Stepanakert

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Stepanakert (Ստեփանակերտ) Khankendi (Xankəndi)
Parliament building in Stepanakert.
Map of Azerbaijan showing the town of Stepanakert within Nagorno-Karabakh.
Coordinates: 39°48′55″N, 46°45′7″E
Province	Stepanakert (City)
Government
- Mayor	Eduard Aghabekian
Elevation	813 m (2,670 ft)
Population
- City	~40,000

Stepanakert (Armenian: Ստեփանակերտ; officially known as Xankəndi in Azerbaijan, transliterated as Khankendi) is the capital city of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, a de facto independent republic which is recognized as a part of Azerbaijan.^[1] The city is comprised of about 40,000 Armenians. The entire Azerbaijani population fled the city during the Nagorno-Karabakh War.

Contents 1 History 2 Economy 3 Buildings and structures 3.1 Religious 4 Sister cities 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

Azerbaijani sources generally state that the founding of the town is traced to the late 18th century by the Azerbaijani Karabakh khan, and was thus called Khankendi (Khan's village in Azerbaijani). According to medieval Armenian sources, the settlement was first mentioned as Vararakn (Վարարակն, meaning “rapid creek,” in Armenian) which it remained until it was renamed Khankendi in 1847.^[2]

The modern city was founded in 1917 after the October revolution in place of a village that was called Khankendi (Khan's village) in Azerbaijan. In 1923 it was renamed to Stepanakert, to honor Stepan Shahumyan, an Armenian communist leader from Baku.

After Azerbaijan declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, it was renamed by the Azerbaijani government back to Khankendi as part of a campaign against Communism and of Azerification,^[3] of what had been the autonomous oblast of Nagorno-Karabakh with a majority Armenian population. Fighting broke out over control of Nagorno-Karabakh which resulted in Armenian control of the region and a connecting corridor to Armenia to the west. There has been an unofficial but observed cease-fire in place since 1994.

[edit] Economy

Prior to the war, Stepanakert's economy revolved mostly around food processing, silk weaving, and winemaking. After the war, the city's economy was greatly damaged, but in recent years, largely due to the investments of the Armenian diaspora, economic activity has picked up in Stepanakert.

[edit] Buildings and structures

[edit] Religious

There is not a traditional church in Stepanakert as of 2007, although most of the population of the city are Christians. The believers attend the church that is in the building of the House of Culture. There is one ancient church in the city that was build in the 18th century, but it is not operating. On September 15, 2006 the foundation stones of St. Jacob Church in Stepanakert were laid. Armenian benefactor Vache Yepremian from Los Angeles is sponsoring the construction of the church. Its construction will probably last for 2-3 years.

It is also the home of the Artsakh State Museum.

[edit] Sister cities

• Montebello, California, USA (2005)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh's website
• Karabakh’s Election Conundrum November 2005 article about elections for seats in the Milli Mejlis (Azerbaijani parliament) for Azeri refugees
• Stepanakert Armeniapedia atricle