How many Azerbaijanis lived in Khankendi?

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, raised the National Flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the city of Khankendi on October 15.

"Today is a historic day. We have been waiting for this for more than 30 years and each of us believed that this day would come."

This was said by the head of state, Ilham Aliyev, after raising the Azerbaijani flag in the central square of Khankendi on October 15.

Finally, Azerbaijan regained its sovereignty.

I wonder how has the population of Karabakh (including Azerbaijanis and Armenians) been distributed? How much should it be? Or how will it be calculated?

Oktay Gasimov, who worked as an assistant to President Abulfaz Elchibey in 1992-1993, answered ASTNA's questions on the subject.

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Question: Oktay Bey, how many people lived in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) when the Karabakh conflict began? How many of them were Armenians and how many Azerbaijanis?

Answer: As a result of the local anti-terrorist operation carried out on September 19, our sovereignty was restored in all territories of Azerbaijan, and the issue of "rights and security of Karabakh Armenians", which was an obstacle to signing a peace treaty with Armenia, was removed from the agenda.

However, France and some countries, which are not interested in peace, are looking for a mechanism of pressure on Azerbaijan over the issue of Karabakh Armenians. For this reason, the number of Armenians living in the region is speculated.

The falsification of the number of Armenians in Karabakh can be seen from the information of sources in Armenia and Karabakh. So, according to the last population census conducted in 1989 during the Soviet period, out of 189,000 people living in Nagorno-Karabakh, 145,450 people were Armenians, and 40,688 people were Azerbaijanis. These numbers were considered suspicious even at that time. Because the comparison of the statistics of four censuses carried out in 1959-1989 gives serious reasons for this. According to the census of those years, the number of Armenians and Azerbaijanis living in the region was as follows:

As can be seen from the table, the number of Armenians with families with children increased by only 13,000 people in the 20 years between 1959 and 1979, and 22,500 people increased in the next 10 years, 1979-1989(?). Such serious growth cannot be explained by normal logic.

While the number of Azerbaijani population increased from 18,000 to 37,000 during those periods, the increase was only 4,000 from 1979 to 1989(?), although discrimination against Azerbaijanis was not openly expressed in Nagorno-Karabakh at that time.

A comparison of the numbers shows that the fraud in the census was related to the preparation of Armenians for separatism. So, Armenians added the entire territory of Aghjakend (former Shaumyan village) and a part of the territory of Goygol (former Khanlar) district to the territories they call "Artsakh" and added the Armenians living there to this list. In other words, 17,000 residents of Aghjakend, 4,000 residents of Goygol, and 1,900 personnel of the Russian military units located in Khankendi and Hadrut were included in the list of 145,500 people. Taking into account about 2,000 Russians, Ukrainians, Molokans, and Greeks who lived in the area, the real number of Armenians was about 120,000. At the beginning of the conflict, the Soviet authorities stated that the number of Armenians was 120,000. This can be proved by simple mathematical calculation:

145500 - 17000 – 4000 – 1900 – 2000 = 120600 people.

Question: In 1989-1993, many changes took place. The NKAO was officially canceled by the Azerbaijani side. On that eve, the Armenians had already cleared the Azerbaijanis from that area and declared their "independence" by holding a fake referendum. Nevertheless, there were many changes in the territories. Aghdara (Mardakert), which remained in the hands of Armenians, was abolished by the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan and divided between 3 districts (Tartar, Aghdam, and Kalbajar). Khojaly separated from Khankendi and received the status of a separate district. It would be great if you could remind the readers of the chronology of all the changes made in the territory of the former NKAO.

Answer: As you know, there were five administrative districts including Shusha, Asgaran, Hadrut, Khojavend (Martuni), Aghdara (Mardakert), and the city of Khankendi (Stepanakert) within the former NKAO. The main goal of separatism, which began in 1988, was to separate Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan and unite it with Armenia. Although various decisions were made in this direction in 1988-1991, all of them were considered illegal by the Supreme Soviets of Azerbaijan and the USSR and canceled. In September 1991, after a fake referendum was held in NKAO and "independence" was declared, on November 26 of the same year, by the decision of the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan, the status of the autonomous oblast was canceled and changes were made in the administrative structure of the region. So, Asgaran district was canceled and Khojaly district was created instead; moreover, Martuni and Hadrut districts were canceled and Khojavend district was created. Furthermore, on October 13, 1992, by the decision of the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan, the administrative territory of Aghdara district was divided between Aghdam, Tartar, and Kalbajar districts.

Question: Now let's talk about the population disputes that arose after the liberation of the lands. Due to the changes we mentioned earlier, the statistics of 1989 do not match. For example, according to those statistics, more than 10,000 Azerbaijanis lived in Khankendi (then Stepanakert). But as we said, Stepanakert included Khojaly (Ivanyan settlement) and other settlements and districts. Now it is interesting how many Azerbaijanis lived in Khankendi, which is provided for by current Azerbaijani legislation? Or how many Armenians and how many Azerbaijanis lived in other territories (we are talking about territories liberated from separatists after September 28)?

Answer: According to Armenians, the population of Upper Karabakh in 2005 was 137,737 people. If we take into account that approximately 5,000 of the Armenian militants who died in the First Karabakh War were local residents, and if we add to this list more than 50,000 Armenians who moved from Karabakh, especially Khankendi and Aghdara, during the war in the 90s and did not return, then there will be no doubt that this number is fake. Out of 137,737 people on this list, 16,633 people are from Syria, Lebanon, Armenia, etc. If we consider those who were brought from other places and placed in Shusha, Lachin, and Kalbajar, as well as the 40,000 personnel of the Armenian army in the area at that time, it becomes clear how the number of Armenians in Upper Karabakh was manipulated.

This opinion was also confirmed by Armenian sources in the late 90s. Those sources stated that there are 90,000 people living in Karabakh (including illegal settlements in occupied Lachin, Kalbajar, and other areas). After the April 2016 battles, many Armenian experts wrote that the number of people living in Karabakh is 60-65 thousand.

Regarding the number of Azerbaijanis who lived in Khankendi, according to the 1979 census, 4303 people lived in Khankendi, including 1172 Azerbaijani houses. As we mentioned, according to the 1989 census, the number of Azerbaijanis in Nagorno-Karabakh increased by 4,000 people. As we mentioned earlier, this number is 2.5 times less than in previous years, which raises questions. Because, at that time, considering the number of Azerbaijani students who came to work in the newly opened institutions in Khankendi, as well as the population of Karkijahan settlement and the number of people who moved here from other Azerbaijani villages of the province, it was known that about 7500 Azerbaijanis lived in Khankendi on the eve of the ethnic cleansing. This figure was also confirmed by official institutions at that time.

Question: It is true that I have been in contact with a lot of IDPs from Aghdara, Khojaly, Shusha, and Hadrut. But I have never met an internally displaced person from Khankendi (maybe a coincidence). And Azerbaijanis from Karabakh also say that there were very few Azerbaijanis in Khankendi. I wonder who will be moved to that city now?

Answer: As we mentioned, about 7,500 Azerbaijanis lived in the city during the ethnic cleansing. Taking into account the growth rate of the population of Azerbaijan in the last 35 years, the number of our compatriots who lived in Khankendi should be around 11-12 thousand. In this regard, I don't think there will be a problem with relocation.

Question: In general, in what form and how should the return to the territories in Karabakh (former NKAO) be carried out?

Answer: Of course, first of all, the ancient inhabitants of Karabakh should return. As you know, there were 56 settlements inhabited by Azerbaijanis in the former NKAO, and almost all of them were destroyed. Those settlements should be restored and relocated. Apart from that, there is no problem with the return of Armenians who left the region but chose Azerbaijani citizenship and want to live here. Azerbaijan guarantees their rights and safety. A portal has also been created for the simplified implementation of the reintegration process. I am sure that the state of Azerbaijan is interested in the return of all Armenian residents who did not participate in war crimes.