A Land, Two Peoples, and an Endless Dispute: The Wound Still Separating Armenia and Azerbaijan

Artur Avagyan, like many Armenians, speaks with deep nostalgia about Nagorno-Karabakh, a region he describes as a vital center of Armenian culture for over a millennium until 2023. He remembers its lush valleys, clear waters, and abundant fruit, but now finds the land of his ancestors off-limits after what he describes as an ethnic cleansing carried out by Azerbaijani troops, an event he feels the world has ignored.

Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as High Karabakh, has been a focal point of discord between Armenian and Azerbaijani communities in the Caucasus for over a century. While historical coexistence existed, tensions escalated as modern nations drew borders. Despite evidence suggesting an Armenian majority, Soviet leaders in 1921 placed the region within the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, though it was granted political autonomy as an oblast.

“

I remember very well the day we had to leave everything behind. We grabbed the cars, some belongings, and headed for the border. They kept us waiting there for 42 hours.

These simmering tensions erupted into a brutal war following the fall of the Berlin Wall, resulting in over 30,000 deaths and hundreds of thousands of refugees on both sides. Armenia emerged victorious, leading to the creation of the Republic of Artsakh, which was formally independent but closely aligned with Armenia.

“

It was very, very painful.

In 2023, Azerbaijan regained control of the territory in the latest conflict, expelling its estimated 120,000 ethnic Armenian inhabitants, who became refugees. Avagyan recounts the painful experience of fleeing, waiting 42 hours at the border amidst explosions. His wife, showing a video of their escape, described it as "very, very painful." Around twenty Karabakh Armenians, mostly political and military leaders, remain imprisoned in Azerbaijan.

Thousands of refugees settled in Russia and France, but the majority found refuge in Armenia. Political analyst Eric Hacopian notes Armenian pride in the absence of refugee camps, with most finding housing. However, initial monthly state aid of around $100 has been reduced to $70, primarily for retirees and minors, a sum insufficient for Yerevan's high rental costs, where a three-bedroom apartment can cost about $600.

“

One fact that I am proud of as an Armenian is that we have not had a single refugee camp. Everyone, in one way or another, has managed to find housing.