Stepanakert

Stepanakert, officially Khankendi, is a city in the <a href="/facts/Nagorno-Karabakh/c85rk9Xk">Nagorno-Karabakh</a> region of <a href="/facts/Azerbaijan/Ho5joRTJ">Azerbaijan</a>. It was the capital city of the breakaway <a href="/facts/Republic_of_Artsakh/3gTq2aY4">Republic of Artsakh</a> prior to the <a href="/facts/2023_Azerbaijani_offensive_in_Nagorno-Karabakh/SuNwHhbK">2023 Azerbaijani offensive</a> in the region. The city is located in a valley on the eastern slopes of the <a href="/facts/Karabakh/4mRtT0yY">Karabakh</a> mountain range, on the left bank of the <a href="/facts/Qarqar%25C3%25A7ay/YYhS8j5h">Qarqarçay</a> (Karkar) river.
The area that would become Stepanakert was originally an Armenian settlement named Vararakn. During the <a href="/facts/Soviet_Union/m7wWsPto">Soviet</a> period, the city was made the capital of the <a href="/facts/Nagorno-Karabakh_Autonomous_Oblast/cnhgkN9w">Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast</a>, becoming a hub for economic and industrial activity. In addition, the city became a hotbed for political activity, serving as the center for Armenian demonstrations calling for the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia. Stepanakert suffered extensive damage following the <a href="/facts/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union/Fyn5jw3n">dissolution of the Soviet Union</a> and the outbreak of the <a href="/facts/First_Nagorno-Karabakh_War/Qebuyqdf">First Nagorno-Karabakh War</a> and passed into the hands of local Armenians with the establishment of the <a href="/facts/Republic_of_Artsakh/3gTq2aY4">Republic of Artsakh</a>. During the Soviet and Artsakh periods, the city was a regional center of education and culture, being home to <a href="/facts/Artsakh_University/8H6l64Mv">Artsakh University</a>, musical schools, and a <a href="/facts/Palace_of_Culture/aHNWHqaN">palace of culture</a>. The economy was based on the service industry and had varied enterprises, <a href="/facts/Food_processing/2vRFfCL9">food processing</a>, <a href="/facts/Winemaking/ITBb0gpf">wine making</a>, and <a href="/facts/Silk/3SKPK0JE">silk weaving</a> being the most important. 
In September 2023, Azerbaijani authorities took control of the city, with almost the <a href="/facts/Flight_of_Nagorno-Karabakh_Armenians/7J9Jok2p">entire Armenian population forced to flee</a> to Armenia ahead of the advancing Azerbaijani forces. It was an abandoned <a href="/facts/Ghost_town/ATpvehcq">ghost city</a> for a year; Azerbaijan began settling new permanent residents in the city in September 2024 with the opening of <a href="/facts/Karabakh_University/gw5AaKlC">Karabakh University</a>. As of 2024, the city's population was around 8,000.

Stepanakert open-in-new

Stepanakert