 |
Website | stepanakert |
Sources: Stepanakert city area and population [3] |
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.
During this period, the city was a regional center of education and culture, being home to Artsakh University, musical schools, and a Palace of Culture. The economy was based on the service industry and had varied enterprises, food processing, wine making, and silk weaving being the most important. [4] As of 2021, the population of Stepanakert was 75,000. [5]
During the period of the USSR, Stepanakert served as the capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast within the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, between 1923 and 1991. With the self-declared independence of Artsakh in 1991, Stepanakert continued with its status as the political and cultural centre of the newly established republic, being home to all the national institutions: the Government House, the National Assembly, the Presidential Palace, the Constitutional Court, all ministries, judicial bodies and other government organizations. [4]
Artsakh had been a presidential republic since the 2017 constitutional referendum. The post of prime minister was abolished and executive power from then on resided with the president, who was both the head of state and head of government. The president was directly elected for a maximum of two consecutive five-year terms. The final president was Samvel Shahramanyan, in 2023. [6]
The National Assembly was a unicameral legislature. It had 33 members who are elected for five-year terms. [7]
The city of Stepanakert was governed by the Stepanakert City Council and the mayor of Stepanakert. The last local elections took place in September 2019. [8] The most recent mayor was Davit Sargsyan. [9]
The late-19th-century church of Vararakn was destroyed in the 1930s to build the Stepanakert Drama Theatre. Throughout the rest of the Soviet era, there were no traditional churches in Stepanakert, although most of the population of the city were members of the Armenian Apostolic Church. [10]
The church of Surp Hakob (or Saint James) was opened in 2007; it remained the only open church in the city until 2019. The church was financed by Nerses Yepremian from Los Angeles. The church was consecrated on 9 May 2007, in honor of the 15th anniversary of the capture of Shusha by Armenian forces. [11]
The construction of the Holy Mother of God Cathedral was launched on 19 July 2006. The cost of the project was expected to be around US$2 million and the architect of the church is Gagik Yeranosyan. [12] However, the construction process was slow due to a lack of financial resources. The inauguration of the church was expected to take place in September 2016. [13] Construction finished and the church was opened in 2019. [14]
There was small community of Armenian Evangelicals with around 500 members. The only Armenian evangelical church in Artsakh is located in Stepanakert. The Evangelical community supported many schools, hospitals and other institutions through the help of the Armenian Diaspora. [15]
Stepanakert was served by a number of regular minibus lines. Old Soviet-era buses had been replaced with new modern buses. Regular trips to other provinces of Nagorno-Karabakh were also operated from the city. [16]
Stepanakert was served by the nearby Stepanakert Airport, north of the city near the village of Ivanyan. In 2009, facilities reconstruction and repair work began. [17] Though originally scheduled to launch the first commercial flights on 9 May 2011, Karabakh officials postponed a new reopening date throughout the whole of 2011. [18] In May 2012, the director of the NKR's Civil Aviation Administration, Tigran Gabrielyan, announced that the airport would begin operations in summer 2012. [19] However, the airport still remains closed due to political reasons. The OSCE Minsk Group, which mediates the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, stated that "operation of [Stepanakert Airport] cannot be used to support any claim of a change in the status of Nagorno-Karabakh" and "urged the sides to act in accordance with international law and consistent with current practice for flights over their territory." [20]
The city was a regional center of education and culture, being home to Artsakh University, musical schools, and a Palace of Culture. The economy was based on the service industry and had varied enterprises, food processing, wine making, and silk weaving being the most important. [4] As of 2021, the population of Stepanakert was 75,000. [5]
Stepanakert was the center of the economy of Artsakh. Prior to the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, the economy of Stepanakert was mainly based on food-processing industries, silk weaving and winemaking. [21] Inhabitants also engaged in producing furniture and footwear. [4] The economy was severely damaged due to the 1988 earthquake in Armenia and the First Nagorno Karabakh war. [22] In the years following, the economy was developed further, mainly due to investments from the Armenian diaspora. However, following the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, the economy once again experienced severe damage, particularly in the tourism sector. [23]
The most developed sectors of Stepanakert and the rest of the Republic of Artsakh are tourism and services. Several hotels were opened by diasporan Armenians from Russia, the United States and Australia. [24] Artsakhbank was the largest banking services provider in Artsakh, while Karabakh Telecom was the leading provider of mobile telecommunications and other communication services.[ citation needed ]
Stepanakert was also home to many large industrial firms, including Stepanakert Brandy Factory, Artsakh Berry food products and Artsakh Footwear Factory.[ citation needed ]
Construction was also one of the leading sectors in the city. Artsakh Hek was the leading construction firm, while Base Metals was the leader in mining and production of building materials.[ citation needed ]
![]() | This article needs to be updated.(October 2023) |
The Vahram Papazyan Drama Theater of Stepanakert was founded in 1932. In 1967, the monumental complex of Stepanakert known as We Are Our Mountains was erected to the north of Stepanakert, [25] It is widely regarded as a symbol of the Armenian heritage of the historic Artsakh. [26] After the independence of Armenia, many cultural and youth centres were reopened. The cultural palace of the city is named after Charles Aznavour. [27]
Stepanakert was home to the Mesrop Mashtots Republican Library opened in 1924, Artsakh History Museum opened in 1939, Hovhannes Tumanyan Children's Library opened in 1947, Stepanakert National Gallery opened in 1982, and the Memorial Museum of the Martyred Liberators opened in 2002. A new cultural complex of the Armenian heritage of Artsakh was under construction. [28]
The Artsakh State Museum, based in Stepanakert, had an important collection of ancient artifacts and Christian manuscripts. [29]
Stepanakert was the center of higher education in Artsakh. [4] Five higher educational institutions operated in the city:
Many new schools in Stepanakert were opened from the late 1990s to 2010 with the help of the Armenian diaspora. [33] Existing schools were also renovated with donations from the diaspora. [34]
The Stepanakert branch of Tumo Center for Creative Technologies was opened in September 2015, as a result of continued cooperation between the Tumo Centre and the Armenian General Benevolent Union, with the support of mobile operator Karabakh Telecom. [35] [36]
Football is a popular sport in Nagorno-Karabakh and the city has a renovated football stadium. Since the mid-1990s, football teams from Karabakh started taking part in some domestic competitions in Armenia. Lernayin Artsakh is the football club that represents the city of Stepanakert. The Artsakh national football league was launched in 2009. [37]
The non-FIFA affiliated Artsakh national football team was formed in 2012 and played their first competitive match against the unrecognized Abkhazia national football team in Sukhumi on 17 September 2012. The match ended with a 1–1 draw. [38] [39] The following month, on 21 October 2012, Artsakh played the return match at the Stepanakert Republican Stadium against Abkhazia, winning it with a result of 3–0. [40]
There was also interest in other sports, including basketball and volleyball.
Artsakh athletes also took part with the representing teams and athletes in the Pan-Armenian Games, organized in Armenia. [41]
As an unrecognized entity, the athletes of Artsakh competed in international sports competitions under the flag of Armenia. [37]
Stepanakert was twinned with:
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.
Stepanakert or Khankendi is a ghost city in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. The city was under the control and the capital city of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh prior to the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in the region. 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 five kilometres (3.1 mi) wide Lachin corridor, which was placed under the supervision of Russian peacekeeping forces.
Shusha or Shushi is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet era.
The Artsakh Defence Army was the defence force of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh. Established in 1992, it united previously disorganized defence units which were formed in the early 1990s.
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.
Lachin is a town in Azerbaijan and the administrative centre of the Lachin District. It is located within the strategic Lachin corridor, which linked the region of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.
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.
The administrative divisions of the Republic of Artsakh were of two types; provinces and cities. There were six provinces and one special administrative city.
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.
Askeran is a town in the Khojaly District of Azerbaijan. Prior to the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive, it was de facto in the Republic of Artsakh as the administrative centre of its Askeran Province. It is located on the left bank of the Karkar River (Qarqarçay), approximately 11 kilometres (7 mi) northeast of the regional capital, Stepanakert.
Tugh or Togh is a village in the Khojavend District of Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. 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.
Stepanakert Airport or Khojaly Airport is an airport in the town of Khojaly, 10 kilometers north-east of Stepanakert, Azerbaijan. The airport, in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, had been under the control of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh from 1992 to 2023. Flights ceased with the escalation of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1990.
Artsakh State University was a university in Stepanakert, the oldest and largest university in the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh. Over the course of its 50-year history, Artsakh State University has produced over 20,000 graduates in 60 fields of study.
On 2 June 1992, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), a former breakaway state in the South Caucasus region, adopted a flag derived from the flag of Armenia, to which a white, five-toothed, stepped carpet pattern is added, beginning at the two verges of the flag's fly and meeting at a point equal to one-third of the distance from that side. The NKR was renamed the Republic of Artsakh in 2017 after a referendum and retained the flag. Following an Azerbaijani offensive on 19 September 2023, Artsakh agreed to dissolve itself by 1 January 2024.
The Karabakh movement, also known as the Artsakh movement, was a national mass movement in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh from 1988 to 1991 that advocated for the transfer of the mainly Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of neighboring Azerbaijan to the jurisdiction of Armenia.
Shosh or Shushikend is a village in the Khojaly District of Azerbaijan. It was under the de facto control of breakaway Republic of Artsakh until the Azerbaijani takeover of the region in 2023. The village had an ethnic Armenian-majority population until the exodus of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh following the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive.
David Klimi Babayan is a politician who served as the advisor to the president of Artsakh from 17 January 2023 until the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh. He previously served as the foreign minister of Artsakh. From 28 December 2013 he served as Head of the Central Information Department of the Artsakh Republic. He also served as the Deputy Chief of Staff in the office of the President of the Republic. On 26 May 2020, he was appointed as an adviser to the President on foreign relations. On 4 January 2021, Babayan was appointed the Minister of Foreign Relations taking over from Masis Mayilyan. He founded and currently leads the Artsakh Conservative Party. After the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, he surrendered himself to the Azerbaijani authorities and is currently facing criminal charges in Azerbaijan.
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