Today is the Independence Day of Artsakh. The Republic of Artsakh is 32 years old.
On September 2, 1991, a declaration was adopted at the joint meeting of people’s deputies of the Nagorno-Karabakh Regional Council, the Shahumyan Regional Council, and councils of all levels, proclaiming the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and the formation of its provisional bodies of state power and administration.
As a result of the referendum held on December 10, 1991, 99.89% of the population of Artsakh said “yes” to independence.
In December 1991, the people of Artsakh participated in the elections for deputies of the Supreme Council of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, establishing the highest legislative body. Then, in January 1992, the inaugural session of the Supreme Council was convened, during which the declaration of independence of the Republic of Artsakh was adopted.
Artur Mkrtchyan was elected President of the Supreme Council of the Republic. Artsakh adopted its own national flag, coat of arms and anthem. The flag is tricolor: red, blue, orange, and white with a five-toothed ornament.
On September 25, 1991, Azerbaijan unleashed the first Artsakh war. It lasted more than 3 years, and only on May 12, 1994, the heads of the defense departments of Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Armenia signed a document on a ceasefire.
On September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan again unleashed a full-scale war against Artsakh. It was stopped on November 9 by a ceasefire statement signed between the leaders of Armenia, Russia, and Azerbaijan. Unfortunately, as a result of the war, Azerbaijan occupied the entire security zone of Artsakh, as well as Shushi and Hadrut.