Those who grew up and grew up in the 80s of the XX century, inyouth it was hard to imagine that soon the expressions "Azerbaijani tanks are advancing on Armenian positions" or "Armenian aviation dealt a bomb attack on positions of the Azerbaijani army" will come into use and will not be perceived as excerpts from a bad anecdote.
Immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union anddeclarations of national sovereignties in the former Soviet republics began to arise armed conflicts. Wherever the world reigned for a long time, even if it was lean, supported by force, a real war began. Nagorno-Karabakh has become one of the first regions where enmity has reached its peak.
Internal territorial disputes became possiblewhen, after the Bolsheviks came to power, the former territory of the Russian Empire was divided not according to administrative, but on the basis of nationality. The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, with its predominantly Armenian population, became part of Soviet Azerbaijan in 1923. The history of Nagorno-Karabakh originates in articles by Lenin and Stalin devoted to national politics.
Conflict that arose during armedthe confrontation between the Ottoman Empire and the Christian population, has become the beginning of inter-ethnic enmity and is recognized in many countries as genocide. The low culture of Soviet leaders and government officials for decades has not contributed to the harmony, but rather deepened the contradictions, therefore, as soon as the central authority 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 starts, which are still relatively bloodless. Azerbaijanis are created by the conditions under which they "voluntarily" leave their homes and "repatriate".
When a country's economy is going through bad days,nationalism and mutual intolerance receive fertile soil. Demonstrations, rallies and protests begin. The Armenian SSR, which is still part of the USSR, announces the annexation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District by decision of its Supreme Council on June 17, 1988. When such an "Anschluss" is produced by independent states, a war usually begins. Nagorno-Karabakh is the subject of territorial disputes between the two union republics, which in itself looks absurd, for the time being. But in a huge country blood is already pouring ...
Then there was massacre in Sumgait, events in Baku, inthe time of which mass pogroms began. The collapse of the Soviet Union caused a parade of sovereignties, the conflicting sides became independent and hostile countries, each of which accused the neighbor of aggressive aspirations.
In 1992, between Azerbaijan and Armeniathe war began. Nagorno-Karabakh until 1993 became a theater of active hostilities, as a result of which Baku lost control of the fifth part of the territory allocated to it on the map of the USSR. The price of this result is more than a million refugees, tens of thousands of killed and wounded. The bloody battle ended in the signing in May 1994 of the Bishkek agreement.
For Azerbaijan, the sovereignty of the NKAO isthe question of the territorial integrity of the state. For Armenia, this conflict is also principled, the country defends its fellow citizens living in seven districts of the region. Neither side wants to give in and give up Nagorno-Karabakh. The war is not over. There is a truce.</ p>