Wikipedia

Stepanakert in the Republic of Artsakh

From the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 to the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, the city of Stepanakert was the capital of the unrecognized breakaway Republic of Artsakh, while being internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

Stepanakert
Armenian: Ստեփանակերտ
City
From top left: Holy Mother of God Cathedral Renaissance Square • Downtown Stepanakert Stepanakert Airport • Stepanakert skyline Park Hotel Artsakh  • We Are Our Mountains Artsakh University  • Stepanakert Memorial
From top left:
Holy Mother of God Cathedral
Renaissance Square • Downtown Stepanakert
Stepanakert Airport • Stepanakert skyline
Park Hotel Artsakh  • We Are Our Mountains
Artsakh University  • Stepanakert Memorial
Flag of Stepanakert
Flag
Stepanakert is located in Republic of Artsakh
Stepanakert
Stepanakert
Location of Stepanakert in Artsakh, under its de facto borders from 2020 to 2023.
Coordinates: 39°48′55″N 46°45′7″E / 39.81528°N 46.75194°E / 39.81528; 46.75194
Country (de facto)Artsakh
 • ProvinceStepanakert
City status1940[1]
Government
 • TypeMayor–Council
 • BodyStepanakert City Council
 • MayorDavid Sargsyan (2023)
Area
 • Total
29.12 km2 (11.24 sq mi)
Elevation
813 m (2,667 ft)
Population
 (2021)[2]
 • Total
75,000
 • Density2,600/km2 (6,700/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+4 (GMT+4)
Area code+374 47
Websitestepanakert.am
Sources: Stepanakert city area and population[3]

During this period, the city was a regional center of education and culture, being home to Artsakh University, musical schools, and a Palace of Culture. The economy was based on the service industry and had varied enterprises, food processing, wine making, and silk weaving being the most important.[4] As of 2021, the population of Stepanakert was 75,000.[5]

Politics and government

edit

During the period of the USSR, Stepanakert served as the capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast within the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, between 1923 and 1991. With the self-declared independence of Artsakh in 1991, Stepanakert continued with its status as the political and cultural centre of the newly established republic, being home to all the national institutions: the Government House, the National Assembly, the Presidential Palace, the Constitutional Court, all ministries, judicial bodies and other government organizations.[4]

Artsakh had been a presidential republic since the 2017 constitutional referendum. The post of prime minister was abolished and executive power from then on resided with the president, who was both the head of state and head of government. The president was directly elected for a maximum of two consecutive five-year terms. The final president was Samvel Shahramanyan, in 2023.[6]

The National Assembly was a unicameral legislature. It had 33 members who are elected for five-year terms.[7]

The city of Stepanakert was governed by the Stepanakert City Council and the mayor of Stepanakert. The last local elections took place in September 2019.[8] The most recent mayor was Davit Sargsyan.[9]

Government buildings

edit
  •  
    The National Assembly
  •  
    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  •  
    Government building, 20 February Street

Religion

edit

The late-19th-century church of Vararakn was destroyed in the 1930s to build the Stepanakert Drama Theatre. Throughout the rest of the Soviet era, there were no traditional churches in Stepanakert, although most of the population of the city were members of the Armenian Apostolic Church.[10]

The church of Surp Hakob (or Saint James) was opened in 2007; it remained the only open church in the city until 2019. The church was financed by Nerses Yepremian from Los Angeles. The church was consecrated on 9 May 2007, in honor of the 15th anniversary of the capture of Shusha by Armenian forces.[11]

The construction of the Holy Mother of God Cathedral was launched on 19 July 2006. The cost of the project was expected to be around US$2 million and the architect of the church is Gagik Yeranosyan.[12] However, the construction process was slow due to a lack of financial resources. The inauguration of the church was expected to take place in September 2016.[13] Construction finished and the church was opened in 2019.[14]

There was small community of Armenian Evangelicals with around 500 members. The only Armenian evangelical church in Artsakh is located in Stepanakert. The Evangelical community supported many schools, hospitals and other institutions through the help of the Armenian Diaspora.[15]

Transport

edit
 
A routed taxicab minibus in Stepanakert
 
Stepanakert Airport

Bus

edit

Stepanakert was served by a number of regular minibus lines. Old Soviet-era buses had been replaced with new modern buses. Regular trips to other provinces of Nagorno-Karabakh were also operated from the city.[16]

Air

edit

Stepanakert was served by the nearby Stepanakert Airport, north of the city near the village of Ivanyan. In 2009, facilities reconstruction and repair work began.[17] Though originally scheduled to launch the first commercial flights on 9 May 2011, Karabakh officials postponed a new reopening date throughout the whole of 2011.[18] In May 2012, the director of the NKR's Civil Aviation Administration, Tigran Gabrielyan, announced that the airport would begin operations in summer 2012.[19] However, the airport still remains closed due to political reasons. The OSCE Minsk Group, which mediates the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, stated that "operation of [Stepanakert Airport] cannot be used to support any claim of a change in the status of Nagorno-Karabakh" and "urged the sides to act in accordance with international law and consistent with current practice for flights over their territory."[20]

Economy

edit
 
Stepanakert Bazaar (Shuka)

The city was a regional center of education and culture, being home to Artsakh University, musical schools, and a Palace of Culture. The economy was based on the service industry and had varied enterprises, food processing, wine making, and silk weaving being the most important.[4] As of 2021, the population of Stepanakert was 75,000.[5]

Stepanakert was the center of the economy of Artsakh. Prior to the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, the economy of Stepanakert was mainly based on food-processing industries, silk weaving and winemaking.[21] Inhabitants also engaged in producing furniture and footwear.[4] The economy was severely damaged due to the 1988 earthquake in Armenia and the First Nagorno Karabakh war.[22] In the years following, the economy was developed further, mainly due to investments from the Armenian diaspora. However, following the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, the economy once again experienced severe damage, particularly in the tourism sector.[23]

The most developed sectors of Stepanakert and the rest of the Republic of Artsakh are tourism and services. Several hotels were opened by diasporan Armenians from Russia, the United States and Australia.[24] Artsakhbank was the largest banking services provider in Artsakh, while Karabakh Telecom was the leading provider of mobile telecommunications and other communication services.[citation needed]

Stepanakert was also home to many large industrial firms, including Stepanakert Brandy Factory, Artsakh Berry food products and Artsakh Footwear Factory.[citation needed]

Construction was also one of the leading sectors in the city. Artsakh Hek was the leading construction firm, while Base Metals was the leader in mining and production of building materials.[citation needed]

Culture

edit
 
We Are Our Mountains
 
Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God

The Vahram Papazyan Drama Theater of Stepanakert was founded in 1932. In 1967, the monumental complex of Stepanakert known as We Are Our Mountains was erected to the north of Stepanakert,[25] It is widely regarded as a symbol of the Armenian heritage of the historic Artsakh.[26] After the independence of Armenia, many cultural and youth centres were reopened. The cultural palace of the city is named after Charles Aznavour.[27]

Stepanakert was home to the Mesrop Mashtots Republican Library opened in 1924, Artsakh History Museum opened in 1939, Hovhannes Tumanyan Children's Library opened in 1947, Stepanakert National Gallery opened in 1982, and the Memorial Museum of the Martyred Liberators opened in 2002. A new cultural complex of the Armenian heritage of Artsakh was under construction.[28]

The Artsakh State Museum, based in Stepanakert, had an important collection of ancient artifacts and Christian manuscripts.[29]

Education

edit
 
The Union of Artsakh Freedom Fighters

Stepanakert was the center of higher education in Artsakh.[4] Five higher educational institutions operated in the city:

  • Artsakh State University, founded in 1969 as a branch of the Baku Pedagogical Institute. In 1973, it was renamed Stepanakert Pedagogical Institute and following the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh, in 1992, it received its current status. The university offered courses spread across seven departments and has 4,500 students.[30]
  • Stepanakert campus of the Armenian National Agrarian University.[31]
  • Grigor Narekatsi University (private).[32]
  • Mesrop Mashtots University (private).[32]
  • Gyurjyan Institute for Applied Arts (private).[32]

Many new schools in Stepanakert were opened from the late 1990s to 2010 with the help of the Armenian diaspora.[33] Existing schools were also renovated with donations from the diaspora.[34]

The Stepanakert branch of Tumo Center for Creative Technologies was opened in September 2015, as a result of continued cooperation between the Tumo Centre and the Armenian General Benevolent Union, with the support of mobile operator Karabakh Telecom.[35][36]

Sport

edit
 
Stepanakert Republican Stadium

Football is a popular sport in Nagorno-Karabakh and the city has a renovated football stadium. Since the mid-1990s, football teams from Karabakh started taking part in some domestic competitions in Armenia. Lernayin Artsakh is the football club that represents the city of Stepanakert. The Artsakh national football league was launched in 2009.[37]

The non-FIFA affiliated Artsakh national football team was formed in 2012 and played their first competitive match against the unrecognized Abkhazia national football team in Sukhumi on 17 September 2012. The match ended with a 1–1 draw.[38][39] The following month, on 21 October 2012, Artsakh played the return match at the Stepanakert Republican Stadium against Abkhazia, winning it with a result of 3–0.[40]

There was also interest in other sports, including basketball and volleyball.

Artsakh athletes also took part with the representing teams and athletes in the Pan-Armenian Games, organized in Armenia.[41]

As an unrecognized entity, the athletes of Artsakh competed in international sports competitions under the flag of Armenia.[37]

Twin towns – sister cities

edit
Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Republic of Artsakh

Stepanakert was twinned with:

  • Montebello, United States: On 25 September 2005, Montebello, California and Stepanakert became sister cities. This prompted a complaint by the ambassador of Azerbaijan to the United States, Hafiz Pashayev, who sent a letter to California leaders, stating that the decision jeopardized peace talks between his country and Armenia.[42] The letter was sent to then-California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who deferred the letter to Montebello mayor Bill Molinari since it concerned a local, not a state, issue. Molinari responded to Pashayev that the city would go ahead with its plans to inaugurate Stepanakert under the sister city program.[42] Stepanakert's relationship with Montebello is aimed at revitalizing the capital's economic infrastructure and building cultural and educational ties, as well as developing trade and health care between the two cities. Azerbaijan has described this as a contradictory foreign policy of the United States that supports the NKR government and Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan.[43]
  • Mairiporã, Brazil: Since June 18, 2018, Law 3767/18 has made Eternal Armenia the name that declares Sister Cities the Municipalities of Mairiporã, State of São Paulo, and Stepanakert, capital of the self-declared Nagorno-Karabakh Republic which triggered an alert from Itamaraty, Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the attitude of the Municipality as Brazil does not recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh.[44]

Friendship declarations

edit
  • On 22 May 1998, Stepanakert and the commune of Villeurbanne in France signed a Friendship Declaration.[45]
  • On 28 September 2012, Stepanakert and Yerevan, Armenia, the capitals of the two Armenian republics, became friends after signing a partnership agreement.[46]
  • On 15 September 2014, San Sebastián, Spain, and Stepanakert signed a cooperation agreement.[47]
  • On 17 May 2015, Stepanakert and the commune of Valence in France signed a Friendship Declaration.[45]
  • On 3 February 2016, Stepanakert signed a Friendship Declaration with the municipality of Franco da Rocha, Brazil.[45]
  • On 23 July 2019, Stepanakert signed a Friendship Declaration with the City of Ryde, Australia.[48]


Notes

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Hewsen 2001, p. 265
  2. ^ "Figures" (PDF). stat-nkr.am. 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 September 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  3. ^ "General Characteristics of the NKR" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e Baranchikov 2016, p. 225
  5. ^ a b Khachatryan, Karen (13 August 2021). Stepan Kocharyan (ed.). "Drought leads to "unprecedented" water crisis in Stepanakert city". armenpress.am. Stepanakert: Armenpress. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  6. ^ "President of the ARTSAKH REPUBLIC – Biography". president.nkr.am. 2023-06-17. Archived from the original on 2023-06-10.
  7. ^ "National Assembly". Nkrusa.org. The Office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in USA. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  8. ^ Sanamyan, Emil (2019-09-09). "Artsakh Elects Mayors and Municipal Councils". USC Institute of Armenian Studies. Archived from the original on 17 June 2023. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
  9. ^ "Ստեփանակերտի քաղաքապետարան – Քաղաքապետ". www.stepanakert.am (in Armenian). 2023-06-17. Archived from the original on 2023-04-14.
  10. ^ Kiesling & Kojian 2005, p. Stepanakert
  11. ^ Grigorian, Laura (10 May 2007). "ST JAMES CHURCH WAS OPENED IN STEPANAKERT". Armenian News. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012.
  12. ^ "The church of Stepanakert". www.stepanakert-church.org. Archived from the original on 7 October 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  13. ^ "The construction of Stepanakert Cathedral is at its final stages". Archived from the original on 19 November 2015.
  14. ^ "Official ceremony of consecration and opening Cathedral of Intercession takes place in Stepanakert". news.am. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  15. ^ Ghanalanyan, Tigran (9 June 2012). "Activity of the Armenian Evangelicals in Artsakh". noravank.am. Center for the Armenian Studies, "Noravank" Foundation. Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  16. ^ Holding 2006, p. 208
  17. ^ "Karabakh To Reopen Stepanakert Airport". Asbarez. 5 October 2010. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  18. ^ "Nagorno-Karabakh Flights On Hold Despite Airport Reconstruction". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 16 May 2011. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  19. ^ (in Armenian) "«Հայկական ժամանակ».Ստեփանակերտի օդանավակայանը վերջապես շահագործման կհանձնվի Archived 2 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine" [Haykakan Zhamanak: Stepanakert Airport will Finally Become Operational]. Yelaket Lratvakan. 30 May 2012.
  20. ^ Statement of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Archived 22 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  21. ^ Mkrtchyan 1985, pp. 124–125
  22. ^ Lagasse 2000
  23. ^ Nahapetyan, Haykaram (10 July 2021). "Artsakh's Economy: The Post-war Syndrome and Recovery Efforts". The Armenian Mirror-Spectator. Watertown: Baikar Association. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  24. ^ Hayrumyan, Naira. "Recovery and Concern: Regional Unrest Reminds of NKR's Years of Progress While Raising Anxiety Archived 22 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine." AGBU Magazine. Vol. 18, № 2, November 2008, pp. 34–37.
  25. ^ Holding 2006, p. 210
  26. ^ Chorbajian 2001, p. 140
  27. ^ "Artsakh president attends Aznavour commemoration event in Stepanakert". Tert.am. 6 October 2018. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  28. ^ "Ստեփանակերտի մէջ նոր յուշահամալիր կը կառուցուի – Azat Or". 17 March 2017. Archived from the original on 22 March 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  29. ^ "MUSEUMS – Karabakh Travel". artsakh.travel. Tourism department of ministry of economy of NKR. Archived from the original on 2018-04-06. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  30. ^ (in Armenian) Anon. "ԱՐՑԱԽԻ ՊԵՏԱԿԱՆ ՀԱՄԱԼՍԱՐԱՆ (Arts'akhi Petakan Hamalsaran, Artsakh State University) Archived 27 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine." Azat Artsakh. 29 August 2006. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
  31. ^ "VALERY A. ALEXANYAN". nankr.am. Official website of the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  32. ^ a b c Vardanian 2009, p. 45
  33. ^ "Armenia Fund Opens 600-Student School in Stepanakert Archived 23 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine." Asbarez. 14 September 2010. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
  34. ^ "No. 9 School, Stepanakert". armeniafund.org. Armenia Fund. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  35. ^ "Tumo Center Opens in Stepanakert". Asbarez. 1 September 2015. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  36. ^ "Stepanakert "Tumo" Center is planned to be launched in September". Armenpress. 13 August 2015. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  37. ^ a b O'Connor, Robert (20 April 2017). "Football and hope in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic – a forgotten region fighting Fifa's sanctions". The Independent. Stepanakert: Independent Digital News & Media Ltd. ISSN 0951-9467. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  38. ^ (in Armenian) "Աբխազիայի ու Արցախի հավաքականները բաժանվեցին խաղաղությամբ՝ 1:1 Archived 8 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine [Abkhazia's and Artsakh's Teams Peacefully Part Ways, 1-1]," Tert.am 25 September 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  39. ^ "Armenia's newly formed second national football team to face Abkhazia Archived 17 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine." News.am 14 September 2012.
  40. ^ "Asbarez.com Artsakh Soccer Team Beats Abkhazia 3-0 Archived 25 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine." Asbarez. 22 October 2012.
  41. ^ Harutyunyan, Aneta (2 August 2019). "Artsakh ready for the opening of 7th Pan-Armenian Games". Yerevan: Armenpress. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  42. ^ a b Wright, Pam. "Montebello's newest Sister City program has come under fire from an ambassador for the Republic of Azerbaijan." Whittier Daily News. 19 November 2005. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  43. ^ "Azeri pressure group appeals to US envoy over twinning reports." BBC News in BBC Monitoring Central Asia. 24 November 2005. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  44. ^ LLC, Helix Consulting (February 2019). "Leis aprovadas em SP levam Itamaraty a alertar cidades sobre mal-estar com o Azerbaijão". www.g1.com.br. Archived from the original on 1 January 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  45. ^ a b c "International Cooperation | NKR". Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  46. ^ "Partner cities". Yerevan. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  47. ^ LLC, Helix Consulting. "Stepanakert, Donostia sign cooperation agreement". www.panorama.am. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  48. ^ LLC, Asbarez. "Australia's Ryde Forms Friendship City with Stepanakert". www.asbarez.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.

Bibliography

edit
edit
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stepanakert.
 
Look up Stepanakert in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
 
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Stepanakert.


Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stepanakert_in_the_Republic_of_Artsakh&oldid=1255031455"