Buzlukh

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Buzluk (means "cold, iced" in Azerbaijani) is a village in Azerbaijan's Goranboy region, previously populated by Armenians. Armenians were settled from Iran to this village and other surrounding areas early 19th century by Russia in course of and after Russo-Iranian. This settlement policy led to repeated tensions among local Azerbaijani Turks and newly settled Armenians, which certainly served the interest of Imperial Russia.

During the Soviet time the people of Buzluk were engaged mainly in agriculture with considerable achievements due to heavy subsidization policy by Azerbaijani government.

With the outbreak of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan people of Buzluk were armed by Armenia. This village served as base for armed raids aganst civilian population of surrounding Azerbaijani villages of Shafag and Zeyve. Those actions were supported by Soviet forces stationed in the area. But in May 1991 Buzluk itself became a target of Soviet "Operation Ring" which ordered by Moscow as a punishment for Armenia's boycott of referendum held on future status of the Soviet Union. At fall 1991 Armenian forces captured the village, which was recaptured back together whole Shahumyan distrct by Azerbaijani forces in June 1992.

Buzlukh was one of 13 Armenian villages of former Shahumyan rural distrct of Azerbaijan, which is now integrated into Goranboy District.

Other Armenian villages in the former Shahumyan were: Gulistan, VerinShen, Erkech, Nerkin Shen (the region administrative center), Manashid, Hay Paris, Karachinar, Mnasin Shen, Buzluk, Kharkhapor. Almost all these villages are now populated by Azerbaijani refugees displaced from Vardenis, Krasnoselsk and other regions of Armenia in 1988.

Historically Azeri populated villages are: Todan, Gurzallar, Bashkyshlagh, Shefeg, Zeyva. Russian molokans village: Rus Paris.

From 17,000 population of region, 85% were Armenians, others were Azeri. ^[1]