The real number of Armenians living in Upper Karabakh is now coming to light

As a result of two wars caused by Armenian separatism that began in Upper Karabakh in 1988, tens of thousands of people were killed, and more were wounded and disabled. One of the topics discussed around the conflict was the number of people living in the region. According to the last census conducted during the Soviet era in 1989, 189,000 people lived in Nagorno-Karabakh, of which 145,450 were Armenians and 40,688 were Azerbaijanis. But these figures were still considered dubious. Because the comparison of 4 census statistics carried out between 1959-1989 gives a serious basis for this. Such that according to the censuses of 1959, 1970, 1979, and 1989, 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 small families compared to Azerbaijanis increased by only 13,000 in the 20 years between 1959 and 1979, and by 22.5 thousand in the next 10 years between 1979 and 1989 (?). Such a significant increase cannot be explained by the increase in the biological potential of Armenians and their desire to raise a family. In addition, given the fact that the vast majority of young people who went from Karabakh to Armenia or elsewhere to study did not return, then it is easy to understand the reason for the “significant increase”.

While the population of Azerbaijan increased from 18,000 to 37,000 in 1959-1979, the increase from 1979 to 1989 was only 4,000 (?). Furthermore, there was no emergency in Upper Karabakh at that time, discrimination and threats against Azerbaijanis had not yet become apparent. The comparison of the figures shows that the falsification of the census was related to the preparation of Armenians for separatism.

According to Armenian sources, 137,380 of the 137,737 people living in Upper Karabakh in 2005 were ethnic Armenians, and 357 were of other nationalities. However, unlike the Second Karabakh War, the vast majority of the thousands of Armenian militants killed in the First Karabakh War were residents of the region. If we add to this list thousands of Armenians who emigrated from Karabakh in the 1990s and did not return, then it turns out that this figure is false. On the other hand, even this false figure exposes the alleged Armenian propaganda that there was a 1,500-strong Russian community in Karabakh (about 1,900 Russians shown in the 1989 statistics were servicemen of the 366^th Regiment in Khankendi and the border detachment in Hadrut, who left the region in 1992). If we take into account that 16,633 of the 137,737 Armenians on the list were brought from abroad and settled in Shusha, Lachin, Kalbajar, then the number of Armenians in Upper Karabakh is supposedly 120,747. In fact, this false figure is about 25,000 less than in 1989 (145,500 – 120,747 = 24,753). In fact, at the beginning of the Karabakh conflict, Soviet official sources stated that the population of the region was 165,000 (120,000 Armenians and 45,000 Azerbaijanis, respectively).

As noted, the accuracy of these figures, circulated by Armenians, raises serious doubts. Because during the First Karabakh War, all the villages of Aghdara, many villages of Hadrut, Khojavend (Martuni), Askeran were evacuated and a small part of the population returned after the 1994 ceasefire. Most of the houses in those villages are still uninhabitable. But recently, with the participation of Russia, separatists have been repairing those houses and trying to accommodate people there. Russians doing other things instead of peacekeeping missions are busy reporting. They allegedly carried out repair and construction works, relocated refugees to villages, and provided medical assistance. Most recently, information was spread about the placement of 5-10 people in Umudlu village of Aghdara with their participation. Armenians themselves write that the villages in the region are empty. At the same time, they have placed 5-10 people in those villages and are looking for propaganda footage. Despite all efforts, it is difficult for people to stay there. Because they have no confidence in the future and want the current uncertainty to end. A while ago, Armenians in the region openly told reporters that their main problem was the continuing uncertainty and security.

The interesting thing is that the exaggerated figures spread by the Armenians are periodically exposed both by themselves and by international organizations. Such that in January of this year, a UN report stated that 25,000 people had returned to Nagorno-Karabakh, and a Russian report put the figure at 53,000. The propaganda reached such a level that in March, the Armenians announced the return of 100,000 Armenians. Another brought this figure to 120,000.

On the other hand, in the late 1990s, Armenian sources wrote that 70,000 people lived in Karabakh. However, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Lavrov, went further than the Armenians and gave an exaggerated figure of 90,000, the source of which is unknown.

It should be noted that in accordance with Soviet tradition, the Armenians are trying to increase the number by adding the 40,000-strong Armenian army personnel stationed in Karabakh to the population.

The number of 145,450 Armenians in the 1989 census is a clear exaggeration. Such that at that time and now, 90 percent of young people who went from Karabakh to Yerevan and abroad to study did not return, so there could be no significant increase in population growth. The effect of this on the lack of specialists is another matter. The situation has reached the point that the district hospital in the Armenian-controlled part of Khojavend has repeatedly announced the absence of a dentist, and a doctor has been called there with promises.

In fact, it is known where the Armenians got the number 145,450 in 1989. Since they included the Aghjakend area of ​​Goranboy (formerly Shaumyan district) and the Armenian villages in Goygol district in the areas they called "Artsakh", they added 17,000 people to the list and got the number 145,450. Those 17,000 Armenians were actually listed twice - in the country and in the province.

On the eve of the Second Karabakh War, information was spread that 60,000-65,000 Armenians lived in Upper Karabakh. But a few days ago, the leader of the separatists, Arayik Harutyunyan, expressed the exact number of Armenians in the region: “Our biggest mistake was that despite our opportunities, we were unable to defend the Armenians expelled from Shaumyan (Aghjakend), then Mardakert (Aghdara), Askeran, Hadrut, and some villages of Martuni (Khojavend) on June 13, 1992, and more than 50,000 Armenians left Karabakh. This is one of the reasons why the population of Karabakh is now more than 45,000, not more than 200,000. Only 10% of Shaumyan's population remained in Karabakh”.

With this speech, Harutyunyan both tried to insure himself and, in fact, sent a message to the Armenian society, living in vain fantasies, that if they did not achieve what they wanted in the previous favorable situation, the realities emerged after the last war have completely changed the situation. After the ceasefire on May 12, 1994, our military-political leadership did not learn the right lessons from world examples and despite having an advantage in the negotiation process, failed to achieve more favorable solutions). The spread of the exact number of people living in Karabakh from the most informed mouth was another exposure of fake Armenian propaganda. This information can be considered an important element for the steps to be taken by Azerbaijan.

As can be seen from the information and videos, most of the 45,000 people currently living in Upper Karabakh are elderly people with poor conditions. These people have also been held hostage by terrorist separatists in the region and the political and military leadership of Armenia for 30 years. Logically, people in this situation are waiting for Azerbaijan to look after them as a result of the 30-year war and for their future. If the terrorists in the region are cleared in the near future and Azerbaijan's sovereignty is restored in those areas, these people will be relieved and their future will be guaranteed.