Those who grew up and matured in the 80s of the XX century, in their youth, it was hard to imagine that soon the expressions “Azerbaijani tanks are advancing on Armenian positions” or “Armenian aviation launched a bombing and assault strike on the positions of the Azerbaijani army” will come into use and will not be perceived as excerpts from a bad joke.
Immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the declaration of national sovereignties, armed conflicts began to arise within the former republics of the USSR. Where peace reigned for a long time, albeit thin, supported by force, a real war began. Nagorno-Karabakh was one of the first regions where hostility reached its peak.
Internal territorial disputes became possible when, after the Bolsheviks came to power, the former territory of the Russian Empire was divided not along administrative lines, but along ethnic lines. The predominantly Armenian NKAO became part of Soviet Azerbaijan in 1923. The history of Nagorno-Karabakh originates in articles by Lenin and Stalin on national politics.
The conflict that arose during the armed confrontation between the Ottoman Empire and the Christian population, became the beginning of interethnic hostility and is recognized in many countries as genocide. The low culture of the Soviet leaders and workers of the authorities for decades did not contribute to harmony, but, on the contrary, deepened the contradictions, therefore, as soon as the central government weakened, the war began. Nagorno-Karabakh began to rally in the midst of Gorbachev's perestroika, in 1987. The main requirement was the annexation of the rebellious region to the Armenian SSR.
In the same period, ethnic cleansing begins, carried out so far relatively bloodlessly. Conditions are created for Azerbaijanis under which they “voluntarily” leave their homes and “repatriate.”
When the country's economy is going through hard times, nationalism and mutual intolerance get fertile ground. Demonstrations, rallies and protests begin. The Armenian SSR, which is still part of the USSR, announces the annexation of the NKAO by the decision of its Supreme Council on June 17, 1988. When such an "Anschluss" is produced by independent states, war usually breaks out. Nagorno-Karabakh becomes the subject of territorial disputes between the two union republics, which in itself looks absurd, for the time being. But blood is already shed in a vast country…
Then there was a massacre in Sumgayit, events in Baku, during which mass pogroms began. The collapse of the USSR caused a parade of sovereignties, the conflicting parties became independent andhostile countries, each of which accused its neighbor of aggressive aspirations.
In 1992, a war broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Nagorno-Karabakh until 1993 became a theater of active hostilities, as a result of which Baku lost control over a fifth of the territory assigned to it on the map of the USSR. The price of this result is more than a million refugees, tens of thousands of dead and wounded. The bloody battle ended with the signing of the Bishkek Agreement in May 1994.
For Azerbaijan, the sovereignty of the NKAR is a matter of the territorial integrity of the state. For Armenia, this conflict is also fundamental, the country protects its fellow citizens living in seven districts of the region. None of the parties wants to give in and give up Nagorno-Karabakh. The war is not over. Truce in effect.
