Nagorno-Karabakh: Where is it? What is it?

United States
October 26, 2016 11:34pm CST
I had never heard of this region before, that I know of. Or maybe I heard about it on the news, but didn’t pay attention. Today, I heard a news report about this area, and was fascinated with what is actually happening in this region. So, I did some research. I discovered that Nagorno-Karabakh is a disputed territory, a landlocked mountainous region in the country of Azerbaijan, which once was Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, until the USSR was dissolved. This region while recognized internationally as a part of Azerbaijan, is governed by a de facto independent state with an Armenian ethnic majority. And part of the problem is: You guessed it. Religion. Christian (Armenian Apostolic Church) and Muslim Turkic Azeris. This territory, while inside of Azerbaijan, is inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenian. I need to research this a little more to understand it. When the USSR was dissolved, all maps everywhere had to be changed and many of these Soviet Socialist Republics became separate countries, but this particular region is not a country. It's an autonomous region within another country. Very complicated. This particular region has an interesting history, and I’m just beginning to learn more about it. The report I heard explained that since the end of the Nargorno-Karabakh War in 1994, in which as many as 30,000 people lost their lives, and over a million fled their homes, the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been conducting peace talks, but nothing has been decided. It is considered to be one of post-Soviet Europe's "frozen conflicts." In the meantime, in spite of a ceasefire in place: serious hostilities have flared up and in April 2016 dozens more lost their lives. What do you know about this region? I found some of this information from BBC News and some from Wikipedia. Fascinating.
5 people like this
3 responses
@Ronrybs (21492)
• London, England
27 Oct 16
I recall hearing about it and I am sure it is was on the BBC. I couldn't remember where it was
1 person likes this
• United States
28 Oct 16
Yes, it was definitely on BBC. That's where I got some of the information. The location and history of this area is fascinating to me. So unusual, I think.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
27 Oct 16
Shoot, I can barely pronounce these names!
1 person likes this
• United States
28 Oct 16
I still don't know if I'm pronouncing them correctly, but I will remember this region, now that I did the research. Geography is something that intrigues me, so when I found a totally NEW piece of information, I was fascinated.
@jstory07 (148764)
• Roseburg, Oregon
27 Oct 16
I never heard of this rea until I read it here on your discussion.
1 person likes this
• United States
27 Oct 16
I wonder if anyone on here is familiar with this region? When 30,000 people die, it seems like we would have heard more about it. Don't you think?