Historical Foundations of the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
1. The Historical Geography of Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh is a mountainous region in the South Caucasus, situated within the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan. Historically, its population included a substantial Armenian majority in the mountainous core, alongside Azerbaijani communities and other groups in the wider region.
The Armenian name Artsakh derives from an ancient geographical designation associated with territories of historical Armenia. Armenian historical traditions connect Artsakh to the eastern lands of ancient Armenian kingdoms, although the precise boundaries, political affiliations, and administrative structures of the region changed repeatedly over the centuries.
During different historical periods, the area came under the influence or authority of Armenian dynasties, Persian empires, local principalities, and eventually the Russian Empire.
Armenian religious and cultural institutions became deeply established in the mountainous region. Medieval monasteries, churches, inscriptions, manuscripts, and architectural monuments testify to a longstanding Armenian presence.
Among the important Armenian religious monuments associated with the region are Dadivank, Gandzasar, and Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi.
Azerbaijani historical narratives emphasize the region's connections to the khanates of the early modern period, especially the Karabakh Khanate, and to the political and cultural history of Azerbaijan. These competing historical interpretations became central to the national narratives surrounding the modern conflict.
Historical association, however, must be distinguished from modern international legal sovereignty. At the outbreak of the 2020 war, Nagorno-Karabakh was internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, despite being governed for decades by Armenian authorities outside Baku's effective control.
2. Russian Imperial Rule and the Transformation of the Region
The Russian Empire expanded into the South Caucasus during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
The 1805 Treaty of Kurekchay placed the Karabakh Khanate under Russian protection. The 1813 Treaty of Gulistan, following the Russo-Persian War, confirmed the transfer of significant territories, including Karabakh, from Persian to Russian control.
Russian administration transformed the political structures of the region. Imperial officials reorganized local government, introduced new administrative boundaries, and encouraged or facilitated population movements in parts of the South Caucasus.
Armenian, Muslim, and other communities continued to coexist, but the nineteenth century also saw the development of modern national movements.
By the early twentieth century, competing Armenian and Azerbaijani national claims had become increasingly prominent.
3. The Violence of 1905–1906 and the Collapse of Imperial Authority
During the Russian Revolution of 1905, violence erupted between Armenian and Muslim communities in several parts of the South Caucasus.
Clashes occurred in Baku, Nakhchivan, Shusha, and other locations.
The violence involved killings, destruction of property, retaliatory attacks, and the growth of armed communal organizations.
The collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917 intensified competing territorial claims.
Following the establishment of independent Armenian and Azerbaijani republics in 1918, disputes emerged over Nagorno-Karabakh, Zangezur, and Nakhchivan.
The period between 1918 and 1920 witnessed repeated confrontations and atrocities.
In March 1920, violence in Shusha resulted in the destruction of much of the city's Armenian quarter and the killing or displacement of large numbers of Armenian residents. Estimates of casualties vary considerably among historians.
These events became an enduring part of Armenian collective memory.
4. Soviet Incorporation and the Creation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast
Following the Sovietization of Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Bolshevik leadership determined the administrative status of Nagorno-Karabakh.
In July 1921, the Caucasian Bureau of the Russian Communist Party decided that Nagorno-Karabakh would remain within Soviet Azerbaijan, with regional autonomy.
In 1923, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast was formally established within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic.
The autonomous oblast had a predominantly Armenian population, although it did not include every Armenian-populated locality of the broader historical region.
Throughout the Soviet period, Armenian residents and political figures periodically sought the transfer of the autonomous oblast to Soviet Armenia.
These efforts reflected grievances concerning cultural rights, political representation, economic development, and the region's administrative status.
Azerbaijani authorities rejected such proposals, maintaining that Nagorno-Karabakh formed part of Azerbaijan.
The Soviet state generally suppressed open nationalist confrontation, but it did not eliminate the underlying dispute.
5. The Karabakh Movement of 1988
In February 1988, the regional Soviet of Nagorno-Karabakh voted to request the transfer of the autonomous oblast from Soviet Azerbaijan to Soviet Armenia.
Large demonstrations took place in Stepanakert and Yerevan.
The movement became one of the earliest major national mobilizations of the late Soviet period.
Armenian demonstrators demanded self-determination and reunification with Armenia.
Azerbaijani authorities and demonstrators opposed the territorial transfer.
The dispute rapidly escalated into ethnic violence.
In February 1988, anti-Armenian attacks in Sumgait killed Armenian civilians and forced many residents to flee. Additional anti-Armenian violence occurred in Baku in January 1990.
Armenians also carried out attacks against Azerbaijani civilians in different locations, while large-scale expulsions and population movements affected both communities.
By the dissolution of the Soviet Union, hundreds of thousands of Armenians and Azerbaijanis had been displaced from their homes.
The political dispute had developed into an armed conflict.