Khojaly ( az, Xocalı, ; hy, Խոջալու, translit=Khojalu) or Ivanyan ( hy, Իվանյան) is a town ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' in the Askeran Province of the breakaway

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Artsakh controls a part of the former ...

, ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...

'' in the Khojaly District of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

, in the disputed region of

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik, and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains. The region is m ...

. Stepanakert Airport is located to the immediate south of the town. The town was the second largest Azerbaijani town in the former

Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), DQMV, hy, Լեռնային Ղարաբաղի Ինքնավար Մարզ, ԼՂԻՄ was an autonomous oblast within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic that was created on July 7, 1923. Its cap ...

until the mass killing and exodus of its Azerbaijani population during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.

Toponymy

The Azerbaijani name of the town, Khojaly, derives from ''khoja'' (''xoca''), which is the Azerbaijani spelling of the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

word ''

khawaja Khawaja ( Persian: خواجه ''khvâjəh'') is an honorific title used across the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia, particularly towards Sufi teachers. It is also used by Kashmiri Muslims and the Mizrahi Jews—particul ...

'', meaning master. In 2001 the settlement was renamed ''Ivanyan'' by Artsakh, after the late general of the

Artsakh Defence Army The Artsakh Defence Army ( hy, Արցախի Հանրապետության պաշտպանության բանակ, Artsakhi Hanrapetut’yan pashtpanut’yan banak) is the defence force of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). Es ...

Kristapor Ivanyan Kristapor Ivani Ivanyan ( hy, Քրիստափոր Իվանի Իվանյան; 20 December 1920 – 30 August 1999) was a Soviet and Armenian lieutenant general. He fought in both World War II and the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. He was one of the fo ...

History

According to the 1910 publication of the ''Caucasian Calendar'', Khojaly had 184 Tatar (i.e. Azerbaijani) inhabitants in 1908. In the 1912 publication, Khojaly had 172 Tatar and 52

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

inhabitants. During the

Soviet 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 nation ...

period, Khojaly was a village in the Askeran District of the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War

As the First Nagorno-Karabakh War started, the Azerbaijani government began to implement a plan to create a new district center. From 1988 to 1990 the population of Khojaly increased from 2,135 to 6,000 residents, mostly consisting of immigrants from Soviet Central Asia (including more than 2,000 Meskhetian Turks) and immigrants from Armenia (about 2,000). In April 1990 the Azerbaijani government abolished the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast and its internal divisions. Khojaly was given city status and became the regional center for the newly created Khojaly District composed of the former Askeran District and part of the Martuni District. The town had 6,300 Azerbaijani inhabitants in 1991. Most of the inhabitants fled during the town's capture by Armenian forces on 26 February 1992 during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War and hundreds were killed in the Khojaly massacre. The Khojaly massacre was the mass killing of Azerbaijanis — mostly civilians, but also armed troops — by local irregular Armenian forces and the 366th

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...

Guards Motor Rifle Regiment.''Bloodshed in the Caucasus: escalation of the armed conflict in Nagorno Karabakh'', vol. 1245 of Human rights documents, Human Rights Watch, 1992, p. 24 It was one of the four events that defined the war, along with the Karabakh Armenian seizure of Shusha and the capture of Lachin and the Lachin corridor between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia as well as the June 1992 Azerbaijani offensive against the Mardakert Province in

. The death toll claimed by the Azerbaijani authorities is 613 civilians, including 106 women and 63 children. According to

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

, it resulted in death of at least 200 Azerbaijanis, though it is possible that as many as 500–1,000 may have died.

Republic of Artsakh

After the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, the town became part of the Askeran Province of the

and the town was settled by Armenians. The town had an

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 ...

-majority population of 908 inhabitants in 2005, and 1,397 inhabitants in 2015. After the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involving Azerbai ...

, five Armenian families displaced from Vazgenashen (Gulably) settled in the town, as well as in Shosh (Shushikend). Artsakh launched the construction of two new residential districts in the town in 2021, consisting of more than 400 apartments for displaced people from the village of Mets Tagher (Boyuk Taghlar) in the

Hadrut Province Hadrut Province ( hy, Հադրութի շրջան) was a province of the Republic of Artsakh. The provincial capital was Hadrut city. The last governor was Valery Gevorkian. The province was captured by the armed forces of the Republic of Azerbai ...

Historical heritage sites

Historical heritage sites in and around the town include burial mounds and fields from the 2nd–1st millennia BCE and a 14th-century tomb. Tombstones from the

Late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...

and the 18th century, and a 19th-century Turkic mausoleum are located a few hundred meters to the west of the town.

Economy and culture

The population is mainly engaged in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

and animal husbandry. As of 2015, the town has a municipal building, a house of culture, a secondary school, eleven shops, and a medical centre.

International relations

In February 2010, the Azeri-Czech Society reported that representatives of the Azeri administration of Khojaly in exile and the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

town of

Lidice Lidice (, german: Liditz) is a municipality and village in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants. Lidice is built near the site of the previous village of the same name, which was co ...

were to sign an agreement making Khojaly and Lidice

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

and that a street in Lidice was to be named "Khojaly". In March 2012, reports quoted the mayor of Lidice, Veronika Kellerova, as officially stating that Lidice and Khojaly had never been sister cities. She further repudiated reports that there exists a street named Khojaly in Lidice.

Gallery

Համայնապատկեր,_Իվանյան.jpg, Panorama Խաղահրապարակ,_Իվանյանում.jpg, Playground Իվանյանի_մանկապարտեզ.jpg, Kindergarten Իվանյանի դպրոցը.jpg, School in the town Մզկիթ,_Իվանյան.jpg, Mausoleum Իվանյանի_համայնապատկեր.jpg, Panorama Հուշարձան,_Իվանյան.jpg, Monument Տեսարան,_Իվանյան.jpg, Scenery Գինու_գործարան,_Իվանյան.jpg, Wine factory Իվանյան գյուղի մուտքը.jpg, Sign in Armenian at the entrance of the town

References

External links

*
Population statistics (2005)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khojaly Populated places in Askeran Province Populated places in Khojaly District