Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians
Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians struggle to cling to their identity
Following the mass displacement in 2023, Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians have struggled to preserve their identity, dialect, and culture.
Marut Vanyan
Marut Vanyan is a freelance journalist based in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh. He has worked in journalism since 2015.
Armenia
The ‘Black Garden’ becomes ‘a black corner’ for Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians
One year has passed since the exodus of practically the entire population of Nagorno-Karabakh. OC Media reconnected with refugees interviewed in the immediate aftermath to hear how they are a year on. On 19 September 2023, Azerbaijan launched its last large-scale military offensive on Nagorno-Karabakh, calling it an ‘anti-terrorist operation’. Days later, the region came under the full control of Azerbaijan. Armenians living in the region had not expected such an outcome, continuing to wait
Armenia
‘Bread is all we have’: Nagorno-Karabakh’s population faces threat of starvation
With Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor continuing, food and medical supplies in Nagorno-Karabakh are running out. The dwindling supplies have led some to warn that the region is entering the worst phase so far of the nine-month blockade. Larisa, 69, moved to Nagorno-Karabakh’s capital of Stepanakert following the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020, after Azerbaijan took control of Togh, her village in Hadrut region. ‘I have seen a lot of suffering’, Larisa tells OC Media. ‘My 1
Armenia
The villages of the Lachin Corridor face ‘double blockade’
With ‘eco-activists’ blocking one side and an Azerbaijani checkpoint on the other, four Armenian villages in the Lachin Corridor have found themselves cut off from all directions. ‘The Red Cross vehicles are seen passing, the Russians are seen passing, but no one stops here’, says Samvel Tavadyan, a teacher in the village of Mets Shen. Mets Shen lies on the new route of the Lachin Corridor. The road, the only one in and out of the region, was supposed to be controlled by the Russian peaceke
Armenia
Plastic flowers at a funeral: small-town life under blockade
The small town of Chartar in the Martuni region of Nagorno-Karabakh is facing the second month of the region’s blockade. With gas disruptions leading to fuel shortages, and limited transport in and out of the town, some local residents feel doubly cut off. The main bus station in Stepanakert has been quieter than usual for the past month with the buses to and from Yerevan no longer running. Public transport within Nagorno-Karabakh is also experiencing disruptions, due to a shortage of fuel.
Armenia
Nagorno-Karabakh rallies amid blockade
Tens of thousands of people gathered in Stepanakert on Sunday to demand that the road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to the outside world be reopened. The Lachin Corridor has been blocked by Azerbaijani ‘eco-activists’ since 12 December. The protest came amidst news of mounting food and medical shortages, and promises from Russian peacekeepers that the situation would be resolved on 26 December. At the time of publication, the road remains closed. In his speech at the rally, the State Ministe
