Tongue Twisters

Armenia and Azerbaijan what is happening Nagorno-Karabakh. Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh: history and causes. Why war is unprofitable for Russia

There are enough places on the geopolitical map of the world that can be marked in red. Here military conflicts either subside or flare up again, many of which have more than a century of history. There are not so many such “hot” spots on the planet, but it is still better that they do not exist at all. However, unfortunately, one of these places is not so far from the Russian border. We are talking about the Karabakh conflict, which is rather difficult to briefly describe. The very essence of this confrontation between Armenians and Azerbaijanis goes back to the end of the nineteenth century. And many historians believe that the conflict between these nations has existed for a much longer time. It is impossible to talk about it without mentioning the Armenian-Azerbaijani war, which claimed a large number of lives on both sides. The historical chronicle of these events is kept by Armenians and Azerbaijanis very carefully. Although each nationality sees only its rightness in what happened. In the article we will analyze the causes and consequences of the Karabakh conflict. And also briefly outline the current situation in the region. We will single out several sections of the article to the Armenian-Azerbaijani war of the late nineteenth - early twentieth century, part of which are armed clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Characteristics of the military conflict

Historians often argue that the causes of many wars and armed conflicts are misunderstandings among the mixed local population. The Armenian-Azerbaijani war of 1918-1920 can be characterized in the same way. Historians call it an ethnic conflict, but the main reason for the outbreak of war is seen in territorial disputes. They were most relevant in those places where historically Armenians and Azerbaijanis coexisted in the same territories. The peak of military clashes came at the end of the First World War. The authorities managed to achieve relative stability in the region only after the republics joined the Soviet Union.

The First Republic of Armenia and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic did not enter into direct clashes with each other. Therefore, the Armenian-Azerbaijani war had some resemblance to partisan resistance. The main actions took place in the disputed territories, where the republics supported the militias created by their fellow citizens.

For all the time that the Armenian-Azerbaijani war of 1918-1920 lasted, the most bloody and active actions took place in Karabakh and Nakhichevan. All this was accompanied by a real massacre, which eventually became the cause of the demographic crisis in the region. Armenians and Azerbaijanis call the most difficult pages in the history of this conflict:

March massacre;
the massacre of Armenians in Baku;
Shusha massacre.

It should be noted that the young Soviet and Georgian governments tried to provide mediation services in the Armenian-Azerbaijani war. However, this approach had no effect and did not become a guarantor of the stabilization of the situation in the region. The problem was solved only after the Red Army occupied the disputed territories, which led to the overthrow of the ruling regime in both republics. However, in some regions the fire of war was only slightly extinguished and flared up more than once. Speaking of this, we mean the Karabakh conflict, the consequences of which our contemporaries still cannot fully appreciate.

History of hostilities

Since ancient times, tense relations have been noted in the disputed territories between the people of Armenia and the people of Azerbaijan. The Karabakh conflict was just a continuation of a long and dramatic story unfolding over several centuries.

Religious and cultural differences between the two peoples were often considered the reason that led to the armed clash. However, the real reason for the Armenian-Azerbaijani war (in 1991 it broke out with renewed vigor) was the territorial issue.

In 1905, the first riots began in Baku, which resulted in an armed conflict between Armenians and Azerbaijanis. Gradually, it began to flow to other regions of Transcaucasia. Wherever the ethnic composition was mixed, there were regular clashes that were harbingers of a future war. Its trigger mechanism can be called the October Revolution.

Since the seventeenth year of the last century, the situation in the Transcaucasus has completely destabilized, and the hidden conflict turned into an open war that claimed many lives.

A year after the revolution, serious changes took place in the once unified territory. Initially, independence was proclaimed in Transcaucasia, but the newly-made state lasted only a few months. It is historically natural that it broke up into three independent republics:

Georgian Democratic Republic;
Republic of Armenia (the Karabakh conflict hit the Armenians very seriously);
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.

Despite this division, a lot of Armenian population lived in Zangezur and Karabakh, which became part of Azerbaijan. They categorically refused to obey the new authorities and even created organized armed resistance. This partly gave rise to the Karabakh conflict (we will briefly consider it a little later).

The goal of the Armenians living in the announced territories was to become part of the Republic of Armenia. Armed clashes between scattered Armenian detachments and Azerbaijani troops were repeated regularly. But neither side could come to any final decision.

In turn, a similar situation has developed. It included the Erivan province, densely populated by Muslims. They resisted joining the republic and received material support from Turkey and Azerbaijan.

The eighteenth and nineteenth years of the last century were the initial stage for the military conflict, when the formation of opposing camps and opposition groups took place.

The most important events for the war took place in several regions almost simultaneously. Therefore, we will consider the war through the prism of armed clashes in these areas.

Nakhichevan. Muslim resistance

The Truce of Mudros, signed in the eighteenth year of the last century and marked the defeat, immediately changed the balance of power in the Transcaucasus. Its troops, previously introduced into the Transcaucasian region, were forced to hastily leave it. After several months of independent existence, it was decided to introduce the liberated territories into the Republic of Armenia. However, this was done without the consent of the local residents, most of whom were Azerbaijani Muslims. They began to resist, especially since the Turkish military supported this opposition. Soldiers and officers in small numbers were transferred to the territory of the new Republic of Azerbaijan.

Its authorities supported their compatriots and made an attempt to isolate the disputed regions. One of the Azerbaijani leaders even declared Nakhichevan and several other regions closest to it an independent Arak Republic. Such an outcome promised bloody clashes, for which the Muslim population of the self-proclaimed republic was ready. The support of the Turkish army was very helpful and, according to some forecasts, the Armenian government troops would have been defeated. Serious clashes were avoided thanks to the intervention of Britain. Through her efforts, a governor-general was formed in the declared independent territories.

In a few months of the nineteenth year, under the British protectorate, the disputed territories managed to restore a peaceful life. Gradually, telegraph communication with other countries was established, the railway track was repaired and several trains were launched. However, British troops could not remain in these territories for long. After peaceful negotiations with the Armenian authorities, the parties came to an agreement: the British left the Nakhichevan region, and the Armenian military units entered there with full rights to these lands.

This decision led to the indignation of Azerbaijani Muslims. The military conflict broke out with renewed vigor. Looting took place everywhere, houses and Muslim shrines were burned. In all areas close to Nakhichevan, battles and minor clashes thundered. Azerbaijanis created their own units and performed under British and Turkish flags.

As a result of the battles, the Armenians almost completely lost control over Nakhichevan. The surviving Armenians were forced to leave their homes and flee to Zangezur.

Causes and consequences of the Karabakh conflict. Historical reference

This region cannot boast of stability so far. Despite the fact that theoretically a solution to the Karabakh conflict was found in the last century, in reality it did not become a real way out of the current situation. And its roots go back to ancient times.

If we talk about the history of Nagorno-Karabakh, then I would like to dwell on the fourth century BC. It was then that these territories became part of the Armenian kingdom. Later they became a part of one of its provinces and for six centuries were geographically part of it. In the future, these areas have changed their ownership more than once. They were ruled by Albanians, Arabs, again Naturally, territories with such a history as a distinctive feature have a heterogeneous composition of the population. This was one of the causes of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

For a better understanding of the situation, it must be said that at the very beginning of the twentieth century there were already clashes between Armenians and Azerbaijanis in this region. From 1905 to 1907, the conflict periodically made itself felt by short-term armed skirmishes among the local population. But the October Revolution became the starting point of a new round in this conflict.

Karabakh in the first quarter of the twentieth century

In 1918-1920, the Karabakh conflict flared up with renewed vigor. The reason was the proclamation of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. It was supposed to include Nagorno-Karabakh with a large number of the Armenian population. It did not accept the new government and began to resist it, including armed resistance.

In the summer of 1918, the Armenians living in these territories convened the first congress and elected their own government. Knowing this, the Azerbaijani authorities took advantage of the help of Turkish troops and began to gradually suppress the resistance of the Armenian population. The Armenians of Baku were the first to be attacked, the bloody massacre in this city became a lesson for many other territories.

By the end of the year, the situation was far from normal. Clashes between Armenians and Muslims continued, chaos reigned everywhere, looting and robbery became widespread. The situation was complicated by the fact that refugees from other regions of Transcaucasia began to flock to the region. According to preliminary estimates of the British, about forty thousand Armenians disappeared in Karabakh.

The British, who felt quite confident in these territories, saw an intermediate solution to the Karabakh conflict in the transfer of this region under the control of Azerbaijan. Such an approach could not but shock the Armenians, who considered the British government their ally and assistant in regulating the situation. They did not agree with the proposal to leave the solution of the conflict to the Paris Peace Conference and appointed their representative in Karabakh.

Attempts to resolve the conflict

The Georgian authorities offered their assistance in stabilizing the situation in the region. They organized a conference attended by plenipotentiary delegates from both young republics. However, the settlement of the Karabakh conflict turned out to be impossible due to different approaches to its solution.

The Armenian authorities offered to be guided by ethnic characteristics. Historically, these territories belonged to the Armenians, so their claims to Nagorno-Karabakh were justified. However, Azerbaijan made compelling arguments in favor of an economic approach to deciding the fate of the region. It is separated from Armenia by mountains and is in no way connected with the state territorially.

After lengthy disputes, the parties did not come to a compromise. Therefore, the conference was considered a failure.

Further course of the conflict

After an unsuccessful attempt to resolve the Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijan imposed an economic blockade of these territories. He was supported by the British and Americans, but even they were forced to recognize such measures as extremely cruel, as they led to starvation among the local population.

Gradually, the Azerbaijanis increased their military presence in the disputed territories. Periodic armed clashes did not develop into a full-fledged war only thanks to representatives from other countries. But it couldn't go on for long.

The participation of the Kurds in the Armenian-Azerbaijani war was not always mentioned in official reports of that period. But they took an active part in the conflict, joining specialized cavalry units.

At the beginning of 1920, at the Paris Peace Conference, it was decided to recognize the disputed territories for Azerbaijan. Despite the nominal solution of the issue, the situation has not stabilized. Looting and robbery continued, and bloody ethnic cleansing, which claimed the lives of entire settlements, became a frequent occurrence.

Armenian uprising

The decisions of the Paris Conference led to relative peace. But in the current situation, he was just the calm before the storm. And it struck in the winter of 1920.

Against the backdrop of a renewed national massacre, the Azerbaijani government demanded the unconditional submission of the Armenian population. For this purpose, an Assembly was convened, the delegates of which worked until the first days of March. However, no consensus was reached either. Some advocated only economic unification with Azerbaijan, while others refused any contact with the authorities of the republic.

Despite the established truce, the governor-general, appointed by the Azerbaijani republican government to manage the region, gradually began to gather military contingent here. In parallel, he introduced a lot of rules restricting Armenians in movement, and drew up a plan for the destruction of their settlements.

All this only aggravated the situation and led to the beginning of the uprising of the Armenian population on March 23, 1920. Armed groups attacked several settlements at the same time. But only one of them managed to achieve a noticeable result. The rebels failed to hold the city: already in the first days of April it was returned under the authority of the governor-general.

The failure did not stop the Armenian population, and the long-standing military conflict resumed on the territory of Karabakh with renewed vigor. During April, the settlements passed from one hand to another, the forces of the opponents were equal, and the tension only intensified every day.

At the end of the month, the sovietization of Azerbaijan took place, which radically changed the situation and the balance of power in the region. Over the next six months, Soviet troops entrenched themselves in the republic and entered Karabakh. Most of the Armenians went over to their side. Those officers who did not lay down their arms were shot.

Subtotals

Initially, the right to it was assigned to Armenia, but a little later, the final decision was the introduction of Nagorno-Karabakh into Azerbaijan as an autonomy. However, neither side was satisfied with the outcome. Periodically, minor conflicts arose, provoked either by the Armenian or by the Azerbaijani population. Each of the peoples considered themselves infringed in their rights, and the issue of transferring the region under the rule of Armenia was raised repeatedly.

The situation only outwardly seemed stable, which was proved in the late eighties - early nineties of the last century, when they again started talking about the Karabakh conflict (1988).

Renewal of the conflict

Until the end of the 1980s, the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh remained conditionally stable. There were talks about changing the status of autonomy from time to time, but this was done in very narrow circles. The policy of Mikhail Gorbachev influenced the mood in the region: the dissatisfaction of the Armenian population with their position intensified. The people began to gather for rallies, there were words about the deliberate restraint of the development of the region and the ban on resuming ties with Armenia. During this period, the nationalist movement became more active, whose leaders spoke about the disdainful attitude of the authorities towards Armenian culture and traditions. Increasingly, there were appeals to the Soviet government calling for the withdrawal of autonomy from Azerbaijan.

The ideas of reunification with Armenia also leaked into the print media. In the republic itself, the population actively supported new trends, which negatively affected the authority of the leadership. Trying to hold back popular uprisings, the Communist Party was rapidly losing its positions. Tension in the region grew, which inevitably led to another round of the Karabakh conflict.

By 1988, the first clashes between the Armenian and Azerbaijani populations were recorded. The impetus for them was the dismissal in one of the villages of the head of the collective farm - an Armenian. Mass riots were suspended, but in parallel, a collection of signatures in favor of unification was launched in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. With this initiative, a group of delegates was sent to Moscow.

In the winter of 1988, refugees from Armenia began to arrive in the region. They talked about the oppression of the Azerbaijani people in the Armenian territories, which added tension to an already difficult situation. Gradually, the population of Azerbaijan was divided into two opposing groups. Some believed that Nagorno-Karabakh should finally become part of Armenia, while others traced separatist tendencies in the unfolding events.

At the end of February, the Armenian people's deputies voted for an appeal to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR with a request to consider the urgent issue with Karabakh. Azerbaijani deputies refused to vote and defiantly left the meeting room. The conflict gradually got out of control. Many feared bloody clashes among the local population. And they did not keep themselves waiting.

On February 22, with difficulty, they managed to separate two groups of people - from Aghdam and Askeran. Quite strong opposition groups with weapons in their arsenal have formed in both settlements. We can say that this clash was the signal for the start of a real war.

In the first days of March, a wave of strikes swept through Nagorno-Karabakh. In the future, the people will more than once resort to this method of attracting attention to themselves. In parallel, people began to take to the streets of Azerbaijani cities, speaking in support of the decision on the impossibility of revising the status of Karabakh. The most massive were such processions in Baku.

The Armenian authorities tried to contain the pressure of the people, who increasingly advocated unification with once disputed areas. Several official groups have even formed in the republic, collecting signatures in support of the Karabakh Armenians and conducting explanatory work on this issue among the masses. Moscow, despite numerous appeals from the Armenian population, continued to adhere to the decision on the former status of Karabakh. However, she encouraged the representatives of this autonomy with promises to establish cultural ties with Armenia and provide a number of indulgences to the local population. Unfortunately, such half-measures could not satisfy both sides.

Rumors spread everywhere about the oppression of certain nationalities, people took to the streets, many of them had weapons. The situation finally got out of control in late February. At that time, bloody pogroms of the Armenian quarters took place in Sumgayit. For two days, law enforcement agencies could not restore order. The official reports did not include reliable information about the number of victims. The authorities still hoped to hide the real state of affairs. However, the Azerbaijanis were determined to carry out mass pogroms, destroying the Armenian population. With difficulty, it was possible to prevent a repetition of the situation with Sumgayit in Kirovobad.

In the summer of 1988, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan reached a new level. The republics began to use conditionally "legal" methods in the confrontation. These include a partial economic blockade and the adoption of laws regarding Nagorno-Karabakh without considering the views of the opposite side.

Armenian-Azerbaijani war of 1991-1994

Until 1994, the situation in the region was extremely difficult. A Soviet group of troops was introduced into Yerevan, in some cities, including Baku, the authorities established a curfew. Popular unrest often resulted in massacres, which even the military contingent could not stop. On the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, shelling by artillery has become the norm. The conflict escalated into a full-scale war between the two republics.

In 1991, it was proclaimed a republic, which caused another round of hostilities. Armored vehicles, aviation and artillery were used at the fronts. Casualties on both sides only provoked more military operations.

Summing up

Today, the causes and consequences of the Karabakh conflict (in brief) can be found in any school history textbook. After all, he is an example of a frozen situation that has not found its final solution.

In 1994, the warring parties entered into an agreement on the intermediate result of the conflict can be considered an official change in the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as the loss of several Azerbaijani territories that previously belonged to the border. Naturally, Azerbaijan itself considered the military conflict not resolved, but merely frozen. Therefore, in 2016, the shelling of the territories adjacent to Karabakh began.

Today, the situation threatens to escalate into a full-fledged military conflict again, because the Armenians do not at all want to return to their neighbors the lands annexed several years ago. The Russian government advocates a truce and seeks to keep the conflict frozen. However, many analysts believe that this is impossible, and sooner or later the situation in the region will again become uncontrollable.

Last update: 04/02/2016

Violent clashes broke out in Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed region on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, on Saturday night. using "all kinds of weapons". The Azerbaijani authorities, in turn, claim that the clashes began after shelling from Nagorno-Karabakh. Official Baku stated that the Armenian side violated the ceasefire regime 127 times over the past day, including using mortars and heavy machine guns.

AiF.ru talks about the history and causes of the Karabakh conflict, which has long historical and cultural roots, and what led to its aggravation today.

History of the Karabakh conflict

The territory of modern Nagorno-Karabakh in the II century. BC e. was annexed to Greater Armenia and for about six centuries formed part of the province of Artsakh. At the end of the IV century. n. e., during the division of Armenia, this territory was included by Persia in its vassal state - Caucasian Albania. From the middle of the 7th century until the end of the 9th century, Karabakh fell under Arab rule, but in the 9th-16th centuries it became part of the Armenian feudal principality of Khachen. Until the middle of the 18th century, Nagorno-Karabakh was under the rule of the union of Armenian melikdoms of Khamsa. In the second half of the 18th century, Nagorno-Karabakh with a predominantly Armenian population became part of the Karabakh khanate, and in 1813, as part of the Karabakh khanate, under the Gulistan peace treaty, it became part of the Russian Empire.

Karabakh Armistice Commission, 1918. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

At the beginning of the 20th century, the region with a predominantly Armenian population twice (in 1905-1907 and in 1918-1920) became the scene of bloody Armenian-Azerbaijani clashes.

In May 1918, in connection with the revolution and the collapse of Russian statehood, three independent states were proclaimed in Transcaucasia, including the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (mainly on the lands of the Baku and Elizavetpol provinces, the Zagatala district), which included the Karabakh region.

The Armenian population of Karabakh and Zangezur, however, refused to obey the ADR authorities. Convened on July 22, 1918 in Shusha, the First Congress of the Armenians of Karabakh proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh an independent administrative and political unit and elected its own People's Government (since September 1918 - the Armenian National Council of Karabakh).

Ruins of the Armenian quarter of the city of Shusha, 1920. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Pavel Shekhtman

The confrontation between the Azerbaijani troops and the Armenian armed groups continued in the region until the establishment of Soviet power in Azerbaijan. At the end of April 1920, Azerbaijani troops occupied the territory of Karabakh, Zangezur and Nakhichevan. By mid-June 1920, the resistance of the Armenian armed groups in Karabakh was suppressed with the help of Soviet troops.

On November 30, 1920, Azrevkom, by its declaration, granted Nagorno-Karabakh the right to self-determination. However, despite the autonomy, the territory continued to remain the Azerbaijan SSR, which led to the tension of the conflict: in the 1960s, socio-economic tensions in the NKAO escalated into mass riots several times.

What happened to Karabakh during perestroika?

In 1987 - early 1988, the dissatisfaction of the Armenian population with their socio-economic situation intensified in the region, which was influenced by the initiated Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev the policy of democratization of Soviet public life and the relaxation of political restrictions.

Protest moods were fueled by Armenian nationalist organizations, and the actions of the emerging national movement were skillfully organized and directed.

The leadership of the Azerbaijan SSR and the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, for its part, tried to resolve the situation by using the usual command and bureaucratic levers, which turned out to be ineffective in the new situation.

In October 1987, student strikes took place in the region demanding the secession of Karabakh, and on February 20, 1988, the session of the regional Council of the NKAO appealed to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR with a request to transfer the region to Armenia. Thousands of nationalist rallies were held in the regional center, Stepanakert, and Yerevan.

Most of the Azerbaijanis living in Armenia were forced to flee. In February 1988, Armenian pogroms began in Sumgayit, thousands of Armenian refugees appeared.

In June 1988, the Supreme Council of Armenia agreed to the entry of the NKAR into the Armenian SSR, and the Azerbaijani Supreme Council agreed to the preservation of the NKAR as part of Azerbaijan, with the subsequent liquidation of autonomy.

On July 12, 1988, the regional council of Nagorno-Karabakh decided to withdraw from Azerbaijan. At a meeting on July 18, 1988, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR came to the conclusion that it was impossible to transfer the NKAO to Armenia.

In September 1988, armed clashes began between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, which turned into a protracted armed conflict, as a result of which there were large casualties. As a result of the successful military actions of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh in Armenian), this territory got out of the control of Azerbaijan. The decision on the official status of Nagorno-Karabakh was postponed indefinitely.

Speech in support of the secession of Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan. Yerevan, 1988 Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Gorzaim

What happened to Karabakh after the collapse of the USSR?

In 1991, full-fledged military operations began in Karabakh. Through a referendum (December 10, 1991), Nagorno-Karabakh tried to gain the right to full independence. The attempt failed, and this region became a hostage to the antagonistic claims of Armenia and Azerbaijan's attempts to retain power.

The result of full-scale military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1991 - early 1992 was the complete or partial capture of seven Azerbaijani regions by regular Armenian units. Following this, military operations using the most modern weapons systems spread to internal Azerbaijan and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

Thus, until 1994, Armenian troops occupied 20% of the territory of Azerbaijan, destroyed and plundered 877 settlements, while the death toll was about 18 thousand people, and more than 50 thousand were wounded and disabled.

In 1994, with the help of Russia, Kyrgyzstan, as well as the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS in Bishkek, Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan signed a protocol, on the basis of which an agreement was reached on a ceasefire.

What happened in Karabakh in August 2014?

In the zone of the Karabakh conflict at the end of July - in August 2014, there was a sharp escalation of tension, which led to human casualties. On July 31 of this year, skirmishes took place between the troops of the two states on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, as a result of which servicemen from both sides died.

A stand at the entrance to the NKR with the inscription "Welcome to Free Artsakh" in Armenian and Russian. 2010 Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / lori-m

What is Azerbaijan's version of the conflict in Karabakh?

According to Azerbaijan, on the night of August 1, 2014, reconnaissance and sabotage groups of the Armenian army made an attempt to cross the line of contact between the troops of the two states in the territories of the Aghdam and Terter regions. As a result, four Azerbaijani servicemen were killed.

What is Armenia's version of the conflict in Karabakh?

According to official Yerevan, everything happened exactly the opposite. The official position of Armenia says that an Azerbaijani sabotage group penetrated the territory of the unrecognized republic and fired at the Armenian territory from artillery and small arms.

At the same time, Baku, according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Edward Nalbandian, does not agree to the proposal of the world community to investigate incidents in the border zone, which means, therefore, in the opinion of the Armenian side, it is Azerbaijan that is responsible for the violation of the truce.

According to the Armenian Defense Ministry, only during the period of August 4-5 this year, Baku resumed shelling the enemy about 45 times, using artillery, including large-caliber weapons. There were no casualties from Armenia during this period.

What is the version of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) about the conflict in Karabakh?

According to the Defense Army of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), in the week from July 27 to August 2, Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire regime established since 1994 in the conflict zone in Nagorno-Karabakh 1.5 thousand times, as a result of actions on both sides, about 24 people died. Human.

Currently, the exchange of fire between the parties is carried out, including with the use of large-caliber small arms and artillery - mortars, anti-aircraft guns and even thermobaric grenades. Shelling of border settlements also became more frequent.

What is Russia's reaction to the conflict in Karabakh?

The Russian Foreign Ministry regarded the aggravation of the situation, "which entailed significant human casualties," as a serious violation of the 1994 ceasefire agreements. The agency urged "to show restraint, refrain from using force and take immediate action aimed at."

What is the US reaction to the conflict in Karabakh?

The US State Department, in turn, called for the ceasefire to be respected, and for the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to meet at the earliest opportunity and resume dialogue on key issues.

"We also urge the parties to accept the OSCE Chairman-in-Office's proposal to start negotiations that could lead to the signing of a peace agreement," the State Department said.

It is noteworthy that on August 2 Prime Minister of Armenia Hovik Abrahamyan stated that the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev may meet in Sochi on 8 or 9 August this year.

“If someone could doubt this before Sumgayit, then after this tragedy, no one has any moral opportunity to insist on maintaining the territorial belonging of the NKAR to Azerbaijan”:
— Academician Andrey Sakharov

Kindling. In the late 80s, during perestroika, the Azerbaijani authorities began to oppress the Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Okrug with greater intensity and with a new scope. A sharp anti-Armenian policy was pursued. The Armenian language was banned in schools, and Azerbaijani was made compulsory. In Armenian villages, gas, electricity, water were reduced, buildings and roads were not repaired, nothing new was built. While right next to the Armenian cities, new cities were built with all communications and conditions and were instantly populated by Azerbaijanis.

Following the official appeal of Karabakh to the Soviet authorities for secession from the Azerbaijan SSR, mass demonstrations and strikes followed. In Armenia, in Karabakh and in all the Armenian communities of the world, rallies and political actions began demanding the annexation of the historically Armenian and Armenian-populated land to Armenia. The first rallies were held in the capital of Karabakh - Stepanakert, where the people fought personally for their rights. The number of protesters in Yerevan reached a million - 1/3 of the country's population.

Sumgayit massacre and first blood.
In the city of Sumgayit, located near Baku, in response to the peaceful rallies of Armenians, the Azerbaijani authorities organized a massacre. Several dozen people died, the number of victims reached several hundred. As a result, the 18,000 Armenian population was forced to leave the city. Following Sumgayit, the Armenians began to flee from Baku and other settlements of the country.

The massacre of Armenians was carried out not by soldiers, but by the Azerbaijani population. The Azerbaijani authorities reported false rumors that they began to oppress and drive out Azerbaijanis in Armenia, instilled hatred towards Armenians and set them up for sharp uncontrolled actions. Impressed by vile agitations, the Azerbaijanis began to aggressively attack the Armenians, including women, children and the elderly. Soviet servicemen watched with folded hands as citizens were burned and brutally murdered in the streets. Armed with clubs and knives, the zombified crowds burst into the yards and mouthed the addresses that the city administration had given them in advance. The robbers unerringly entered the houses of the Armenians and destroyed everything they had time to do.

The telephones of the Armenians were turned off. Those who managed to get through to the police were given a clear answer - “do not leave the house” (it is clear why they answered that way). When asked by Gorbachev why the military did not intervene to eliminate the riots, the Secretary General replied with the famous phrase: “We were only 3 hours late” ... Only a few people were arrested for the massacre.

War at the level of stones and knives. After Sumgayit, the Azerbaijanis continued their cruelty wherever they could. By doing so, they tried to stop the Armenian freedom movement, but the opposite effect occurred. Critical actions and danger further rallied and organized the Armenian people. There is a well-known case when, not far from Stepanakert, Azerbaijanis killed and opened the belly of a pregnant woman and pulled out the child. Throughout Karabakh, a war with stones and knives began.

official actions. On October 30, 1991, Azerbaijan proclaims an independent republic, refuses to inherit the Azerbaijan SSR and declares itself the successor of the independent republic of 1918, which did not include Karabakh. On September 2, 1991, in full agreement with the constitution of the USSR, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Okrug adopts a declaration on the proclamation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. In the same year, the UN, without checking documents, without any grounds, recognizes the independent Republic of Azerbaijan within the borders of the Azerbaijan SSR. Thus, the UN gives Azerbaijan a free hand to start a war for the capture of Karabakh.

War. Before the outbreak of hostilities, using the still existing control over the territory, Azerbaijan separates Karabakh from Armenia and the region falls into an enclave. The Azerbaijani regular army, inherited from the Soviet Union, is invading the territory of Karabakh, where there were practically no military forces, and is trying to regain control over the region. Hoping for a quick solution to the issue by capturing the “unarmed” and surrounded region, Azerbaijan suddenly encounters worthy resistance.

Hastily organized Armenian detachments, armed with Makarov pistols and hunting rifles, begin defensive battles. After that, the armed army enters the battle, the central command is organized, large detachments gather. A clear indicator of the balance of power is that Karabakh entered the war with 8 tanks, while the Azerbaijanis had several hundred of them. A tank repair plant was formed in Stepanakert, where tanks taken from the enemy were repaired.

The decisive event was the liberation of the city of Shushi, on the morning of May 9, 1992: the operation under the secret name "Wedding in the Mountains" was organized by Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan - a hero with the nickname "Commandos". After that, a corridor was opened to Armenia, from which military equipment and troops arrived without delay.

Armenian soldiers in positions in Nagorno-Karabakh

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict became one of the ethno-political conflicts of the second half of the 1980s on the territory of the then Soviet Union. The collapse of the Soviet Union led to large-scale structural shifts in the sphere of ethno-national relations. The confrontation between the national republics and the union center, which caused a systemic crisis and the beginning of centrifugal processes, revived the old processes of ethnic and national character. State-legal, territorial, socio-economic, geopolitical interests intertwined into one knot. The struggle of some republics against the union center in a number of cases turned into a struggle of autonomies against their republican "mother countries". Such conflicts were, for example, the Georgian-Abkhazian, Georgian-Ossetian, Transnistrian conflicts. But the most large-scale and bloody, which escalated into an actual war between two independent states, was the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region (NKAO), later the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR). In this confrontation, a line of ethnic confrontation of the parties immediately arose, and the warring parties were formed along ethnic lines: Armenian-Azerbaijanis.

The Armenian-Azerbaijani confrontation in Nagorno-Karabakh has a long history. It should be noted that the territory of Karabakh was annexed to the Russian Empire in 1813 as part of the Karabakh Khanate. Interethnic contradictions led to major Armenian-Azerbaijani clashes in 1905-1907 and 1918-1920. In May 1918, in connection with the revolution in Russia, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic appeared. However, the Armenian population of Karabakh, whose territory became part of the ADR, refused to obey the new authorities. Armed confrontation continued until the establishment of Soviet power in the region in 1920. Then the units of the Red Army, together with the Azerbaijani troops, managed to suppress the Armenian resistance in Karabakh. In 1921, by decision of the Caucasus Bureau of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh was left within the boundaries of the Azerbaijan SSR with broad autonomy granted. In 1923, the regions of the Azerbaijan SSR with a predominantly Armenian population were united into the Autonomous Region of Nagorno-Karabakh (AONK), which since 1937 became known as the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region (NKAO). At the same time, the administrative boundaries of the autonomy did not coincide with the ethnic ones. The Armenian leadership from time to time raised the issue of transferring Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, but in the center it was decided to establish the status quo in the region. Socio-economic tensions in Karabakh escalated into riots in the 1960s. At the same time, the Karabakh Armenians felt infringed on their cultural and political rights in the territory of Azerbaijan. However, the Azeri minority, both in the NKAR and in the Armenian SSR (which did not have its own autonomy), made counter accusations of discrimination.

Since 1987, the dissatisfaction of the Armenian population with their socio-economic situation has increased in the region. There were accusations against the leadership of the Azerbaijan SSR of maintaining the economic backwardness of the region, of infringing on the rights, culture and identity of the Armenian minority in Azerbaijan. In addition, the existing problems, previously hushed up, after Gorbachev came to power, quickly became the property of wide publicity. At the rallies in Yerevan, caused by dissatisfaction with the economic crisis, there were calls to transfer the NKAR to Armenia. Nationalist Armenian organizations and the nascent national movement fueled the protests. The new leadership of Armenia was openly opposed to the local nomenklatura and the ruling communist regime as a whole. Azerbaijan, in turn, remained one of the most conservative republics of the USSR. Local authorities, headed by H. Aliyev, suppressed all kinds of political dissent and remained loyal to the center to the last. Unlike Armenia, where most of the party functionaries expressed their readiness to cooperate with the national movement, the Azerbaijani political leadership was able to hold power until 1992 in the fight against the so-called. national democratic movement. However, the leadership of the Azerbaijan SSR, state and law enforcement agencies, using the old levers of influence, turned out to be unprepared for the events in the NKAR and Armenia, which, in turn, provoked mass demonstrations in Azerbaijan, which created conditions for uncontrolled crowd behavior. In turn, the Soviet leadership, who feared that the speeches in Armenia on the annexation of the NKAO, could lead not only to a revision of the national-territorial borders between the republics, but could also lead to the uncontrolled collapse of the USSR. The demands of the Karabakh Armenians and the public of Armenia were considered by him as manifestations of nationalism, contrary to the interests of the working people of the Armenian and Azerbaijan SSR.

During the summer of 1987 - winter of 1988. On the territory of the NKAR, mass protests of Armenians were held, demanding secession from Azerbaijan. In a number of places, these protests escalated into clashes with the police. At the same time, representatives of the Armenian intellectual elite, public, political and cultural figures tried to actively lobby for the reunification of Karabakh with Armenia. Signatures were collected from the population, delegations were sent to Moscow, representatives of the Armenian diaspora abroad tried to draw the attention of the international community to the aspirations of Armenians for reunification. At the same time, the Azerbaijani leadership, which declared the unacceptability of revising the borders of the Azerbaijan SSR, pursued a policy of using the usual levers to regain control over the situation. A large delegation of representatives of the leadership of Azerbaijan and the republican party organization was sent to Stepanakert. The group also included the heads of the Republican Ministry of Internal Affairs, the KGB, the Prosecutor's Office and the Supreme Court. This delegation condemned "extremist-separatist" sentiments in the region. In response to these actions, a mass rally was organized in Stepanakert on the reunification of the NKAO and the Armenian SSR. On February 20, 1988, the session of people's deputies of the NKAR addressed the leadership of the Azerbaijan SSR, the Armenian SSR and the USSR with a request to consider and positively resolve the issue of transferring the NKAO from Azerbaijan to Armenia. However, the Azerbaijani authorities and the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU refused to recognize the demands of the regional council of the NKAR. The central authorities continued to state that the redrawing of borders was unacceptable, and calls for the entry of Karabakh into Armenia were declared the intrigues of "nationalists" and "extremists." Immediately after the appeal of the Armenian majority (Azerbaijani representatives refused to take part in the meeting) of the regional council of the NKAR about the separation of Karabakh from Azerbaijan, a slow slide to an armed conflict began. There were first reports of acts of inter-ethnic violence in both ethnic communities. The explosion of the rally activity of the Armenians provoked a response from the Azerbaijani community. It came to clashes with the use of firearms and the participation of law enforcement officers. The first victims of the conflict appeared. In February, a mass strike began in the NKAO, which lasted intermittently until December 1989. On February 22-23, spontaneous rallies were held in Baku and other cities of Azerbaijan in support of the decision of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU on the inadmissibility of revising the national-territorial structure.

The pogrom of Armenians in Sumgayit on February 27-29, 1988 became a turning point in the development of the inter-ethnic conflict. According to official figures, 26 Armenians and 6 Azerbaijanis were killed. Similar events took place in Kirovabad (now Ganja), where an armed crowd of Azerbaijanis attacked the Armenian community. However, the densely populated Armenians managed to fight back, which led to casualties on both sides. All this happened with the inaction of the authorities and the rule of law, as some eyewitnesses claimed. As a result of the clashes, flows of Azerbaijani refugees began to flow from the NKAR. Armenian refugees also appeared after the events in Stepanakert, Kirovabad and Shusha, when rallies for the integrity of the Azerbaijan SSR escalated into inter-ethnic clashes and pogroms. Armenian-Azerbaijani clashes also began on the territory of the Armenian SSR. The reaction of the central authorities was the change of party leaders in Armenia and Azerbaijan. On May 21, troops were brought into Stepanakert. According to Azerbaijani sources, the Azerbaijani population was expelled from several cities of the Armenian SSR, and as a result of the strike, obstacles were placed in the NKAR to local Azerbaijanis, who were not allowed to work. In June-July, the conflict took on an inter-republican orientation. The Azerbaijan SSR and the Armenian SSR unleashed the so-called "war of laws". The Supreme Presidium of the AzSSR declared unacceptable the decision of the regional council of the NKAO on secession from Azerbaijan. The Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR agreed to the entry of the NKAR into the Armenian SSR. In July, mass strikes began in Armenia in connection with the decision of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU on the territorial integrity of the Azerbaijan SSR. The allied leadership actually took the side of the Azerbaijan SSR on the issue of maintaining the existing borders. After a series of clashes in the NKAO, on September 21, 1988, a curfew and a special situation were introduced. Rally activity on the territory of Armenia and Azerbaijan led to outbreaks of violence against the civilian population and increased the number of refugees who formed two counter streams. In October and the first half of November, the tension increased. Thousands of rallies were held in Armenia and Azerbaijan, and representatives of the Karabakh party won the early elections to the Supreme Council of the Republic of the Armenian SSR, taking a radical position on the annexation of the NKAO to Armenia. The arrival in Stepanakert of members of the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR did not bring any result. In November 1988, the accumulated discontent in society over the results of the policy of the republican authorities regarding the preservation of the NKAR resulted in thousands of rallies in Baku. The death sentence of one of the defendants in the case of the Sumgayit pogroms, Akhmedov, pronounced by the Supreme Court of the USSR, provoked a wave of pogroms in Baku, which spread to the whole of Azerbaijan, especially to cities with an Armenian population - Kirovabad, Nakhichevan, Khanlar, Shamkhor, Sheki, Kazakh, Mingachevir. The army and police in most cases did not interfere in the events. At the same time, shelling of border villages on the territory of Armenia began. A special situation was also introduced in Yerevan and rallies and demonstrations were banned, military equipment and battalions with special weapons were brought to the streets of the city. During this time, there is the most massive flow of refugees caused by violence both in Azerbaijan and in Armenia.

By this time, armed formations had begun to form in both republics. At the beginning of May 1989, the Armenians living north of the NKAO began to create the first combat detachments. In the summer of the same year, Armenia introduced a blockade of the Nakhichevan ASSR. As a response, the Popular Front of Azerbaijan imposed an economic and transport blockade on Armenia. On December 1, the Armed Forces of the Armenian SSR and the National Council of Nagorno-Karabakh at a joint meeting adopted resolutions on the reunification of the NKAR with Armenia. Since the beginning of 1990, armed clashes began - mutual artillery shelling on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Helicopters and armored personnel carriers were used for the first time during the deportation of Armenians from the Shahumyan and Khanlar regions of Azerbaijan by the Azerbaijani forces. On January 15, the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces declared a state of emergency in the NKAO, in the regions of the Azerbaijan SSR bordering it, in the Goris region of the Armenian SSR, as well as on the line of the state border of the USSR on the territory of the Azerbaijan SSR. On January 20, internal troops were brought into Baku to prevent the seizure of power by the Popular Front of Azerbaijan. This led to clashes resulting in up to 140 deaths. Armenian fighters began to penetrate into the settlements with the Azerbaijani population, committing acts of violence. Combat clashes between militants and internal troops became more frequent. In turn, units of the Azerbaijani OMON undertook actions to invade Armenian villages, which led to the death of civilians. Azerbaijani helicopters began shelling Stepanakert.

On March 17, 1991, an all-Union referendum on the preservation of the USSR was held, which was supported by the leadership of the Azerbaijan SSR. At the same time, the Armenian leadership, which adopted on August 23, 1990, the declaration of independence of Armenia, in every possible way prevented the holding of a referendum on the territory of the republic. On April 30, the so-called operation "Ring" began, carried out by the forces of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Internal Affairs and the internal troops of the USSR. The purpose of the operation was declared to be the disarmament of illegal armed formations of Armenians. This operation, however, led to the death of a large number of civilians and the deportation of Armenians from 24 settlements on the territory of Azerbaijan. Before the collapse of the USSR, the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict escalated, the number of clashes grew, the parties used various types of weapons. From December 19 to 27, the internal troops of the USSR were withdrawn from the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. With the collapse of the USSR and the withdrawal of internal troops from the NKAO, the situation in the conflict zone became uncontrollable. A full-scale war began between Armenia and Azerbaijan for the withdrawal of the NKAO from the latter.

As a result of the division of the military property of the Soviet army, withdrawn from Transcaucasia, the largest part of the weapons went to Azerbaijan. On January 6, 1992, the declaration of independence of the NKAR was adopted. Full-scale hostilities began with the use of tanks, helicopters, artillery and aircraft. The combat units of the Armenian armed forces and the Azerbaijani OMON attacked enemy villages in turn, incurring heavy losses and damaging civilian infrastructure. On March 21, a temporary week-long truce was concluded, after which, on March 28, the Azerbaijani side launched the largest offensive against Stepanakert since the beginning of the year. The attackers used the Grad system. However, the assault on the NKAO capital ended in vain, the Azerbaijani forces suffered heavy losses, the Armenian military took up their original positions and pushed the enemy back from Stepanakert.

In May, Armenian armed formations attacked Nakhichevan, an Azerbaijani exclave bordering Armenia, Turkey and Iran. From the side of Azerbaijan shelling of the territory of Armenia was carried out. On June 12, the summer offensive of the Azerbaijani troops began, which lasted until August 26. As a result of this offensive, the territories of the former Shaumyan and Mardakert regions of the NKAO came under the control of the Azerbaijani armed forces for a short time. But it was a local success of the Azerbaijani forces. As a result of the Armenian counteroffensive, strategic heights in the Mardakert region were recaptured from the enemy, and the Azerbaijani offensive itself ran out of steam by mid-July. During the hostilities, weapons and specialists of the former USSR Armed Forces were used, mainly by the Azerbaijani side, in particular aviation, anti-aircraft installations. In September-October 1992, the Azerbaijani army made an unsuccessful attempt to block the Lachin corridor - a small section of the territory of Azerbaijan, located between Armenia and the NKAR, controlled by Armenian armed formations. On November 17, a full-scale offensive of the NKR army began on the Azerbaijani positions, which made a decisive turn in the war in favor of the Armenians. The Azerbaijani side refused to conduct offensive operations for a long time.

It is worth noting that from the very beginning of the military phase of the conflict, both sides began to accuse each other of using mercenaries in their ranks. In many cases, these accusations were confirmed. Afghan Mujahideen, Chechen mercenaries fought in the armed forces of Azerbaijan, including well-known field commanders Shamil Basayev, Khattab, Salman Raduyev. Turkish, Russian, Iranian and presumably American instructors also operated in Azerbaijan. Armenian volunteers who came from the Middle Eastern countries, in particular from Lebanon and Syria, fought on the side of Armenia. The forces of both sides also included former servicemen of the Soviet Army and mercenaries from the former Soviet republics. Both sides used weapons from the warehouses of the armed forces of the Soviet Army. In early 1992, Azerbaijan received a squadron of combat helicopters and attack aircraft. In May of the same year, the official transfer of weapons from the 4th Combined Arms Army to Azerbaijan began: tanks, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, artillery mounts, including Grad. By June 1, the Armenian side got tanks, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles and artillery also from the arsenal of the Soviet Army. The Azerbaijani side actively used aviation and artillery in the bombing of the settlements of the NKAR, the main purpose of which was the exodus of the Armenian population from the territory of the autonomy. As a result of raids and shelling of civilian objects, a large number of civilian casualties were noted. However, the Armenian air defense, initially rather weak, managed to withstand the air raids of the Azerbaijani aviation due to the increase in the number of anti-aircraft installations in the hands of the Armenians. By 1994, the first aircraft appeared in the armed forces of Armenia, in particular, thanks to Russia's assistance in the framework of military cooperation in the CIS.

After repulsing the Summer Offensive of the Azerbaijani troops, the Armenian side switched to active offensive operations. From March to September 1993, as a result of hostilities, Armenian troops managed to take a number of settlements in the NKAO controlled by Azerbaijani forces. In August-September, Russian envoy Vladimir Kazimirov secured a temporary ceasefire that was extended until November. At a meeting with Russian President B. Yeltsin, Azerbaijani President G. Aliyev announced his refusal to resolve the conflict by military means. Negotiations were held in Moscow between the Azerbaijani authorities and representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh. However, in October 1993, Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire and attempted an offensive in the southwestern sector of the NKAO. This offensive was repulsed by the Armenians, who launched a counteroffensive in the southern sector of the front and by November 1 occupied a number of key regions, isolating parts of the Zangilan, Jabrayil and Kubatli regions from Azerbaijan. The Armenian army, thus, occupied the regions of Azerbaijan to the north and south of the NKAO directly.

In January-February, one of the bloodiest battles took place at the final stage of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict - the battle for the Omar Pass. This battle began with the offensive in January 1994 of the Azerbaijani forces on the northern sector of the front. It is worth noting that the fighting took place in the devastated territory, where there were no civilians left, as well as in severe weather conditions, in the highlands. In early February, the Azerbaijanis came close to the city of Kelbajar, occupied a year earlier by Armenian forces. However, the Azerbaijanis failed to build on the initial success. On February 12, the Armenian units launched a counteroffensive, and the Azerbaijani forces had to retreat through the Omar Pass to their original positions. The losses of Azerbaijanis in this battle amounted to 4 thousand people, Armenians 2 thousand. The Kelbajar region remained under the control of the NKR defense forces.

On April 14, 1994, on the initiative of Russia and with the direct participation of the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia, the Council of CIS Heads of State adopted a statement clearly posing the issue of a ceasefire as an urgent need for a settlement in Karabakh.

In April-May, the Armenian forces, as a result of an offensive in the Ter-Ter direction, forced the Azerbaijani troops to retreat. On May 5, 1994, at the initiative of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan, the Federal Assembly and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, a meeting was held, following which representatives of the governments of Azerbaijan, Armenia and the NKR signed the Bishkek Protocol calling for a ceasefire on the night of May 8-9, 1994 of the year. On May 9, Vladimir Kazimirov, Plenipotentiary Envoy of the President of Russia in Nagorno-Karabakh, prepared an “Agreement on an indefinite ceasefire”, which was signed in Baku on the same day by Azerbaijani Defense Minister M. Mammadov. On May 10 and 11, the "Agreement" was signed respectively by the Minister of Defense of Armenia S. Sargsyan and the Commander of the NKR Army S. Babayan. The active phase of the armed confrontation is over.

The conflict was "frozen", according to the agreements reached, the status quo was preserved following the results of hostilities. As a result of the war, the actual independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from Azerbaijan and its control over the southwestern part of Azerbaijan up to the border with Iran was proclaimed. This included the so-called "security zone": five regions adjacent to the NKR. At the same time, five Azerbaijani enclaves are also controlled by Armenia. On the other hand, Azerbaijan retained control over 15% of the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

According to various estimates, the losses of the Armenian side are estimated at 5-6 thousand people killed, including among the civilian population. Azerbaijan lost between 4,000 and 7,000 people during the conflict, with the bulk of the losses falling on military units.

The Karabakh conflict has become one of the most bloody and large-scale in the region, yielding in terms of the amount of equipment used and human losses only to two Chechen wars. As a result of the hostilities, severe damage was inflicted on the infrastructure of the NKR and the adjacent regions of Azerbaijan, and caused an exodus of refugees, both from Azerbaijan and from Armenia. As a result of the war, the relationship between Azerbaijanis and Armenians was dealt a severe blow, and the atmosphere of hostility persists to this day. Diplomatic relations were never established between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the armed conflict was mothballed. As a result, isolated cases of combat clashes continue on the demarcation line of the warring parties at the present time.

Ivanovsky Sergey

The Karabakh conflict is a long interethnic confrontation between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Each of the parties disputes its right to the territory of Transcaucasia - Nagorno-Karabakh. External players take part in the conflict situation: Türkiye, Russia, USA.

background

Armenian version

Armenian monastery Dadivank, located on the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh (IX-XIII centuries)

Nagorno-Karabakh, has long belonged to the ancient Armenian state and was called Artsakh. This conclusion can be drawn from the ancient writings of Plutarch and Ptolemy. They point out that the borders of historical Armenia and Karabakh go along the same line - along the right bank of the Kura River.

in this century, the word "Karabakh" came into use, derived from the name of the Armenian principality Bakh.

In 387 As a result of the war, Armenia was divided between Persia and Byzantium. Like most other lands, Artsakh was ceded to Persia. From this moment begins the centuries-old history of the resistance of the Armenian people to foreign invaders who replaced each other: Persia, Tatar-Mongols, Turkic nomads. But, despite this, the territory kept its ethnicity. Up to the XIII century. it was inhabited only by Armenians.

In 1747 Karabakh Khanate was formed. By this time, Armenia was under Ottoman domination, the difficult situation was aggravated by the internal strife of the Armenian meliks (princes). During this period of foreign occupation, the outflow of Armenians from the region and its settlement by the ancestors of Azerbaijanis - Turkic colonists began.

Azerbaijan version

"Karabakh"

the term originates from the Turkic "kara" - plentiful, in combination with the Persian "bah" - garden

From the 4th century d.c. the disputed lands belonged to Caucasian Albania, which was located in the north of Azerbaijan. Karabakh was ruled by Azerbaijani dynasties and at different times was under the yoke of various foreign empires.

In 1805 Muslim Karabakh Khanate was annexed by the Russian Empire. This was strategically important for Russia, which was at war with Iran from 1804 to 1813. A large-scale resettlement of Armenians professing Christian Gregorianism began in the region.

By 1832 there were already about 50% of them among the population of Karabakh. At the same time, religious and cultural differences between peoples heated up the situation.

States of Transcaucasia II-I centuries. BC, "World History", vol. 2, 1956 Author: FHen, CC BY-SA 3.0

Author: Abu Zarr - The Ethnic Map of Caucasus V - IV B.C., (fragment of the Ethnic Map of Europe V - IV B.C.), "The World History", Vol.2, 1956, Russia, Moscow, Autors: A Belyavsky, L. Lazarevich, A. Mongait., CC BY-SA 3.0

The emergence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region

From 1918 to 1920, the Armenian-Azerbaijani war unfolded. The first serious clashes took place in 1905, and in 1917 an open armed clash broke out in Baku.

In 1918 The Republic of Armenia and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) were established. Karabakh remained under the control of the ADR. The Armenian population did not recognize this authority. It was declared its intention to join the Republic of Armenia, but it could not provide serious assistance to the rebels. The Muslims, however, were supported by Türkiye, supplying them with weapons.

The confrontation lasted until the Sovietization of Azerbaijan.

In 1923 The Autonomous Region of Nagorno-Karabakh was officially included in the Azerbaijan SSR, and in 1936 it became known as the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region (NKAR), which existed until 1991.

Course of events

1988: War between Azerbaijanis and Armenians

In 1988 The NKAO made an attempt to withdraw from the AzSSR. With this question, its representatives turned to the Supreme Soviets of the USSR and the AzSSR. Yerevan and Stepanakert held nationalist rallies to support the appeal.

February 22, 1988 in the Karabakh village of Askeran, armed Azerbaijanis tried to attack Armenian houses, as a result of which two attackers were killed. Two days later, in the satellite city of Baku - Sumgayit, a rally was organized against the withdrawal of the NKAO from the AzSSR.

And since February 28, there has been a mass bloody massacre of Azerbaijanis over Armenians. Families of people were brutally killed, burned, sometimes still alive, on the streets of the city, women were raped. The perpetrators of terrible crimes have not actually been punished commensurately with their deeds. The terms of the sentences ranged from 2 to 4 years, and only one person was sentenced to death.

November 1988 demonstrations were held in Baku with the slogans "Long live the heroes of Sumgayit!" under the portraits of the killers.

The Sumgayit tragedy is considered the starting point of the open Karabakh conflict.

1992-1994 The situation on the Karabakh front

At the end of 1991 The creation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) was announced, and the city of Stepanakert became the capital. But the UN did not recognize the self-proclaimed republic.

The Declaration of State Independence of the NKR was adopted. After that, the outflow of Armenians from Azerbaijan began

A military clash broke out. The armed forces of Azerbaijan "knocked out" the enemy from some regions of Karabakh, and the NKR occupied part of the territory adjacent to it.

Only in 1994, in Bishkek, the warring parties signed an agreement ending hostilities, but in reality the problem was not settled.

2014-2015: New conflict in Karabakh

For several years, the conflict was in a smoldering state. And in 2014 it flared up again.

July 31, 2014 shelling resumed in the border zone. Soldiers were killed on both sides.

2016: New events in Karabakh

In the spring of 2016, events took place, called the April four-day war. The warring parties mutually accused each other of the attack. From April 1 to April 4, shelling was carried out in the frontline zone, including on peaceful settlements and locations of military units.

Combat maps in April 2016

Negotiations for a peace settlement

Türkiye expressed support for Baku. On April 2, in opposition to it, Russia, being a member of the OSCE Minsk Group, spoke negatively about the use of force and called for a peaceful settlement. At the same time, it became known about the sale of weapons by Russia to the warring parties.

The short period of fire ended on April 5 in Moscow, where a meeting of the chiefs of the general staff was held, after which a cessation of hostilities was announced.

Subsequently, the OSCE co-chairs organized two summits (in St. Petersburg and Vienna), with the participation of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, and agreements were reached on an exclusively peaceful resolution of the problem, which, however, were not signed by the Azerbaijani side.

Victims and losses of the "April war"

Official information about the losses of Armenia:

77 servicemen were killed;
over 100 people were injured;
14 tanks destroyed;
800 hectares of territory left the control zone.

Official information about the losses of Azerbaijan:

the death of 31 military personnel was announced, according to unofficial data, 94 military personnel died;
1 tank destroyed;
1 helicopter shot down.

The real situation in Karabakh today

Despite numerous meetings and negotiations, at the present stage, the opponents cannot come to a solution to the problem. The shelling continues to this day.

On December 8, 2017, in Vienna, Edward Nalbandian delivered a speech. Its content boils down to accusing Azerbaijan of violating international humanitarian law in 2016, of military provocations, of refusing to implement the agreements reached and non-compliance with the ceasefire. Nalbandyan's words are indirectly confirmed by the position of Ilham Aliyev.

March 2017 he expressed the opinion that what is happening is an internal matter and no country has the right to interfere. Azerbaijan sees the reason for the impossibility of resolving the situation in Armenia's refusal to leave the occupied territories, despite the fact that Nagorno-Karabakh is recognized by the international community as an inseparable part of Azerbaijan.

Video

Long-term events could not but be reflected in films and video chronicles. Here is a small list of films that tell about the tragedy of Transcaucasia: