Artsvashen
Encyclopedia
Artsvashen also Romanized as Artzvashen, is an exclave
of Armenia
's Gegharkunik province which has been controlled by the Azerbaijan
i army since 1992. The official Azerbaijani name for the village is Bashkand. Its size is about 40 square kilometers, and it is completely surrounded by the territory of Azerbaijan
and has been controlled by it since the Nagorno-Karabakh War
. Today, the village is mostly inhabited by Azeris as the Azerbaijani army expelled its Armenian population after it seized the territory. It is now part of Gadabay Rayon.
Accusing Azerbaijan of mounting an "undeclared war," Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosyan sent a telegram to leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States
saying that "aggression has been committed against a state that is a member of the C.I.S. and the system of collective security".
, Vardenis
, Abovyan
and Chambarak
, where they continued traditions of this art:
Enclave and exclave
In political geography, an enclave is a territory whose geographical boundaries lie entirely within the boundaries of another territory.An exclave, on the other hand, is a territory legally or politically attached to another territory with which it is not physically contiguous.These are two...
of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
's Gegharkunik province which has been controlled by the Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
i army since 1992. The official Azerbaijani name for the village is Bashkand. Its size is about 40 square kilometers, and it is completely surrounded by the territory of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
and has been controlled by it since the Nagorno-Karabakh War
Nagorno-Karabakh War
The Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the small enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by the Republic of Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan...
. Today, the village is mostly inhabited by Azeris as the Azerbaijani army expelled its Armenian population after it seized the territory. It is now part of Gadabay Rayon.
History
In May, 1991 the Armenian Interior Ministry reported that residents of Artsvashen averted an army occupation by surrendering their arms. According to New York Times, in 1992 Azerbaijani side announced that armed forces had "liberated" the town, destroying enemy tanks and weaponry and killing 300 Armenian "brigands", while Armenian reports mentioned no dead but said 29 people were "missing without trace."Accusing Azerbaijan of mounting an "undeclared war," Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosyan sent a telegram to leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
saying that "aggression has been committed against a state that is a member of the C.I.S. and the system of collective security".
Artsvashen carpets
In the Soviet times there was a branch of Haygorg ("Armenian carpet" state company) in Artsvashen. After the invasion of the Azeri forces, the residents of Artsvashen migrated to ShorzhaShorzha
Shorzha is a village located along Lake Sevan northwest of the Artanish Peninsula in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. There is a 17th century chapel and cemetery on the south edge of the village. On the hill overlooking the village, there are the ruins of a chapel, and somewhere in the...
, Vardenis
Vardenis
Vardenis .The town of Vardenis occupies the south-eastern corner of Gegharkunik province of the Republic of Armenia. The town is located in the valley of the Masrik river, on the territory of the Masrik artesian basin at a height of 1943 meters above sea level. It is 170 km from the capital...
, Abovyan
Abovyan
Abovyan is a city in Armenia in the province of Kotayk. It is located 15 km northeast of Yerevan and 36 km southeast of the province centre Hrazdan. In 2009, the estimated population of the city was 46,000, down from 59,000 at the 1989 census...
and Chambarak
Chambarak
Chambarak is a town in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. Chambarak was founded in 1835-40 on the Getik River by Russian immigrants, with the name Mikhaylovka...
, where they continued traditions of this art:
"The women of Artsvashen learned carpet weaving from their mothers and grandmothers. Many
of them had worked for Haygorg for decades. “It was shameful for a girl or woman in Artsvashen not to be able
to weave carpets. Even if they didn’t work for Haygorg, they would have a weaving stand at home and make
carpets,” said Irina Ghalechyan, a former resident of Artsvashen and carpet weaver."
Famous natives
- Aramais SahakyanAramais SahakyanAramais Sahakyan is an Armenian poet and translator.He finished Yerevan State Pedagogical University and High literary courses of Moscow. Editor-in-chief of satirical "Vozni" newspaper, author of "Dzidzaghi tun" TV-programme. His works were translated into more than 30 languages.-References:*...
, ArmeniaArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n poet - Saribek Chilingaryan, a Hero of Soviet Union