Republic of Artsakh

Artsakh or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is an unrecognized state in the South Caucasus. It is located in the north of the geographic region of Western Asia and in the northeast of the Armenian Highlands. Until 2020, it bordered on Armenia in the west, Azerbaijan in the north and east, and Iran in the south. After November 2020, it was surrounded on all sides by the territory of Azerbaijan, but the transport corridor, which is under the control of the Russian peacekeeping forces, provides transport links with Armenia.

The main population consists of ethnic Armenians, the official languages are Armenian and Russian. Stepanakert is the capital city with a population of 75 thousand people. The overwhelming majority of believers are Christians of the Armenian Apostolic Church. In Artsakh people speak the Karabakh dialect of the Armenian language. This dialect is considered one of the most widespread Armenian dialects.

The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was proclaimed on 2 September 1991 within the borders of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region and the adjacent Shahumyan Province of the Soviet Azerbaijan. On 10 December 1991, a referendum was held in which the majority of the population voted for independence. This led to large-scale wars between the forces of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan in 1990s, 2006 and 2020.