Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, was a 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 within Azerbaijan from the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war until the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive, when the 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 5 km (3.1 mi) wide Lachin corridor, which was placed under the supervision of Russian peacekeeping forces.
The town of Chartar in 2010
General view of the capital Stepanakert in 2015
Artsakh Street in Watertown, Massachusetts in 2011
Wall with images of fallen Armenian soldiers during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia's republic of Dagestan to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia and Turkey to the west, and Iran to the south. Baku is the capital and largest city.
Petroglyphs in Gobustan National Park dating back to the 10th millennium BC indicating a thriving culture
The siege of Ganja Fortress in 1804 during the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813
Soviet Army paratroopers during the Black January tragedy in 1990
Caucasus Mountains in northern Azerbaijan