Nagorno-Karabakh conflict causes and consequences. What are Armenia, Azerbaijan and Karabakh or seven simple facts that explain the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh
The Karabakh conflict is an ethnopolitical conflict in the Transcaucasus between Azerbaijanis and Armenians. Nagorno-Karabakh, populated predominantly by Armenians, twice (1905–1907, 1918–1920) at the beginning of the 20th century became the scene of a bloody Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Autonomy in Nagorno-Karabakh was created in 1923, since 1937 - Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region. After the end of the Second World War, the leadership of Armenia raised the issue of transferring NKAO to the republic, but did not receive the support of the leadership of the USSR. In an interview with the Zerkalo newspaper, Heydar Aliyev claims that as the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Azerbaijan SSR (1969-1982), he pursued a policy aimed at changing the demographic balance in the region in favor of the Azerbaijanis. (see Appendix 3)
Completely different opportunities were provided by the policy of democratization of the Soviet Union, initiated by M. S. Gorbachev. public life. Already in October 1987, at rallies in Yerevan dedicated to environmental problems, demands were made for the transfer of NKAO to Armenia, which were subsequently repeated in numerous appeals sent to the Soviet leadership. In 1987-1988 In the region, discontent among the Armenian population is intensifying, the reason for which was the socio-economic situation.
The Karabakh Armenians felt themselves to be the object of various restrictions on the part of Azerbaijan. The main reason for the discontent was that the Azerbaijani authorities deliberately led to the severance of the region’s ties with Armenia and pursued a policy of cultural de-Armenization of the region, the systematic settlement of it by Azerbaijanis, squeezing out the Armenian population from the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, while neglecting its economic needs. By this time, the share of the Armenian majority in the population had dropped to 76%, the region exploited by the authorities in Baku was economically impoverished, and the Armenian culture of the region was suppressed. Despite the proximity of the region to Armenia, people were not able to receive broadcasts from Yerevan Television, and teaching Armenian history in schools was prohibited.
From the second half of 1987, Armenians actively carried out a campaign to collect signatures for the annexation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region to the Armenian SSR. Delegations from the Karabakh Armenians were sent to Moscow to “push” their cause in the Central Committee of the CPSU. Influential Armenians (writer Zori Balayan, historian Sergei Mikoyan) actively lobbied for the Karabakh issue abroad.
The leaders of national movements, trying to secure mass support for themselves, placed special emphasis on the fact that their republics and peoples “feed” Russia and the Union Center. As the economic crisis deepened, this instilled in people's minds the idea that their prosperity could only be ensured by secession from the USSR. For the party leadership of the republics, an exceptional opportunity was created to ensure a quick career and prosperity. “Gorbachev’s team” was not ready to offer ways out of the “national impasse” and therefore constantly delayed making decisions. The situation began to get out of control.
In September-October 1987, the first secretary of the Shamkhor region of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, M. Asadov, came into conflict with the residents of the Armenian village of Chardakhly, Shamkhor region (northern Karabakh, outside the NKAO) in connection with the protests of the village residents against the dismissal of the director of the state farm, an Armenian, and incidents occurred beatings and arrests of several dozen village residents (see Appendix 4). A small protest demonstration is taking place in Yerevan in connection with this.
In November 1987, as a result of interethnic clashes, Azerbaijanis living in the Kafan and Meghri regions of the Armenian SSR left for Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani authorities use party levers to condemn “nationalist”, “extremist-separatist” processes.
On February 11, 1988, a large group of representatives of the government of Azerbaijan and the leadership of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, headed by the second secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan Vasily Konovalov, left for Stepanakert. The group also includes the head of the department of administrative bodies of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan M. Asadov, deputy heads of the republican KGB, Ministry of Internal Affairs, prosecutor's office, Supreme Court and law enforcement officers ensuring their safety.
On the night of February 11-12, an extended meeting of the bureau of the regional committee of the KPAz is held in Stepanakert with the participation of leaders who arrived from Baku. The bureau makes a decision to condemn the “nationalist”, “extremist-separatist” processes that are gaining strength in the region, and to hold “party-economic assets” on February 12-13 in the city of Stepanakert and in all regional centers of the NKAO, and then at the level of the autonomous region , in order to counter the growing popular discontent with the full power of a single party-economic apparatus.
On February 12, in the assembly hall of the Stepanakert City Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, a city party and economic activity was held with the participation of representatives from Baku, local party leaders, heads of government agencies, enterprises, trade union committees and party organizers. At the beginning of the meeting it was stated that behind the events in Karabakh there are “extremists” and “separatists” who are unable to lead the people. The meeting proceeds according to a pre-prepared scenario, the speakers declare the indestructible brotherhood of Azerbaijanis and Armenians and try to reduce the problem to criticism of individual economic shortcomings. After some time, Maxim Mirzoyan bursts onto the podium, sharply criticizing everything said for indifference and neglect of the national specification of Karabakh, “Azerbaijanization” and the implementation of a demographic policy that contributes to a decrease in the share of the Armenian population in the region. This speech leads to the fact that the meeting goes out of the control of the party leaders and the members of the presidium leave the hall. The news of the failure of the meeting reaches Askeran, and the district party and economic assets also do not go according to the planned scenario. An attempt to hold a party and economic activity in the Hadrut region on the same day generally leads to a spontaneous rally. The plans of the Azerbaijani leadership to resolve the situation were thwarted. The party and economic leaders of Karabakh not only did not condemn “extremism”, but, on the contrary, actively supported it.
On February 13, the first rally takes place in Stepanakert, at which demands are made for the annexation of NKAO to Armenia. The City Executive Committee gives permission to hold it, outlining the goal - “the demand for the reunification of NKAO with Armenia.” Head Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Azerbaijan SSR M. Asadov unsuccessfully tries to prevent the meeting. Meanwhile, according to participants in the events, the executive authorities of the autonomous region are split and are losing control over the situation. Management is assumed by the Board of Directors, which includes the heads of large enterprises in the region and individual activists. The council decides to hold sessions of city and district councils, and then convene a session of the regional Council of People's Deputies.
On February 14, the Azerbaijani party leadership tries to appeal to the population of NKAO through the regional newspaper “Soviet Karabakh” with an appeal in which the ongoing events are regarded as “extremist and separatist”, inspired by Armenian nationalists. As a result of the intervention of the Board of Directors, the appeal was never published.
On February 20, 1988, an extraordinary session of people's deputies of the NKAO appealed to the Supreme Soviets of the Armenian SSR, the Azerbaijan SSR and the USSR with a request to consider and positively resolve the issue of transferring the NKAO from Azerbaijan to Armenia. After this, Azerbaijani refugees arrived in Baku with signs of beatings.
On February 21, the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee adopted a resolution according to which the demand for the inclusion of Nagorno-Karabakh into the Armenian SSR is presented as adopted as a result of the actions of “extremists” and “nationalists” and contrary to the interests of the Azerbaijan SSR and the Armenian SSR. The resolution is limited to general calls for the normalization of the situation, the development and implementation of measures for the further socio-economic and cultural development of the autonomous region. The central authorities will continue to be guided by this decree, despite the aggravation of the situation, continuously declaring that “there will be no redrawing of borders.”
On February 22, 1988, near the Armenian settlement of Askeran, a clash occurred between a large crowd of Azerbaijanis from the city of Agdam, heading to Stepanakert to express their protest against the decision of the regional authorities to separate Karabakh from Azerbaijan, police and military cordons placed on their way, and the local population, some of whom were armed with hunting rifles. As a result of the clash, two Azerbaijanis were killed.
About 50 Armenians were wounded. The leadership of Azerbaijan tried not to advertise these events. 2 More massive bloodshed was avoided that day. Meanwhile, a demonstration is taking place in Yerevan. The number of demonstrators by the end of the day reaches 45-50 thousand. The Vremya program touches on the topic of the decision of the regional council of the NKAO, where it is called inspired by “extremist and nationalist-minded individuals.” This reaction from the central press only increases the indignation of the Armenian public.
February 26, 1988 - a rally is held in Yerevan, in which almost half a million people participate. Later, at a meeting of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, Mikhail Gorbachev said that after the clash in Askeran, leaflets began to be distributed in Yerevan calling on the Armenians to “take up arms and crush the Turks, but in all the speeches it did not reach either anti-Sovietism or hostile antics.” And on the same day, a rally of 40-50 people is held in Sumgait in defense of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, which the very next day develops into an Armenian pogrom.
February 27, 1988 - Deputy Prosecutor General of the USSR A.F. Katusev, who was then in Baku in Baku, appears on television and reports the death of two Azerbaijanis in a skirmish near Askeran that occurred on February 22.
February 27-29 - Armenian pogrom in the city of Sumgait - the first mass outbreak of ethnic violence in modern Soviet history. Tom de Waal, author of a book on the history of the Karabakh conflict, says that "the Soviet Union in peacetime never experienced what happened" in Sumgayit. According to official data from the USSR Prosecutor General's Office, 26 Armenians and 6 Azerbaijanis died during these events. Armenian sources indicate that these data are underestimated.
In the spring - autumn of 1988, the Resolutions of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Central Committee of the CPSU were adopted in March 1988 regarding the interethnic conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Okrug, but did not lead to stabilization of the situation, since the most radical representatives of both conflicting sides rejected any compromise proposals. The majority of members of the regional council of deputies and the regional party committee supported the demands for the transfer of NKAO from Azerbaijan to Armenia, which were formalized in the relevant decisions of the sessions of the regional council and the plenum of the regional party committee, headed by Henrikh Poghosyan. In NKAO (especially in Stepanakert) there were daily crowded marches, rallies, strikes by collectives of enterprises, organizations, educational institutions region with demands for separation from Azerbaijan. An informal organization is being created - the Krunk Committee, headed by the director of the Stepanakert Construction Materials Plant Arkady Manucharov.
In fact, the committee assumed the functions of an organizer of mass protests. By decree of the Supreme Council of the AzSSR, the committee was dissolved, but in fact continued its activities. A movement to support the Armenian population of NKAO grew in Armenia. A “Karabakh” committee has been created in Yerevan, whose leaders are calling for increased pressure on government bodies with a view to transferring the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Okrug to Armenia. At the same time, calls continue in Azerbaijan for “decisive restoration of order” in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Okrug. Social tension and national enmity between the Azerbaijani and Armenian populations are increasing every day. In summer and autumn, cases of violence in NKAO become more frequent, and the mutual flow of refugees increases.
Representatives of the central Soviet and state bodies of the USSR are sent to NKAO. Some of the identified problems that have been building up in the national sphere for years are becoming public. The Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR urgently adopted a resolution “On measures to accelerate the socio-economic development of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region of the Azerbaijan SSR in 1988-1995.”
June 14, 1988 The Supreme Council of Armenia agrees to the inclusion of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region into the Armenian SSR.
On June 17, 1988, the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan decides that Nagorno-Karabakh should remain part of the republic: “In response to the appeal of the Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR, the Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan SSR, based on the interests of preserving the existing national-territorial structure of the country, enshrined in the Constitution of the USSR “, guided by the principles of internationalism, the interests of the Azerbaijani and Armenian peoples, other nations and nationalities of the republic, considered the transfer of NKAO from the Azerbaijan SSR to the Armenian SSR impossible.”
In July 1988, multi-day strikes by collectives of enterprises, organizations, educational institutions, and mass rallies took place in Armenia. As a result of a clash between protesters and soldiers of the Soviet Army at Yerevan Zvartnots airport, one of the protesters was killed. The 130th Catholicos of All Armenians Vazgen I (1955-1994) addresses on republican television with a call for wisdom, calm, a sense of responsibility of the Armenian people, and to end the strike. The call remains unheard. Enterprises and organizations have not been operating in Stepanakert for several months, processions and mass rallies are held every day through the streets of the city, the situation is becoming increasingly tense.
Meanwhile, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan is trying to normalize the situation in areas where Azerbaijanis live densely in Armenia. Refugees from Azerbaijan continue to arrive in the Armenian SSR. According to local authorities, as of July 13, 7,265 people (1,598 families) arrived in Armenia from Baku, Sumgait, Mingachevir, Kazakh, Shamkhor and other cities of Azerbaijan.
On July 18, 1988, a meeting of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was held in the Kremlin, at which the decisions of the Supreme Councils of the Armenian SSR and the Azerbaijan SSR on Nagorno-Karabakh were considered and a resolution was adopted on this issue. The resolution noted that, having considered the request of the Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR dated June 15, 1988 for the transfer of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region to the Armenian SSR (in connection with the petition of the Council of People's Deputies of the NKAO) and the decision of the Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan SSR dated June 17, 1988 On the unacceptability of the transfer of NKAO to the Armenian SSR, the Presidium of the Supreme Council considers it impossible to change the borders and the national-territorial division of the Azerbaijan SSR and the Armenian SSR established on a constitutional basis.
In September 1988, the Azerbaijani population was expelled from Stepanakert, the Armenian population from Shushi. On the 20th of September, a special situation and curfew were introduced in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region and the Agdam region of the Azerbaijan SSR. In Armenia, the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR decided to dissolve the Karabakh Committee. However, attempts by party and government bodies to calm the population had no effect. In Yerevan and some other cities of Armenia, calls continue to organize strikes, rallies, and hunger strikes. On September 22, the work of a number of enterprises and urban transport in Yerevan, Leninakan, Abovyan, Charentsavan, as well as the Etchmiadzin region was stopped. In Yerevan, military units, along with the police, are involved in ensuring order on the streets.
In November - December 1988, mass pogroms took place in Azerbaijan and Armenia, accompanied by violence and killings of civilians.
Slogans appeared: “Glory to the heroes of Sumgayit.” During the end of November 1988, more than 200 thousand Armenians became refugees from Azerbaijan, mainly to Armenia. According to various sources, pogroms on the territory of Armenia lead to the death of 20 to 30 Azerbaijanis. According to the Armenian side, 26 Azerbaijanis died in Armenia on interethnic grounds in three years (from 1988 to 1990), including 23 from November 27 to December 3, 1988, one in 1989, and two in 1990. According to Azerbaijani data, as a result of pogroms and violence in 1988-1989, 216 Azerbaijanis died in Armenia. The bulk of those killed were in the northern regions, where refugees from the Kirovabad regions had previously poured into; especially in the Gugark region, where, according to the KGB of Armenia, 11 people were killed.
In a number of cities in Azerbaijan and Armenia, a special situation is being introduced. December 1988 saw the largest flow of refugees - hundreds of thousands of people on both sides. In general, by 1989 the deportation of Azerbaijanis from Armenia and Armenians from rural areas of Azerbaijan (except Karabakh) was completed. On January 12, by decision of the Soviet government, direct control was introduced in NKAO for the first time in the USSR with the formation of the Committee for Special Administration of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, chaired by Arkady Volsky, head of the department of the CPSU Central Committee. The powers of regional party and government bodies were suspended, and the constitutional rights of citizens were limited. The committee was called upon to prevent further aggravation of the situation and contribute to its stabilization.
A state of emergency was declared in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. By decision of the Soviet leadership, members of the so-called “Karabakh Committee” (including the future President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan) were arrested.
From the end of April - beginning of May 1989, a new round of aggravation of the situation in the region began, caused by the continuous and ever-increasing actions of the “Karabakh movement”. The leaders of this movement and their like-minded people switched to the tactics of openly provoking clashes between the Armenian population of NKAO and internal troops and Azerbaijanis.
In July, an opposition party was formed in Azerbaijan - the Popular Front of Azerbaijan. An extraordinary session of the Council of People's Deputies of the Shaumyanovsky District of the Azerbaijan SSR adopted a decision on the inclusion of the region into the NKAO.
In August, a congress of representatives of the region's population was held in the NKAO. The congress adopted an appeal to the Azerbaijani people, which expressed concern about the growing alienation between the Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples, which had developed into interethnic hostility, and called for mutual recognition of each other's inalienable rights. The congress also addressed the commandant of the Special Region, officers and soldiers of the Soviet army and units of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs with a proposal for active cooperation in order to ensure peace in the region. The Congress elected the National Council (chaired by People's Deputy of the USSR V. Grigoryan), which was tasked with the practical implementation of the decision of the session of the regional Council of People's Deputies of February 20, 1988. The Presidium of the National Council sent an appeal to the UN Security Council with a request for assistance in ensuring the protection of the Armenian population of the region.
The leadership of the Azerbaijan SSR, as a measure of pressure on the NKAO and Armenia, is undertaking an economic blockade of them, cutting off the delivery of national economic goods (food, fuel and building materials) by rail and road transport through its territory. NKAO was practically isolated from the outside world. Many enterprises were stopped, transport was idle, and crops were not exported.
On November 28, 1989, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a resolution on the abolition of the Special Administration Committee of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, according to which, in particular, Azerbaijan was to “create a republican organizing committee on a parity basis with the NKAO and restore the activities of the Council of People's Deputies of the NKAO.” The created organizing committee, which was headed by the second secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan Viktor Polyanichko, did not include representatives from the NKAO, the activities of the Council of People's Deputies of the NKAO were not resumed, the requirements of the Decree to ensure the status of real autonomy of the NKAO, compliance with the rule of law, protection of life and safety of citizens were not met, preventing changes in the existing national composition in NKAO. Subsequently, it was this body that developed and carried out, with the help of the police, riot police and internal troops, operations to deport (evict) the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh and neighboring areas. The session of the Council of People's Deputies of the NKAO independently proclaimed the resumption of its activities and did not recognize the Republican Organizing Committee, which led to the creation of two centers of power in the NKAO, each of which was recognized by only one of the conflicting ethnic groups.
On December 1, the Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR and the National Council of the NKAO, “based on the universal principles of self-determination of nations and responding to the legitimate desire for the reunification of two forcibly separated parts of the Armenian people,” at a joint meeting adopted a resolution “On the reunification of the Armenian SSR and the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region” .
From January 13 to January 20, 1990, Armenian pogroms took place in Baku, where by the beginning of the year only about 35 thousand Armenians remained. The central authorities of the USSR are showing criminal slowness in making decisions in order to stop the violence. Only a week after the start of the pogroms, troops were brought into Baku to prevent the seizure of power by the anti-communist Popular Front of Azerbaijan. This action led to numerous casualties among the civilian population of Baku, who tried to prevent the entry of troops.
January 14 - The Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan SSR unites two neighboring districts - the Armenian-populated Shaumyanovsky and the Azerbaijani Kasum-Ismailovsky into one - Goranboysky. In the new administrative region, Armenians make up only 20 percent of the population.
On January 15, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR introduces a state of emergency in the NKAO, the border regions of the Azerbaijan SSR, in the Goris region of the Armenian SSR, as well as in the border zone along the state border of the USSR on the territory of the Azerbaijan SSR. The Commandant's Office of the region of the state of emergency was formed, responsible for the implementation of this regime. Subordinate to her were the units of the internal troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs assigned to her.
In connection with the introduction of a state of emergency, the activities of the regional and district councils of people's deputies of the NKAO, the Nagorno-Karabakh regional committee of the CPAZ, party and all public organizations and associations in Stepanakert and four Armenian-populated regions were suspended. At the same time, in the Shusha region, where almost only Azerbaijanis lived, the activities of all constitutional authorities were preserved. Unlike the Armenian settlements, party organizations were not abolished in the Azerbaijani villages of the NKAO; on the contrary, party committees were created in them with the rights of district committees of the KPAz. The supply of food and industrial goods to residents of the NKAO was carried out intermittently, passenger traffic on railway, the number of flights Stepanakert - Yerevan has sharply decreased. Due to the shortage of food, the situation in Armenian settlements became critical; the Armenians of Karabakh had no land communications with Armenia and the only means of delivering food and medicine there, as well as evacuating the wounded and refugees, was civil Aviation. The USSR internal troops stationed in Stepanakert tried to sharply reduce such flights - even to the point of withdrawing armored vehicles to the runway. In this connection, the Armenians in Martakert to maintain contact with outside world built a dirt runway capable of receiving AN-2 aircraft. However, on May 21, the Azerbaijanis, with the support of the military, plowed open the runway and destroyed the equipment.
On April 3, the USSR Law “On the Legal Regime of a State of Emergency” was adopted. Illegal armed groups began to play an increasingly important role, receiving the support of the local population, who saw in them their defenders and avengers for the grievances inflicted. During 1990 and the first half of 1991, as a result of the unwinding spiral of violence and the growing activity of these formations, military personnel, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and civilians were killed and injured. Armed groups also penetrated into places where the Armenian population was densely populated on the territory of Azerbaijan (NKAO and adjacent areas) from the territory of Armenia. There were numerous cases of attacks on civilians, livestock thefts, hostage-taking, and attacks on military units using firearms. On July 25, the Decree of the President of the USSR “On the prohibition of the creation of illegal formations not provided for by the legislation of the USSR and the seizure of weapons in cases of illegal storage” was issued. On September 13, units of the Azerbaijani riot police stormed the village of Chapar in the Martakert region. During the attack, in addition to small arms, mortars and grenade launchers were used, as well as helicopters from which hand grenades were dropped. As a result of the assault, 6 Armenians died. On September 25, two Azerbaijani helicopters bombed Stepanakert in the same way.
On April 30, 1990, the beginning of the so-called Operation “Ring” to implement the Decree of the President of the USSR dated July 25, 1990 “On the prohibition of the creation of illegal formations not provided for by the legislation of the USSR, and the seizure of weapons in cases of their illegal storage,” carried out by units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Azerbaijani Republic, internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR and the Soviet Army from the end of April to the beginning of June 1991 in the NKAO and adjacent regions of Azerbaijan. The operation, which had as its official goal the disarmament of Armenian “illegal armed groups” and verification of the passport regime in Karabakh, led to armed clashes and casualties among the population. During Operation Ring, the complete deportation of 24 Armenian villages of Karabakh was carried out.
On May 1, the US Senate unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the crimes committed by the authorities of the USSR and Azerbaijan against the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan. On May 15, the landing of Azerbaijani riot police near the Armenian villages of Spitakashen and Arpagyaduk led to the complete deportation of the residents of these villages
On July 20, as a result of an attack by Armenian militants near the village of Buzuluk, Shaumyanovsky district, three Mi-24s were damaged, and one of the pilots was wounded.
On August 28, 1990, Azerbaijan declared independence. The declaration “On the restoration of state independence of the Azerbaijan Republic” states that “the Azerbaijan Republic is the successor to the Azerbaijan Republic that existed from May 28, 1918 to April 28, 1920.”
On September 2, a joint session of the Nagorno-Karabakh regional and Shaumyanovsky district Councils of People's Deputies was held, which proclaimed the formation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) within the borders of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region (NKAO) and the adjacent Shaumyanovsky region of the Azerbaijan SSR, populated by Armenians. According to the deputies, they were guided by the USSR Law of April 3, 1990 “On the procedure for resolving issues related to the withdrawal of a union republic from the USSR.”
In the fall of 1990, the Agdam branch of the Popular Front of Azerbaijan created the Agdam militia battalion under the command of Bagirov. On September 25, a 120-day shelling of Stepanakert with Alazan anti-hail installations begins. The escalation of hostilities is unfolding throughout almost the entire territory of the NKR. On November 23, Azerbaijan will revoke the autonomous status of Nagorno-Karabakh. On November 27, the USSR State Council adopted a resolution calling on the parties to ceasefire, withdraw all “illegal armed groups” from the conflict zone and cancel resolutions changing the status of NKAO. The National Army of Azerbaijan was created in December. December 10 - a referendum on independence was held in the self-proclaimed NKR.
Since the conclusion of the Bishkek ceasefire agreement on May 5, 1994, the fate of more than four thousand Azerbaijani citizens who are still listed as missing remains unclear. Since 1992, the International Committee of the Red Cross has worked closely with the Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society to assist authorities in fulfilling their obligations under international humanitarian law and the right of families of missing persons to information about the fate of their loved ones.
The result of the military confrontation was the victory of the Armenian side. Despite the numerical advantage, superiority in military equipment and manpower, with incomparably greater resources, Azerbaijan was defeated.
During the war between Azerbaijan and the unrecognized NKR, as a result of bombing and shelling of the civilian population of NK by the Azerbaijani army, 1,264 civilians died (of which more than 500 were women and children). 596 people (179 women and children) were missing. In total, from 1988 to 1994, more than 2,000 civilians of Armenian nationality were killed in Azerbaijan and the unrecognized NKR.
Armenian formations knocked out more than 400 armored vehicles (31% of those available to the Republic of Azerbaijan at that time), including 186 tanks (49%), shot down 20 military aircraft (37%), more than 20 combat helicopters of the National Army of Azerbaijan (more than half helicopter fleet of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan).
As a result of the military confrontation between the unrecognized NKR and the Republic of Azerbaijan, the territory of 7 districts of the former Azerbaijan SSR came under the control of Armenian formations - 5 completely and 2 partially (Kelbajar, Lachin, Kubatli, Dzhabrail, Zangelan - completely, and Agdam and Fizuli partially) with a total area of 7060 square meters. km., which is 8.15% of the territory of the former Azerbaijan SSR. The National Army of Azerbaijan controls 750 sq. km of the territory of the unrecognized NKR - Shaumyansky (630 sq. km.) and small parts of the Martuni and Mardakert regions, which constitutes 14.85% of the total area of the NKR. In addition, part of the territory of the Republic of Armenia - the Artsvashensky enclave - came under the control of Azerbaijan.
390,000 Armenians became refugees (360,000 Armenians from Azerbaijan and 30 thousand from NKR). It should be taken into account that many Azerbaijanis from Armenia were able to sell their houses or apartments and purchase housing in Azerbaijan before leaving. Some of them exchanged housing with Armenians leaving Azerbaijan.
The basis of any conflict is based on both objective and subjective contradictions, as well as a situation that includes either contradictory positions of the parties on any issue, or opposing goals, methods or means of achieving them in given circumstances, or a divergence of interests.
According to one of the founders of the general theory of conflict, R. Dahrendorf, the concept of a free, open and democratic society does not at all solve all the problems and contradictions of development. Not only developing countries, but also those with established democracies are not immune from them. Social conflicts pose a threat, the danger of the collapse of society.
Last updated: 04/02/2016
Violent clashes broke out in Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed region on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, on Saturday night. using “all types of weapons.” The Azerbaijani authorities, in turn, claim that the clashes began after shelling from Nagorno-Karabakh. Official Baku stated that the Armenian side had violated the ceasefire 127 times over the past 24 hours, including using mortars and heavy machine guns.
AiF.ru talks about the history and causes of the Karabakh conflict, which has long historical and cultural roots, and what led to its aggravation today.
History of the Karabakh conflict
The territory of modern Nagorno-Karabakh in the 2nd century. BC e. was annexed to Greater Armenia and for about six centuries formed part of the province of Artsakh. At the end of the 4th century. n. e., during the division of Armenia, this territory was included by Persia as part of its vassal state - Caucasian Albania. From the middle of the 7th century to the end of the 9th century, Karabakh fell under Arab rule, but in the 9th-16th centuries it became part of the Armenian feudal principality of Khachen. Until the middle of the 18th century, Nagorno-Karabakh was under the rule of the union of Armenian melikdoms of Khamsa. In the second half of the 18th century, Nagorno-Karabakh, with a predominant Armenian population, became part of the Karabakh Khanate, and in 1813, as part of the Karabakh Khanate, according to the Treaty of Gulistan, it became part of the Russian Empire.
Karabakh Armistice Commission, 1918. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
At the beginning of the 20th century, the region with a predominant Armenian population twice (in 1905-1907 and in 1918-1920) became the scene of bloody Armenian-Azerbaijani clashes.
In May 1918, in connection with the revolution and the collapse of Russian statehood, three independent states were proclaimed in Transcaucasia, including the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (mainly on the lands of the Baku and Elizavetpol provinces, Zagatala district), which included the Karabakh region.
The Armenian population of Karabakh and Zangezur, however, refused to submit to the ADR authorities. Convened on July 22, 1918 in Shusha, the First Congress of Armenians of Karabakh proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh an independent administrative and political unit and elected its own People's Government (from September 1918 - the Armenian National Council of Karabakh).
Ruins of the Armenian quarter of the city of Shusha, 1920. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Pavel Shekhtman
The confrontation between Azerbaijani troops and Armenian armed forces continued in the region until the establishment of Soviet power. At the end of April 1920, Azerbaijani troops occupied the territory of Karabakh, Zangezur and Nakhichevan. By mid-June 1920, the resistance of the Armenian armed forces in Karabakh was suppressed with the help of Soviet troops.
On November 30, 1920, Azrevkom, by its declaration, granted Nagorno-Karabakh the right to self-determination. However, despite the autonomy, the territory continued to remain the Azerbaijan SSR, which led to intense conflict: in the 1960s, socio-economic tensions in the NKAO escalated into mass unrest several times.
What happened to Karabakh during perestroika?
In 1987 - early 1988, dissatisfaction of the Armenian population with their socio-economic situation intensified in the region, which was influenced by the ongoing USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev the policy of democratization of Soviet public life and the weakening of political restrictions.
Protest sentiments were fueled by Armenian nationalist organizations, and the actions of the nascent national movement were skillfully organized and directed.
The leadership of the Azerbaijan SSR and the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, for their part, tried to resolve the situation by using the usual command and bureaucratic levers, which turned out to be ineffective in the new situation.
In October 1987, student strikes took place in the region demanding the secession of Karabakh, and on February 20, 1988, a session of the regional Council of the NKAO addressed the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan SSR with a request to transfer the region to Armenia. IN regional center, Stepanakert, and Yerevan, thousands of people held rallies with nationalistic overtones.
Most of the Azerbaijanis living in Armenia were forced to flee. In February 1988, Armenian pogroms began in Sumgait, thousands of Armenian refugees appeared.
In June 1988, the Supreme Council of Armenia agreed to the entry of the NKAO into the Armenian SSR, and the Azerbaijani Supreme Council agreed to preserve the NKAO as part of Azerbaijan with the subsequent liquidation of autonomy.
On July 12, 1988, the regional council of Nagorno-Karabakh decided to secede from Azerbaijan. At a meeting on July 18, 1988, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR came to the conclusion that it was impossible to transfer the NKAO to Armenia.
In September 1988, armed clashes began between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, which turned into protracted armed conflict, as a result of which there were large casualties. As a result of the successful military actions of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh in Armenian), this territory came out of the control of Azerbaijan. The decision on the official status of Nagorno-Karabakh was postponed indefinitely.
Speech in support of the separation of Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan. Yerevan, 1988. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Gorzaim
What happened to Karabakh after the collapse of the USSR?
In 1991, full-fledged military operations began in Karabakh. Through a referendum (December 10, 1991), Nagorno-Karabakh tried to gain the right to full independence. The attempt failed, and this region became hostage to the antagonistic claims of Armenia and attempts by Azerbaijan to retain power.
The result of full-scale military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1991 - early 1992 was the complete or partial capture of seven Azerbaijani regions by regular Armenian units. Following this, military operations using the most modern weapons systems spread to internal Azerbaijan and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
Thus, until 1994, Armenian troops occupied 20% of the territory of Azerbaijan, destroyed and plundered 877 settlements, while the death toll was about 18 thousand people, and the wounded and disabled were more than 50 thousand.
In 1994, with the help of Russia, Kyrgyzstan, as well as the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly in Bishkek, Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan signed a protocol on the basis of which a ceasefire agreement was reached.
What happened in Karabakh in August 2014?
In the Karabakh conflict zone, at the end of July - in August 2014, there was a sharp escalation of tension, which led to casualties. On July 31 of this year, clashes occurred between the troops of the two states on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, as a result of which military personnel on both sides were killed.
A stand at the entrance to NKR with the inscription “Welcome to Free Artsakh” in Armenian and Russian. 2010 Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org/lori-m
What is Azerbaijan's version of the conflict in Karabakh?
According to Azerbaijan, on the night of August 1, 2014, reconnaissance and sabotage groups of the Armenian army attempted to cross the line of contact between the troops of the two states in the Aghdam and Terter regions. As a result, four Azerbaijani servicemen were killed.
What is Armenia's version of the conflict in Karabakh?
According to official Yerevan, everything happened exactly the opposite. The official position of Armenia states that an Azerbaijani sabotage group entered the territory of the unrecognized republic and fired artillery and small arms at Armenian territory.
At the same time, Baku, according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Edward Nalbandian, does not agree to the proposal of the world community to investigate incidents in the border zone, which means, therefore, according to the Armenian side, it is Azerbaijan that is responsible for the violation of the truce.
According to the Armenian Ministry of Defense, during the period of August 4-5 of this year alone, Baku resumed shelling the enemy about 45 times, using artillery, including large-caliber weapons. There were no casualties on the Armenian side during this period.
What is the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) version of the conflict in Karabakh?
According to the defense army of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), during the week from July 27 to August 2, Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire regime established since 1994 in the conflict zone in Nagorno-Karabakh 1.5 thousand times, as a result of actions on both sides, about 24 died Human.
Currently, firefights between the parties are being carried out, including the use of large-caliber small arms and artillery - mortars, anti-aircraft guns and even thermobaric grenades. Shelling of border settlements has also become more frequent.
What is Russia's reaction to the conflict in Karabakh?
The Russian Foreign Ministry assessed the escalation of the situation, “resulting in significant human casualties,” as a serious violation of the 1994 ceasefire agreements. The agency called on “to show restraint, renounce the use of force and take immediate measures aimed at.”
What is the US reaction to the conflict in Karabakh?
The US State Department, in turn, called on the ceasefire to be observed, and the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to meet at the earliest opportunity and resume dialogue on key issues.
“We also urge the parties to accept the proposal of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office to begin negotiations that could lead to the signing of a peace agreement,” the State Department said.
It is noteworthy that on August 2 Prime Minister of Armenia Hovik Abrahamyan stated that the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev can meet in Sochi on August 8 or 9 this year.
7 simple facts that explain how it all happened
Have you heard about the conflict in Karabakh and don’t know its cause? Have you read about the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and would like to know what exactly is happening?
If yes, then this material will help you get a basic impression of what is happening.
What are Armenia, Azerbaijan and Karabakh?
Countries in the South Caucasus region. Armenia has existed since the times of Babylon and Assyria. A country called Azerbaijan appeared in 1918, and the concept of “Azerbaijani” even later – in 1936. Karabakh (which Armenians have called “Artsakh” since ancient times), a region inhabited by Armenians for centuries, has been a de facto independent republic since 1991. Azerbaijan is fighting for Karabakh, claiming that it is Azerbaijani territory. Armenia is assisting Karabakh in its intention to protect its borders and independence from Azerbaijani aggression. (If you want to know more, just look at the “Karabakh” section in Wikipedia).
Why did Karabakh become part of Azerbaijan?
In 1918-1920 the newly created Azerbaijan, with the support of Turkey, is trying to take possession of Karabakh, but the Armenians did not allow Azerbaijan to seize their lands. In the early 1920s, when the communists occupied Transcaucasia, Joseph Stalin decided in one day to transfer Karabakh to what had become Soviet Azerbaijan. The Armenians were against it, but could not prevent it.
Why didn’t the Armenians want to reconcile?
The number of Armenians of Karabakh within Soviet Azerbaijan began to gradually decrease due to the policies pursued by the Azerbaijani authorities, who in every possible way interfered with the economic and cultural development of Armenians, closed Armenian schools, and also interfered with the connections of the Armenians of Karabakh with Armenia, different ways forced them to emigrate. In addition, the Azerbaijani authorities constantly increased the number of Azerbaijanis in the region, building new settlements for them.
How did the war start?
In 1988, a national movement of Armenians began in Karabakh, advocating secession from Azerbaijan and joining Armenia. The Azerbaijani leadership responded to this with pogroms and deportations of Armenians in a number of Azerbaijani cities. The Soviet army, in turn, began clearing Karabakh of Armenians and deporting the population. Karabakh began to fight with the Soviet army and Azerbaijan. Local Armenians, by the way, are excellent warriors. Only the village of Chardakhlu (on this moment- under the control of Azerbaijan, all Armenians were deported) gave 2 Soviet marshals, 11 generals, 50 colonels, who fought the Nazis as part of the Soviet army.
After the collapse of the USSR, the war with Karabakh was continued by independent Azerbaijan. At the cost of blood, the Armenians were able to defend most of the territory of Karabakh, but lost one district and part of two other districts. In return, the Armenians of Karabakh were able to occupy the territories of 7 border regions, which in the 1920s, also through the mediation of Stalin, were separated from Armenia and Karabakh and transferred to Azerbaijan. Only thanks to this, today Azerbaijani conventional artillery cannot fire at Stepanakert.
Why did the war resume after decades?
According to various international organizations Azerbaijan, relatively rich in oil but with a low standard of living, is a country with a corrupt dictatorship. The average salary here is even lower than in Karabakh. In order to distract the population from numerous internal problems, the Azerbaijani authorities have been straining the situation on the border of Karabakh and Armenia for years. For example, the latest clashes coincided with the Panama scandal and the publication of dark facts about the next billions of the clan of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
After all, whose land is Karabakh?
In Karabakh (which, let us remember, the Armenians call Artsakh) there are more than 3,000 monuments of Armenian history and culture, including more than 500 Christian churches. The oldest of these monuments are more than 2 thousand years old. There are no more than 2-3 dozen Islamic monuments in Artsakh, the oldest of which was built in the 18th century.
Whose land is Nagorno-Karabakh? You are free to draw your own conclusions.
The Karabakh conflict is an ethnopolitical conflict in the Transcaucasus between Azerbaijanis and Armenians. The intercommunal conflict, which has long-standing historical and cultural roots, acquired new severity during the years of perestroika (1987-1988), against the backdrop of a sharp rise in national movements in Armenia and Azerbaijan. By November - December 1988, as noted by A. N. Yamskov, the majority of residents of both republics were involved in this conflict, and it actually outgrew the scope of the local problem of Nagorno-Karabakh, turning into an “open interethnic confrontation”, which was only temporarily suspended by the Spitak earthquake . The unpreparedness of the Soviet leadership for adequate political action in an environment of aggravated interethnic strife, the contradictory nature of the measures taken, and the declaration by the central authorities of equal guilt of Armenia and Azerbaijan in creating the crisis situation led to the emergence and strengthening of radical anti-communist opposition in both republics.
In 1991-1994, this confrontation led to large-scale military actions for control of Nagorno-Karabakh and some surrounding territories. In terms of the level of military confrontation, it was surpassed only by the Chechen conflict, but, as Svante Cornell noted, “of all the Caucasian conflicts, the Karabakh conflict has the greatest strategic and regional significance. This conflict is the only one on the territory of the former Soviet Union, in which two independent states are directly involved. Moreover, in the late 1990s, the Karabakh conflict contributed to the formation of groupings of states opposing each other in the Caucasus and around it.”
On May 5, 1994, the Bishkek Protocol on a truce and ceasefire was signed between Armenia and the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic on the one hand and Azerbaijan on the other.
As G.V. Starovoitova wrote, “from the point of view international law this conflict is an example of the contradiction between two fundamental principles: on the one hand, the right of a people to self-determination, and on the other hand, the principle of territorial integrity, according to which only a peaceful change of borders by agreement is possible.”
Through a referendum (December 10, 1991), Nagorno-Karabakh tried to gain the right to full independence. The attempt failed, and this region became hostage to the antagonistic claims of Armenia and attempts by Azerbaijan to retain power.
The result of full-scale military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1991 and early 1992 was the complete or partial capture of seven Azerbaijani regions by regular Armenian units. Following this, military operations using the most modern weapons systems spread to internal Azerbaijan and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Thus, until 1994, Armenian troops occupied 20% of the territory of Azerbaijan, destroyed and plundered 877 settlements, while the death toll was about 18 thousand people, and more than 50 thousand wounded and disabled.
In 1994, with the help of Russia, Kyrgyzstan, as well as the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly in Bishkek, Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan signed a protocol on the basis of which a ceasefire agreement was reached. Although, negotiations regarding a peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict have been ongoing since 1991. The first meeting of representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan took place back in 1993, and since 1999, regular meetings have been held between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Despite this, the “degree” of the war remains, because Azerbaijan is trying with all its might to preserve its former territorial integrity, Armenia insists that it protects the interests of Nagorno-Karabakh, which, as an unrecognized republic, is not a party to the negotiations at all.
This three-stage conflict has a history of almost a century and, for now, it is too early to talk about the end of the third stage, and, consequently, the conflict itself. The UN Security Council adopted resolutions from April to November 1993. These resolutions called on the parties to disarmament and peaceful settlement of disputed issues. The result of the war of 1987-1991. is the victory of the Armenian side, the actual independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, the “freezing” of the conflict. The cruelty of both sides towards the population of another nationality, gross violations of human rights during operations, torture, arbitrary arrests, detentions. After the defeat of the Azerbaijani side, Armenophobia arose, accompanied by the destruction of monuments of Armenian culture and cemeteries. The losses of both sides, according to various sources, number up to 50,000 people. None of the four UN Security Council resolutions were fully implemented, despite their imperative nature.
This ethno-territorial conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh has a very interesting composition of parties. Essentially, this is a clash of two political camps – Armenian and Azerbaijani. In fact, it is a clash of three political parties: Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (the interests of Yerevan and Stepanakert had significant differences).
The positions of the parties remain contradictory to this day: NKR wants to remain a sovereign state, Azerbaijan insists on the return of the territory, citing compliance with the principle of territorial integrity of the state. Armenia seeks to keep Karabakh under its auspices.
Russia is trying to become a peacemaker in the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. But the Kremlin’s interests do not allow it to become an independent and impartial arbitrator in the Middle East arena. On November 2, 2008, negotiations between the three countries regarding the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem took place in Moscow. Russia hopes that Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations will ensure stability in the Caucasus.
Russia, being a member of the OSCE Minsk Group (a group of OSCE co-chairing countries leading the process of peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The purpose of this group is to constantly provide a forum for negotiating a crisis situation based on the principles, commitments and provisions of the OSCE. We can talk about the ineffectiveness of this group, since they have fulfilled only one of its functions - a forum for negotiations9), proposed to the negotiators Armenia and Azerbaijan a draft of the basic principles for resolving the conflict - the Madrid Principles.
By the way, according to the 2010 census, 1,182 thousand Armenians live in Russia, and this is the 6th largest nation in Russia. The all-Russian public organization uniting the Armenians of Russia is the Union of Armenians of Russia. If we talk about the goals he pursues, then this is the multifaceted development and support of Armenians, both in Russia and in Armenia and NKR.
The Karabakh conflict between the Armenian and Azerbaijani populations of the autonomous republic of Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan is the first large-scale ethnic clash on the territory of the Soviet Union.
It demonstrated the weakening of central power and became a harbinger of the upheavals that led to. The conflict is not over; it continues today, 25 years later.
Periods of calm alternate with local hostilities. The intensification of fighting from April 2 to 5, 2016 led to the death of more than 70 people on both sides. There is no solution that suits everyone and is not expected in the foreseeable future.
Neighbours
The conflict did not start suddenly. In the confrontation between the Ottoman and Russian empires, Russia traditionally supported the Armenians, and Turkey the Azerbaijanis. Geographically, Karabakh found itself between opponents - on the Azerbaijani side of the mountain range, but populated mainly by Armenians in the mountainous part, and the Azerbaijani population on the plain, centered in the city of Shushi.
Strange, but during the entire 19th century not a single open conflict was recorded. Only in the 20th century, with the weakening of the central government, contradictions began to move into a hot phase. During the revolution of 1905, the first interethnic clashes occurred, which lasted until 1907.
During Civil War in Russia in 1918–1920, the conflict again entered a hot phase, sometimes called the Armenian-Azerbaijani war. At the end of the Civil War, during the formation of the union republics, a decision was made to form the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region as part of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The reasons for this decision are still unclear.
According to some reports, Stalin wanted to improve relations with Turkey in this way. Moreover, in the 1930s, during administrative changes, several regions of Nagorno-Karabakh bordering Armenia were transferred to Azerbaijan. Now the Autonomous Region did not have a common border with Armenia. The conflict has entered a smoldering phase.
In the 40s - 70s, the leadership of Azerbaijan pursued a policy of settling the NKAO with Azerbaijanis, which did not contribute to good relations between neighbors.
War
In 1987, Moscow's control over union republics weakened and the frozen conflict began to flare up again. Numerous rallies took place on both sides. In 1988, Armenian pogroms swept across Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijanis left Armenia en masse. Azerbaijan blocked communications between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia; in response, Armenia declared a blockade of the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhichevan.
In the ensuing chaos, weapons began to flow from army garrisons and military warehouses to the participants in the confrontation. In 1990, the real war began. With the collapse of the USSR, the warring parties received full access to the weapons of the Soviet army in Transcaucasia. Armored vehicles, artillery and aviation appeared on the fronts. Russian military personnel in the region, abandoned by their command, often fought on both sides of the front, especially in aviation.
The turning point in the war occurred in May 1992, when the Lachin region of Azerbaijan, bordering Armenia, was captured by the Armenians. Now Nagorno-Karabakh was connected to Armenia by a transport corridor, through which military equipment and volunteers began to flow. In 1993 and the first half of 1994, the advantage of the Armenian formations became obvious.
Systematically expanding the Lachin corridor, the Armenians captured the regions of Azerbaijan lying between Karabakh and Armenia. The Azerbaijani population was expelled from them. Active actions ended in May 1994 with the signing of a ceasefire agreement. The Karabakh conflict was suspended, but did not end.
Results
- Up to 7 thousand dead in Karabakh (no exact figures)
- 11,557 Azerbaijani military deaths
- More than half a million refugees
- Armenians control 13.4% of the territory of Azerbaijan, which was not part of the NKAO before the war
- Over the past 24 years, several attempts have been made to bring the positions of the parties closer together, with the participation of Russia, the United States and Turkey. None of them were successful
- The common ones are completely destroyed cultural traditions, developed over centuries of life together. Both sides developed their own, diametrically opposed versions of history, theories and myths.