View source for Republic of Artsakh

{{Short description|Former breakaway state in the South Caucasus (1991–2023)}}
{{About||the general history and geography of this disputed area|Nagorno-Karabakh|other uses|Artsakh (disambiguation){{!}}Artsakh}}
{{Redirect|NKR}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
<!-- Note: Please consider discussing *any* change to this infobox on the talk page before making it, no matter how minor it may seem. Thank you. -->
{{Infobox former country
| conventional_long_name = Republic of Artsakh<br />Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh
| common_name            = Artsakh
| life_span              = 1991–2023
| native_name            = {{native name|hy|Արցախի Հանրապետություն|paren=omit}}<br/>{{small|{{transliteration|hy|Artsakhi Hanrapetutyun|engvar=gb}}}}<br/>{{native name|ru|{{nowrap|Нагорно-Карабахская Республика}}|paren=omit}}<br/>{{small|{{transliteration|ru|Nagorno-Karabakhskaya Respublika|engvar=gb}}}}
| flag_type              = [[Flag of the Republic of Artsakh|Flag]]<br>(1992–2023)
| image_flag             = Flag of Artsakh.svg
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of Artsakh.svg
| symbol_type            = [[Coat of arms of the Republic of Artsakh|Coat of arms]]<br>(1992–2023)
| national_anthem        = {{lang|hy|Ազատ ու անկախ Արցախ}}<br/>{{lower|0.1em|''Azat u ankakh Artsakh''}}<br />"{{ill|Azat u ankakh Artsakh|lt=Free and Independent Artsakh|ru|Гимн Нагорно-Карабахской Республики|display=y}}"
| image_map              = {{Switcher|[[File:Republic of Artsakh 1994–2020 (orthographic projection).svg|frameless]]|Territory controlled by Artsakh 1994–2020 shown in dark green; territory claimed but not controlled shown in light green|[[File:Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (orthographic projection).svg|frameless]]|Territory controlled by Artsakh 2020–2023 shown in dark green; territory claimed but not controlled shown in light green; [[Lachin corridor]] shown in white|default=1}}
| map_width              = 250px
| status                 = [[Political status of Nagorno-Karabakh#Independence recognition efforts|Unrecognised state]]; recognised by [[Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations#Current member states|three non-UN-member states]]
| capital                = [[Stepanakert]]
| coordinates            = {{Coord|39|49|02|N|46|45|02|E|type:city|name=Presidential Palace |display=inline,title}}
| largest_city           = capital
| official_languages     = [[Armenian language|Armenian]]{{efn|The [[Constitution of the Republic of Artsakh|constitution]] guarantees "the free use of other languages spread among the population".}}<br />[[Russian language|Russian]]{{efn|From 2021.<ref>{{cite news |script-title=ru:Парламент Карабаха признал русский язык официальным языком республики |trans-title=Parliament of Karabakh recognised Russian as the official language of the republic |language=ru |date=25 March 2021 |url=https://www.rbc.ru/rbcfreenews/605c83739a79474363e6eab3 |publisher=Арменпресс [Armenpress] |via=[[RBK Group]] |access-date=4 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526025733/https://www.rbc.ru/rbcfreenews/605c83739a79474363e6eab3 |archive-date=26 May 2021}}</ref>}}
| government_type        = Unitary [[parliamentary republic]] (1991–1994)<br/>Unitary [[Semi-presidential system|semi-presidential republic]] (1994–2017)<br/>Unitary [[Presidential system|presidential republic]] (2017–2023)
| title_leader           = [[President of Artsakh|President]]
| leader1                = [[Robert Kocharyan]]
| year_leader1           = 1994–1997 (first)
| leader2                = {{nowrap|[[Samvel Shahramanyan]]}}
| year_leader2           = 2023 (last)
| title_representative   = [[Prime Minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic|Prime Minister]]
| representative1        = [[Oleg Yesayan]]
| year_representative1   = 1992 (first)
| representative2        = [[Artur Harutyunyan]]
| year_representative2   = 2023 (last)
| legislature            = [[National Assembly (Artsakh)|National Assembly]]
| sovereignty_type       = Independence {{nobold|from the [[Soviet Union]]}}
| established_event1     = [[First Nagorno-Karabakh War|1st Nagorno-Karabakh War]]
| established_date1      = 20 February 1988–12 May 1994
| established_event2     = Proclamation of the republic
| established_date2      = 2 September 1991<ref>{{cite book |last=Zürcher |first=Christoph |author-link=:de:Christoph Zürcher |title=The Post-Soviet Wars: Rebellion, Ethnic Conflict, and Nationhood in the Caucasus |year=2007 |publisher=New York University Press |location=New York |isbn=9780814797099 |page=168 |edition=[Online-Ausg.].}}</ref>
| established_event3     = [[1991 Nagorno-Karabakh independence referendum|Independence referendum]]
| established_date3      = 10 December 1991
| established_event4     = [[Second Nagorno-Karabakh War|2nd Nagorno-Karabakh War]]
| established_date4      = 27 September–10 November 2020
| established_event5     = [[Blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh|Azerbaijani blockade]]
| established_date5      = 12 December 2022
| established_event6     = [[2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh|Azerbaijani offensive]]
| established_date6      = 19–20 September 2023
| established_event7     = [[Republic of Artsakh (government in exile)|Capitulation]]
| established_date7      = 28 September 2023
<!-- Sources indicate the dissolution was annulled -->
| established_event8     = [[Flight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians|Evacuation]]
| established_date8      = 1 October 2023
| ethnic_groups          = {{Unbulleted list|{{Nowrap|99.7% [[Armenians]]}}|{{Nowrap|0.2% [[Russians]]}}|{{Nowrap|0.1% other}}}}
| ethnic_groups_year     = 2015 census
| ethnic_groups_ref      = <ref name="2015 Census">{{cite web |script-title=ru:Таблица 5.2-1 Население (городское, сельское) по национальности, полу |url=http://stat-nkr.am/files/publications/2016/Mardahamar_2015_rus/MAS_2/5_2-1_189_190.pdf |access-date=July 31, 2018 |language=ru |archive-date=July 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731153437/http://stat-nkr.am/files/publications/2016/Mardahamar_2015_rus/MAS_2/5_2-1_189_190.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| p1                     = Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic{{!}}Azerbaijan SSR
| flag_p1                = Flag of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (1952–1991).svg
| p2                     = Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast{{!}}Nagorno-Karabakh AO
| flag_p2                = No flag.svg
| s1                     = Azerbaijan
| flag_s1                = Flag of Azerbaijan.svg
| stat_year1             = 1995
| stat_area1             = 11,458
| stat_year2             = 2021
| stat_area2             = 3,170<ref name="kavkaz-uzel.eu">{{cite web |url=https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/blogs/83781/posts/45972 |title=Территориальные потери Арцаха в результате второй Карабахской войны (статистика и карты) |access-date=9 March 2023 |archive-date=28 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128184525/https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/blogs/83781/posts/45972 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| area_sq_mi             = <!-- Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]] -->
| area_footnote          = 
| percent_water          = 
| stat_pop1              = 125,000
| stat_pop2              = 120,000<ref>{{cite web |title=Nikol Pashinyan, Arayik Harutyunyan chair meeting on ongoing and upcoming programs to be implemented in Artsakh |url=https://www.primeminister.am/en/press-release/item/2021/03/25/Nikol-Pashinyan-meeting/ |website=primeminister.am |publisher=The Office to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513113421/https://www.primeminister.am/en/press-release/item/2021/03/25/Nikol-Pashinyan-meeting/ |archive-date=13 May 2021 |date=25 March 2021 |quote=...today most of the population – about 120,000 citizens – live in Artsakh...}}</ref>
| population_census_year = 2015<ref name="2015 Census"/>
| population_density_km2 = 
| population_density_sq_mi = <!-- Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]] -->
| demonym                = Artsakhi
| GDP_PPP                = $713 million
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2019
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = $4,803
| Gini                   = <!-- number only -->
| Gini_year              = 
| Gini_change            = <!-- increase/decrease/steady -->
| Gini_ref               = 
| HDI                    = <!-- number only -->
| HDI_year               = 
| HDI_change             = <!-- increase/decrease/steady -->
| HDI_ref                = 
| currency               = {{unbulleted list
 | [[Artsakh dram]]
 | [[Armenian dram]]
 }}
| currency_code          = AMD
| time_zone              = [[Armenia Time|AMT]]
| utc_offset             = +4
| drives_on              = right
| calling_code           = [[Telephone numbers in Armenia|+374]] 47{{efn|+374 97 for mobile phones.}}
| today                  = [[Azerbaijan]]
}}

<!-- Note: Please consider discussing *any* change to this intro on the talk page before making it, no matter how minor it may seem. Thank you. -->
'''Artsakh''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɑːr|t|s|ɑː|x|,_|-|s|æ|x}} {{respell|ART|sa(h)kh}}), officially the '''Republic of Artsakh'''{{efn|{{langx|hy|Արցախի Հանրապետություն|Arts'akhi Hanrapetut'yun|engvar=gb}}.}} or the '''Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh''' ({{IPAc-en|n|ə|ˌ|ɡ|ɔːr|n|oʊ|_|k|ər|ə|ˈ|b|ɑː|k}} {{respell|nə|GOR|noh|_|kər|ə|BAHK}}),{{efn|Also '''Nagorno-Karabagh Republic'''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nkr.am/en/search/node/Nagorno%20Karabagh%20Republic |title=Search |date=29 September 2023 |access-date=26 September 2023 |archive-date=26 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926192154/https://www.nkr.am/en/search/node/Nagorno%20Karabagh%20Republic |url-status=live }}</ref> or '''Nagorno-Karabakh Republic'''; {{langx|ru|Нагорно-Карабахская Республика|Nagorno-Karabakhskaya Respublika|engvar=gb}} ({{langx|ru|НКР|NKR|label=none|engvar=gb}}); {{langx|hy|Լեռնային Ղարաբաղի Հանրապետություն|Lerrnayin Gharabaghi Hanrapetut'yun|links=no|engvar=gb}} ({{langx|hy|ԼՂՀ|LGhH|label=none}}).}}<ref name="Constitution">{{cite web |access-date=2020-04-19 |title=Constitution of the Republic of Artsakh |url=http://www.nkr.am/en/chapter-I-foundations-of-constitutional-order |website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic |quote=The names 'Republic of Artsakh' and 'Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh' are identical. |archive-date=27 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221027224732/http://www.nkr.am/en/chapter-I-foundations-of-constitutional-order |url-status=live}}</ref> was a [[list of states with limited recognition|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 and exclave|enclave]] within Azerbaijan from the [[Second Nagorno-Karabakh War|2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war]] until the [[2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh|2023 Azerbaijani offensive]], when the [[Azerbaijani Armed Forces|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 {{convert|5|km|mi|spell=in|adj=mid|-wide}} [[Lachin corridor]], which was placed under the supervision of [[15th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade|Russian peacekeeping forces]].<ref name="Wilson 2022">{{cite magazine |author-last=Wilson |author-first=Audrey |date=4 August 2022 |title=Violence Flares in Nagorno-Karabakh |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/08/04/nagorno-karabakh-armenia-azerbaijan-clash-russia-turkey/ |url-status=live |magazine=[[Foreign Policy]] |location=[[Washington, D.C.]] |publisher=[[Graham Holdings Company]] |issn=0015-7228 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809072053/https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/08/04/nagorno-karabakh-armenia-azerbaijan-clash-russia-turkey/ |archive-date=9 August 2022 |access-date=14 August 2022}}</ref>

The predominantly Armenian-populated region of [[Nagorno-Karabakh]] was claimed by both the [[Azerbaijan Democratic Republic]] and the [[First Republic of Armenia]] when both countries became independent in 1918 after the fall of the [[Russian Empire]]. A brief war over the region broke out in 1920. The dispute was largely shelved after the [[Soviet Union]] established control over the area, and created the [[Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast]] (NKAO) within the [[Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic|Azerbaijan SSR]] in 1923; however, throughout the Soviet period, Armenians in the [[Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast]] were [[Anti-Armenian sentiment in Azerbaijan#Soviet Era|heavily discriminated against]]. The Soviet Azerbaijani authorities worked to suppress Armenian culture and identity in Nagorno-Karabakh, pressured Armenians to leave the region and encouraged Azerbaijanis to settle within it, although Armenians remained the majority population.<ref name="circle1">{{cite AV media |date=May 2020 |title=Parts of a Circle I: The Road to War |type=Documentary |language=English |publisher=Media Initiatives Center, Internews Azerbaijan, and the Humanitarian Research Public Union}}</ref>

The local Armenians of the area, motivated by fears of cultural and physical erasure under [[Anti-Armenian sentiment in Azerbaijan#Suppression of Armenian culture in Nagorno-Karabakh|government policies from Azerbaijan]], began the [[Karabakh movement|1988 Karabakh movement]] advocating for reunification ([[Miatsum]]) with Armenia.<ref name=":14">{{Cite book |last1=Chorbajian |first1=Levon |title=The Caucasian knot: the history & geopolitics of Nagorno-Karabagh |last2=Donabédian |first2=Patrick |last3=Mutafian |first3=Claude |date=1994 |publisher=Atlantic Highlands, NJ : Zed Books |isbn=978-1-85649-287-4 |series=Politics in contemporary Asia |location=London |page=37}}</ref>{{sfn|Waal|2004|pp=10–12}}{{verify inline|date=September 2025}} This was met with [[Anti-Armenian sentiment in Azerbaijan#During the Karabakh Movement (1988-1992)|extreme violence from Azerbaijani authorities and civilians]], escalating tensions and culminating in a [[1991 Nagorno-Karabakh independence referendum|referendum]] in 1991 which overwhelmingly opted for independence. The conflict erupted into a [[First Nagorno-Karabakh War|full-out war in 1992]].<ref name="Wilson 2022"/> The war was won by Artsakh with support from Armenia. Although a [[Bishkek Protocol|ceasefire agreement was signed in 1994]], the [[frozen conflict|frozen situation]] left the predominantly Armenian-populated territory [[list of states with limited recognition|de facto independent]], with a self-proclaimed government in Stepanakert, but still heavily reliant on and closely integrated with Armenia, in many ways functioning as a ''de facto'' part of Armenia.<ref name="cfr-2023">{{cite news |url=https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/nagorno-karabakh-conflict |title=Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict |access-date=2023-09-29 |publisher=Council on Foreign Relations |archive-date=29 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929171849/https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/nagorno-karabakh-conflict |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="hughes" /> Even though Armenia never officially recognised the region's independence, it became the main financial and military supporter of the territory.<ref name="bbc-2023-09-07">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18270325 |title=Nagorno-Karabakh profile |date=2023-09-07 |access-date=2023-09-29 |publisher=BBC News |archive-date=30 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130074208/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18270325 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="nyt-2023-09-27">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/27/world/europe/nagorno-karabakh-armenia-azerbaijan.html |title=A Stunningly Sudden End to a Long, Bloody Conflict in the Caucasus |date=2023-09-27 |access-date=2023-09-29 |work=The New York Times |author1=Andrew Higgins |author2=Ivan Nechepurenko |archive-date=29 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929174141/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/27/world/europe/nagorno-karabakh-armenia-azerbaijan.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2017, a referendum in the area approved a new constitution that transformed the system of government from a [[Semi-presidential republic|semi-presidential]] to a [[Presidential system|presidential]] [[democracy]] with a [[Unicameralism|unicameral]] [[National Assembly (Artsakh)|legislature]] in addition to changing the name of the state from the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh to the Republic of Artsakh, although both names remained official.

From 1994 until 2020, Armenian and Azerbaijani troops remained separated by a [[Line of Contact (Nagorno-Karabakh)|contested line of contact]]<ref name="natgeo-2023-09-25">{{cite news |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/nagorno-karabakh-armenia-azerbaijan-conflict-geography-ussr |title=How the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has been shaped by past empires |date=2023-09-25 |access-date=2023-09-29 |publisher=National Geographic |archive-date=29 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929061030/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/nagorno-karabakh-armenia-azerbaijan-conflict-geography-ussr |url-status=live }}</ref> which saw [[Nagorno-Karabakh conflict|sporadic deadly incidents]] during the intervening years.<ref name="icg-2023">{{cite news |url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/content/nagorno-karabakh-conflict-visual-explainer |title=The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: A Visual Explainer |access-date=2023-09-29 |publisher=International Crisis Group |archive-date=29 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629210704/https://www.crisisgroup.org/content/nagorno-karabakh-conflict-visual-explainer |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2020, a [[Second Nagorno-Karabakh War|new war was fought in the region]],<ref name="Wilson 2022" /> with Azerbaijan achieving victory and regaining all the [[Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh|surrounding occupied districts]] and a significant portion of Artsakh's claimed territory.<ref name="cfr-2023" /><ref name="nyt-2023-09-27" /><ref name="icg-2023" /> The Lachin corridor linking Artsakh to Armenia was [[Blockade of the Republic of Artsakh (2022–present)|blockaded]] by Azerbaijan in December 2022. In September 2023, [[2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh|Azerbaijan launched another military offensive]]. The government of Artsakh agreed to disarm and enter talks with Azerbaijan, prompting a [[Flight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians|flight of ethnic Armenians from the area]]. On 28 September 2023, the president of Artsakh signed a decree to dissolve all of the republic's institutions by 1 January 2024,<ref name="Reuters-2023-09-28">{{cite web |date=2023-09-28 |title=Nagorno-Karabakh Republic will cease to exist from Jan 1 2024 – Nagorno-Karabakh authorities |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nagorno-karabakh-republic-will-cease-exist-jan-1-2024-nagorno-karabakh-2023-09-28/ |access-date=2023-09-28 |publisher=Reuters |archive-date=28 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928103245/https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nagorno-karabakh-republic-will-cease-exist-jan-1-2024-nagorno-karabakh-2023-09-28/ |url-status=live }}</ref> though the president later attempted to annul this decree.<ref name="annulled-bundle">
* {{Cite news |last=Stepanian |first=Ruzanna |date=2024-03-29 |title=Karabakh Figures Reject Pashinian's Threats |url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32883592.html |access-date=2024-09-22 |work=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան |language=hy}}
* {{Cite web |title=France 24 via msn.com |url=https://www.msn.com/ |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=www.msn.com}}
* {{Cite web |date=2023-12-22 |title=Artsakh Leader Annuls Earlier Decree to Dissolve Government |url=https://hetq.am/en/article/163051 |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=Hetq.am |language=en}}
* {{Cite web |title=Artsakh Dissolution Decree Annulled – Asbarez.com |date=22 December 2023 |url=https://asbarez.com/artsakh-dissolution-decree-annulled/ |access-date=2024-01-02 |language=en-US}}
* {{Cite web |last=Presse |first=AFP-Agence France |title=Karabakh Dissolution Not Valid, Says Separatist Leader |url=https://www.barrons.com/news/karabakh-dissolution-not-valid-says-separatist-leader-52082a77 |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=www.barrons.com |language=en-US}}</ref> By 1 October 2023, almost the entire population of the region had fled to Armenia,<ref>{{cite news |title=Nagorno-Karabakh almost empty as most of population flees to Armenia |url=https://www.rfi.fr/en/europe/20230930-nagorno-karabakh-almost-empty-as-most-of-population-flees-to-armenia |date=September 30, 2023 |publisher=Radio France Internationale |access-date=September 30, 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002020258/https://www.rfi.fr/en/europe/20230930-nagorno-karabakh-almost-empty-as-most-of-population-flees-to-armenia |url-status=live }}</ref> marking the end of a millennia-old Armenian presence in Nagorno-Karabakh.<ref name="cbc1">{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/azerbaijan-ethnic-cleansing-report-1.7391467|title=COP29 host Azerbaijan guilty of 'ethnic cleansing' during 2023 attacks in Nagorno-Karabakh: report|date=24 November 2024|author-first=Neil|author-last=Hauer|website=[[CBC News]]|access-date=28 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://freedomhouse.org/article/new-report-azerbaijani-regime-ethnically-cleansed-nagorno-karabakh-according-international|title=NEW REPORT: Azerbaijani Regime Ethnically Cleansed Nagorno-Karabakh According to International Fact-Finding Mission|website=[[Freedom House]]|access-date=29 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.am/eng/news/832030.html|title=Freedom House: Azerbaijan's actions from 2020 to May 2024 regarding Karabakh are crimes under Rome Statute|date=2 July 2024|website=[[News.am]]|access-date=30 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://hetq.am/en/article/167763|title=Freedom House Report Accuses Azerbaijan of Coordinated Plan to Rid Karabakh of Armenians|date=1 July 2024|website=[[Hetq]]|access-date=30 November 2024}}</ref>

==Etymology==
{{Hatnote|See [[:en:wikt:Արցախ|Արցախ]] in Wiktionary for more.}}
[[File:Chartar2.jpg|thumb|The town of [[Chartar (town)|Chartar]] in 2010]]
[[File:Stepanakert June 2015.jpg|thumb|General view of the capital [[Stepanakert]] in 2015]]
According to scholars, inscriptions dating to the [[Urartian language|Urartian]] period mention the region under a variety of names: "Ardakh", "Urdekhe", and "Atakhuni".<ref>Chorbajian, Levon; Donabedian Patrick; Mutafian, Claude. ''The Caucasian Knot: The History and Geo-Politics of Nagorno-Karabagh''. NJ: Zed Books, 1994, p. 52 {{ISBN|9781856492881}}</ref><ref name="ASE">{{cite encyclopedia |language=hy |author-link=Bagrat Ulubabyan |last=Ulubabyan |first=Bagrat |script-title=hy:Արցախ |trans-title=Arts'akh |encyclopedia=[[Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia]] |volume=ii |location=Yerevan |publisher=[[Armenian Academy of Sciences]] |date=1976 |pages=150–151}}</ref><ref>Christopher Walker. "The Armenian presence in Mountainous Karabakh", in John F. R. Wright et al.: ''Transcaucasian Boundaries'' (SOAS/GRC Geopolitics). 1995, p. 91 {{ISBN|9780312129125}}</ref> In his ''[[Geography (Strabo)|Geography]]'', the classical historian [[Strabo]] refers to an Armenian region which he calls "Orchistene", which is believed by some to be a [[Greek language|Greek]] version of the old name of Artsakh.<ref name="Strabo">{{cite book |author=[[Strabo]] |title=[[Geography (Strabo)|Geography]] |chapter=11.14 |date=1903 |location=London |publisher=George Bell & Sons |editor-last1=Hamilton |editor-first1=H.C. |editor-last2=Falconer |editor-first2=W. |via=[[Perseus Project]] |chapter-url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0099.tlg001.perseus-eng2:11.14 |access-date=2022-07-04 |archive-date=5 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705191230/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0099.tlg001.perseus-eng2:11.14 |url-status=live}} <!-- STABLE ID: http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0099.tlg001.perseus-eng2:11.14 --></ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Roller |first=Duane W |title=A historical and topographical guide to the geography of Strabo |date=2018 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-316-84820-3 |location=Cambridge, UK; New York |pages=678 |oclc=1127455921 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Baratov |first=Boris |title=Ангел Арцаха: памятники армянского искусства Нагорного Карабаха |publisher=Editions "Linguiste" |year=1992 |location=Moscow |pages=6}}</ref>

According to another hypothesis put forth by [[David M. Lang]], the ancient name of Artsakh possibly derives from the name of King [[Artaxias I]] of Armenia (190–159 BC), founder of the [[Artaxiad dynasty]] and the kingdom of [[Kingdom of Armenia (Antiquity)|Greater Armenia]].<ref>{{cite book |author-link=David M. Lang |last=Lang |first=David M. |title=The Armenians: a People in Exile |location=London |publisher=Unwin Hyman |date=1988 |page=x |isbn=978-0-04-956010-9}}</ref>

[[Folk etymology]] holds that the name is derived from "Ar" (Aran) and "tsakh" (woods, garden) (i.e., the gardens of Aran Sisakean, the first [[nakharar]] of northeastern Armenia).<ref>{{cite book |last=Mkrtchyan |first=Shahen |title=Treasures of Artsakh |location=Yerevan |publisher=Tigran Mets Publishing |date=2000 |page=10 |isbn=9789993052678}}</ref>

The name "Nagorno-Karabakh", commonly used in English, comes from the Russian name which means "Mountainous Karabakh". Karabakh is a Turkish/Persian word thought to mean "black garden". The Azerbaijani name for the area, "Dağlıq Qarabağ", has the same meaning as the Russian name. The term "Artsakh" lacks the non-Armenian influences present in "Nagorno-Karabakh". Artsakh was revived for use in the 19th century, and was the preferred term used by the population, in English and Russian as well as Armenian.<ref name="Toal">{{cite journal |last1=Toal |first1=Gerard |last2=O'Loughlin |first2=John |title=Land for Peace in Nagorny Karabakh? Political Geographies and Public Attitudes Inside a Contested De Facto State |journal=Territory, Politics, Governance |date=5 November 2013 |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=158–182 |doi=10.1080/21622671.2013.842184 |s2cid=54576963 |url=https://rsa.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21622671.2013.842184 |access-date=27 November 2020 |archive-date=30 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221030171221/https://rsa.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21622671.2013.842184 |url-status=live | issn=2162-2671 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> "Mountainous Karabakh" was sometimes employed directly as part of the official English name, "Republic of Mountainous Karabakh". This reflected an attempt to shift away from the negative associations thought linked with "Nagorno-Karabakh" due to the war.<ref name="Muth2014"/>

==History==
{{Main|History of Nagorno-Karabakh|Artsakh (historical province)}}
{{For timeline|Timeline of Artsakh history}}

===Dissolution of the USSR; First Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988–1994)===
{{See also|First Nagorno-Karabakh War|Nagorno-Karabakh conflict}}[[File:Artsakh Republic 1994-2020.svg|thumb|Map of Artsakh and surrounding territories. The area surrounded by red borders corresponds to territory de facto controlled by the Republic of Artsakh from 1994 until 2020. Yellow regions correspond to the Soviet-era Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), with yellow striped regions controlled by Azerbaijan but claimed by the Republic of Artsakh. Green striped regions correspond to territories outside the former NKAO held by Artsakh until the end of the [[Second Nagorno-Karabakh War]].]]

In the lead-up to the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]], the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was revitalised. In 1987{{En dash}}88, a [[Karabakh movement|mass movement]] started in Nagorno-Karabakh and Soviet Armenia calling on the Soviet authorities to transfer the region to Armenia, citing self-determination laws in the Soviet constitution.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/pwks19.pdf |title=Sovereignty after Empire: Self-Determinationa Movements in the Former Soviet Union |last=Starovoytova |first=Galina |date=November 1997 |website=[[United States Institute of Peace]] |access-date=5 September 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905002501/https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/pwks19.pdf |archive-date=5 September 2015 |page=vi}}</ref> Starting with the [[Sumgait pogrom|pogrom against Armenians]] in the Azerbaijani town of [[Sumgait]] in February 1988, the conflict became increasingly violent, and attempts by Moscow to resolve the dispute failed. In summer 1988, the legislatures of Soviet Armenia and the NKAO passed resolutions declaring the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, which were rejected by Azerbaijani and central Soviet authorities.<ref>{{Cite book |last=De Waal |first=Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pletup86PMQC |title=Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War |date=2003 |publisher=NYU Press |isbn=0-8147-1944-9 |location=New York |pages=60–61 |oclc=50959080}}</ref>

[[Day of Restoration of Independence (Azerbaijan)|Azerbaijan declared its independence from the Soviet Union]] on August 30, 1991, and Azerbaijan formally achieved its sovereignty following a referendum on September 21, 1991. Later, on November 27, 1991, the parliament revoked the autonomous status of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, prompting local leaders to call for a referendum on independence from Azerbaijan on December 10, 1991.<ref name="natgeo-2023-09-25" /> The result saw approximately 99 percent of ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region vote for separation. [[Artur Mkrtchyan]] was chosen as president of the Nagorno-Karabakh region following parliamentary elections on December 28, 1991. On January 2, 1992, President [[Ayaz Mutallibov]] of Azerbaijan placed the Nagorno-Karabakh region under direct presidential control, and Nagorno-Karabakh formally declared its independence from Azerbaijan on January 6, 1992.<ref name="natgeo-2023-09-25" />

The declaration was rejected by newly independent [[Azerbaijan]], leading to the outbreak of full-scale war with Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh on one side and Azerbaijan on the other. The [[First Nagorno-Karabakh War]] ended with a [[Bishkek Protocol|ceasefire in May 1994]], with Armenian forces controlling practically the entire territory of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast as well as most of [[Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh|seven adjacent districts of Azerbaijan]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Krüger |first=Heiko |chapter=Involvement of the Republic of Armenia in the conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh |date=2010 |pages=93–114 |publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg |isbn=9783642117879 |doi=10.1007/978-3-642-14393-9_2 |title=The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict}}</ref> According to [[UNHCR]], the conflict resulted in over 600,000 [[internally displaced person|internally displaced people]] within [[Azerbaijan]].<ref>{{cite web |date=October 2012 |title=Submission by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees For the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' Compilation Report – Universal Periodic Review: Azerbaijan |url=https://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?page=country&docid=507525232&skip=0&publisher=UNHCR&coi=AZE&querysi=refugees&searchin=title&sort=date |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113131927/https://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?page=country&docid=507525232&skip=0&publisher=UNHCR&coi=AZE&querysi=refugees&searchin=title&sort=date |archive-date=13 January 2023 |access-date=11 October 2020 |website=Refworld |publisher=[[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]] (UNHCR) |language=en}}</ref>

===De facto post-war independence (1994–2020)===
The Republic of Artsakh became a de facto independent country, though closely integrated with Armenia, while its territory remained internationally recognised as part of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Professor Matt Qvortrup considered it hypocritical that Western Europe countries had eagerly recognised the succession of several states from [[Yugoslavia]], ignoring the laws of territorial integrity, but simultaneously did not show the same interest for the Nagorno-Karabakh referendum, noting "the practice of independence referendums seemingly owes more to national interest than to adherence to principles of [[jurisprudence]]".<ref>{{cite book |last=Qvortrup |first=Matt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nmyODwAAQBAJ&pg=PA57 |title=The Referendum and Other Essays on Constitutional Politics |date=2019 |publisher=Hart Publishing |isbn=978-1-50992-929-0 |location=Oxford, England |page=57 |access-date=25 September 2023 |archive-date=28 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928201513/https://books.google.com/books?id=nmyODwAAQBAJ&pg=PA57 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Intermittent fighting over the region continued after the 1994 ceasefire without significant territorial changes,<ref name="diplomatie_150720">{{cite web |title=Armenia/Azerbaijan – Border clashes between the two countries |date=15 July 2020 |url=https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/country-files/armenia/news/article/armenia-azerbaijan-border-clashes-between-the-two-countries-15-jul-2020 |publisher=[[Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (France)|Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs]] (France) |language=en |access-date=27 September 2020 |archive-date=9 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201209152652/https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/country-files/armenia/news/article/armenia-azerbaijan-border-clashes-between-the-two-countries-15-jul-2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> while long-standing international mediation attempts to create a peace process were initiated by the [[OSCE Minsk Group]] in 1994.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-09-29 |title=Is Turkey a brother in arms or just extending its footprint into Nagorno-Karabakh? |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20200929-is-turkey-a-brother-in-arms-or-just-extending-its-footprint-into-nagorno-karabakh |access-date=2020-10-08 |website=France 24 |language=en |archive-date=4 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104223150/https://www.france24.com/en/20200929-is-turkey-a-brother-in-arms-or-just-extending-its-footprint-into-nagorno-karabakh |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Palmer |first=James |title=Why Are Armenia and Azerbaijan Heading to War? |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/09/28/why-are-armenia-azerbaijan-heading-to-war-nagorno-karabakh/ |access-date=2020-10-08 |website=Foreign Policy |date=28 September 2020 |language=en-US |archive-date=28 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928222614/https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/09/28/why-are-armenia-azerbaijan-heading-to-war-nagorno-karabakh/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="MinskGroup_2Oct2020">{{Cite web |title=Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group |author=[[OSCE Minsk Group]] |url=https://www.osce.org/minsk-group/465711 |date=2020-10-02 |access-date=2020-10-09 |website=[[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019120749/https://www.osce.org/minsk-group/465711 |archive-date=2020-10-19 |url-status=live |language=en}}</ref>

===Second Nagorno-Karabakh War (2020), Azerbaijan gains===
[[File:Wall with images of fallen Armenian soldiers during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.jpg|thumb|Wall with images of fallen Armenian soldiers during the [[Second Nagorno-Karabakh War]]]]

On 27 September 2020, a [[Second Nagorno-Karabakh War|war broke out]] between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Artsakh.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://apple.news/AjDrZ1OM7TweWRLGuViSC4w |title=Armenia and Azerbaijan Are at War. Does Trump Even Know? |access-date=10 October 2020 |archive-date=31 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031061051/https://apple.news/AjDrZ1OM7TweWRLGuViSC4w |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="2020clashes">{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/28/dozens-dead-as-armenia-azerbaijan-clashes-continue |title=Dozens Dead as Armenia–Azerbaijan Clashes Continue |date=28 September 2020 |access-date=28 September 2020 |language=en-GB |work=[[The Guardian]] |archive-date=28 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928062602/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/28/dozens-dead-as-armenia-azerbaijan-clashes-continue |url-status=live}}</ref> Fighting continued until November, and Azerbaijan recaptured territories, primarily in the southern part of the region, as well as the strategic town of [[Shusha|Shushi]]. A [[2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement|ceasefire agreement]] signed on 10 November 2020 between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia declared an end to the renewed fighting, and established that Armenia would withdraw from remaining occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh over the next month. The agreement included provisions for a [[Peacekeeping operations in Nagorno-Karabakh|Russian peacekeeping force]] to deploy to the region, with Russian President Vladimir Putin stating that the ceasefire agreement would "create the conditions for a long-term settlement".<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Bar |first=Hervé ([[Agence France-Presse|AFP]]) |title=Russian Peacekeepers Head to Nagorno-Karabakh After Peace Deal |website=The Moscow Times |language=en |date=2020-11-12 |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/11/09/armenian-pm-announces-end-to-nagorno-karabakh-hostilities-a71997 |access-date=2020-11-12 |archive-date=10 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110065642/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/11/09/armenian-pm-announces-end-to-nagorno-karabakh-hostilities-a71997 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-11-09 |title=Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia reach agreement to end Nagorno-Karabakh fighting |url=https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20201109-armenia-azerbaijan-and-russia-reach-agreement-to-end-nagorno-karabakh-fighting |access-date=2022-04-23 |website=France 24 |language=en |archive-date=23 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423073033/https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20201109-armenia-azerbaijan-and-russia-reach-agreement-to-end-nagorno-karabakh-fighting |url-status=live}}</ref> The war may have claimed thousands of lives.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54652704 |title=Nagorno-Karabakh: Nearly 5,000 dead in conflict, Putin says |work=BBC News |date=22 October 2020 |access-date=1 November 2020 |archive-date=1 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101091636/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54652704 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Aftermath of 2020 war===
After the 2020 war, the Republic of Artsakh maintained control over the areas of the former oblast that had not been captured during the war.<ref name=":2" />

In 2021, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia held a trilateral meeting about Artsakh. This was expected to be the first of a regular series of meetings between the three countries, per an agreement to promote economic and infrastructure development throughout the region.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dailysabah.com/world/europe/russia-azerbaijan-armenia-hold-1st-meeting-on-nagorno-karabakh |title=Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia hold meeting on Nagorno-Karabakh |website=dailysabah.com |date=January 31, 2021 |access-date=February 1, 2021 |archive-date=31 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131160148/https://www.dailysabah.com/world/europe/russia-azerbaijan-armenia-hold-1st-meeting-on-nagorno-karabakh |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Blockade (2022–2023)===
{{Main|Blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh}}

In December 2022, Azerbaijanis claiming to be environmental activists blocked the Lachin corridor, the sole road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and the outside world.<ref name="BBC2">{{Cite news |title=Азербайджанские "активисты" блокируют дорогу из Карабаха в Армению. Одновременно в Карабахе пропал газ |language=ru |trans-title=Azerbaijani "activists" are blocking the road from Karabakh to Armenia. At the same time, gas disappeared in Karabakh |work=BBC News Русская Служба |url=https://www.bbc.com/russian/news-63975080 |access-date=22 August 2023 |archive-date=12 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412122434/https://www.bbc.com/russian/news-63975080 |url-status=live}}</ref> On 23 April 2023, Azerbaijani forces installed a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor.<ref name=":129">{{Cite web |last=Loe |first=Catherine |date=2023-04-27 |title=Azerbaijan sets up checkpoints on the Lachin corridor |url=https://www.eiu.com/n/azerbaijan-sets-up-checkpoints-on-the-lachin-corridor/ |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=Economist Intelligence Unit |language=en-GB |quote=The move [installation of a checkpoint] has increased the blockade of Nagorny Karabakh...A checkpoint on the border would give Azerbaijan the ability to stop any cars travelling between Armenia and Nagorny Karabakh. |archive-date=2 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230802113859/https://www.eiu.com/n/azerbaijan-sets-up-checkpoints-on-the-lachin-corridor/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The blockade led to a humanitarian crisis for the population in Artsakh; imports of essential goods were blocked, as well as humanitarian convoys of the Red Cross and the Russian peacekeepers, trapping the 120,000 residents of the region.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hauer |first=Neil |date=2023-07-31 |title=Karabakh blockade reaches critical point as food supplies run low |url=https://www.intellinews.com/karabakh-blockade-reaches-critical-point-as-food-supplies-run-low-286173/ |access-date=2023-08-01 |website=www.intellinews.com |language=en |quote=Occasional ICRC and Russian traffic continued to pass until June 15, at which point Azerbaijan halted all humanitarian deliveries. No food, medicine or fuel has entered Nagorno-Karabakh since. |archive-date=14 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814123838/https://www.intellinews.com/karabakh-blockade-reaches-critical-point-as-food-supplies-run-low-286173/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":62">{{Cite web |last=Gavin |first=Gabriel |date=Dec 19, 2022 |title=Supplies begin to run low as Nagorno-Karabakh blockade continues |url=https://eurasianet.org/supplies-begin-to-run-low-as-nagorno-karabakh-blockade-continues |access-date=2022-12-22 |website=eurasianet.org |language=en |archive-date=1 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201151350/https://eurasianet.org/supplies-begin-to-run-low-as-nagorno-karabakh-blockade-continues |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":310">{{Cite web |last=Kitachayev |first=Bashir |date=16 December 2022 |title=Azerbaijani roadblock cuts tens of thousands off from food, fuel and medicine |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/nagorno-karabakh-azerbaijan-armenia-roadblock/ |access-date=21 December 2022 |website=[[openDemocracy]] |archive-date=26 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226154334/https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/nagorno-karabakh-azerbaijan-armenia-roadblock/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":97">{{Cite web |date=2023-05-22 |title=New Troubles in Nagorno-Karabakh: Understanding the Lachin Corridor Crisis |url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/europe-central-asia/caucasus/nagorno-karabakh-conflict/new-troubles-nagorno-karabakh-understanding-lachin-corridor-crisis |access-date=2023-05-23 |website=www.crisisgroup.org |language=en |quote=While travellers were already few due to the blockade, the ICRC reports that its ability to get people across has been curtailed [since the installation of the checkpoint], leaving only the Russian peacekeepers to facilitate trips to Armenia for medical care. |archive-date=16 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230816185256/https://www.crisisgroup.org/europe-central-asia/caucasus/nagorno-karabakh-conflict/new-troubles-nagorno-karabakh-understanding-lachin-corridor-crisis |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":134">{{Cite web |date=2023-05-31 |title=June Alerts and May Trends 2023 |url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/crisiswatch/june-alerts-and-may-trends-2023 |access-date=2023-06-19 |website=www.crisisgroup.org |language=en |quote=Checkpoint on Lachin corridor faced fierce opposition amid humanitarian crisis....Azerbaijani military consolidated [the] blockade, however, leading to even fewer crossings and reduced transportation of goods. |archive-date=22 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622120300/https://www.crisisgroup.org/crisiswatch/june-alerts-and-may-trends-2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> Limited traffic was conducted by Russian peacekeepers and the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]] to transport patients in need of medical care and provide humanitarian supplies.<ref name="BlackoutsRationing">{{cite news |last=Shahverdyan |first=Lilit |date=12 January 2023 |title=Blackouts and food rationing as Karabakh blockade enters second month |language=en |work=Eurasianet |url=https://eurasianet.org/blackouts-and-food-rationing-as-karabakh-blockade-enters-second-month |access-date=17 January 2023 |quote=But the supplies are meager compared to the pre-blockade delivery of 12,000 tons of goods monthly, and barely meet the needs of the local population, which Armenian sources estimate at around 120,000. |archive-date=23 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423091733/https://eurasianet.org/blackouts-and-food-rationing-as-karabakh-blockade-enters-second-month |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":22">{{cite news |date=17 January 2023 |title=Nagorno-Karabakh reports gas cut for second time since start of blockade |work=OC Media |url=https://oc-media.org/nagorno-karabakh-reports-gas-cut-for-second-time-since-start-of-blockade/ |access-date=18 January 2023 |archive-date=16 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316072358/https://oc-media.org/nagorno-karabakh-reports-gas-cut-for-second-time-since-start-of-blockade/ |url-status=live}}</ref> However, from 15 June 2023, Azerbaijan intensified the blockade, blocking all passage of food, fuel, and medicine from the Red Cross and the Russian peacekeepers through the Lachin corridor.<ref name=":175">{{Cite web |date=2023-06-20 |title=Nagorno-Karabakh again faces shortages as Azerbaijan closes Lachin Corridor |url=https://oc-media.org/nagorno-karabakh-again-faces-shortages-as-azerbaijan-closes-lachin-corridor/ |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=OC Media |language=en-US |archive-date=19 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719153306/https://oc-media.org/nagorno-karabakh-again-faces-shortages-as-azerbaijan-closes-lachin-corridor/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":176">{{Cite web |title=Food shortages and fear as peacekeepers refused entry to Nagorno-Karabakh |url=https://oc-media.org/features/food-shortages-and-fear-as-peacekeepers-refused-entry-to-nagorno-karabakh/ |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=OC Media |date=7 July 2023 |language=en-US |archive-date=22 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230722145151/https://oc-media.org/features/food-shortages-and-fear-as-peacekeepers-refused-entry-to-nagorno-karabakh/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":178">{{Cite web |date=2023-07-31 |title=Karabakh blockade reaches critical point as food supplies run low |url=https://www.intellinews.com/karabakh-blockade-reaches-critical-point-as-food-supplies-run-low-286173/ |access-date=2023-08-01 |website=www.intellinews.com |language=en |archive-date=14 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814123838/https://www.intellinews.com/karabakh-blockade-reaches-critical-point-as-food-supplies-run-low-286173/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

===2023 Azerbaijani offensive, exodus, and dissolution===
{{main|2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh|Flight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians|Republic of Artsakh (government in exile)}}

[[File:Ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh seeking refuge due to attacks by Azerbaijani armed forces.png|200px|thumb|Russian peacekeepers help evacuate Armenian refugees from [[Stepanakert]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Protests In Yerevan Follow Azerbaijani Attacks As Karabakh Residents Seek Shelter |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/photos-armenia-azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh/32601266.html |access-date=28 March 2024 |work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty |date=20 September 2023 |language=en}}</ref>]]

On 19 September, Azerbaijan [[2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh|launched a military offensive]] into Artsakh-controlled territory. The following day, the government of the Republic of Artsakh agreed to disarm and a ceasefire took effect. Initial negotiations between representatives of the Karabakh Armenian community and the Government of Azerbaijan took place on 21 September in [[Yevlakh]] to discuss security, rights and "integration".<ref name="Light-Reuters" /> The talks, which lasted two hours, ended without a formal agreement; however, a statement by Azerbaijani Presidency said that they were "constructive and positive" and that further negotiations would continue.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/azerbaijan-says-ethnic-armenian-delegation-arrives-nagorno-karabakh-talks-2023-09-21/ |title=Karabakh Armenians seek promises before giving up weapons to Azerbaijan |newspaper=Reuters |date=21 September 2023 |access-date=21 September 2023 |archive-date=21 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230921112659/https://www.reuters.com/world/azerbaijan-says-ethnic-armenian-delegation-arrives-nagorno-karabakh-talks-2023-09-21/ |url-status=live |last1=Light |first1=Felix |last2=Faulconbridge |first2=Guy |last3=Faulconbridge |first3=Guy}}</ref> On 24 September, [[Exodus of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh|a mass evacuation of ethnic-Armenian civilians]] started, fearing persecution and [[ethnic cleansing]] if they remained.<ref name="Light-Reuters">{{cite news |last=Light |first=Felix |date=23 September 2023 |title=Karabakh Armenians say ceasefire being implemented, aid is arriving |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/russia-says-karabakh-armenian-fighters-start-giving-up-arms-2023-09-23/ |work=[[Reuters]] |access-date=23 September 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230923130135/https://www.reuters.com/world/russia-says-karabakh-armenian-fighters-start-giving-up-arms-2023-09-23/ |archive-date=23 September 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Roth |first=Andrew |date=24 September 2023 |title=First evacuees from Nagorno-Karabakh cross into Armenia |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/24/first-evacuees-from-nagorno-karabakh-cross-into-armenia-azerbaijan |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=24 September 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924123645/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/24/first-evacuees-from-nagorno-karabakh-cross-into-armenia-azerbaijan |archive-date=24 September 2023}}</ref> A second round of negotiations between representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians and Azerbaijan took place in [[Khojaly (town)|Khojaly]] on 25 September, where humanitarian issues were discussed.<ref>{{cite news |title=Topics discussed between Azerbaijani authorities, reps of Karabakh Armenians in Khojaly revealed |url=https://en.trend.az/azerbaijan/politics/3802657.html |access-date=26 September 2023 |work=[[Trend News Agency]] |date=25 September 2023 |language=en |archive-date=25 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925171331/https://en.trend.az/azerbaijan/politics/3802657.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Azerbaijan offers to organize visits of Karabakh Armenians to Baku |url=https://news.am/eng/news/783245.html |access-date=26 September 2023 |work=[[News.am]] |date=26 September 2023 |language=en |archive-date=25 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925195555/https://news.am/eng/news/783245.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A third meeting between took place in [[Yevlakh]] on 29 September.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://azertag.az/en/xeber/another_meeting_with_representatives_of_armenian_residents_living_in_karabakh_region_wraps_up_in_yevlakh_video-2768461|title=Another meeting with representatives of Armenian residents living in Karabakh region wraps up in Yevlakh Video – Azeritac }}</ref>

On 28 September, Artsakh president [[Samvel Shahramanyan]] signed a decree stating that all state institutions would be dissolved by 1 January 2024, bringing the existence of the republic to an end.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.leprogres.fr/defense-guerre-conflit/2023/09/28/plus-de-65-000-refugies-du-haut-karabakh-arrives-en-armenie |title=La république séparatiste du Haut-Karabakh cessera d'exister le 1er janvier 2024 |work=Le Progrès |date=28 September 2023 |access-date=28 September 2023 |language=fr |archive-date=28 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928071641/https://www.leprogres.fr/defense-guerre-conflit/2023/09/28/plus-de-65-000-refugies-du-haut-karabakh-arrives-en-armenie |url-status=live }}</ref> Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev visited the region on 15 October and officially raised the flag of Azerbaijan at the building that was previously used as the Artsakh Presidential Palace.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20231015-azerbaijan-president-raises-national-flag-in-nagorno-karabakh-capital |title=Azerbaijan's president raises national flag in Nagorno-Karabakh capital |date=15 October 2023 |access-date=16 October 2023 |archive-date=16 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016061810/https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20231015-azerbaijan-president-raises-national-flag-in-nagorno-karabakh-capital |url-status=live}}</ref> On 22 December 2023, Shahramanyan said that there was no official document stipulating the dissolution of government institutions, and his office stated that it was "empty paper".<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 December 2023 |title=Nagorno-Karabakh dissolution not valid, says Armenian separatist leader |url=https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20231222-nagorno-karabakh-dissolution-not-valid-says-armenian-separatist-leader |access-date=2023-12-28 |website=France 24 |language=en}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Topo map Artsakh en.png|thumb|Topographic map of Artsakh in the borders 1994−2020]]
The Artsakh Republic was mountainous, a feature which has given it its former name (from the Russian for "Mountainous/Highland Karabakh"). It is {{cvt|3170|km2|sqmi|0}} in area.<ref name="kavkaz-uzel.eu"/> The largest water body is the [[Sarsang Reservoir]], and the major rivers are the [[Tartar (river)|Tartar]] and [[Khachen (river)|Khachen]] rivers.<ref name="Overview">{{cite web |url=http://www.nkrusa.org/country_profile/overview.shtml |title=Nagorno Karabakh Republic – Country Overview |publisher=The Office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) in the USA |location=Washington, DC |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419102410/http://www.nkrusa.org/country_profile/overview.shtml |archive-date=19 April 2012}}</ref> The country is on a plateau which slopes downwards towards the east and southeast, with the average altitude being {{cvt|3600|ft|m|-1|order=flip}} [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]].<ref name="Geography"/> Most rivers in the country flow towards the [[Artsakh Valley]].<ref name="Geography">{{cite web |url=http://www.nkrusa.org/country_profile/geography.shtml |title=Geographic Location, Climate, Natural Resources and Wildlife of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic |publisher=The Office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) in the USA |location=Washington, DC |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418113842/http://www.nkrusa.org/country_profile/geography.shtml |archive-date=18 April 2012}}</ref>

The geology of Artsakh is primarily part of the Kussary-Divichi Foredeep{{snd}}the northern [[foredeep]] of the [[Greater Caucasus]]. The trough is filled with [[Oligocene]] to [[Quaternary]] age deepwater, [[molasse]] and marine sedimentary rocks.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Moores, E.M. |title=Encyclopedia of European & Asian Regional Geology |author2=Fairbridge, Rhodes W. |publisher=Springer |year=1997 |page=61}}</ref>

The climate is mild and temperate. The average temperature is {{cvt|11|C|F|0}}, which fluctuates annually between {{cvt|22|C|F|0}} in July and {{cvt|-1|C|F|0}} in January. The average precipitation can reach {{cvt|710|mm|in}} in some regions, and it is foggy for over 100 days a year.<ref name="Geography"/> Over 2,000 kinds of plants exist in Artsakh, and more than 36% of the country is forested. The plant life on the [[steppes]] consists mostly of semi-desert vegetation, while [[subalpine zone]] and [[alpine tundra]] ecosystems can be found above the forest in the highlands and mountains.<ref name="Geography"/>

==Government and politics==
{{main|Government of Artsakh|Politics of Artsakh}}
{{Update section|date=September 2023}}
[[File:NKR Parliament, Stepanakert.jpg|thumb|The National Assembly of Artsakh in Stepanakert]]
Artsakh was a [[Presidential system|presidential]] [[democracy]] (transformed from a semi-presidential one, after the [[2017 Nagorno-Karabakh constitutional referendum|2017 referendum]]). The [[Prime Minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic|Prime Minister]]'s post was abolished and [[Executive (government)|executive power]] resided with the [[President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic|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.<ref name="Constitution"/> The last President was [[Samvel Shahramanyan]].

The [[National Assembly of Nagorno-Karabakh|National Assembly]] was a unicameral legislature. It had 33 members who were elected for 5-year terms.<ref name="National assembly">{{cite web |url=http://www.nkrusa.org/country_profile/national_assembly.shtml |title=The Parliament of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic |publisher=The Office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) in the USA |location=Washington, DC |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403021243/http://www.nkrusa.org/country_profile/national_assembly.shtml |archive-date=3 April 2012}}</ref> Elections took place within a [[multi-party system]]; in 2009, the American NGO [[Freedom House]] ranked the Republic of Artsakh above the republics of [[Politics of Armenia|Armenia]] and [[Politics of Azerbaijan|Azerbaijan]] with respect to [[civil and political rights]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Country Report: Armenia |date=2009 |work=Freedom in the World |publisher=[[Freedom House]] |url=http://freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=22&year=2009&country=7557 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100621124143/http://freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=22&year=2009&country=7557 |archive-date=21 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Country Report: Azerbaijan |date=2009 |work=Freedom in the World |publisher=[[Freedom House]] |url=http://freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=22&year=2009&country=7560 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100621152831/http://freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=22&country=7560&year=2009 |archive-date=21 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Nagorno-Karabakh [Armenia/Azerbaijan] |date=2009 |work=Map of Freedom in the World |publisher=[[Freedom House]] |url=http://freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=363&year=2009&country=7740 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110201003557/http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=363&year=2009&country=7740 |archive-date=1 February 2011}}</ref> Five parties had members in the parliament: the [[Free Motherland]] party had 15 members, the [[Armenian Revolutionary Federation]] had 8 members, [[Democratic Party of Artsakh]] had 7 members, [[Movement 88]] had 2 members and the [[National Revival (Artsakh)|National Revival]] party had one member. A number of non-partisan candidates had also taken part in the [[Elections in Nagorno-Karabakh|elections]], with some success; in 2015, two of the 33 members to the National Assembly took their seats without running under the banner of any of the [[List of political parties in Nagorno-Karabakh|established political parties]] in the republic. Elections in Artsakh were not recognised by the [[European Union]], the United States and the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]], as well as numerous other countries, who called them a source of increased tensions.<ref>{{cite news |date=1 May 2015 |title=EU does not recognize 'elections' in Nagorno Karabakh |url=http://www.news.az/articles/karabakh/97627 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304112351/http://news.az/articles/karabakh/97627 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=7 June 2016 |newspaper=News.Az |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Mustafa Pazarlı |title=US will not recognize Nagorno-Karabakh's elections |url=http://news.videonews.us/us-will-not-recognize-nagorno-karabakhs-elections-028658.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409022232/http://news.videonews.us/us-will-not-recognize-nagorno-karabakhs-elections-028658.html |archive-date=9 April 2016 |access-date=7 June 2016 |publisher=Videonews.us |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.azernews.az/azerbaijan/80982.html |title=OIC condemns "elections" in Nagorno-Karabakh as illegal |author=Mushvig Mehdiyev |publisher=AzerNews.az |access-date=7 June 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402135809/http://www.azernews.az/azerbaijan/80982.html |archive-date=2 April 2016 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-05-03 |title=Azerbaijan's breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh elects new parliament |url=https://www.arabnews.com/world/news/741471 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240130114204/https://www.arabnews.com/world/news/741471 |archive-date=2024-01-30 |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=[[Arab News]] |language=en}}</ref>

Artsakh was heavily dependent on Armenia, and in many ways ''de facto'' functioned and was administered as part of Armenia. However, Armenia was hesitant to officially recognise Artsakh.<ref name="hughes">{{cite book |last=Hughes |first=James |title=Ethnicity and Territory in the Former Soviet Union: Regions in Conflict |year=2002 |publisher=Cass |location=London |isbn=978-0-7146-8210-5 |page=211 |author-link=Jim Hughes (academic) |quote=Indeed, Nagorno-Karabakh is de facto part of Armenia.}}</ref><ref name="cornell">{{cite book |last=Cornell |first=Svante |title=Azerbaijan Since Independence |year=2011 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |location=New York |isbn=978-0-7656-3004-9 |author-link=Svante Cornell |page=135 |quote=Following the war, the territories that fell under Armenian control, in particular Mountainous Karabakh itself, were slowly integrated into Armenia. Officially, Karabakh and Armenia remain separate political entities, but for most practical matters the two entities are unified.}}</ref>

===Constitution===
{{Main|Constitution of Artsakh}}
[[File:Presidential, NKR, Stepanakert.jpg|thumb|The Presidential Palace]]
[[File:La rue des bâtiments gouvernementaux à Stepanakert (Artsakh) en juillet 2017.jpg|thumb|The government building]]
The founding documents of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic were the ''Proclamation of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic'' and the ''Declaration of State Independence of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic''. For a long time no constitution was created, with the republic instead declaring Armenian law applied on its territory through a 1992 law. Even when new laws were passed, they were often copies of equivalent Armenian laws.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Waters |first1=Christopher |title=Law in Places That Don't Exist |journal=Denver Journal of International Law & Policy |date=2006 |volume=34 |issue=3 |pages=408–410 |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals%2Fdenilp34&div=21 |access-date=2022-07-04 |archive-date=2 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202092747/https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals%2Fdenilp34&div=21 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 3 November 2006, the then-president of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, [[Arkadi Ghukasyan]], signed a decree to hold [[2006 Nagorno-Karabakh constitutional referendum|a referendum]] on a draft Nagorno-Karabakh constitution.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.regnum.ru/english/733363.html |title=Nagorno Karabakh to hold referendum on draft constitution on 10 December |publisher=[[REGNUM News Agency|REGNUM]] |date=3 November 2006 |access-date=16 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211204035/http://www.regnum.ru/english/733363.html |archive-date=11 December 2008}}</ref> It was held on 10 December of the same year and according to official preliminary results, with a turnout of 87.2%,{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} as many as 98.6 per cent of voters approved the constitution.<ref name="RFE">{{cite news |url=http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/12/15d9442b-2b41-4132-9312-9a1f77fc92ac.html |title=Karabakh Approves Pro-Independence Constitution |publisher=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|Radio Free Europe]] |date=11 December 2006 |access-date=16 December 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617182137/http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/12/15d9442b-2b41-4132-9312-9a1f77fc92ac.html |archive-date=17 June 2008 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The first article of the document described the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, alternatively called the Republic of Artsakh, as "a sovereign, democratic state based on social justice and the rule of law."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nkr.am/eng/Constitution.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217194514/http://www.nkr.am/eng/Constitution.htm |archive-date=17 December 2007 |title=Constitution of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic |website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic |access-date=15 June 2018}}</ref><ref name="Constitution 2016">{{cite web |url=http://nkr.am/en/constitution/9/ |title=Constitution |website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic |access-date=23 July 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161023103331/http://www.nkr.am/en/constitution/9/ |archive-date=23 October 2016}}</ref> More than 100 non-governmental international observers and journalists who monitored the poll evaluated it positively, stating that it was held to a high international standard.<ref name="IWPR – Constitution">{{cite news |url=http://www.iwpr.net/report-news/karabakh-defends-new-constitution |title=Karabakh Defends New Constitution |date=11 January 2007 |publisher=IWPR Institute for War & Peace |access-date=8 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100526222026/http://www.iwpr.net/report-news/karabakh-defends-new-constitution |archive-date=26 May 2010 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

However, the vote was criticised harshly by the European Union, [[OSCE]] and [[GUAM]], which rejected the referendum, deeming it illegitimate.<ref name="IWPR – Constitution"/><ref>{{cite news |date=13 December 2006 |title=Nagorno-Karabakh gains constitution |publisher=ISN.ETHZ.ch |url=http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/Security-Watch/Detail/?id=51823&lng=en |access-date=16 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160210174814/http://www.isn.ethz.ch/Digital-Library/Articles/Detail//?id=51823&lng=en |archive-date=10 February 2016}}</ref> The EU announced it was "aware that a 'constitutional referendum' has taken place," but emphasised its stance that only a negotiated settlement between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenians could bring a lasting solution.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/11/europe/EU_GEN_EU_Nagorno_Karabakh.php |title=EU rejects referendum vote on draft constitution in Nagorno-Karabakh |date=11 December 2006 |work=International Herald Tribune |access-date=16 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226134917/http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/11/europe/EU_GEN_EU_Nagorno_Karabakh.php |archive-date=26 February 2008}}</ref> [[Secretary General of the Council of Europe]] [[Terry Davis (politician)|Terry Davis]] asserted that the poll "will not be recognized... and is therefore of no consequence".<ref name="IWPR – Constitution"/>
In a statement, the OSCE chairman in office [[Karel De Gucht]] voiced his concern that the vote would prove harmful to the ongoing conflict settlement process, which, he said, had shown "visible progress" and was at a "promising juncture".<ref name="RFE"/>

The holding of the referendum was also criticised by Turkey, which traditionally supports Azerbaijan because of common ethnic Turkic roots, and has historically had [[Armenia-Turkey relations|severe tensions]] with Armenia.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://kavkaz.memo.ru/newstext/news/id/1144460.html |title=Турция осудила референдум в Нагорном Карабахе |publisher=kavkaz-uzel.ru |date=11 December 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014175455/http://kavkaz.memo.ru/newstext/news/id/1144460.html |archive-date=14 October 2007 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.arminfo.info/news-issue1550.shtml |title=Deutsche welle reports on nagorno karabakh |date=9 January 2007 |publisher=ArmInfo |access-date=16 December 2008}}{{Dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

[[2017 Nagorno-Karabakh constitutional referendum|Another referendum]] was held on 20 February 2017, with an 87.6% vote in favour on a 76% turnout for instituting a new constitution. This constitution among other changes turned the government from a semi-presidential to a fully presidential model. Its name was changed from "Constitution of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic" to "Constitution of the Republic of Artsakh", though both remained official names of the country.<ref name="Constitution" /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.rferl.org/a/nagorno-karabakh-referendum-azerbaijan-armenia/28323000.html |title=Azerbaijan's Breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh Holds 'Illegal' Referendum |publisher=Radio Free Europe |date=21 February 2017 |access-date=23 February 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223040655/http://www.rferl.org/a/nagorno-karabakh-referendum-azerbaijan-armenia/28323000.html |archive-date=23 February 2017 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="armenian-weekly-2017-02-21">{{cite news |title=Artsakh Votes for New Constitution, Officially Renames the Republic |url=http://armenianweekly.com/2017/02/21/artsakh-votes-for-new-constitution-officially-renames-the-republic/ |work=[[Armenian Weekly]] |date=21 February 2017 |access-date=15 June 2018 |df=dmy-all |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222223223/http://armenianweekly.com/2017/02/21/artsakh-votes-for-new-constitution-officially-renames-the-republic/ |archive-date=22 February 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The referendum was seen as a response to the [[2016 Nagorno-Karabakh clashes]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://euobserver.com/foreign/136961 |title=Referendum to create 'Republic of Artsakh' on Europe's fringe |author=Andrew Rettman |publisher=euobserver |date=20 February 2017 |access-date=23 February 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223041450/https://euobserver.com/foreign/136961 |archive-date=23 February 2017 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

===Administrative divisions===
{{Main|Administrative divisions of the Republic of Artsakh}}
[[File:Колатак, ноябрь 2009г..JPG|thumb|left|Mountain view in Martakert region]]
Artsakh was divided into [[Administrative divisions of the Republic of Artsakh|seven provinces]] and one special [[Stepanakert|administrative city]]. According to its authorities, it consisted of the territories in which the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was [[1991 Nagorno-Karabakh independence referendum|proclaimed]] in 1991: the former [[Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast]] (NKAO), the [[Shahumyan Region]] and the Getashen subdistrict; and those territories that [[Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh|formed part]] of the Republic of Artsakh before the [[Second Nagorno-Karabakh War]].<ref name="armradio">{{cite web |url=https://en.armradio.am/2022/02/01/bill-on-territories-occupied-by-azerbaijan-brought-to-the-agenda-of-artsakh-parliament/ |title=Bill on territories occupied by Azerbaijan brought to the agenda of Artsakh Parliament |date=1 February 2022 |author=Siranush Ghazanchyan |publisher=[[Public Radio of Armenia]] |access-date=7 February 2022 |archive-date=2 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202230851/https://en.armradio.am/2022/02/01/bill-on-territories-occupied-by-azerbaijan-brought-to-the-agenda-of-artsakh-parliament/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="newsarmenia">{{cite news |url=https://newsarmenia.am/news/nagorno_karabakh/zakon-ob-azerbaydzhanskoy-okkupatsii-artsakha-dolzhen-deystvovat-do-ee-prekrashcheniya-glava-mid-nkr/ |script-title=ru:Закон об азербайджанской оккупации Арцаха должен действовать до ее прекращения – глава МИД НКР |trans-title=Law on Azerbaijani occupation of Artsakh must remain in effect until its termination – NKR Foreign Minister |date=30 January 2022 |language=ru |work=АМИ Новости-Армения [AMI News Armenia] |access-date=7 February 2022 |archive-date=7 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207093948/https://newsarmenia.am/news/nagorno_karabakh/zakon-ob-azerbaydzhanskoy-okkupatsii-artsakha-dolzhen-deystvovat-do-ee-prekrashcheniya-glava-mid-nkr/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="deoccupation">{{cite web |url=https://en.armradio.am/2022/02/18/artsakh-parliament-adopts-law-on-territories-occupied-by-azerbaijan/ |title=Artsakh Parliament adopts law on territories occupied by Azerbaijan |date=18 February 2022 |publisher=[[Public Radio of Armenia]] |access-date=22 February 2022 |archive-date=22 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222082409/https://en.armradio.am/2022/02/18/artsakh-parliament-adopts-law-on-territories-occupied-by-azerbaijan/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Also claimed by Artsakh was the [[Shahumyan Region]] of the Azerbaijan SSR, which has been under Azerbaijani control since the [[First Nagorno-Karabakh War]]. While the Shahumyan Region was not part of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, representatives from Shahumyan declared independence along with the Oblast, and the proclamation of Artsakh includes the Shahumyan region within its borders.<ref>{{cite web |title=Declaration: On proclamation of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic |date=2 September 1991 |author=Joint session of the Nagorno Karabakh Oblast and Shahoumian regional councils of people's deputies with the participation of deputies of councils of all levels |website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic |url=http://www.nkr.am/eng/deklaraciya209.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080103020828/http://www.nkr.am/eng/deklaraciya209.html |archive-date=3 January 2008}}</ref>

After the end of the [[Second Nagorno-Karabakh War]], an [[2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement|agreement]] was signed according to which most of the controlled territories of the Republic of Artsakh were transferred to Azerbaijani control, but the Republic of Artsakh continues to claim these territories.<ref name="armradio"/><ref name="newsarmenia"/><ref name="deoccupation"/>

Following the Republic of Artsakh's declaration of independence, the Azerbaijani government abolished the NKAO and created Azerbaijani districts in its place. As a result, some of Artsakh's divisions corresponded with the [[Administrative divisions of Azerbaijan|Azerbaijani districts]], while others had different borders.<ref name="azerbregions">{{cite web |url=http://www.travel-images.com/az-karabakh.html |title=Azerb.com – Regions |publisher=Travel-images.com |date=24 March 2007 |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609214321/http://travel-images.com/az-karabakh.html |archive-date=9 June 2012 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

{| align=center cellspacing="3px"
|- style="font-size:98%; text-align:center;"
|
[[File:Administrative_divisions_of_the_Republic_of_Artsakh_1994-2020.svg|thumb|Artsakh nominal administrative divisions]]
|
|
{| class="sortable wikitable" style="margin-top:7px; margin-right:0; text-align:left; font-size:90%;"
! colspan="21" font-size:100%;" | A comparative table of the established divisions of Artsakh and the corresponding districts of Azerbaijan follows:
|- style="font-size:100%; text-align:right;"
! #
! Artsakh Province<ref>{{cite report |section=Table 1.4: De Jure Population by Administrative Territorial Distribution and Density (with map) <!-- 2005 NKR census (Map of divisions and info on each shown) --> |title=Census in NKR 2005 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic |url=http://census.stat-nkr.am/nkr/1-4.pdf |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306035735/http://census.stat-nkr.am/nkr/1-4.pdf |archive-date=6 March 2009}}</ref>
! Population (2005)
! Capital
! Former [[Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast|NKAO]]?
! Equivalent Rayons of the<br /> Republic of Azerbaijan
|-
| 1
| [[Martakert Province]]
| 18,963
| [[Martakert (town)|Martakert]]
| Yes
| Eastern part of [[Kalbajar Rayon|Kalbajar]],<br />Western part of [[Tartar (rayon)|Tartar]],<br />part of [[Agdam Rayon|Agdam]]
|-
| 2
| [[Askeran Province]]
| 16,979
| [[Askeran (town)|Askeran]]
| Yes
| [[Khojali Rayon|Khojali]]
|-
| 3
| [[Stepanakert]] (capital)
| 49,986
| [[Stepanakert]]
| Yes
| [[Khankendi]]
|-
| 4
| [[Martuni Province]]
| 23,157
| [[Khojavend (town)|Martuni]]
| Yes
| Northern [[Khojavend Rayon|Khojavend]]
|-
| 5
| [[Shushi Province]]
| 4,324
| [[Shusha|Shushi]]
| Yes
| [[Shusha (rayon)|Shusha]]
|-
| 6
| [[Hadrut Province]]
| 12,005
| [[Hadrut (town)|Hadrut]]
| Yes
| Southern [[Khojavend Rayon|Khojavend]]
|-
| 7
| [[Shahumyan Province]]
| 2,560
| [[Kalbajar|Karvachar]]
| No
| Southern part of [[Goranboy Rayon|Goranboy]],<br />Western part of [[Kalbajar District|Kalbajar]]
|-
| 8
| [[Kashatagh Province]]
| 9,763
| [[Lachin|Berdzor]]
| No
| [[Lachin District|Lachin]], [[Qubadli District|Qubadli]], [[Zangilan District|Zangilan]]
|}
:
|}
{{Clear}}

===Law enforcement===
Law enforcement in Artsakh was inconsistent, as the region was a [[de facto]] [[independence|independent]] [[republic]] and officially part of [[Azerbaijan]].<ref name=10264-1>Mr [[David Atkinson (politician)|David Atkinson]], United Kingdom, European Democrat Group, (Rapporteur) [http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/WorkingDocs/doc04/EDOC10364.htm The conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20121205094903/http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/WorkingDocs/doc04/EDOC10364.htm |date=2012-12-05 }}, [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe]], 29 November 2004</ref> Law enforcement in Nagorno-Karabakh was the responsibility of the [[Ministry of Internal Affairs (Artsakh)|Interior Ministry]] and the NSS.

====Police of Artsakh====
{{Main|Ministry of Internal Affairs (Artsakh)}}
After the annexation of Artsakh to the [[Azerbaijan SSR]], on 4 August 1923, the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs of the [[Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast]] was established. In the years following the [[First Nagorno-Karabakh War]], the Republic of Artsakh created its own police force. In 2001, the National Assembly's law "On Police" was adopted on 30 November 2006.{{clarification needed|date=April 2024}} On 11 March 2014, [[Police Day]] in Artsakh was declared for 16 April.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Պատմություն – ԱՐՑԱԽԻ ՀԱՆՐԱՊԵՏՈՒԹՅԱՆ ՈՍՏԻԿԱՆՈՒԹՅՈՒՆ|url=http://www.police.nkr.am/about-the-police/%D5%BA%D5%A1%D5%BF%D5%B4%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%A9%D5%B5%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B6.html|access-date=2021-02-10|website=www.police.nkr.am}}</ref> The police force followed an organisation similar to that of the [[Police of Armenia]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Գլխավոր – ԱՐՑԱԽԻ ՀԱՆՐԱՊԵՏՈՒԹՅԱՆ ՆԵՐՔԻՆ ԳՈՐԾԵՐԻ ՆԱԽԱՐԱՐՈՒԹՅԱՆ ՈՍՏԻԿԱՆՈՒԹՅՈՒՆ |url=https://police.nk.am/ |access-date=2024-01-12 |website=police.nk.am}}</ref>

====National Security Service====
Artsakh had its own National Security Service, based on the [[National Security Service (Armenia)|NSS of Armenia]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=LLC|first=Helix Consulting|title=Police – Other state governing bodies – Government – Government of Artsakh Republic|url=http://gov.nkr.am/en/other-bodies/details/17/|access-date=2020-10-25|website=gov.nkr.am|language=en}}</ref> It was a republican body that elaborated and implemented the policies of the government in the national security sector.<ref>{{Cite web|last=LLC|first=Helix Consulting|title=National Security Service – Other state governing bodies – Government – Government of Artsakh Republic|url=http://gov.nkr.am/en/other-bodies/details/12/|access-date=2021-02-10|website=gov.nkr.am|language=en}}</ref> By decree of the NKR Supreme Council adopted on 18 January 2006, the NKAO State Security Department was named the State Department of National Security under the NKR Council of Ministers. By order of the NKR National Assembly on 26 November 2003, the NKR laws "On National Security Bodies" and "On Service in National Security Bodies" were adopted. The activities of the NSS were based in the decrees of 25 September 2012.<ref>{{Cite web|title=ԱՀ ԱԱԾ|url=http://www.nssartsakh.am/ru/patmutyun|access-date=2021-02-10|website=www.nssartsakh.am}}</ref> The NSS was headed by Lieutenant General Kamo Aghajanyan.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kamo Aghajanyan is appointed Karabakh National Security Service director|url=https://news.am/eng/news/581654.html|access-date=2021-02-10|website=news.am|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ԱՀ ԱԱԾ |url=https://www.nssartsakh.am/ru |access-date=2024-01-12 |website=www.nssartsakh.am}}</ref>

===Military===
{{main|Artsakh Defence Army|First Nagorno-Karabakh War|Second Nagorno-Karabakh War}}
[[File:Stepanakert Graveyard.JPG|thumb|The graves of Armenian soldiers in [[Stepanakert]].]]
According to the Constitution of Artsakh, the army was under the civilian command of the government.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nkrusa.org/country_profile/constitution.shtml |title=Constitution of the Republic of Artsakh |publisher=The Office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) in the USA |location=Washington, DC |access-date=18 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227090536/http://www.nkrusa.org/country_profile/constitution.shtml |archive-date=27 December 2016}}</ref> The [[Artsakh Defense Army]] was officially established on 9 May 1992 as a defence against Azerbaijan, but was subsequently disbanded on 21 September 2023 under the terms of [[2023 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement|Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement]] following the [[2023 Nagorno-Karabakh clashes|2023 Azerbaijani military offensive]].<ref name="Bloomberg">{{Cite news |date=2023-09-20 |title=Azerbaijan Ends Fighting in Disputed Region as Armenians Concede |language=en |work=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-20/azerbaijan-defies-us-eu-pressure-to-end-attack-on-armenians |access-date=2023-09-20 |archive-date=20 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920105358/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-20/azerbaijan-defies-us-eu-pressure-to-end-attack-on-armenians |url-status=live }}</ref>

It fought the Azerbaijani army to a ceasefire on 12 May 1994.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nkrusa.org/country_profile/nkr_army.shtml |title=Important Facts about NKR Defense Army |publisher=The Office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) in the USA |location=Washington, DC |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120801095315/http://www.nkrusa.org/country_profile/nkr_army.shtml |archive-date=1 August 2012 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> At its peak, the Artsakh Defense Army consisted of around 18,000–20,000 officers and soldiers. However, only around 8,500 citizens from Artsakh served in the army; some 10,000 came from Armenia. There were also 177–316 [[tank]]s, 256–324 additional fighting vehicles, and 291–322 guns and [[mortar (weapon)|mortars]]. Armenia supplied arms and other military necessities to Artsakh. Several battalions of Armenia's army were deployed directly in the Artsakh zone on occupied Azerbaijani territory.<ref name="Blandy">{{Citation |last=Blandy |first=C.W. |url=http://www.da.mod.uk/colleges/arag/document-listings/caucasus/08(17)CWB.pdf |title=Azerbaijan: Is War Over Nagornyy Karabakh a Realistic Option? |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510000120/http://www.da.mod.uk/colleges/arag/document-listings/caucasus/08(17)CWB.pdf |archive-date=10 May 2011 |work=[[Advanced Research and Assessment Group]]: Caucasus Series |publisher=[[Defence Academy of the United Kingdom]] |date=17 August 2008 |isbn=978-1-905962-49-5 |page=14}}</ref>

The Artsakh Defense Army [[Battle of Shusha (1992)|fought in Shusha]] in 1992, opening the [[Lachin corridor]] between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh (1992), and staged the defence of the [[Martakert]] front from 1992 to 1994.

===Foreign relations===
{{main|Foreign relations of Artsakh}}
[[File:2014 Stepanakert, Budynek Ministerstwa Spraw Zagranicznych Republiki Górskiego Karabachu (02).jpg|thumb|The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh in [[Stepanakert]]]]

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was based in [[Stepanakert]]. Since no UN member or observer ever recognised Artsakh, none of its foreign relations were of an official diplomatic nature. However, the Republic of Artsakh operated five permanent Missions and one Bureau of Social-Politic Information in France. Artsakh's Permanent Missions existed in [[Armenia]], Australia, France, Germany, Russia, the United States, and one for Middle East countries based in [[Beirut]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nkr.am/en/permanent-representations/104/ |title=Permanent Representations |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic |access-date=7 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526135731/http://www.nkr.am/en/permanent-representations/104/ |archive-date=26 May 2011 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The goals of the offices were to present the Republic's positions on various issues, to provide information and to facilitate the peace process.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

In his 2015 speech, the President of Armenia [[Serzh Sargsyan]] stated that he considered Nagorno-Karabakh "an inseparable part of Armenia".<ref>{{Cite news |script-title=ru:Серж Саргсян: Нагорный Карабах – это Армения |trans-title=Serzh Sargsyan: Nagorno-Karabakh is Armenia |language=ru |work=Vestnik Kavkaza |date=26 September 2015 |url=http://www.vestikavkaza.ru/news/Serzh-Sargsyan-Nagornyy-Karabakh-%E2%80%93-eto-Armeniya.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927224728/http://www.vestikavkaza.ru/news/Serzh-Sargsyan-Nagornyy-Karabakh-%E2%80%93-eto-Armeniya.html |archive-date=27 September 2015}}</ref>

The Republic of Artsakh was neither a member nor observer of the UN or any of its specialised agencies. However, it was a member of the [[Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations]], commonly known as the "Commonwealth of Unrecognized States".{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

While no UN member states recognised Artsakh,<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-11-25 |title=French Senate pushes Paris to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/french-senate-pushes-paris-to-recognize-nagorno-karabakh/2020/11/25/2ea9ca5a-2f5f-11eb-9dd6-2d0179981719_story.html}}{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> some unrecognised and partially recognised states had done so, including [[Transnistria]], [[Abkhazia]] and [[South Ossetia]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Вице-спикер парламента Абхазии: Выборы в НКР соответствуют всем международным стандартам |url=http://www.ararat-online.ru/news/984-2025-vice-spiker-parlamenta-abxazii-vybory-v-nkr-sootvetstvuyut-vsem-mezhdunarodnym-standartam.html |access-date=3 June 2021 |format=24 May 2010 |quote="Абхазия, Южная Осетия, НКР и Приднестровье уже давно признали независимость друг друга и очень тесно сотрудничают между собой", – сказал вице-спикер парламента Абхазии. ... "...Абхазия признала независимость Нагорно-Карабахской Республики..." – сказал он." |archive-date=9 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190809022319/http://www.ararat-online.ru/news/984-2025-vice-spiker-parlamenta-abxazii-vybory-v-nkr-sootvetstvuyut-vsem-mezhdunarodnym-standartam.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Various sub-national governments, including several [[U.S. state]]s, had issued calls for recognition of Artsakh by their national governments.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://armenianweekly.com/2017/09/28/michigan-recognizes-artsakh-independence/ |title=Breaking: Michigan Recognizes Artsakh Independence |last=Hairenik |date=28 September 2017 |work=The Armenian Weekly |access-date=2017-09-28 |language=en-US |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928190020/https://armenianweekly.com/2017/09/28/michigan-recognizes-artsakh-independence/ |archive-date=28 September 2017 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==De facto independent Artsakh (1993–2023): conflicting ideologies and diplomacy==
{{Update section|date=October 2023}}

===Artsakh–Armenia relations===
{{Main|Artsakh-Armenia relations}}
Artsakh was a ''de facto'' [[sovereignty|independent]] state, calling itself the ''Republic of Artsakh''.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023|reason=Missing evidence}} It had close relations with [[Armenia]] and used the same currency, the [[Artsakh dram|dram]]. According to [[Human Rights Watch]], "from the beginning of the Karabakh conflict, Armenia provided aid, weapons, and volunteers. Armenian involvement in Artsakh escalated after a December 1993 Azerbaijani offensive. The Republic of Armenia began sending conscripts and regular Army and Interior Ministry troops to fight in Artsakh."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1995/WR95/HELSINKI-01.htm |title=Human Rights Watch World Report 1995 |website=Hrw.org |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120805104222/http://www.hrw.org/reports/1995/WR95/HELSINKI-01.htm |archive-date=5 August 2012 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The politics of Armenia and the de facto Artsakh are so intertwined that [[Robert Kocharyan]] served as the first President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, from 1994 to 1997, then as prime minister of Armenia from 1997 to 1998, and then as the second President of Armenia, from 1998 to 2008.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

However, Armenian governments have repeatedly resisted internal pressure to unite the two, due to ongoing negotiations under the auspices of the [[OSCE Minsk Group]]. In his case study of Eurasia, Dov Lynch of the Institute for Security Studies of [[Western European Union|WEU]] believes that "Karabakh's independence allows the new Armenian state to avoid the international stigma of aggression, despite the fact that Armenian troops fought in the war between 1991 and 1994 and continue to man the Line of Contact between Karabakh and Azerbaijan." Lynch also cites that the "strength of the Armenian armed forces, and Armenia's strategic alliance with Russia, are seen as key shields protecting the Karabakh state by the authorities in [[Stepanakert]]".<ref>{{cite report |last=Lynch |first=Dov |title=Managing separatist states: A Eurasian case study |location=Paris |publisher=Institute for Security Studies – Western European Union |via=Archive of European Integration – Pitt |url=http://aei.pitt.edu/707/01/occ32.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306035825/http://aei.pitt.edu/707/01/occ32.pdf |archive-date=6 March 2009}}</ref> Some sources consider Artsakh as functioning ''de facto'' as a part of Armenia.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hughes |first=James |title=Ethnicity and Territory in the Former Soviet Union: Regions in Conflict |year=2002 |publisher=Cass |location=London |isbn=9780714682105 |page=211 |edition=1st |quote=Indeed, Nagomo–Karabakh is de facto part of Armenia.}}</ref><ref name="hurriyetdailynews1">{{cite news |title=Armenia expects Russian support in Karabakh war |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=armenia-expects-russian-support-in-karabakh-war-2011-05-20 |access-date=25 June 2013 |newspaper=[[Hürriyet Daily News]] |date=20 May 2011 |quote=While internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory, the enclave has declared itself an independent republic but is administered as a de facto part of Armenia. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002055014/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=armenia-expects-russian-support-in-karabakh-war-2011-05-20 |archive-date=2 October 2013 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>Central Asia and The Caucasus, Information and Analytical Center, 2009, Issues 55–60, p. 74, "Nagorno-Karabakh became de facto a part of Armenia (its quasi-statehood can dupe no one) as a result of aggression."</ref><ref>[[Deutsche Gesellschaft für auswärtige Politik]], Internationale Politik, Volume 8, 2007 "...and Nagorno-Karabakh, the disputed territory that is now de facto part of Armenia..."</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Cornell |first=Svante |title=Azerbaijan Since Independence |year=2011 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |location=New York |isbn=9780765630049 |page=135 |author-link=Svante Cornell |quote=Following the war, the territories that fell under Armenian control, in particular Mountainous Karabakh itself, were slowly integrated into Armenia. Officially, Karabakh and Armenia remain separate political entities, but for most practical matters the two entities are unified.}}</ref>

===Negotiations, outside mediation (2001–2007)===
====2001 Paris, Key West talks====
Representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan, France, Russia and the United States met in Paris and in [[Key West]], Florida, in early 2001.<ref name="state2001">{{Cite web |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/p/eur/rls/rm/2001/2098.htm |title=Armenia and Azerbaijan: Key West Peace Talks |website=2001-2009.state.gov |access-date=22 May 2019 |archive-date=14 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214115635/https://2001-2009.state.gov/p/eur/rls/rm/2001/2098.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> Despite rumours that the parties were close to a solution, the Azerbaijani authorities&nbsp;– both during [[Heydar Aliyev]]'s period of office, and after the accession of his son [[Ilham Aliyev]] in the October 2003 elections&nbsp;– have firmly denied that any agreement was reached in Paris or Key West.

====2004 Astana talks====
Further talks between the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents, [[Ilham Aliyev]] and [[Robert Kocharyan]], were held in September 2004 in Astana, [[Kazakhstan]], on the sidelines of the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]] (CIS) summit. Reportedly, one of the suggestions put forward was the withdrawal of the occupying forces from the Azeri territories adjacent to Artsakh and then holding [[referendum]]s (plebiscites) in Artsakh and Azerbaijan proper regarding the future status of the region.<ref name=ch/>

====2006 Rambouillet talks====
On 10 and 11 February 2006, Kocharyan and Aliyev met in [[Rambouillet]], France, to discuss the fundamental principles of a settlement to the conflict. Contrary to the initial optimism, the Rambouillet talks did not produce any agreement, with key issues such as the status of Artsakh and whether Armenian troops would withdraw from [[Kalbajar]] still being contentious.<ref name=ch>{{cite web |url=http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?id=14904 |title=Resources – Center for Security Studies &#124; ETH Zurich |language=de |website=Isn.ethz.ch |date=12 December 2016 |access-date=18 December 2016 |archive-date=13 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113131947/https://css.ethz.ch/en/services.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

====2006 Bucharest meeting====
Talks were held at the Polish embassy in [[Bucharest]] in June 2006.<ref>{{cite web |last=Condon |first=Christopher |url=http://news.ft.com/cms/s/5da3077e-f4f8-11da-86f6-0000779e2340.html |title='Marathon' talks on Nagorno-Karabakh |publisher=News.ft.com |date=5 June 2006 |access-date=6 May 2012}}</ref> Again, American, Russian, and French diplomats attended the talks that lasted over 40 minutes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=18315 |title=Kocharyan-Aliyev Meeting Over in Bucharest |publisher=Panarmenian.net |date=5 June 2006 |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090922155534/http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=18315 |archive-date=22 September 2009 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Earlier, Armenian President Kocharyan announced that he was ready to "continue dialogue with Azerbaijan for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and with Turkey on establishing relations without any preconditions".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=18307 |title=Yerevan Ready to Continue Dialogue with Baku for Karabakh Settlement |publisher=Panarmenian.net |date=5 June 2006 |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090922160315/http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=18307 |archive-date=22 September 2009 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

According to the Armenian foreign minister in 2006, [[Vardan Oskanyan]], no progress was made at this latest meeting. Both presidents failed to reach a consensus on the issues from the earlier Rambouillet conference. He noted that the Kocharyan-Aliyev meeting was held in a normal atmosphere. "Nevertheless," he added, "the foreign ministers of the two countries are commissioned to continue talks over the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and try to find common points before the next meeting of the presidents."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=18318&page=1 |title=No Progress at Kocharyan-Aliyev Meeting in Bucharest |website=Panarmenian.net |date=6 June 2006 |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090922155700/http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=18318&page=1 |archive-date=22 September 2009 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The major disagreement between both sides at the Bucharest conference was the status of Artsakh. Azerbaijan's preferred solution would be to give Artsakh the "highest status of autonomy adopted in the world".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.regnum.ru/english/polit/661396.html |title=Nagorno-Karabakh FM: Granting Autonomy To Nagorno-Karabakh Is Out of Baku Competence |publisher=Regnum.ru |access-date=6 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010182533/http://www.regnum.ru/english/polit/661396.html |archive-date=10 October 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Armenia, on the other hand, endorsed a popular vote by the inhabitants of Artsakh to decide their future, a position that was also taken by the{{which|date=October 2013}} international mediators.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.azatutyun.am/a/1582680.html |title=U.S. Confirms Vote Option For Karabakh |language=hy |newspaper=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» Ռադիոկայան |date=23 June 2006 |access-date=18 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220183556/http://www.azatutyun.am/a/1582680.html |archive-date=20 December 2016 |df=dmy-all |last1=ռ/կ |first1=Ազատություն}}</ref> On 27 June, the Armenian foreign minister said both parties agreed to allow the residents of Artsakh to vote regarding the future status of the region.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.azatutyun.am/a/1582740.html |title=Armenian, Azeri Leaders 'Agreed To Karabakh Referendum' |language=hy |newspaper=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» Ռադիոկայան |date=27 June 2006 |access-date=18 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220183537/http://www.azatutyun.am/a/1582740.html |archive-date=20 December 2016 |df=dmy-all |last1=ռ/կ |first1=Ազատություն}}</ref> The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially refuted that statement.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.today.az/news/politics/27642.html |title=Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry about latest statement of Armenia on Nagorno Karabakh |website=Today.az |date=27 June 2006 |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204194235/http://www.today.az/news/politics/27642.html |archive-date=4 February 2012 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> According to Azeri opposition leader [[Isa Gambar]], Azerbaijan did indeed agree to the referendum, but his claim was never substantiated.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.today.az/news/politics/27666.html |title=Isa Gambar: "Baku Gave OK on Referendum in Nagorno-Karabakh" |website=Today.az |date=28 June 2006 |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117185124/http://www.today.az/news/politics/27666.html |archive-date=17 January 2012 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

====2006 Prague Process====
The "Prague Process" overseen by the OSCE Minsk Group was brought into sharp relief in the summer of 2006 with a series of rare public revelations seemingly designed to jump-start the stalled negotiations. After the release in June of a paper outlining its position, which had until then been carefully guarded, U.S. State Department official [[Matthew Bryza]] told [[Radio Free Europe]] that the Minsk Group favoured a referendum in Karabakh that would determine its final status. The referendum, in the view of the OSCE, should take place not in Azerbaijan as a whole, but in Artsakh only. This was a blow to Azerbaijan, and despite talk that their government might eventually seek a more sympathetic forum for future negotiations, this did not occur.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?id=16482 |title=Resources – Center for Security Studies &#124; ETH Zurich |language=de |website=Isn.ethz.ch |date=12 December 2016 |access-date=18 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080613225145/http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?id=16482 |archive-date=13 June 2008 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

====2007 Azerbaijan's PKK claim====
On 10 December 2007 Azerbaijan's deputy foreign minister said Azerbaijan would be prepared to conduct anti-terrorist operations in Nagorno-Karabakh against alleged bases of the [[Kurdistan Workers' Party]] (PKK).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.trendaz.com/index.shtml?show=news&newsid=1091985&lang=EN |title=Azerbaijan Prepared to Hold Anti-Terror Operations in Nagorno-Karabakh against Placement of Kurdish Gunmen |publisher=Trend News Agency |date=10 December 2007 |access-date=11 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080107095038/http://news.trendaz.com/index.shtml?show=news&newsid=1091985&lang=EN |archive-date=7 January 2008 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Vladimir Karapetian previously rejected the allegations as "fabricated" and suggested the accusations of the PKK presence were a form of provocation.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.regnum.ru/english/polit/927865.html |title=Vladimir Karapetyan: Allegations of PKK bases in Armenia and NK groundless provocation |publisher=Regnum |date=5 December 2007 |access-date=11 December 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080102141009/http://www.regnum.ru/english/polit/927865.html |archive-date=2 January 2008 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

===Armenian, Artsakh fundamental positions (c. 2007–10)===
Armenia did not recognise Azerbaijani claims to Nagorno-Karabakh and believed the territory should have self-determination.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.am/en/martsakh/ |title=Nagorno-Karabakh |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia |access-date=15 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104154057/http://www.mfa.am/en/martsakh/ |archive-date=4 November 2013 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Both the Armenian and Artsakhi governments emphasised that the independence of Artsakh was declared around the time the Soviet Union dissolved and its members became independent.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nkr.am/en/history-and-current-reality/79/ |title=Nagorno Karabagh Republic: History and Current Reality |author=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic |access-date=6 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100520180603/http://nkr.am/en/history-and-current-reality/79/ |archive-date=20 May 2010 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.armeniaforeignministry.com/news/inthenews/20090304_politique_president.html |title=Interview of President Serzh Sargsyan to "Politique Internationale" Journal |date=4 March 2009 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Armenia Official Site |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100429095118/http://www.armeniaforeignministry.com/news/inthenews/20090304_politique_president.html |archive-date=29 April 2010 |access-date=15 November 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Armenian government insisted that the government of Artsakh be part of any discussions on the region's future, and rejected ceding occupied territory or allowing refugees to return before talks on the region's status.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.armeniaforeignministry.com/pr_10/100216_balayan.html |title=Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia on a question of "Haylur" News Program |date=16 February 2010 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Armenia Official Site |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111111021626/http://www.armeniaforeignministry.com/pr_10/100216_balayan.html |archive-date=11 November 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In 2009, the president of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic [[Bako Sahakyan]] declared that "Artsakh will never be a part of Azerbaijan. Artsakh security should never be an article of commerce either. As to other issues, we are ready to discuss them with Azerbaijan".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/world/interviews/43148/ |title=Artsakh will never be a part of Azerbaijan |website=[[Panarmenian.net]] |date=4 February 2009 |access-date=5 September 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017195005/http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/world/interviews/43148/ |archive-date=17 October 2017 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> In 2010 president of Republic of Armenia [[Serzh Sargsyan]] in his speech in the Chatham House of the British Royal Institute of International Affairs declared that "Karabakh was never a part of independent Azerbaijan: it was annexed to Azerbaijan by a decision of the Soviet Union party body. The people of Karabakh never put up with this decision, and upon the first opportunity, seceded from the Soviet Union fully in line with the laws of the Soviet Union and the applicable international law".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2010/02/10/serzh-sargsyan7/ |title=Serzh Sargsyan: Karabakh was never a part of independent Azerbaijan |website=Panorama.am |date=10 February 2010 |access-date=5 September 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924065158/http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2010/02/10/serzh-sargsyan7/ |archive-date=24 September 2015 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

===Aliyev: fundamental position on Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh (2008)===
In 2008, Azerbaijani president [[Ilham Aliyev]] stated that "Nagorno-Karabakh will never be independent; the position is backed by international mediators as well; Armenia has to accept the reality" and that "in 1918, [[Yerevan]] was granted to the [[Armenians]]. It was a great mistake. The [[Erivan khanate|khanate of Iravan]] was [[Azeris|Azeri]] territory, the Armenians were guests here".<ref>{{Cite news |title=Azerbaijani president: Armenians are guests in Yerevan |url=http://www.regnum.ru/english/943595.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612043901/http://www.regnum.ru/english/943595.html |archive-date=12 June 2009 |work=[[REGNUM News Agency]] |date=17 January 2008}}</ref>

===UN, EU, Minsk Group diplomacy (2008–10)===
On 14 March 2008, the United Nations General Assembly passed a [[non-binding resolution]] by a vote of 39 to 7, with 100 abstentions, reaffirming Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, expressing support for that country's internationally recognised borders and demanding the immediate withdrawal of all Armenian forces from all occupied territories there. The resolution was supported mainly by members of the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]] (OIC) and [[GUAM]]. Azerbaijan is a member of both groups, which include other nations facing breakaway regions. The resolution was opposed by all three members of the [[OSCE]] Minsk Group.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/ga10693.doc.htm |title=UNO Department of Public Information. General Assembly adopts resolution reaffirming territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, demanding withdrawal of all Armenian forces |website=Un.org |date=14 March 2008 |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120703053626/http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/ga10693.doc.htm |archive-date=3 July 2012 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

On 20 May 2010, the [[European Parliament]] adopted a resolution "on the need for an [[EU Strategy for the South Caucasus|EU strategy for the South Caucasus]]", which states that the EU must pursue a strategy to promote stability, prosperity and conflict resolution in the South Caucasus.<ref>{{cite web |author=External relations |url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/030-74699-137-05-21-903-20100518IPR74698-17-05-2010-2010-false/default_en.htm |title=South Caucasus: EU must help stabilise the region, say MEPs |website=[[European Parliament]] |date=20 May 2010 |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524120154/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/030-74699-137-05-21-903-20100518IPR74698-17-05-2010-2010-false/default_en.htm |archive-date=24 May 2010}}</ref><ref name="europarl2010">{{Cite act |title=The need for an EU strategy for the South Caucasus |legislature=European Parliament |date=20 May 2010 |index=P7_TA(2010)0193 <!-- or 2009/2216(INI) or A7-0123/2010 or P7_TA-PROV(2010)0193 --> |type=Resolution |article=3,38 |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-7-2010-0193_EN.html |access-date=2022-07-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705191833/https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-7-2010-0193_EN.html |archive-date=5 July 2022 |url-status=live}} <!-- https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-7-2010-0193_EN.pdf -->
<!-- OLD REDIRECT VER. archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120622062932/http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-%2F%2FEP%2F%2FTEXT+TA+P7-TA-2010-0193+0+DOC+XML+V0%2F%2FEN&language=EN archive-date=22 June 2012 --></ref>{{rp|3,38}} The resolution "calls on the parties to intensify their peace talk efforts for the purpose of a settlement in the coming months, to show a more constructive attitude and to abandon preferences to perpetuate the status quo created by force and with no international legitimacy, creating in this way instability and prolonging the suffering of the war-affected populations; condemns the idea of a military solution and the heavy consequences of military force already used, and calls on both parties to avoid any further breaches of the 1994 ceasefire".<ref name="europarl2010"/>{{rp|6}} The resolution also calls for the withdrawal of Armenian forces from all occupied territories of Azerbaijan, accompanied by the deployment of international forces to be organised with respect of the UN Charter in order to provide the necessary security guarantees in a period of transition, which will ensure the security of the population of Artsakh and allow the displaced people to return to their homes and further conflicts caused by homelessness to be prevented; and states that the EU believes that the position according to which Artsakh includes all occupied Azerbaijani lands surrounding Artsakh should rapidly be abandoned.<ref name="europarl2010"/>{{rp|8,10}} It also notes "that an interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh could offer a solution until the final status is determined and that it could create a transitional framework for peaceful coexistence and cooperation of Armenian and Azerbaijani populations in the region."<ref name="europarl2010"/>{{rp|10}}

On 26 June 2010, the presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group's co-chair countries, France, Russia, and United States made a joint statement, reaffirming their "commitment to support the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan as they finalize the Basic Principles for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/g8-summit-joint-statement-nagorno-karabakh-conflict-dmitry-medvedev-president-russi |title=G8 Summit: Joint Statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict by Dmitry Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation, Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, and Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the French Republic |date=26 June 2010 |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205211749/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/g8-summit-joint-statement-nagorno-karabakh-conflict-dmitry-medvedev-president-russi |archive-date=5 February 2017 |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |work=[[whitehouse.gov]] |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

===Armenian position (2019)===
During his August 2019 visit to Stepanakert, the [[Prime Minister of Armenia]] [[Nikol Pashinyan]] presented the strategic development goals set for Armenia for the next three decades. He added that he made no special provision for Nagorno-Karabakh because "Artsakh is Armenia and there is no alternative".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://armenpress.am/eng/news/983950/ |title=Artsakh is Armenia and there is no alternative – Pashinyan |date=5 August 2019 |work=Armenpress |access-date=2019-08-06 |language=en-US |archive-date=5 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805230207/https://armenpress.am/eng/news/983950/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Soon afterwards, Armenia's Foreign Minister [[Zohrab Mnatsakanyan]] commented on Pashinyan's statement by saying he had "nothing to add" to Pashinyan's formulation of Armenia's position in the conflict.<ref name="markovic">{{cite web |last=Markovic |first=B. |date=16 August 2019 |title=Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: crisis of diplomacy, saber rattling of the military |url=https://caucasuswatch.de/news/1937.html |website=Caucasus Watch |access-date=25 April 2021 |archive-date=25 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425034154/https://caucasuswatch.de/news/1937.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Displacement, landmines problem during conflict (1988–2023) ==
{{See also|Political status of Nagorno-Karabakh}}
{{Update section|date=November 2020}}

===Displaced people===
====Azeri and other non-Armenian refugees====
{{See also|Refugees in Azerbaijan}}

The first Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resulted in the displacement of 597,000 Azerbaijanis (this figure includes 230,000 children born to [[internally displaced person|internally displaced people]] (IDPs) and 54,000 who had returned)<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |url=http://www.internal-displacement.org/europe-the-caucasus-and-central-asia/azerbaijan/2014/azerbaijan-after-more-than-20-years-idps-still-urgently-need-policies-to-support-full-integration/ |title=IDMC » Azerbaijan: After more than 20 years, IDPs still urgently need policies to support full integration |website=www.internal-displacement.org |language=en-US |access-date=2017-11-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917104257/http://www.internal-displacement.org/europe-the-caucasus-and-central-asia/azerbaijan/2014/azerbaijan-after-more-than-20-years-idps-still-urgently-need-policies-to-support-full-integration |archive-date=17 September 2017 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> including Artsakh,{{clarification needed|date=April 2024}} and 220,000 Azeris, 18,000 Kurds and 3,500 Russians fled from Armenia to Azerbaijan from 1988 to 1989. The Azerbaijani government estimated that 63% of IDPs lived below the poverty line, compared to 49% of the total population. About 154,000 lived in the capital, Baku. According to the [[International Organization for Migration]], 40,000 IDPs lived in camps, 60,000 in dugout shelters, and 20,000 in railway cars. Forty-thousand IDPs lived in EU-funded settlements and UNHCR provided housing for another 40,000. Another 5,000 IDPs lived in abandoned or rapidly deteriorating schools. Others lived in trains, on roadsides in half-constructed buildings, or in public buildings such as tourist and health facilities. Tens of thousands lived in seven tent camps where poor water supply and sanitation caused [[gastrointestinal infection]]s, [[tuberculosis]], and [[malaria]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hundreds of thousands of people displaced |work=[[Amnesty International]] |date=28 June 2007 |url=http://news.amnesty.org.au/news/comments/hundreds_of_thousands_of_people_displaced/ |access-date=20 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070902091342/http://news.amnesty.org.au/news/comments/hundreds_of_thousands_of_people_displaced/ |archive-date=2 September 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Azerbaijan Republic: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper |date=April 2003 |journal=IMF Country Report |issue=3 |volume=105 |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |via=UNESCO Planipolis |url=https://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/sites/default/files/ressources/azerbaijan_prsp.pdf |access-date=20 April 2022 |archive-date=5 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605015439/https://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/sites/default/files/ressources/azerbaijan_prsp.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

The government required IDPs to register their place of residence in an attempt to better target the limited and largely inadequate national and international assistance due to the Armenian advocated and US imposed restrictions on humanitarian aid to Azerbaijan. Many IDPs were from rural areas and found it difficult to integrate into the urban labour market. Many international humanitarian agencies reduced or ceased assistance for IDPs citing increasing oil revenues of the country.<ref name="wrs2005">{{Cite web |url=http://www.refugees.org/countryreports.aspx?cid=1301 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080107111430/http://www.refugees.org/countryreports.aspx?cid=1301 |url-status=dead |title=World Refugee Survey: Azerbaijan report 2005 |archive-date=7 January 2008}}</ref> The infant mortality among displaced Azerbaijani children was 3–4 times higher than in the rest of the population. The rate of [[stillbirth]] was 88.2 per 1,000 births among the internally displaced people. As of 2003, the majority of the displaced had lived in difficult conditions for more than 13 years.<ref name="gidp">{{cite report |publisher=Norwegian Refugee Council – Global IDP Project |title=Profile of Internal Displacement: Azerbaijan |date=5 May 2003 |via=NRC – IDMC |url=http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004BE3B1/%28httpInfoFiles%29/84086FC6C659F7FAC125710E004D14B8/$file/Azerbaijan%20-May%202003.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071128073659/http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004BE3B1/%28httpInfoFiles%29/84086FC6C659F7FAC125710E004D14B8/%24file/Azerbaijan%20-May%202003.pdf |archive-date=28 November 2007}}</ref>

During the [[Second Nagorno-Karabakh War|2020 war]] [[Ilham Aliyev|President Aliyev]] stated he intended for refugees to return to the area.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.azerbaycan24.com/en/president-aliyev-after-that-we-will-work-on-return-of-azerbaijani-refugees-to-nagorno-karabakh-nbsp/ |title=President Aliyev: After that we will work on return of Azerbaijani refugees to Nagorno-Karabakh |work=AZƏRBAYCAN 24 |date=9 November 2020 |access-date=28 November 2020 |archive-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314185729/https://www.azerbaycan24.com/en/president-aliyev-after-that-we-will-work-on-return-of-azerbaijani-refugees-to-nagorno-karabakh-nbsp/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/1/azeri-forces-raise-flag-in-last-district-handed-back-by-armenia |title=Azerbaijan fully reclaims lands around Nagorno-Karabakh |work=Aljazeera |date=1 December 2020 |access-date=4 December 2020 |archive-date=3 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203185256/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/1/azeri-forces-raise-flag-in-last-district-handed-back-by-armenia |url-status=live}}</ref> While many former cities are currently uninhabitable,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/south-central-asia_azerbaijanis-who-fled-war-look-return-home-if-it-exists/6198678.html |title=Azerbaijanis Who Fled War Look to Return Home, If It Exists |agency=Associated Press |work=VOA |date=22 November 2020 |access-date=28 November 2020 |archive-date=28 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128020033/https://www.voanews.com/south-central-asia/azerbaijanis-who-fled-war-look-return-home-if-it-exists |url-status=live}}</ref> the Azerbaijani government and some Azerbaijani companies have announced plans to rebuild infrastructure and invest in the newly controlled territories.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://caspiannews.com/news-detail/azerbaijani-president-visits-liberated-districts-vows-to-rebuild-damaged-villages-and-cities-2020-11-18-49/ |title=Azerbaijani President Visits Liberated Districts, Vows to Rebuild Damaged Villages and Cities |last=Mehdiyev |first=Mushvig |work=Caspian News |date=19 November 2020 |access-date=28 November 2020 |archive-date=20 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120061849/https://caspiannews.com/news-detail/azerbaijani-president-visits-liberated-districts-vows-to-rebuild-damaged-villages-and-cities-2020-11-18-49/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-starts-rebuilding-in-newly-won-territories |title=Azerbaijan starts rebuilding in newly won territories |last=Natiqqizi |first=Ulkar |work=Eurasianet |date=19 November 2020 |access-date=28 November 2020 |archive-date=19 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119135426/https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-starts-rebuilding-in-newly-won-territories |url-status=live}}</ref> The Azerbaijani military is clearing mines prior to resettlement, which may take 10–13 years.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://jam-news.net/who-controls-what-in-karabakh-and-regions-news-azerbaijan-lachin-withdrawal-of-armenian-troops-russian-peacekeepers/ |title=Azerbaijani army enters Lachin: who's where in Karabakh – an overview |work=JAMnews |date=1 December 2020 |access-date=6 December 2020 |archive-date=1 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201175342/https://jam-news.net/who-controls-what-in-karabakh-and-regions-news-azerbaijan-lachin-withdrawal-of-armenian-troops-russian-peacekeepers/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

====Armenian refugees====
{{further|Flight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians}}
280,000 people{{snd}}virtually all ethnic Armenians who fled Azerbaijan during the 1988–1993 war over the disputed region of Artsakh{{snd}}were living in refugee-like circumstances in Armenia.<ref name="wrs2001"/> Some left the country, principally to Russia. Their children born in Armenia acquire citizenship automatically. Their numbers are thus subject to constant decline due to departure, and de-registration required for naturalisation. Of these, about 250,000 fled Azerbaijan (areas outside Nagorno-Karabakh); approximately 30,000 came from Nagorno-Karabakh. All were registered with the government as refugees at year's end.<ref name="wrs2001">{{Citation |publisher=US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants |work=World Refugee Survey – Country Reports |title=Armenia – 2001 |date=January 2001 |url=http://www.refugees.org/countryreports.aspx?__VIEWSTATE=dDwxMTA1OTA4MTYwOztsPENvdW50cnlERDpHb0J1dHRvbjs%2BPrImhOOqDI29eBMz8b04PTi8xjW2&cid=558&subm=&ssm=&map=&_ctl0%3ASearchInput=+KEYWORD+SEARCH&CountryDD%3ALocationList= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080107111423/http://www.refugees.org/countryreports.aspx?__VIEWSTATE=dDwxMTA1OTA4MTYwOztsPENvdW50cnlERDpHb0J1dHRvbjs%2BPrImhOOqDI29eBMz8b04PTi8xjW2&cid=558&subm=&ssm=&map=&_ctl0%3ASearchInput=+KEYWORD+SEARCH&CountryDD%3ALocationList= |archive-date=7 January 2008}} According to the Nagorno Karabakh Republic information, Some 350,000 Armenians were expelled from Azerbaijan and some 36,000 of them came to Nagorno Karabakh. Additionally some 71,000 Karabakh Armenians were internally displaced; see: {{cite web |url=http://www.nkrusa.org/nk_conflict/assets/Fact_Sheet_on_Refugees_&_IDP_2006-05-16.pdf |title=Fact Sheet: Refugees & Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) In Nagorno Karabakh |date=May 2006 |publisher=The Office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) in the USA |location=Washington, DC |access-date=9 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927154430/http://www.nkrusa.org/nk_conflict/assets/Fact_Sheet_on_Refugees_%26_IDP_2006-05-16.pdf |archive-date=27 September 2011}}</ref>

===Land mines===
{{main|Land mine situation in Nagorno-Karabakh}}
Mines were laid in the region from 1991 to 1994 by both conflicting parties in the [[first Nagorno-Karabakh War]]. In 2005, the [[United Nations Development Program]] (UNDP) claimed that 123 people had been killed and over 300 injured by landmines near Nagorno-Karabakh since the 1994 truce.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/12/2ddee253-7702-4739-adf4-69437770a55c.html |title=UN: More Than 100 Killed By Mines Near Nagorno-Karabakh – Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty 2009 |publisher=Rferl.org |date=24 December 2005 |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706083350/http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/12/2ddee253-7702-4739-adf4-69437770a55c.html |archive-date=6 July 2008 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

[[HALO Trust]], a UK-based demining NGO, was the only international organisation conducting [[demining]] in Nagorno-Karabakh.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.halotrust.org/operational_areas/caucaus_balkans/nagorno_karabakh/requirements.aspx |title=The HALO Trust – A charity specialising in the removal of the debris of war :: Requirement for continued clearance |date=25 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100625050104/http://www.halotrust.org/operational_areas/caucaus_balkans/nagorno_karabakh/requirements.aspx |archive-date=25 June 2010 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> They destroyed 180,858 small arms ammunition, 48,572 units of "other explosive items", 12,423 cluster bombs, 8,733 anti-personnel landmines, and 2,584 anti-tank landmines between 2000 and 2016.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gregorian |first1=Alin |title=Three HALO Trust Workers Killed in Artsakh |url=https://mirrorspectator.com/2018/04/05/three-halo-trust-workers-killed-in-artsakh/ |access-date=November 24, 2019 |publisher=The Armenian Mirror-Spectator |date=April 5, 2018 |archive-date=6 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806204759/https://mirrorspectator.com/2018/04/05/three-halo-trust-workers-killed-in-artsakh/ |url-status=live}}</ref> By 2018, they had cleared 88% of the territory's minefields, with a target to clear the rest by 2020. The main cities of [[Stepanakert]] and [[Shusha]], as well as the main north–south highway, had been cleared and were safe for travel. The demining effort had been largely funded by the [[United States Agency for International Development]] (USAID).<ref>{{cite news |title=HALO Trust-ը՝ Ղարաբաղում ականազերծման ծրագրի կարեւորության վերաբերյալ |url=https://www.amerikayidzayn.com/a/5045546.html |access-date=November 24, 2019 |publisher=Voice of America |date=August 17, 2019 |archive-date=15 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215140952/https://www.amerikayidzayn.com/a/5045546.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Economy==
{{main|Economy of the Republic of Artsakh}}{{Update section|date=September 2023}}[[File:Stepanakert downtown 2015.jpg|thumb|A hotel in downtown Stepanakert]]
The socio-economic situation of the Republic of Artsakh was greatly affected by the 1991–1994 conflict. Yet, foreign investments began to come. The origin of most venture capital comes from Armenians in Armenia, Russia, United States, France, Australia, Iran, and the Middle East.

Notably the telecommunications sector was developed with Karabakh Telecom<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.karabakhtelecom.com/ |title=Karabakh Telecom site |publisher=Karabakhtelecom.com |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504204242/http://www.karabakhtelecom.com/ |archive-date=4 May 2012 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> investing millions of dollars in mobile telephony, spearheaded by a Lebanese company. Karabakh Telecom was disconnected from external communication on 27 September 2023, calls and internet traffic to the Nagorno-Karabakh region are carried out from then on only through telecom operators and providers of Azerbaijan.<ref>{{cite news |title="Karabakh Telecom," created by separatists, is disconnected from external communication |url=https://www.turan.az/ext/news/2023/9/free/politics_news/en/9176.htm |website=Turan Information Agency |date=September 30, 2023 |publisher=Turan Information Agency |access-date=30 September 2023 |archive-date=28 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928004233/https://www.turan.az/ext/news/2023/9/free/politics_news/en/9176.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Copper and gold mining has been advancing since 2002 with development and launch of operations at [[Drmbon]] deposit.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bm.am/en/about/history.htm |title=Base Metals LLC – History |publisher=Bm.am |date=7 October 2002 |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418113129/http://www.bm.am/en/about/history.htm |archive-date=18 April 2012 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Approximately 27–28 thousand tons (wet weight) of concentrates are produced<ref>{{cite web |url=http://stat-nkr.am/files/yearbooks/2002_2008/15_Prom.pdf |title=Statistical Yearbook of NKR 2002–2008, p. 169 |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402050819/http://stat-nkr.am/files/yearbooks/2002_2008/15_Prom.pdf |archive-date=2 April 2012 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> with average copper content of 19–21% and gold content of 32–34 g/t.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bm.am/en/group/product.htm |title=Base Metals LLC – Product |publisher=Bm.am |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117170551/http://www.bm.am/en/group/product.htm |archive-date=17 January 2012 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Azerbaijan considers any mining operations in Nagorno-Karabakh illegal and has vowed to engage an international audit company to determine the damages suffered by Azerbaijan's state-run ore management company as a result. In 2018, the government of Azerbaijan announced that it was planning to appeal to an international court and the law enforcement agencies of the countries where the mining companies involved are registered.<ref>{{Citation |title=Azerbaijan to prosecute mining in Karabakh |work=[[Meydan TV]] |date=3 April 2018 |url=https://www.meydan.tv/en/article/azerbaijan-to-prosecute-mining-in-karabakh/?ref=search |access-date=3 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306043625/https://www.meydan.tv/en/article/azerbaijan-to-prosecute-mining-in-karabakh/?ref=search |archive-date=6 March 2019}}</ref>

The banking system was administered by [[Artsakhbank]] (a Yerevan-based Armenian bank fulfilling the functions of the state bank of Nagorno-Karabakh) and a number of other Armenian banks. The republic used the [[Armenian dram]].

Wine growing and processing of agricultural products, particularly wine (i.e., storage of wine, wine stuffs, cognac alcohol) was one of the prioritised directions of the economic development.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.armeniaforeignministry.com/fr/nk/nk.pdf |title=Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh: Process of State Building at the Crossroad of Centuries |year=2009 |publisher="Institute of Political Research" SNCO |access-date=22 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111111023430/http://www.armeniaforeignministry.com/fr/nk/nk.pdf |archive-date=11 November 2011}}</ref>

===Tourism===
[[File:Karmir-shuka.jpeg|thumb|[[Karmir Shuka]]]]
The republic developed a tourist industry geared to Armenia and the [[Armenian diaspora]]. The republic showed a major increase in tourists over the last several years of its existence because of Artsakh's many cultural sights. Before the 2020 war there were nine<ref name="Solutions">{{Cite web |url=https://www.armhotels.am/EN/Hotels/Search/Results?destination=56 |title=Search Hotels – Stepanakert |website=armhotels.am |language=en |access-date=2017-05-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812140858/https://www.armhotels.am/EN/Hotels/Search/Results?destination=56 |archive-date=12 August 2017}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=June 2022}} hotels in [[Stepanakert]]. The Artsakh development agency said 4,000 tourists visited Artsakh in 2005. The figures rose to 8,000 in 2010 (excluding visitors from Armenia).<ref>{{cite web |script-title=ru:В мире растет интерес к Арцаху |trans-title=Interest in Artsakh is growing in the world |language=ru |website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic |date=24 January 2011 |url=http://nkr.am/ru/news/2011-01-24/329/ |access-date=13 April 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526162252/http://www.nkr.am/ru/news/2011-01-24/329/ |archive-date=26 May 2011}}</ref> The agency cooperated with the Armenia Tourism Development Agency (ATDA) as Armenia is the only way tourists (mainly Armenians) could access Artsakh. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh reported continuous expansion of visitors' geography.<ref>{{cite news |title=Geography of the visitors to the NKR keeps on expanding |url=http://www.nkr.am/en/news/2008-12-18/117/ |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic |date=18 December 2008 |access-date=25 August 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927154833/http://www.nkr.am/en/news/2008-12-18/117/ |archive-date=27 September 2011 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Tourist infrastructure was developed around sites such as monasteries that showcase the Armenian history in the region,<ref name="Toal"/> with Islamic sites rarely restored,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://eurasianet.org/karabakhs-contentious-mosque-restoration |title=Karabakh's contentious mosque restoration |last=Kucera |first=Joshua |work=Erasianet |date=4 December 2019 |access-date=10 January 2021 |archive-date=2 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102024938/https://eurasianet.org/karabakhs-contentious-mosque-restoration |url-status=live}}</ref> while some ghost cities and areas near the front line were off limit to tourists.<ref name="Toal"/>

The Tourism Development Agency of Artsakh was established in Yerevan as a non-governmental organisation in the Republic of Armenia to promote tourism further in Artsakh. It made preparations for tour operators, travel agencies and journalists covering the region, and arranges for hotel services, shopping, catering, and recreation centres.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Tourist attractions included:
* [[Gandzasar monastery]], main tourist attraction.
* [[Ghazanchetsots Cathedral]] of the Holy Savior (Under Azerbaijani control since 2020 war)
* Church of the Holy Mother of God "[[Kanach Zham]]" (Under Azerbaijani control since 2020 war)
* [[Amaras Monastery]]
* [[Tsitsernavank Monastery]] (Under Azerbaijani control since 2020 war)
* St. [[Yeghishe Arakyal Monastery]]
* [[Dadivank Monastery]]
* [[Gtichavank monastery]] (Under Azerbaijani control since 2020 war)
* Bri Yeghtsi monastery
* [[Yeritsmankants Monastery|Yerits Mankants]]
* [[Katarovank Monastery]] (Under Azerbaijani control since 2020 war)

Other tourist attractions included:
* Fort Mayraberd (10th–18th centuries) served as the primary bulwark against Turko-nomadic incursions from the eastern steppe. The fort is found to the east of the region's capital city of [[Stepanakert]].
* Govharagha Mosque (18th century), a mosque located in the city of Shusha, now under Azerbaijani control.

[[Janapar]] Trail is a marked trail, through mountains, valleys, and villages of Artsakh, with monasteries and fortresses along the way.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.janapartrail.org/wiki/Main_Page |title=Janapar Trail |access-date=3 January 2021 |archive-date=28 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028205617/http://www.janapartrail.org/wiki/Main_Page |url-status=live}}</ref> It is not hikable since the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. The trail was broken into day hikes, which brought tourists to a different village each night.<ref>{{Cite magazine |magazine=Walk |publisher=[[The Ramblers]] |date=Summer 2009 |title=Up the Garden Path |pages=67–69 |first=Laurence |last=Mitchell |url=https://www.ramblers.org.uk/news/walk-magazine.aspx |access-date=2022-06-30 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=12 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220712070414/http://www.ramblers.org.uk/news/walk-magazine.aspx |url-status=live}}</ref> The paths have existed for centuries but now are marked specifically for hikers. The Himnakan Janapar (backbone trail), marked in 2007, leads from the northwest region of [[Shahumian]] to the southern town of [[Hadrut (town)|Hadrut]], now under Azerbaijani control. Side trails and mini trails take one to additional parts of Artsakh. The important sites passed along this hike include [[Dadivank Monastery]], [[Gandzasar monastery]], [[Shusha]], the Karkar Canyon with its high cliffs, Zontik Waterfall, and the ruins of Hunot and [[Gtichavank]] monastery.

One of the noteworthy side trails is the Gtichavank Loop Trail. This loop starts from [[Tugh]] Village, now under Azerbaijani control.

However, those who travelled to Artsakh without the Azerbaijani government's prior consent and permission were denied entry to Azerbaijan since the country considered Artsakh their territory unlawfully occupied by the [[Armed Forces of Armenia|Armenian army]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Warning for the foreign nationals wishing to travel to the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan |url=http://www.mfa.gov.az/en/content/939 |publisher=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Azerbaijan)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan]] |access-date=23 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201042619/http://www.mfa.gov.az/en/content/939 |archive-date=1 December 2017 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The Azerbaijani government also kept and published online a list of foreign nationals who visited these occupied areas without prior approval.<ref>{{cite web |title=List of foreign citizens illegally visited occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan |url=http://mfa.gov.az/en/content/915 |publisher=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Azerbaijan)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan]] |access-date=23 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710111842/http://mfa.gov.az/en/content/915 |archive-date=10 July 2017 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> In late 2017, the list contained 699 names with additional details (date, country, profession, purpose of visit). The earliest entry recorded a visit to Artsakh that occurred on an unspecified date sometime between 1993 and 1996. The list included many journalists and members of parliaments of foreign countries.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

==== Artsakh Wine Fest ====
{{main|Artsakh Wine Fest}}
[[File:Artcraft.jpg|thumb|Exhibition of artworks at Artsakh Wine Fest]]
Before the 2020 war, the [[Artsakh Wine Fest]] took place annually in [[Togh]] since 2014. The festival was held on the third Saturday of each September.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://aparaj.am/?post_type=post&p=8963 |script-title=hy:Գինու փառատոն Արցախում |trans-title=Wine festival in Artsakh |date=18 October 2014 |website=Ապառաժ – Նորություններ Արցախից [Aparaj – Artsakh News] |language=hy-AM |access-date=2019-09-27 |archive-date=13 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113131936/https://aparaj.am/%d5%a3%d5%ab%d5%b6%d5%b8%d6%82-%d6%83%d5%a1%d5%bc%d5%a1%d5%bf%d5%b8%d5%b6-%d5%a1%d6%80%d6%81%d5%a1%d5%ad%d5%b8%d6%82%d5%b4/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The festival was initiated by the Department of Tourism and Protection of Historical Places of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Youth Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh and was aimed to develop tourism in Artsakh.<ref>{{Cite web |script-title=hy:Գինու փառատոն Արցախում |trans-title=Wine festival in Artsakh |language=hy-AM |date=3 March 2015 |website=Արմարլուր – Armenia Artsakh News |url=http://armarlur.com/%d5%a3%d5%ab%d5%b6%d5%b8%d6%82-%d6%83%d5%a1%d5%bc%d5%a1%d5%bf%d5%b8%d5%b6-%d5%a1%d6%80%d6%81%d5%a1%d5%ad%d5%b8%d6%82%d5%b4/ |access-date=2019-09-27 |archive-date=11 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211004628/http://armarlur.com/%d5%a3%d5%ab%d5%b6%d5%b8%d6%82-%d6%83%d5%a1%d5%bc%d5%a1%d5%bf%d5%b8%d5%b6-%d5%a1%d6%80%d6%81%d5%a1%d5%ad%d5%b8%d6%82%d5%b4/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> It was meant to restore Artsakh [[winemaking]] traditions. The festival provided a platform to the winemakers of Artsakh and Armenia giving them an opportunity to sell their products, exchange knowledge, promote their wine etc. The annual festival's program included grape stomping, tasting of traditional Artsakh cuisine, an exhibition of artworks, an exhibition of ancient artefacts that belonged to the Melik Yegan's Palace, as well as an exhibition and sale of local wine, where one could find products from 5 different regions of Artsakh and [[Armenia]]. Traditionally, the festival was accompanied by Armenian national singing and dancing. The festival evolved into a national holiday.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Sixth Artsakh Wine festival held in the Togh village of Artsakh's Hadrut region |type=Photo essay |date=21 September 2019 |website=Artsakh Press |language=en |url=https://artsakhpress.am/eng/news/113874/toxum---kayacel--e--arcakhyan-ginu-6-rd-paratony-masnakcum--ein--ereq---tasnyakic--aveli-ginegortsner---lusankarner.html |access-date=2019-09-27 |archive-date=30 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220930152723/https://artsakhpress.am/eng/news/113874/toxum---kayacel--e--arcakhyan-ginu-6-rd-paratony-masnakcum--ein--ereq---tasnyakic--aveli-ginegortsner---lusankarner.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Transportation===
[[File:Stepanakert Airport Daytime.JPG|thumb|[[Stepanakert Airport]]]]

The transportation system had been damaged by the 1991–1994 conflict. The North–South Artsakh motorway alone largely facilitated the development of the transportation system.<ref name="Armenia Fund USA">{{cite news |title=North-South Highway: The Backbone of Karabakh |url=http://www.armeniafundusa.org/projects/north-south.htm |publisher=Armenia Fund USA |access-date=15 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517114007/http://www.armeniafundusa.org/projects/north-south.htm |archive-date=17 May 2014 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Before the 2020 war, the {{convert|169|km|adj=on}} Hadrut-Stepanakert-Askeran-Martakert motorway was the lifeline of Artsakh, and $25 million donated during the Hayastan All-Armenian Foundation telethons was allotted for the construction of the road.<ref name="Armenia Fund USA" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Karabakh hopes for recognition – from investors |url=http://www.russiajournal.com/node/3984  |first1=Kristine |last1=Petrosian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517122126/http://www.russiajournal.com/node/3984 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=17 May 2014 |publisher=Russia Journal |date=7 October 2000 |access-date=15 May 2014}}</ref> A new route from the Armenian capital [[Yerevan]] to Stepanakert was planned to bypass the 8–9 hours drive via the Lachin corridor.<ref>{{cite news |title=It'll take 3 hours to drive from Yerevan to Stepanakert through new highway being constructed by Hayastan fund |url=http://arka.am/en/news/economy/it_ll_take_3_hours_to_drive_from_yerevan_to_stepanakert_through_new_highway_being_constructed_by_hay/ |publisher=Arka |date=13 May 2013 |access-date=15 May 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517151358/http://arka.am/en/news/economy/it_ll_take_3_hours_to_drive_from_yerevan_to_stepanakert_through_new_highway_being_constructed_by_hay/ |archive-date=17 May 2014 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> It was opened in September 2017.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://armenianweekly.com/2017/09/01/new-highway-linking-armenia-and-artsakh-inaugurated/ |title=New Highway Linking Armenia and Artsakh Inaugurated |work=The Armenian Weekly |date=1 September 2017 |access-date=31 December 2020 |archive-date=4 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204072918/https://armenianweekly.com/2017/09/01/new-highway-linking-armenia-and-artsakh-inaugurated/ |url-status=live}}</ref> A third road was planned in 2019.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://eurasianet.org/armenia-and-karabakh-announce-construction-of-third-connecting-highway |title=Armenia and Karabakh announce construction of third connecting highway |last=Kucera |first=Joshua |work=eurasianet |date=25 July 2019 |access-date=31 December 2020 |archive-date=10 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110140853/https://eurasianet.org/armenia-and-karabakh-announce-construction-of-third-connecting-highway |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://neweasterneurope.eu/2020/11/12/the-battle-for-shusha-the-cauldron-of-generational-pain-at-the-heart-of-the-nagorno-karabakh-war/ |title=The battle for Shusha: the cauldron of generational pain at the heart of the Nagorno-Karabakh war |last=Farrell |first=Francis |work=New Eastern Europe |date=12 November 2020 |access-date=31 December 2020 |archive-date=28 November 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201128174107/https://neweasterneurope.eu/2020/11/12/the-battle-for-shusha-the-cauldron-of-generational-pain-at-the-heart-of-the-nagorno-karabakh-war/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Authorities in the USSR opened a railway line in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast in 1944. It connected the capital, Stepanakert, and [[Yevlax]] in Azerbaijan. It was built to [[Russian gauge]] of 1520mm. Due to the first Nagorno-Karabakh War, the line the railway was badly damaged and the line was closed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Railways in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) |last=Williams |first=Glyn |date=2020 |website=Glyn Williams' Home Page |url=https://www.sinfin.net/railways/world/nk.html#:~:text=(Nagorno%2DKarabakh)&text=The%20first%20and%20only%20railway,Russian%20standard%20gauge%20of%201520mm. |access-date=2022-06-30 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508223006/https://www.sinfin.net/railways/world/nk.html |archive-date=2021-05-08}}</ref>

[[Stepanakert Airport]], the sole civilian airport of the Republic of Artsakh, located about {{convert|8|km|0|abbr=off}} east of the capital, has been closed since the onset of the war in 1990. It was expected that the airport would have regular flight services only to [[Yerevan Airport|Yerevan]], [[Armenia]], with state-owned carrier [[Artsakh Air]],<ref name="RFE January 27, 2011">{{cite web |date=January 27, 2011 |title=Nagorno-Karabakh Airport Preparing For First Flights In Decades |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/nagorno_karabakh_airport_preparing_for_first_flights_in_decades/2288735.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110130222516/http://www.rferl.org/content/nagorno_karabakh_airport_preparing_for_first_flights_in_decades/2288735.html |archive-date=30 January 2011 |access-date=28 January 2011 |publisher=RFE/RL}}</ref> but no flights had ever started.<ref>{{cite web |first=Ani |last=Mejlumyan |date=8 April 2021 |title=Karabakh's airport still waiting for takeoff |website=[[Eurasianet]] |url=https://eurasianet.org/karabakhs-airport-still-waiting-for-takeoff |access-date=5 June 2022 |archive-date=5 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605152656/https://eurasianet.org/karabakhs-airport-still-waiting-for-takeoff |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Communications===
Karabakh Telecom (KT), the only telecommunications company in Artsakh, was started on February 1, 2002<ref>{{cite web |title=Karabakh Telecom site |url=http://www.karabakhtelecom.com |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504204242/http://www.karabakhtelecom.com/ |archive-date=2012-05-04 |accessdate=2012-05-06 |publisher=Karabakhtelecom.com}}</ref> by the Lebanese-Armenian businessman and Chairman [[Pierre Fattouch]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=About us – Karabakh Telecom |url=http://kt.am/en/about-us/7/#.YH8Lw-hKhPY |access-date=2020-04-15 |website=kt.am |archive-date=9 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009092917/http://kt.am/en/about-us/7/#.YH8Lw-hKhPY |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2019, Fattouch was charged with tax evasion in Lebanon and in July 2019 a Lebanese Prosecutor General ordered a closure of quarries owned by Fattouch for failure to acquire a legal license.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Decision to close Pierre Fattouch's quarries in Dahr al-Baydar |url=https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/lebanon-news/459115/decision-to-close-pierre-fattouchs-quarries-in-dah/en |access-date=2020-04-15 |website=LBCI Lebanon |language=en}}</ref> On December 10, 2020, the [[Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project|Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP)]] investigated the offshore firm '''Crossbridge Capital''', which manages billions in shareholder assets, including those of Pierre Fattouch.<ref>{{Cite web |first1=Tom |last1=Stocks |first2=Riad |last2=Kobaissi |first3=Rana |last3=Sabbagh |first4=Alia |last4=Ibrahim|title=Offshore Firm Tied To Lebanon Central Bank Governor Sold Stock to Bank He Regulates |url=https://www.occrp.org/en/investigations/offshore-firm-tied-to-lebanon-central-bank-governor-sold-stock-to-bank-he-regulates |access-date=2020-04-15 |website=OCCRP |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Pierre Fattouch  |title=ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database |url=https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/nodes/56102672 |access-date=2020-04-15 |website=offshoreleaks.icij.org}}</ref> KT was also run by the General Director Ralf Yerikian, a Lebanese-born businessman of Armenian origin.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2002-02-13 |title="Karabakh Telecom" Begins Operations |url=https://asbarez.com/46377/karabakh-telecom-begins-operations/ |access-date=2020-04-15 |website=Asbarez.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The company was considered a CJSC, a closed [[joint stock company]], in which shares of company stock can be bought or sold by shareholders. The company had USD $9.9 million in revenue in the 4th quarter of 2019. From Q1 of 2020 until Q2 of 2021, it shared the same amount in revenue for every quarter – USD $11.1 million. The company has not publicly disclosed their accurate financials between 2020 and 2021. It has invested over USD $12 millions in mobile telecommunication projects throughout Artsakh.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

==Demographics==
{{main|Demographics of the Republic of Artsakh}}
{{Update section|date=September 2023}}
[[File:Tumo Stepanakert.jpg|thumb|Children at [[Tumo Center for Creative Technologies|Tumo Center]] Artsakh branch]]

In September 2023, over half of Artsakh's ethnic Armenian population fled the country. According to Armenian Prime Minister [[Nikol Pashinyan]], 100,417 people arrived in Armenia from Artsakh.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/30/almost-all-ethnic-armenians-have-left-nagorno-karabakh-azerbaijan |title=Almost all ethnic Armenians have left Nagorno-Karabakh |newspaper=The Guardian |date=30 September 2023 |access-date=30 September 2023 |archive-date=30 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930151051/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/30/almost-all-ethnic-armenians-have-left-nagorno-karabakh-azerbaijan |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2015, the country's population was 145,000, made up of 99.7% Armenians.<ref name="2015 Census"/> This composition represents a sharp change from the 1979 and 1989 census, when the Azerbaijani population was 23 and 21.5 per cent, respectively. The annual birth rate was recorded at 2,200–2,300 per year, an increase from nearly 1,500 in 1999.

OSCE report, released in March 2011, estimates the population of the "seven occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh" to be 14,000, and states "there has been no significant growth in the population since 2005."<ref>{{cite news |title=Azerbaijani Party Appeals To OSCE About Armenian Resettlement |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/azerbaijani_party_appeals_to_osce_about_armenian_resettlement/24104655.html |access-date=13 May 2011 |newspaper=[[RFERL]] |date=13 May 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516054059/http://www.rferl.org/content/azerbaijani_party_appeals_to_osce_about_armenian_resettlement/24104655.html |archive-date=16 May 2011 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Executive Summary of the "Report of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs' Field Assessment Mission to the Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan Surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh" |url=http://www.osce.org/mg/76209 |publisher=OSCE |access-date=26 May 2011 |year=2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606044805/http://www.osce.org/mg/76209 |archive-date=6 June 2011 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> An [[International Crisis Group]] report published in December 2019 recorded the population of these territories to be 17,000, or 11.48% of the total population: 15,000 west and southwest of the former oblast, and 2000 in the [[Agdam District]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/europe-central-asia/caucasus/nagorno-karabakh-conflict/255-digging-out-deadlock-nagorno-karabakh |title=Digging out of Deadlock in Nagorno-Karabakh |publisher=International Crisis Group |date=20 December 2019 |access-date=26 October 2020 |archive-date=29 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029233626/https://www.crisisgroup.org/europe-central-asia/caucasus/nagorno-karabakh-conflict/255-digging-out-deadlock-nagorno-karabakh |url-status=live}}</ref>

Until 2000, the country's net migration was at a negative.<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 March 2007 |title=Nagorno Karabakh prime minister: We need to have at least 300,000 population |work=REGNUM News Agency |url=http://www.regnum.ru/english/793359.html |access-date=9 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905181618/http://www.regnum.ru/english/793359.html |archive-date=5 September 2008}}</ref> For the first half of 2007, 1,010 births and 659 deaths were reported, with a net emigration of 27.<ref>{{Cite journal |at=Sec. 11 |script-title=ru:Евразийская панорама |trans-title=Eurasian panorama |language=ru |journal=Население и общество [Population and Society] |publisher=[[HSE University|Higher School of Economics]] Institute of Demography |via=Демоскоп [Demoscope] Weekly |url=http://demoscope.ru/weekly/2007/0297/panorm01.php |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314071558/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/2007/0297/panorm01.php |archive-date=14 March 2012}}</ref>

According to age group: 15,700 (0–6), 25,200 (7–17) 75,800 (18–59) and 21,000 (60+)

Population by province (2006):
* [[Stepanakert]] 54,500 (2013)
* [[Martuni Province|Martuni]] 23,200
* [[Martakert]] 19,000
* [[Askeran Region|Askeran]] 17,400 (2007)
* [[Hadrut Region|Hadrut]] 12,300 (2009)
* [[Qashatagh Province|Kashatagh]] 9,800
* [[Shushi]] 5,000 (2009)
* [[Shahumyan]] 2,800

'''Population of the Republic of Artsakh''' (2000–2008)<ref>{{cite report |title=Population |work=Statistical Yearbook of NKR |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic |url=http://www.stat-nkr.am/2000_2006/05.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080911024449/http://www.stat-nkr.am/2000_2006/05.pdf |archive-date=11 September 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://stat-nkr.am/files/yearbooks/2002_2008/5_bnakchut.pdf |title=Population |website=Stat-nkr.am |access-date=18 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227090221/http://stat-nkr.am/files/yearbooks/2002_2008/5_bnakchut.pdf |archive-date=27 December 2016 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year !!Population (000s) !!Urban (000s) !!Rural (000s) !!Birth rate !!Death rate !!NGR !!Net immigration
|-
|2000 ||134.4 ||68.4 ||66.0 ||16.6 ||8.8 ||7.7 || 16.1
|-
|2001 ||135.7 ||68.7 ||67.0 ||17.0 ||7.9 ||9.1 || 11.5
|-
|2002 ||136.6 ||69.3 ||67.3 ||16.0 ||9.1 ||6.9 ||  4.9
|-
|2003 ||137.0 ||69.1 ||67.9 ||15.0 ||9.0 ||6.0 ||  1.3
|-
|2004 ||137.2 ||69.8 ||67.4 ||15.3 ||9.5 ||5.8 || −2.6
|-
|2005 ||137.7 ||70.5 ||67.2 ||14.6 ||9.2 ||5.4 ||  1.7
|-
|2006 ||137.7 ||70.8 ||66.9 ||15.3 ||9.0 ||6.3 || −3.2
|-
|2007 ||138.8 ||71.6 ||67.2 ||15.4 ||8.8 ||6.6 || −1.4
|-
|2008 ||139.9 ||72.7 ||67.2 ||17.3 ||9.4 ||7.9 ||  2.6
|}

===Resettlement attempts after 1994===
From 1989 to 1994, there was significant depopulation in the territory that ended up held by Artsakh, leaving only around 40% of the pre-war population. Much of this was due to the displacement and death of Azerbaijani residents in both the former NKOA and the surrounding territories, leaving some former urban areas virtually empty. The Russian minority present also declined, meaning the resulting population was almost 100% Armenian. Beginning in 1995, the population began to increase due to births and immigration.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rowland |first1=Richard H. |title=Population Trends in a Contested Pseudo-State: The Case of Nagorno-Karabakh |journal=Eurasian Geography and Economics |date=2008 |volume=49 |issue=1 |pages=105–108 |doi=10.2747/1539-7216.49.1.99 |s2cid=153638052 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2747/1539-7216.49.1.99 |access-date=19 September 2021 |archive-date=21 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521234226/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2747/1539-7216.49.1.99 |url-status=live|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

While the territory captured outside the former NKAO was initially treated as a potential bargaining chip, it slowly began to be seen as part of the country by both officials and the general population.<ref name="Toal"/> The [[Stepanakert]]-based administration launched various programs aimed at bringing in permanent Armenian settlers to the depopulated lands, including into regions previously populated by Azeris, with those that bordered Armenia – Lachin and Kalbajar – being the priority.<ref>{{Citation |script-title=ru:Заселение освобожденных территорий противоречит стратегическим интересам России |language=ru |trans-title=The settlement of the liberated territories is contrary to the strategic interests of Russia |work=Nyut.am |location=Yerevan |date=15 July 2013 |url=http://nyut.am/?p=180&l=ru |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928141636/http://nyut.am/?p=180&l=ru |archive-date=28 September 2015}}</ref> Lachin was key to a land connection between Armenia and the former NKAO, and Kalbajar had water resources utilised by both Artsakh and Armenia.<ref name="Toal"/>

Azerbaijan regards this as a violation of Article 49 of the [[Fourth Geneva Convention]], to which Armenia became party in 1993, whereby "[t]he Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies".<ref>{{cite web |title=Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War |orig-date=Geneva, 12 August 1949 |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/ihl/INTRO/380 |access-date=2019-08-16 |via=International Committee of the Red Cross – Treaties, State parties, and Commentaries |archive-date=16 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816170325/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/ihl/INTRO/380 |url-status=live}} Article 49.</ref> The ruling party of Azerbaijan accuses the Armenian side of artificially changing the demographic situation and the ethnic composition of the occupied region so that it can lay future claims to them, comparing this to the 1950s campaign of resettling diaspora Armenians in previously Azeri-populated locales in Soviet Armenia where Azeris were forcibly [[Deportation of Azerbaijanis from Armenia|deported from in 1948–1950]].<ref>{{Citation |first=Gafar |last=Azimov |script-title=ru:Правящая партия Азербайджана направила протест сопредседателям Минской группы ОБСЕ |trans-title=The ruling party of Azerbaijan sent a protest to the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group |language=ru |work=Aze.az |location=Baku |date=13 May 2011 |url=http://aze.az/news_pravyaschaya_partiya_azer_58004.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108232839/http://aze.az/news_pravyaschaya_partiya_azer_58004.html |archive-date=8 January 2016}}</ref>

In 1979, the total Armenian population of the districts of Kalbajar, Lachin, Qubadli, Zangilan, Jabrayil, Fuzuli and Agdam was around 1,400 people.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ethno-kavkaz.narod.ru/rnazerbaijan.html |script-title=ru:Население Азербайджана: Азербайджанская ССР (1979 г.) (без Нагорно-Карабахской АО) |trans-title=Population of Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan SSR (1979) (excluding NKAO) |website=Ethno-Caucasus |access-date=18 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328124618/http://www.ethno-kavkaz.narod.ru/rnazerbaijan.html |archive-date=28 March 2012 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> An OSCE fact-finding mission established at Azerbaijan's request visited these regions in February 2005 with the intention to assess the scale of the settlement attempts. The mission's findings showed that these districts had as of 2005 an overall population of 14,000 people, mostly living in precarious social conditions. It consisted primarily of ethnic Armenians displaced from the non-conflict zones of Azerbaijan during the war. It was noted, however, that most of them had settled in the conflict zone after having lived in Armenia for several years and some held Armenian passports and even voted in Armenian elections. A smaller segment of the settlers was originally from the towns of [[Gyumri]] and [[Spitak]] in Armenia who had lived in temporary shelters following the devastating [[1988 Armenian earthquake|1988 earthquake]] before moving to Karabakh, as well as a small number of natives of Yerevan who moved there for financial reasons.<ref>{{Citation |title=Report of the OSCE Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) to the Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan Surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh (NK) |last=Haber |first=Emily |display-authors=etal |date=28 February 2005 |location=Yerevan |publisher=Partnership for Open Society |url=http://www.partnership.am/res/General%20Publications_Eng/050317_osce_report1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929182153/http://www.partnership.am/res/General%20Publications_Eng/050317_osce_report1.pdf |archive-date=29 September 2015}}</ref> A field assessment mission revisited the region in October 2010, confirming that there had not been much growth in population or change in the living conditions of the settlers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Report of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs' Field Assessment Mission to the Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan Surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh |type=Executive Summary |date=October 2010 |url=https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/7/d/76209.pdf |access-date=2022-06-30 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611150100/http://www.osce.org/mg/76209?download=true |archive-date=11 June 2015}}</ref> The Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group who visited Nagorno-Karabakh, Kalbajar and Lachin in 2014 reported seeing signs of improvements in the infrastructure but could not observe any indications that the size of the population had changed in recent years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.osce.org/mg/118715 |title=Press Release by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group |publisher=OSCE |date=20 May 2014 |access-date=18 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161225083236/http://www.osce.org/mg/118715 |archive-date=25 December 2016 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

By June 2015, an estimated 17,000 of [[Syria]]'s once 80,000-strong Armenian population had fled the [[Syrian Civil War|civil war]] and sought refuge in Armenia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UN in Armenia |work=[[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]] |url=http://www.un.am/en/agency/UNHCR |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20151021203242/http://www.un.am/en/agency/UNHCR |archive-date=21 October 2015}}</ref> [[David Babayan]], spokesperson of the Artsakh leader Bako Sahakyan, confirmed that some of those refugees had been resettled in Artsakh.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Nana |last=Martirosyan |title=ru:Давид Бабаян: Армения и Арцах приняли сирийских беженцев, исходя из гуманитарных принципов |trans-title=David Babayan: Armenia and Artsakh accepted Syrian refugees based on humanitarian principles |language=ru |work=ArmInfo |location=Yerevan |date=3 June 2015 |url=http://www.arminfo.info/index.cfm?objectid=37F9BC30-09F1-11E5-A60E0EB7C0D21663 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928171611/http://www.arminfo.info/index.cfm?objectid=37F9BC30-09F1-11E5-A60E0EB7C0D21663 |archive-date=28 September 2015}}</ref> ''[[The Economist]]'' put the number of the resettled families at 30 as of June 2017.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Syria's Armenians are fleeing to their ancestral homeland |newspaper=The Economist |date=26 June 2017 |url=https://www.economist.com/news/europe/21724036-war-may-bring-end-christian-minoritys-century-long-story |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705052629/https://www.economist.com/news/europe/21724036-war-may-bring-end-christian-minoritys-century-long-story |archive-date=5 July 2017}}</ref> In December 2014, Armenian media cited local municipal authorities in stating that dozens of Syrian Armenian families had been resettled in the disputed zone, in particular in the city of [[Lachin]] and the village of [[Xanlıq]] in [[Qubadli District|Qubadli]].<ref>{{Citation |script-title=ru:Поселившиеся в Арцахе сирийские армяне говорят о своих чаяниях |trans-title=Syrian Armenians who settled in Artsakh speak about their aspirations |language=ru |work=NKR News |date=26 December 2014 |via=ru.hayernaysor.am |url=http://nkr-news.com/arcakh/poselivshiesya-v-arcakhe-sirijjskie-armya.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928131228/http://nkr-news.com/arcakh/poselivshiesya-v-arcakhe-sirijjskie-armya.html |archive-date=28 September 2015}}</ref> Azerbaijan's Minister of Foreign Affairs [[Elmar Mammadyarov]] expressed his concern over Armenia's attempts to change the demographic situation in the region and informed of his intention to raise this issue with the Minsk Group.<ref>{{Citation |script-title=ru:Глава МИД Азербайджана о поэтапном урегулировании нагорно-карабахского конфликта |trans-title=Azerbaijani Foreign Minister on the phased settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict |language=ru |work=[[Trend News Agency]] |location=Baku |date=15 September 2015 |url=http://www.trend.az/azerbaijan/karabakh/2433518.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928183413/http://www.trend.az/azerbaijan/karabakh/2433518.html |archive-date=28 September 2015}}</ref>

In February 2019, Armenia's [[National Security Service (Armenia)|National Security Service]] director [[Artur Vanetsyan]] visited Nagorno-Karabakh amid public concern about [[Nikol Pashinyan]]'s government alleged readiness to cede some of the Armenian-controlled territories as part of a peace settlement. Vanetsyan pointed out that settling Armenians and investing into infrastructural projects along the Iranian border, in the previously Azeri-populated regions outside of the former autonomous province, was "a clear message" to the international community that there would be no territorial concessions. He referred to the ongoing settlement efforts as a method of "guaranteeing security".<ref>{{Citation |first=Tatevik |last=Shagunyan <!-- Татевик Шагунян --> |script-title=ru:Ванецян: Реализуя программы по заселению южных районов Арцаха, мы посылаем миру месседж о невозможности территориальных уступок |trans-title=Vanetsyan: By implementing programs for the settlement of the southern regions of Artsakh, we send a message to the world about the impossibility of territorial concessions |language=ru |work=ArmInfo |date=1 March 2019 |url=http://arminfo.info/full_news.php?id=39688 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190302024842/http://arminfo.info/full_news.php?id=39688 |archive-date=2 March 2019}}</ref> Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry reacted by qualifying Vanetsyan's statement as an "attempt to undermine the peace talks and defy the work of the mediators" and vowed to address the issue to the UN and the OSCE.<ref>{{cite web |title=New settlements in Artsakh: Leyla Abdullayeva vs. Artur Vanetsyan |url=https://mediamax.am/en/news/foreignpolicy/32479/ |website=mediamax.am |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190302024739/https://mediamax.am/en/news/foreignpolicy/32479/ |archive-date=2 March 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

The ceasefire ending the 2020 war stipulated that these territories were to be turned over to Azerbaijani control. Armenian settlers in these areas evacuated prior to the arrival of Azerbaijani forces.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dw.com/en/armenians-torch-their-own-homes-outside-nagorno-karabakh/a-55600774 |title=Armenians torch their own homes outside Nagorno-Karabakh |work=[[Deutsche Welle]] |date=14 November 2020 |access-date=28 November 2020 |archive-date=24 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124040810/https://www.dw.com/en/armenians-torch-their-own-homes-outside-nagorno-karabakh/a-55600774 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Ethnic composition===
'''Ethnic Groups of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (1926–1989) and the Republic of Artsakh (2015) according to census data'''<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Henze |first1=Paul B. |title=The demography of the Caucasus according to 1989 Soviet census data |journal=Central Asian Survey |date=1 January 1991 |volume=10 |issue=1–2 |pages=147–170 |doi=10.1080/02634939108400741 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02634939108400741?journalCode=ccas20 |access-date=30 December 2021 |issn=0263-4937 |archive-date=30 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211230144033/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02634939108400741?journalCode=ccas20 |url-status=live|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |[[Ethnic group|Eth.]]
! colspan="2" |1921<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Welt |first1=Cory D. |title=Explaining ethnic conflict in the South Caucasus: Mountainous Karabagh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia |date=2004 |type=PhD |others=Stephen Van Evera, advisor |publisher=MIT Dept. of Political Science |hdl=1721.1/28757 |url=https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/28757 |access-date=2022-07-04 |archive-date=2 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102111724/https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/28757 |url-status=live}} <!-- oclc:59823134 uri: http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/28757 --> <!-- OLD URL, UNSURE IF THIS WAS A HIT: |url=https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=9051340 |access-date=22 May 2021 --></ref>
! colspan="2" |1926
! colspan="2" |1939
! colspan="2" |1959
! colspan="2" |1970
! colspan="2" |1979
! colspan="2" |1989
! colspan="2" |2005
! colspan="2" |2015 <sup>1</sup>
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
!#
!%
!#
!%
!#
!%
!#
!%
!#
!%
!#
!%
!#
!%
!#
!%
!#
!%
|-
|[[Armenians|Arm.]]
| align="right" |122,800
| align="right" |89
| align="right" |111,694
| align="right" |89.1
| align="right" |132,800
| align="right" |88.0
| align="right" |110,053
| align="right" |84.4
| align="right" |121,068
| align="right" |80.5
| align="right" |123,076
| align="right" |75.9
| align="right" |145,450
| align="right" |76.9
| align="right" |137,380
| align="right" |99.7
| align="right" |144,683
| align="right" |99.7
|-
|[[Azerbaijanis|Aze.]]
| align="right" |15,400
| align="right" |11
| align="right" |12,592
| align="right" |10.0
| align="right" |14,053
| align="right" |9.3
| align="right" |17,995
| align="right" |13.8
| align="right" |27,179
| align="right" |18.1
| align="right" |37,264
| align="right" |23.0
| align="right" |40,688
| align="right" |21.5
| align="right" |6
| align="right" |0.0
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
|-
|[[Russians|Rus.]]
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |596
| align="right" |0.5
| align="right" |3,174
| align="right" |2.1
| align="right" |1,790
| align="right" |1.4
| align="right" |1,310
| align="right" |0.9
| align="right" |1,265
| align="right" |0.8
| align="right" |1,922
| align="right" |1.0
| align="right" |171
| align="right" |0.1
| align="right" |238
| align="right" |0.2
|-
|[[Ukrainians|Ukr.]]
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |436
| align="right" |0.3
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |193
| align="right" |0.1
| align="right" |140
| align="right" |0.1
| align="right" |416
| align="right" |0.2
| align="right" |21
| align="right" |0.0
| align="right" |26
| align="right" |0.0
|-
|[[Yezidis|Yez.]]
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |16
| align="right" |0.0
|-
|[[Assyrian people|Ass.]]
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |16
| align="right" |0.0
|-
|[[Georgians|Geo.]]
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |15
| align="right" |0.0
|-
|Oth.
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
| align="right" |416
| align="right" |0.3
| align="right" |374
| align="right" |0.2
| align="right" |568
| align="right" |0.4
| align="right" |563
| align="right" |0.4
| align="right" |436
| align="right" |0.3
| align="right" |609
| align="right" |0.3
| align="right" |159
| align="right" |0.1
| align="right" |59
| align="right" |0.0
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! align="left" |Total
! colspan="2" |138,500
! colspan="2" |125,300
! colspan="2" |150,837
! colspan="2" |130,406
! colspan="2" |150,313
! colspan="2" |162,181
! colspan="2" |189,085
! colspan="2" |137,737
! colspan="2" |145,053
|-
| colspan="19" |The territorial borders of the Nagorno-Karabakh AO and the Artsakh Republic are different. [[Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh#Territory and population|The population of Artsakh-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh]] was at least '''201,016''' and at most '''421,726''' people in '''1989'''.<ref>{{cite journal |script-title=ru:Справочник статистических показателей – Демографические показатели по 15 новым независимым государствам |trans-title=Handbook of statistical indicators – Demographics for the 15 Newly Independent States |language=ru |journal=Демоскоп [Demoscope] Weekly |date=n.d. |orig-date=All-Union population census of 1989; vol 1, Part 1, Table 3: Current population |issn=1726-2887 |url=http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng89_reg1.php |access-date=11 October 2020 |archive-date=22 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222054150/http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng89_reg1.php |url-status=live}} <!-- SUBTITLE: Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. – Численность населения союзных республик СССР и их территориальных единиц по полу | All-Union Population Census 1989 – Population of the Union Republics of the USSR and their territorial units by sex --></ref>
|}

===Languages===
[[Armenian language|Armenian]] functioned as the only state language and an official language in the Republic of Artsakh,<ref name=ap2-2021/> and was the native language of over 99% of the population. Under Soviet rule, the ethnic Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh became more proficient in Russian than both Azerbaijanis in the region and Armenians in the Armenian SSR. Few Armenians learnt Azerbaijani, and the language was actively removed following the Nagorno-Karabakh War. While Russian remained in some use after this time, and was valued as a second language, it was not widely spoken at a native level.<ref name="Muth2014">{{cite journal |last1=Muth |first1=Sebastian |title=War, language removal and self-identification in the linguistic landscapes of Nagorno-Karabakh |journal=Nationalities Papers |date=January 2014 |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=67, 69–70, 72, 84–85 |doi=10.1080/00905992.2013.856394 |s2cid=128709302 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/nationalities-papers/article/abs/war-language-removal-and-selfidentification-in-the-linguistic-landscapes-of-nagornokarabakh/4EF3EDE4BA77491DB84FECD789C21542 |access-date=20 September 2021 |archive-date=21 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921042206/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/nationalities-papers/article/abs/war-language-removal-and-selfidentification-in-the-linguistic-landscapes-of-nagornokarabakh/4EF3EDE4BA77491DB84FECD789C21542 |url-status=live|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

[[Russian language|Russian]] was widely spoken in Artsakh, with efforts having been made since late 2020 in the parliament in Stepanakert to establish it as an additional official language; the official justifications for this being that Russian was already the second language of many residents, and that it would create "conditions for deepening cooperation in all spheres, [as well as contributing] to the development of relations within the legal framework."<ref>{{cite web |title=Russian Language to Get Official Status in Artsakh |url=https://armenian.usc.edu/russian-language-to-get-official-status-in-artsakh/ |website=UNC Dornsife: Institute of Armenian Studies |date=16 February 2021 |access-date=28 February 2021 |archive-date=1 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301201701/https://armenian.usc.edu/russian-language-to-get-official-status-in-artsakh/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[National Assembly (Artsakh)|Parliament of Artsakh]] approved a bill grating Russian official status on March 25, 2021, with 27 votes in favour, 0 votes against and 2 abstentions.<ref name=ap2-2021>{{Cite web |url=https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1047125.html |title=Artsakh Parliament approves bill on granting official status to Russian language |date=2021-03-25 |access-date=2021-11-10 |website=[[Armenpress]] |archive-date=10 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110175201/https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1047125.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Religion===
{{Main|Religion in Artsakh}}
[[File:2014 Górski Karabach, Klasztor Gandzasar (14).jpg|thumb|[[Gandzasar monastery|Gandzasar Cathedral]]]]
[[File:Amaras-church.jpeg|thumb|Church of St. Grigoris of the [[Amaras Monastery]]]]

Most of the Armenian population in Artsakh was Christian and were adherents of the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]], which is an [[Oriental Orthodox]] Church. Some [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] and [[Evangelical]] denominations also existed.<ref name="Overview"/>

====Armenian monasteries and churches====
* [[Amaras Monastery]] (4th century), located near the villages of [[Sos, Nagorno-Karabakh|Sos]] and [[Machkalashen]] in the [[Martuni Province]]. According to medieval chroniclers [[Pavstos Byuzand|Faustus Byuzand]] and [[Movses Kaghankatvatsi]], [[St. Gregory the Illuminator]], the patron saint and evangeliser of Armenia, founded the Amaras Monastery at the start of the fourth century.<ref>Pavstos Byuzand. Armenian History. Yerevan. 1987. page 17</ref><ref>Movses Kaghankatvatsi. ''History of Aluank''. Book I. Chapter XIV. {{blockquote|After accepting the rank of [the country's] high priest, he left to enlighten the countries of Iberia and Aluank. He arrived in the ghavar of Haband and preached and admonished not to break the commandments of the Son of God. Here he began the building of a church in Amaras and hired workers and foremen to finish it. After returning to Armenia, he consecrated and appointed instead of himself his son Vrtanes, filled with his father's virtues, who lived according to the [Christian] teaching and punished and admonished all those who adhered to the heresy of idol-worship.}}</ref> At the beginning of the fifth century [[Mesrop Mashtots]], the inventor of the [[Armenian alphabet]], established in Amaras the first-ever school that used his script.<ref>Viviano, Frank. "The Rebirth of Armenia", ''[[National Geographic Magazine]]'', March 2004</ref><ref>John Noble, Michael Kohn, Danielle Systermans. ''Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan''. Lonely Planet; 3rd  ed. (2008), p. 307 {{ISBN?}}</ref>
* [[Yeghishe Arakyal Monastery]] (5th–13th centuries) commemorating St. Yeghishe, the famous evangeliser of Armenia's eastern lands. The church serves as a burial ground for the fifth century's King Vachagan II the Pious, the most well-known representative of the Arranshahik line of east Armenian monarchs. The monastery is located in the [[Martakert Province]].
* Bri Yeghtsi Monastery (13th century) that centres on embedded khachkars, unique-to-Armenia stone memorials with engraved crosses. The monastery is located near the village of [[Hatsi]] in the [[Martuni Province]].
* [[Gandzasar monastery]] (13th century), ("Գանձասար" in Armenian) is a historical monastery in Artsakh. Artsakhi government's aim is to include the Gandzasar Monastery into the directory of the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.
* [[Yerits Mankants Monastery]] (meaning "three infants" in Armenian; 17th century) is known for hosting the seat of Artsakh's rival clergy to that of the Holy See of Gandzasar. The monastery is located in the [[Martakert Province]].
* [[Saint John the Baptist Church, Martakert|Saint John the Baptist Church]], located in the town of [[Martakert]], built in 1883.
* [[Church of St. Nerses the Great]], located in the town of [[Martuni, Nagorno-Karabakh|Martuni]], consecrated in 2004. It is dedicated to the famous [[Catholicos of Armenia|Armenian Catholicos]], [[Saint Narses]] the Great.
* [[Holy Mother of God Cathedral, Stepanakert|Holy Mother of God Cathedral]] in the city of [[Stepanakert]], consecrated in 2019.
* [[Katarovank|Katarovank Monastery]] was founded in the fourth century, and is located close to the village of [[Hin Tagher]] in the [[Hadrut Province]]. The present-day chapel is a 17th-century structure. There are Armenian [[khachkars]] near the chapel. The monastery offers a unique panoramic view to the [[River Araxes]].
* [[Tsitsernavank Monastery]] (4th century) is the best-preserved example of an Armenian basilica with three naves. The monastery is located in the village of [[Hüsülü, Lachin|Tsitsernavank]] in the [[Kashatagh Province]].
* [[Dadivank|Dadivank Monastery]] ({{langx|hy|Դադիվանք}}), also known as Khutavank ({{langx|hy|Խութավանք}} – Monastery on the Hill), that was built between the 9th and 13th century. It is one of the most architecturally and culturally significant monasteries in Artsakh. The western façade of Dadivank's Memorial Cathedral bears one of the most extensive Armenian lapidary (stone-inscribed) texts,{{dubious|The term seems to be literally adopted from a foreign language and doesn't mean the same in English.|date=November 2020}} and has one of the largest collection of medieval Armenian [[frescoes]]. Dadivank is named after St. Dadi, a disciple of [[Apostle Thaddeus]] who preached the Holy Gospel in Artsakh in the first century. St. Dadi's tomb was later discovered by archaeologists in 2007. The monastery is in the [[Shahumyan Province]] and has been placed under the protection of the Russian peacekeeping forces.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1034897.html |title=Dadivank under protection of Russian peacekeepers |date=14 November 2020 |access-date=14 November 2020 |work=Armenpress.am |archive-date=14 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114184543/https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1034897.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Gtichavank]] Monastery (13th century) has design features shared with the architectural style of medieval Armenia's capital city of Ani. The monastery is located in the [[Hadrut Province]].
* [[Ghazanchetsots Cathedral]], built 1868–1888 (Սուրբ Ամենափրկիչ Ղազանչեցոց Եկեղեցի – "Surb Amenap'rkich Ghazanchets'ots' Yekeghets'i" in [[Armenian language|Armenian]]), also known as the ''Cathedral of Christ the Savior'' and the ''Shushi Cathedral'', is an [[Armenian Apostolic Church|Armenian church]] located in [[Shusha]]. It is the main cathedral and headquarters of the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]]'s "Diocese of Artsakh".
* Just uphill from the cathedral in Shusha is the church of [[Kanach Zham]] ('Green Church' in Armenian), built in 1847.

===Education===
[[File:2014 Stepanakert, Państwowy Uniwersytet Arcachu (03).jpg|thumb|[[Artsakh State University]]]]
Education in Artsakh was compulsory, and was free up to the age of 18. The education system was inherited from the [[Education in the Soviet Union|old system]] of the [[Soviet Union]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Education in the Nagorno Karabakh Republic |publisher=The Office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) in the USA |location=Washington, DC |url=http://www.nkrusa.org/country_profile/education.shtml |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415130621/http://www.nkrusa.org/country_profile/education.shtml |archive-date=15 April 2012}}</ref> Artsakh's school system was severely damaged because of the 1991–1994 conflict. But the government of the Republic of Artsakh with considerable aid from the Republic of [[Armenia]] and with donations from the [[Armenian diaspora]], rebuilt many of the schools. Prior to the 2020 war, Artsakh had around 250 schools of various sizes, with more than 200 lying in the regions. The student population was estimated at more than 20,000, with almost half in the capital city of [[Stepanakert]].

[[Artsakh State University]] was founded by Artsakh and Armenian governments' joint efforts, with main campus in Stepanakert. The university opening ceremony took place on 10 May 1992. Yerevan University of Management also opened a branch in Stepanakert.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

==== Universities ====
This is a '''list of universities in Republic of Artsakh''', a former [[breakaway state]] in the [[Caucasus]] region.

===== State universities =====
* [[Artsakh State University]] ''([[Stepanakert]])''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.asu.am/index.php?set_lang=en|title=The Artsakh State University|website=www.asu.am}}</ref>
* Stepanakert branch of the [[Armenian National Agrarian University]] ''(Stepanakert)''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://anau.am/en/anau/historical-review/|title=Historical Review}}</ref>

===== Commercial universities =====
* [[Grigor Narekatsi University]] ''(Stepanakert)''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.spyur.am/en/companies/grigor-narekatsi-university/80415/|title="GRIGOR NAREKATSI" UNIVERSITY • ARMENIA (YEREVAN) • SPYUR}}</ref>
* [[University Mesrop Mashtots]] ''(Stepanakert)''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/mesropmashtotsuniversityy/|title=Facebook|website=www.facebook.com}}</ref>
* [[Hagop Gyurjyan Institute of Applied Art]] ''([[Shushi]])''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://chaikhana.media/en/stories/785/karabakhs-frontline-artists|title=Karabakh's Frontline Artists|website=chaikhana |date=15 March 2019 }}</ref>

===== Colleges =====
* [[Stepanakert Agricultural College]] ''(Stepanakert)''
* [[Stepanakert Choreographic College]] ''(Stepanakert)''
* Stepanakert Medical College named after T. Kamalian ''(Stepanakert)''
* Stepanakert Musical College named after Sayat-Nova ''(Stepanakert)''
* Shushi Liberal Arts College named after Arsen Khachatryan ''(Shushi)''

===== Military academies =====
* [[Suvorov and Madatov Military Academy]] ''([[Stepanakert]])'' 
* [[Kristapor Ivanyan Military Academy]] ''([[Stepanakert]])''

==Culture==
{{main|Culture of Artsakh}}

===Monuments===

"[[We Are Our Mountains]]" ({{langx|hy|Մենք ենք մեր սարերը}}) by [[Sargis Baghdasaryan]] is a monument located in [[Stepanakert]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Artsakh: A Photographic Journey |first=Hrair |last=Khatcherian |page=49}} <!-- confirm pagination for 1997? --></ref> The sculpture was widely regarded as a symbol of the Republic of Artsakh. It is a large monument from [[tuff]] of an old Armenian man and woman hewn from rock, representing the [[mountain people]] of Artsakh. It is also known as ''Tatik yev Papik'' (Տատիկ և Պապիկ, "Grandma and Grandpa") in Armenian. The sculpture was featured prominently on [[Coat of arms of Nagorno-Karabakh|Artsakh's coat of arms]]. Artsakh has often been portrayed as a "shield" to the Armenian nation that protects it from [[Pan-Turkism]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 20, 2023 |title=Deconstructed: The Hidden Siege of Nagorno-Karabakh |url=https://theintercept.com/2023/01/20/deconstructed-armenia-azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh/ |access-date=2023-01-30 |website=The Intercept |language=en |quote=Journalist Alison Tahmizian: "Artsakh is always called the shield of Armenia, because it’s been shielding Armenia from what’s coming next, what they would like to implement next, which is to seize southern Armenia" |archive-date=30 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130124450/https://theintercept.com/2023/01/20/deconstructed-armenia-azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Artsakh is a 'shield' that has protected Armenia for centuries, FM says |url=https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2022/10/03/%E2%80%98Artsakh-FM/2737901 |access-date=2023-01-30 |website=www.panorama.am |language=en |quote=In December, 2022, Artsakh Foreign Minister David Babayan wrote "[Artsakh] is a shield that has protected Armenia for centuries and ensured the security of the Armenian people." |archive-date=30 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130124439/https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2022/10/03/%E2%80%98Artsakh-FM/2737901 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Marsden">{{Cite news |last=Marsden |first=Philip |title=PhD? I'd rather be a terrorist |newspaper=[[The Times]] |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/comment/register/article/phd-id-rather-be-a-terrorist-cmt302sglm5 |access-date=2023-01-30 |issn=0140-0460 |archive-date=30 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130124440/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/phd-id-rather-be-a-terrorist-cmt302sglm5 |url-status=live}}</ref> When lecturing his fighters during the First Nagorno Karabakh-War, [[Monte Melkonian]] would say "If we lose this land, we turn the last page on Armenian history."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Melkonian |first=Markar |title=My Brother's Road : an American's Fateful Journey to Armenia. |date=2008 |publisher=I.B. Tauris & Company, Ltd. |isbn=978-1-78673-953-7 |location=London |pages=234–235 |oclc=1153808777}}</ref><ref name="Marsden"/>

===Museums===
[[File:Artsakh State Museum (37512504202).jpg|thumb|Artsakh State Museum]]

[[Artsakh State Museum]] was the historical museum of the Republic of Artsakh. Located at 4 Sasunstsi David Street, in [[Stepanakert]], the museum offered an assortment of ancient artefacts and Christian manuscripts. There were also more recent items, ranging in date from the 19th century to World War II and from events of the Karabakh Independence War.

===Publications===
''[[Azat Artsakh]]'' ([[Armenian language|Armenian]]: {{Lang|hy|Ազատ Արձախ|italic=yes}}, {{Literal translation|Free Artsakh}}) was the official newspaper of the Republic of Artsakh. It had a daily print and was offered in Armenian, English, and Russian.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.artsakhtert.com/|title=Գլխավոր}}</ref> Typical topics included the [[Nagorno-Karabakh|Nagorno-Karabakh conflict]], [[Armenian genocide]], and other Armenian-related issues. Aside from Azat Artsakh, many print media were published in more than one [[language]], usually offering [[Russian language|Russian]] and [[English language|English]] sections in addition to the main [[Armenian language|Armenian]] section.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

===Sports===
[[File:Stepenakert view no.2, cropped.jpg|thumb|[[Stepanakert Republican Stadium]] in [[Stepanakert]]]]
Sports in the Republic of Artsakh were organised by the Artsakh Ministry of Culture and Youth. Due to the non-recognition of Artsakh, sports teams from the country could not compete in most international tournaments.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

[[Association football|Football]] was the most popular sport in Artsakh.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}} [[Stepanakert]] had a well-built football stadium.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}} In mid-1990s, football teams from Artsakh started taking part in some domestic competitions in Armenia.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}} [[Lernayin Artsakh FC]] represented the city of [[Stepanakert]]. In Artsakh, domestic football clubs played in the [[Artsakh Football League]]. The Artsakh football league was launched in 2009. The [[Artsakh national football team]] was formed in 2012 and played their first competitive match against the [[Abkhazia national football team]] in [[Sokhumi]], a match that ended with a result of 1–1 draw.<ref>{{cite web |script-title=hy:Աբխազիայի ու Արցախի հավաքականները բաժանվեցին խաղաղությամբ՝ 1:1 |trans-title=The teams of Abkhazia and Artsakh split peacefully, 1:1 |language=hy |date=2012-09-25 |website=Tert.am |location=Yerevan |url=http://www.tert.am/am/news/2012/09/25/arcaxabxazia/ |access-date=18 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108010119/http://www.tert.am/am/news/2012/09/25/arcaxabxazia/ |archive-date=8 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Armenia's newly formed second national football team to face Abkhazia |website=News.am Sport |date=14 September 2012 |url=http://sport.news.am/eng/news/11346/armenia%E2%80%99s-newly-formed-second-national-football-team-to-face-abkhazia.html |access-date=18 December 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017195007/https://sport.news.am/eng/news/11346/armenia%E2%80%99s-newly-formed-second-national-football-team-to-face-abkhazia.html |archive-date=17 October 2017}}</ref> The return match between the unrecognised teams took place at the Stepanakert Stadium, on 21 October 2012, when the team from Artsakh defeated the Abkhazian team 3–0.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

There was also interest in other sports, including basketball and volleyball.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}} Sailing was practised in the town of [[Martakert]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}} Artsakh sports teams and athletes also participated in the [[Pan-Armenian Games]] organised in Armenia.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

===Holidays===
The following is a list of [[public holiday]]s in the Republic of Artsakh:<ref>{{cite web |title=Holidays and Memorable Days in Nagorno Karabagh Republic |url=http://president.nkr.am/en/nkr/holidays/ |website=Official website of the President of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-date=9 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209072541/http://president.nkr.am/en/nkr/holidays/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!style="background:#efefef;"| Date<ref name="Overview"/>
!style="background:#efefef;"| English name
|-
| 31 December – 1 January || New Year's Day 
|-
| 6 January || Christmas 
|-
| 28 January || [[Homeland Defender's Day]]
|-
| 20 February || [[Artsakh Revival Day]] 
|-
| 8 March || [[International Women's Day]] 
|-
| 7 April || [[Motherhood and Beauty Day]] 
|-
| 24 April || [[Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day]] 
|-
| 1 May || [[Labour Day|Worker's Solidarity Day]] 
|-
| 9 May || [[Shushi Liberation Day|Victory, Armed Forces & Shushi Liberation Day]] 
|-
| 28 May || [[Republic Day (Armenia)|First Armenian Republic Day]] 
|-
| 1 June || [[Children's Day]] 
|-
| 29 June || [[Fallen Soldiers' and Missing in Action Memorial Day]] 
|-
| 2 September || [[Republic Day]] 
|-
| 7 December || [[Armenian Earthquake Memorial Day]] 
|-
| 10 December || [[Constitution Day]] 
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|Geography}}
* [[Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh]]
* [[Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations]]
* [[Foreign relations of Artsakh]]
* [[Janapar]] – Multi-section hiking trail going through much of Karabakh
* [[Outline of the Republic of Artsakh]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|last=Waal|first=Thomas de|title=Black garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through peace and war|year=2004|publisher=New York University Press|location=New York|isbn=9780814719459|page=42}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last1=Ghazaryan |first1=Narine |title=Unrecognized Entities |chapter=The Legal System of Nagorno-Karabakh: International and European Considerations |date=2021 |publisher=Brill Nijhoff |isbn=978-90-04-49910-2 |language=en}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|Republic of Artsakh|wikt=y|commonscat=y|voy=y}}
* [https://zinapah.am Zinapah – National Foundation For Servicemen Insurance]
* [http://aif.am Artsakh Investment Fund]
* [http://edu.nk.am Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Artsakh]
* [https://minfin-nkr.am Ministry of Finance and Economy of Artsakh]
* [https://artsakhradio.am Artsakh Public Radio]
* [https://agbu.am/artsakh-relief Artsakh Relief]

{{Artsakh topics}}
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