Nagorno-Karabakh, an area of 4,400 square
kilometers covering the hilltops and valleys of the mountains of the South
Caucasus, is an unrecognized state in the republic of Azerbaijan. Nowadays, the only way to
reach Karabakh is by a 6-hour drive from the Armenian capital of Yerevan, passing through
the Meghry region and the Lachin corridor. The road winding up towards the
capital city of Stepanakert leads through the gorgeous scenery
of Karabakh. Yet, the region’s natural beauty is studded with sites of
destruction, with demolished villages and houses. The remnants of the violent
episode in Karabakh’s contemporary history are still visibly present. To be able
to read the layering of this landscape, it is necessary to understand the
stories of its recent past.
In 1988, after the start of perestroika in the Soviet Union, the conflict between Azeris and Armenians in
Karabakh gradually escalated. Before a ceasefire was imposed in 1994, some
600,000 Azeri people were displaced.2 The devastation of the old
Karabakh is very visible. Broken walls, wrecked columns, roofless homes, empty
streets, neglected fruit gardens, abandoned schools, the shell of an opera
building, a façade of the former city hall. Pieces of furniture lying randomly
at the side of the street or on piles of sand, plastic bags, stones and garbage
– it is an atoll of destruction. The landscape of pseudo-nation represents a
painful reminder of war and the questionable character of the Karabakh-Armenian
victory. Since 1994 the Karabakh-Armenians have strengthened the borders of
their new nation, but they have also reconstructed Nagorno-Karabakh internally.
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