Voskepar ( hy, Ոսկեպար) is a village in the
Tavush Province
Tavush ( hy, Տավուշ, ) is a province of Armenia located at the northeast of Armenia, bordered by Georgia from the north and Azerbaijan from the east. Internally, Tavush borders the Gegharkunik Province from the south, Kotayk Province from ...
of
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
, located close to the
Armenia–Azerbaijan border
The Armenia–Azerbaijan border ( hy, Հայաստան–Ադրբեջան սահման, translit=Hayastan–Adrbejan sahman, az, Azərbaycan–Ermənistan sərhədi) is the international border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Estimates of the bo ...
.
Etymology
Voskepar derives its name from the Voskepar mountain range; from Armenian Ոսկե (''voske'', gold), and պարան (''paran'': string or chain). In the 19th and 20th centuries the village was also known as ''Aksibara'' and ''Akhsibara''.
History
Voskepar was founded in the 6th century.
[ The village contains the 7th-century Armenian Holy Mother of God Church.
]
First Nagorno-Karabakh War
During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War
The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in th ...
, seven people were killed in inter-ethnic fighting in and around the village.[
In 1991, the second operation of ]Operation Ring
Operation Ring (russian: link=no, Операция «Кольцо», translit=Operatsia Kol'tso; hy, «Օղակ» գործողություն, ), known in Azerbaijan as Operation Chaykand ( az, Çaykənd əməliyyatı) was the codename for th ...
took place in and around Voskepar. This was a military operation conducted by Soviet Internal Security Forces and OMON
OMON (russian: ОМОН – Отряд Мобильный Особого Назначения , translit = Otryad Mobil'nyy Osobogo Naznacheniya , translation = Special Purpose Mobile Unit, , previously ru , Отряд Милиции Осо ...
units, officially dubbed a "passport
A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...
checking operation," the stated goal launched by the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
's internal and defense ministries was to disarm Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
militia detachments, which were organized in " llegallyarmed formations." The operation involved the use of soldiers who accompanied a complement of military vehicles, artillery and helicopter gunships to be used to root out the self-described Armenian '' fedayeen''. However, contrary to their stated objectives, Soviet troops and the predominantly Azerbaijani soldiers in the Azerbaijan SSR
Azerbaijan ( az, Азәрбајҹан, Azərbaycan, italics=no), officially the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijan SSR; az, Азәрбајҹан Совет Сосиалист Республикасы, Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist R ...
OMON and army forcibly depopulated many Armenians. Some authors have also described the actions of the joint Soviet and Azerbaijani force as ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, and religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal, extermination, deportation or population transfer ...
. According to Svante E. Cornell, Operation Ring was carried out with 'harshly systematic human rights violations'.
Geography
The town lies in a valley to the south of the Voskepar Ridge, which reaches heights of .
The average temperature is in summer and in winter.[ The abandoned villages of ]Yukhari Askipara
Yukhari Askipara ( az, Yuxarı Əskipara, lit=Upper Askipara; hy, Վերին Ոսկեպար, lit=Upper Voskepar, translit=Verin Voskepar) is a destroyed Azerbaijani village in an exclave of the Qazakh District of Azerbaijan, currently under contr ...
(Upper Askipara, ''Verin Voskepar'' in Armenian) and Ashagi Askipara (Lower Askipara, ''Nerkin Voskepar'' in Armenian) are located near the village. The village is located north of Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
.
Demographics
The population of the village was 956 in 2001, 880 in 2008,Armenian census summary for Tavush Marz
/ref> and 818 in 2011.
Economy and culture
The population is mainly engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. The village contains a health clinic, a house of culture, and a community center. There were 103 school pupils in the village in 2011.[ Besides the Holy Mother of God Church, the village also contains the St. Astvatsatsin Church and the St. Sarkin Church, built in 2000.
]
Gallery
Voskepar village 03.jpg,
Եկեղեցի Սբ. Աստվածածին 7 դ.jpg, Holy Mother of God Church
Կամուրջ Ոսկեպարում.jpg,
Ջողազի կիրճ 08.jpg,
Village Voskepar.jpg,
Ջողազի կիրճ 14.jpg,
Berdavank fortress 03.jpg, Berdavank fortress
Արցախյան ազատամարտի հուշահամալիր (Ոսկեպար, Վերին Ոսկեպար), 08.05.2021թ․.jpg, Artsakh war memorial
Ոսկեպար, Ջուխտակ եղցի վանք 21.jpg, Jukhtak Yeghtsi Monastery
References
External links
"Voskepar", Tavush Province website (in Armenian)
Armenia Rural Development Program, development status of Voskepar
{{Portal bar, Geography
Populated places in Tavush Province