Two years after the end of the second Karabakh war, bombs and rifles are rising again in the Caucasus region. Azerbaijan this Tuesday he attacked part of his border with his neighbor and foe, Armeniain the final part of a century-old conflict.
A frozen conflict under the USSR
During the October Revolution of 1917, the Russian empire fell apart. Most of the regions belonging to the Romanov family became independent and were born in the Caucasus, a mountainous region full of valleys, mountains and small nations. three independent states Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Borders were something new: cities mixed population and it was common for one town to have an Armenian majority, the next town being Azeri and the next again Armenian. But the newly independent States wanted to define themselves, to impose their lines on others. appeared there first fights It passes through Upper Karabakh, a region of forests and mountains on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan. High in the mountains, most of the population was Armenian. In the valleys, Azeri.
This small battle lasted for a year until the Red Army units arrived and conquered the entire region. Karabakh remained within the borders of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. Armenia was also part of the Soviet Union, so the border disappeared.
The establishment of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and the first war
The conflict over these leafy mountains—Karabakh means black garden—was frozen until the Perestroika of the late Mikhail Gorbachev arrived. Armenians began to demand the union of Karabakh with Armenia. A timid violence ensued, disgraced by the first pogroms in 1988.
“I’ve never seen anything as terrible as this. A gang of 100 people murdered a single girl in cold blood. They came, they killed. They went and killed them. They came back, they killed. There were crimes in the war that followed, but nothing like this ever happened. I still see that scene replaying in my head. I will never forget that,” explained Karen, an Armenian who survived the Sumgait pogrom, a city on the outskirts of Baku, a few years ago.
At that time, war broke out. In 1991, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, consisting only of Armenians, was established. This republic still exists, but is not recognized by any country in the world. This first war, which killed 30,000 people, ended in 1994 and was won by Armenia: All Azeris living in the Karabakh valleys were expelled. Their cities became empty skeletons, deserted deserts.
Armenia prevailed but blocked
Armenia won this war, but the victory was bitter. Little Caucasian country, No access to the sea, blocked. Armenia borders four countries: Georgia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia due to the occupation of lands previously inhabited by Azeris. The Azerbaijani border was also closed, because this line became a trenched war front. Iran is a country where international sanctions have gained weight since 1979 and the establishment of the Islamic Republic.
Only the transition with Georgia remained valid. However, this country turned its back on Armenia after the Russian invasion in 2008. The only way for Armenians to survive was by air. RussiaThe main supporter of Yerevan.
Second Karabakh War
Azerbaijan in September 2020, large reserves gas Y Oil -and its alliance with Turkey- has re-armed to relaunch the conflict that started with the Azeri offensive two years ago on September 27. The second Karabakh war lasted six weeks, killed more than 6,000 people, and was an almost complete defeat for the Armenian forces. Azerbaijan – by force or coercion in negotiations – conquered all the regions surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh and even parts of the mountains, including the region’s second largest city, Shusha.
In November 2020, the two sides signed a devastating ceasefire for Armenia: Russia sent its troops to the region to keep the peace, and Azerbaijan controlled access to Nagorno-Karabakh. In addition, Armenia promised to give permission. create a corridor Connecting Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan, a residential area close to the Turkish border.
weak truce
A ceasefire was reached, but occasional violence on the front line has been constant. This Tuesday’s attack – not in Karabakh, but against the national territory of the Republic of Armenia – was its most violent episode. Unable to open a new front after the defeats in Ukraine in recent weeks, Russia declared a new disarmament pact to ease the tension.