Jan 4, 2023

Documenting life under siege in Karabakh – On TikTok

Understanding the situation in Karabakh in the fourth week of what amounts to an effective blockade is increasingly difficult. Some social media accounts allege starvation is already upon the population while others say there are no problems at all. In reality, neither is correct and even though defacto State Minister Ruben Vardanyan says that the region, situated within Azerbaijan with only the narrow 5 km-wide Lachin corridor to connect it to Armenia, is able to last longer than the three weeks it already has even with imported product shortages.

Thankfully, however, and as the alleged environmental protest by Azerbaijani activists, presumably with the support of Baku, effectively blocking most road transportation other than that consisting of Russian peacekeeping or International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) vehicles, one young Karabakh Armenian is updating her followers  on TikTok about life under siege. Her updates are down to earth and genuine, lending credence to the stereotype of Karabakh Armenians as being sturdy and resilient. Basically, life goes on.

Follow her here

Updated 5 January 2023.

@mash.gasparyannn Ձեր նոր տարին շնորհավոր🤍Blokada or 21 #blokada #artsakh #rek #vlog ♬ Chill Vibes - Tollan Kim

 

 

CONFLICT VOICES e-BOOKS

 

Conflict Voices – December 2010

Short essays on the Nagorno Karabakh Conflict
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Conflict Voices – May 2011

Short essays on the Nagorno Karabakh Conflict
Download in English | Russian

From Key West to Key Failures – The Demise of the OSCE Minsk Group

From Key West to Key Failures – The Demise of the OSCE Minsk Group

When I moved to Yerevan in October 1998, it was rare to hear much positive conversation about the future of Armenia or Karabakh. That had also been the case when I visited the country on a research trip earlier that June. Many were already tired of the conflict and few seemed enthused with a new regime that had just come to power after the ousting the country’s first president earlier that year.

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