Joseph Stalin’s Legacy - The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict from Eleazar's blog

Delving into Historical Realities (a section)

Nagorno-Karabakh, a fiercely contested and landlocked region situated in the South Caucasus of the former Soviet Union, has a complex history deeply rooted in the decisions of Joseph Stalin during his tenure as the acting Commissar of Nationalities for the Soviet Union in the early 1920s

In April 1920, the Bolsheviks seized control of Azerbaijan (Caucasian Tatars chose the name of the historical region of Iran "Azerbaijan" as a place name), followed by the annexation of Armenia and Georgia in 1921. To secure public support, the Bolsheviks initially promised Karabakh to Armenia. However, to appease Turkey, the Soviet Union later agreed to a division that placed Karabakh under the control of Azerbaijan. This decision, made during a tumultuous period of Soviet consolidation, set the stage for the contentious future of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Soviet Union's control over the region kept the conflict simmering beneath the surface for several decades. It wasn't until the collapse of the USSR that the question of Nagorno-Karabakh resurfaced. In August 1987, Karabakh Armenians sent a petition, signed by tens of thousands, to Moscow, seeking union with Armenia. The situation escalated significantly after Armenia and Azerbaijan gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, leading to a full-scale conflict that resulted in thousands of casualties and created a massive refugee crisis on both sides.

By May 1994, Armenians had gained control of 14% of Azerbaijan's territory. It was during this period that the Azerbaijani government, for the first time in the conflict, recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as a third party in the war. Direct negotiations, facilitated by Russian intermediaries, resulted in a ceasefire on May 12, 1994.