Today, September 2, 2018, marks the 27th anniversary of the declaration of independence of Artsakh, formerly known as the Nagorno Karabakh Republic.
On this day in 1991, a joint sitting of lawmakers from the Nagorno Karabakh provincial council and the Shahumyan regional council proclaimed the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) within the borders of the former NKAO and Shahumyan region. The move was in line with the then-active legislation, particularly the April 3, 1990 law which entitled national autonomies to determine their status on their own.
On December 10, 1991, a few days before the official collapse of the Soviet Union, Nagorno Karabakh held a referendum, where the overwhelming majority, 99,89%, of the population voted in favor of complete independence from Azerbaijan. After this, Azerbaijan totally blockaded NKR and launched military aggressions.
The Artsakh Liberation War began when for the first time in September of 1991 Azerbaijan bombarded Stepanakert with Alazan rockets from Shushi. In 1994, at the request of Azerbaijan a trilateral (Azerbaijan, NKR, Armenia) ceasefire agreement was signed on May 12.
15 years after independence, in 2006, the people of Artsakh adopted the country’s Constitution through a referendum, again on September 2.
Celebrations are held annually on this day in Artsakh.
This year, President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian has departed for Artsakh to attend the events.

Artsakh President Bako Sahakyan had a meeting with the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Sunday in Stepanakert, Artsakh President press service reported.
A group of MPs of the Republic of Artsakh on August 7 have submitted a motion-request to Armenia’s Prosecutor General to change the precautionary measure selected against 1st President of Artsakh and 2nd President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan, Artsakh Parliament Speaker’s spokesperson Anush Ghavalyan said on Facebook, reports Armenpress.
There will be no solution to the Artsakh conflict without the participation of the people of Artsakh, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during a press conference in the government, reports Armenpress.
YEREVAN, JUNE 8, Soldier of the Defense Army of Artsakh Gevorg Khachatryan, born in 1998, received a gunshot wound by the Azerbaijani fire on June 7, at 23:30, in one of the military units located in the northern direction of the Defense Army, Artsakh’s defense ministry told Armenpress.
The First Armenian-American International Congress of Dentists will be held in Armenia and Artsakh from 24 to 28 May.
YEREVAN, MAY 22, The City Council of the Ryd City of Australia unanimously adopted a resolution on May 22 to support the independence of the Republic of Artsakh. In the resolution, the city council called on the central government to officially recognize the independence of the Artsakh Republic and to strengthen the relations of Australia with Artsakh and its citizens. The Information and Public Relations Department of the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Azerbaijan informed “Armenpress” about this.
STEPANAKERT, MAY 9,. Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan participated in a commemoration event dedicated to the memory of fallen soldiers of the Great Patriotic War and the Artsakh Liberation War in the Stepanakert memorial in Artsakh’s capital city.
Funded by the Armenian Fund, the first deep artesian wells are already working with three wells in the village of Haghort near Martouni (Artsakh) and one in Askeran, still in Artsakh.
The Artsakh Defense Army soldiers fulfil their military duties with honor and are ready to counteract any move from Azerbaijan that pose a threat to the country’s security, Tigran Abrahamyan, an advisor to the Artsakh president, said on Friday, commenting on the recent mobilization of Azerbaijani forces on the contact line.