SUMMARY
The Armenians are an ethnic group native to the southern Caucasus. The history of the Armenians as an ethnic group and of the Armenian state can be traced backed long in history. A first Armenian state emerged in the sixth century BC. At its height during the last century BC, the Armenian kingdom comprised an area reaching from the Caucasus to today’s central Turkey, Lebanon and northern Iran. Armenians adopted Christianity in the early third century, making Arsacid Kingdom of Armenia the first state to declare Christianity state religion. In modern history, Armenia was part of the Russian and the Ottoman Empires. In particular under Ottoman rule, Armenians were subject to persecution and large-scale violence before and during the First World War. After the end of the war and the collapse of the Russian Empire, Armenia was an independent republic from 1918 to 1920. Following an invasion by the Red Army, it came under Soviet rule and became part of the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. After its demise, Armenia became a Soviet Socialist Republic until 1991 when Armenia declared its independence.
Today’s Armenia has a very homogenous population of about 97% Armenians. Historically, there has been a large Armenian Diaspora community. In modern history, the Diaspora mainly resulted from the large-scale violence against Armenians during the First World War in the Ottoman Empire. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, many Armenians left Armenia because of difficult economic conditions and today, the Armenian Diaspora comprises several million Armenians.
In addition to Armenia, Armenians also constitute the majority in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenians living in this enclave are not considered part of the Armenian Diaspora as Nagorno-Karabakh is regarded Armenian motherland. In 1989, according to the Soviet census, 145 500 ethnic Armenians were living in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, equivalent to roughly three quarters of the population of the area. Azeris made up slightly less than one quarter of the population. Until the late 1980s, Armenians were furthermore living in other areas of Azerbaijan and especially the capital Baku was home to a significant Armenian minority. The spread of Armenian minority communities over Azerbaijan is one reason why clashes between Azeris and Armenians were not limited to the enclave. Nagorno-Karabakh has been predominantly Armenian for several centuries and has historically been granted a wide degree of autonomy when under foreign control. As of today, the number of Armenians in the enclave is about the same as prior to the conflict, as up to 70 000 Armenians have fled Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of the recurring violence. At the same time, virtually no Azeris are left in Nagorno-Karabakh. In all, about two-thirds of the pre-war population of Nagorno-Karabakh are thus no longer living in the enclave.
Under the firm control of the Soviet Union, the question of the Armenian enclave (and the role of the Armenian minority in Azerbaijan in general) was suppressed until the late 1980s. For several decades, there existed a loosely organized underground movement for the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia among the Armenians in the region. Armenians have used moments of political change within the Soviet Union as windows of opportunity to appeal Moscow for making Nagorno-Karabakh part of Soviet Armenia. In the late 1980s, Glasnost and Perestroika represented a new opportunity to gain support for their goal.
A key figure for the Armenians was Igor Muradian, a hard-line Armenian nationalist who had been born in Baku and was living in Yerevan. Like many Armenians, he feared that the Armenian population would be driven out from Nagorno-Karabakh by Azeri settlers. In pursuing the goal of making Nagorno-Karabakh a part of Soviet Armenia, Muradian proved very loyal to the Soviet Union and made use of his personal contacts to party cadres in Armenia and Moscow. However, Muradian also was in contact with radical nationalists of the banned Dashnaktsutiun Party (Dashnaks) in Armenia and abroad and even acquired weapons that were smuggled into Nagorno-Karabakh.
In the late 1980s, there was a consensus among the vast majority of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh to strive for unification with Armenia. However, there was disagreement about how this goal should be achieved. Moderates believed in a negotiated solution with the help of Moscow while others prepared for more radical tactics and formed the group Krunk. The Armenian leader Suren Harutiunian did little to prevent the tensions from escalating by further supporting the nationalist tendencies and Armenia increasingly turned into a major problem for the Soviet Union. Also the small Azeri minority in Armenia suffered from the tensions and most of them were expelled from Armenia during the fall of 1988.
The radical forces should keep the upper hand in the long run and after the independence of Azerbaijan in late 1991, the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh fought the Azerbaijani government for independence. By early 1992, the Armenian government had distances itself from the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh and was not calling for unification anymore.
The Armenians have been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.
