Historical Revisionism and the Republic of Artsakh

Armenians fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh. September 2023 (PHOTO: CivilNet / Hasmik Khachatryan)

By Christina Markarian

On September 28, President of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), Samvel Shahramanyan, signed a decree to dissolve all state institutions by January 1, 2024. In this decree, Azerbaijan officially recognized the existence of the republic, something they have long denied.

Interestingly, this is not the first time Azerbaijan has recognized the existence of the Republic of Artsakh. In the 1994 Bishkek Protocol ceasefire agreement, which ended the first war between the Republic of Artsakh and Azerbaijan, the Chairman of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was one of the signatories.

The Republic of Artsakh (NKR) is the legal successor state to the Soviet autonomous oblast of Nagorno-Karabakh (NKAO). However, in the 29 years between the 1994 ceasefire agreement and the decree to dissolve NKR, Azerbaijan has consistently asserted that the Republic of Artsakh is sovereign Azerbaijani territory. Baku refers to Artsakh as a “breakaway republic” and a “separatist government”, using terms to dismiss its legality.

Playing semantics, Azerbaijan has constructed a false narrative to revise events since 1988, in order to deliberately erode the legitimacy of the Republic of Artsakh. This war of words is no less a war then any armed conflict and it is arguably just as insidious. Historical revisionism has been cemented in historical memory. Historical revisionism is promoted every time the term, “separatist”, is repeated with no legal basis.

To clarify, Nagorno-Karabakh is neither legally part of Azerbaijan nor Azerbaijani sovereign territory. At the same time, its political status was never solidified, so it is therefore “internationally recognized” as part of Azerbaijan. The term “internationally recognized” is often mistaken for international law, but, “internationally recognized” is de jure, not de facto. The unequivocal truth is that Nagorno-Karabakh became a lawful republic in 1991.

In the 1980’s, Gorbachev promoted perestroika to increase glasnost and democracy. The unintentional consequence of this restructuring was that it allowed room for the very nationalist movements that Stalin’s divide and conquer strategies were meant to quell.

Dissatisfied with governance from Baku, in 1987, the majority Armenian population of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), in a referendum with 80,000 signatures, demanded the transfer of NKAO from the Azerbaijani SSR to the Armenian SSR. This move was denied by Azerbaijan, but without legal grounds.

In 1988, in accordance with the Soviet constitution’s article which calls for every people’s right to self-determination, the parliament of NKAO announced its independence as a region. In 1991, Nagorno-Karabakh declared itself to be a Republic within the USSR. And, in a second referendum, on December 10, 1991, with 82% turnout, Nagorno-Karabakh unanimously voted to secede from the USSR, weeks before the Soviet Union formally collapsed on December 26, 1991.

After legally gaining independence, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) never deposited an application for membership to the UN, thereby never concluding a settlement. This lack of finality created a vacuum, which allowed for a ferocious Azerbaijani effort to reverse the victory. This was accomplished by revising NKR’s legal standing through propaganda and also by instigating an armed conflict in May, 1991, with Operation Ring.

Armenia explained that they never recognized NKR because of fears that it would incite more Azerbaijani violence. Considering the 1988 Sumgait massacre, the 1990 Baku, Kirovabad, and Maragha pogroms, and the ensuing war, those fears were well-founded even if short-sighted.

The result of the first war, which Azerbaijan launched, was that NKR was able to maintain control of its own territory. Additionally, NKR gained the 7 surrounding regions: Kalbajar, Lachin, Qubadli, Zangilan, Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Agdam. The justification for this conquest was that a buffer zone could serve as leverage for a guarantee of peace. After the war, the pogroms against Armenians, and 1992 Khojaly massacre against Azerbaijanis, the prevailing sentiment was that Armenians and Azerbaijanis could not coexist. 400,000 Armenians had been driven out of Azerbaijan and 500,000 Azerbaijanis were driven out of the 7 surrounding regions, NKR, and Armenia. Populations on both sides were forced to flee.

It is important to note that there was roughly the same number of refugees from both sides. The correct number of refugees is based on USSR census figures. A subsequent Azerbaijani government submission to the UN incorrectly doubles the number of Azerbaijani refugees. Inflating this number is not an innocuous detail. It is meant to promote the impression that both NKR and the 7 surrounding regions were entirely populated by Azerbaijanis.

The 1993 United Nations Security Council resolutions demand that Armenia return the 7 surrounding regions. Resolution 822 calls for the Armenian withdrawal from the Kalbajar district. Resolution 853 refers to the Agdam district. Resolution 884 refers to the Zangilan district. And, Resolution 874 demands withdrawal of forces from Jabrayil and Qubadli districts, as well as “recently occupied territories”. Not one of these resolutions refers to the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Not one of these resolutions declares that NKR is sovereign Azerbaijani territory.

It is a complete fallacy that the United Nations Security Council resolutions are proof that NKR is sovereign Azerbaijani territory. Azerbaijan has intentionally misread the resolutions to conflate NKR with the 7 surrounding regions. This false reading is the basis of the Azerbaijani claim that Armenians are “occupiers” of Nagorno-Karabakh itself.

Azerbaijan has used the phrase “recently occupied territories” to mean that Armenians are occupying NKR. It is indisputable that “recently occupied territories” is referring exclusively to the 7 surrounding regions because the dates of the “occupation” are provided, April 3 to September 31, 1993.

The Azerbaijani narrative is that Armenians invaded and occupied Azerbaijan, taking 20% of their land in an unprovoked act of aggression. Armenians took 9% of Azerbaijani land in the first war, the 7 surrounding regions, but Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was always an independent republic. If Azerbaijan could successfully lump the 7 surrounding regions and NKR into one category, then they could claim that Armenia belligerently “occupied” all of that land. Therefore, they could “reclaim” that land in a justified use of force.

If the use of force was justified, then, they could maintain their victimhood: they were merely righting a wrong, settling a score, finalizing a dispute by restoring Azerbaijani territorial integrity. Their victimhood hinges on falsely negating the historical truth of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

After violating the 2020 trilateral ceasefire agreement by blockading the Lachin corridor, then shelling NKR, Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, declared victory over Nagorno-Karabakh, on September 21, 2023. Immediately afterward, he announced Nagorno-Karabakh would henceforth be called “Karabakh”. The name, Karabakh, previously referred to the regions surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh.

This change denied the legacy of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and officially created one amorphous region: the Karabakh region. After forcibly removing 120,000 innocent civilians, the final act of removal was through language. By erasing the history of names, Azerbaijan was able to erase the history of the last 35 years.

When Azerbaijan petitioned for independence from the USSR, on February 7, 1992, it was on the grounds of wanting to restore the Azerbaijani state system of 1918 – 1920. They declared the Russian 11th Red Army invasion of Azerbaijan, on April 27, 1920 and the subsequent occupation of Azerbaijan by Russia to be illegal.

They also declared the country of Azerbaijan to be the heir to the Republic of Azerbaijan that existed from May 28, 1918 to April 28, 1920. Nagorno-Karabakh, however, was never part of the 1918 – 1920 Republic of Azerbaijan. Until the 1917 Russian Revolution, Nagorno-Karabakh was part of the Russian Empire and, in 1918, Nagorno-Karabakh became self-governing. The autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabakh (NKAO) was created in 1923, by Josef Stalin, who placed it within Azerbaijan, establishing artificial borders which were meant to deter nationalistic ambitions.

Despite having no legal right to Nagorno-Karabakh, according to their own Declaration of Independence, Azerbaijan has demanded the return of their territory.

As long as Azerbaijan is able to negate the existence of NKR, they will always be able to claim that the Armenian losses were collateral damage. If people with the legal right to the land, who are fighting an existential fight, do not have the right to defend themselves, then, they must not have the right to exist. The bothsides argument is inherently racist. Armenians have been the 95% majority inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh according to Russian census reports dating to the beginning of the 19th century, notwithstanding their 3,000 year historical ties to the land.

Azerbaijan has successfully claimed that Armenians are the usurpers, who had no authority. Azerbaijan has invaded and claimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, without any legal right to that claim. It is cold comfort that in the final September 28 decree, even Azerbaijan finally admitted the truth that they had no legal right to that claim.

*Overview of International Law by Talin Hitik

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