Renaissance Square (), commonly known as Veratsnound or Revival Square or Victory Square () was the main square in the city of

Stepanakert Stepanakert officially Khankendi is a city in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. It was the capital city of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh prior to the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in ...

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh (, ; ) is a region in Azerbaijan, covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Part of the greater region of Karabakh, it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik. Its ter ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. It was developed in 1994 following the Battle of Shusha and the securing of the area by the

Artsakh Defense Army The Artsakh Defence Army () was the defence force of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh. Established in 1992, it united previously disorganized defence units which were formed in the early 1990s. It was disbanded on 20 September 2023 under t ...

History

Soviet era

The Presidential Palace, which was the former residence of the

President of Artsakh The president of the Republic of Artsakh (, ) is the head of state and head of government of the government-in-exile of the once de facto Republic of Artsakh. In a constitutional referendum held in 2017, citizens of the republic voted in favo ...

, is the main building in the square. It is the former building of the

Nagorno-Karabakh Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) was an autonomous oblast within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic that was created on July 7, 1923. Its capital was the city of Stepanakert. The majority of the population were ethnic Armenia ...

, having been built in the 1960s.

Artsakh era

The following landmarks and buildings were located on the square when the city was under Armenian control: *

Presidential Palace A presidential palace is the official residence of the president in some countries. Some presidential palaces were once the official residences to monarchs in former monarchies that were preserved during those states' transition into republics. ...

* Artsakh Freedom Fighters Union Building * National Assembly of Artsakh Building * Embassy of Armenia * Palace of Youth * Hotel ''Armenia'' The square commonly hosted political and social rallies, weapons exhibitions,

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

events and processions. During the

Shushi Liberation Day Shushi Liberation Day () is a national holiday celebrated in Armenia and formerly in the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh. It is commemorated on both 8 and 9 May as a way to celebrate the anniversary of the Capture of Shushi and the Siege of St ...

celebrations, a

military parade A military parade is a formation of military personnels whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as Drill team, drilling or marching. Large military parades are today held on major holidays and military events around the ...

of the former Defence Army took place. During a visit to the capital in August 2019, Armenian Prime Minister

Nikol Pashinyan Nikol Vovayi Pashinyan (born 1 June 1975) is an Armenian politician who is serving as the 16th and current Prime Minister of Armenia, prime minister of Armenia since 8 May 2018. A journalist by profession, Pashinyan founded his own newspaper in ...

led a mass rally on the square with chants of "Unification", which was originally chanted during the

Karabakh movement The Karabakh movement (), also known as the Artsakh movement (), was a national mass movement in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh from 1988 to 1991 that advocated for the transfer of the mainly Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast ...

in the late 80s.

Azerbaijani control

Military parade dedicated to 3rd anniversary of the Victory in the Patriotic War was held in city of Khankendi 23

Stepanakert came under the control of Azerbaijan on 29 September 2023, after the Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh on 19–20 September 2023, which led to the dissolution of the de facto

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh ( ), officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh ( ), was a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory was internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Between 1991 and 2023, Artsakh cont ...

. A

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

parade took place on the square in the presence of President

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005. The son and second child of former Aze ...

on 8 November 2023. In early March 2024, Azerbaijani authorities demolished the National Assembly of Artsakh building and the Artsakh Freedom Fighters Union building.

Gallery

2017-07-26 - Stepanakert (Artsakh) 17.jpg, Presidential Palace 2014 Stepanakert, Budynek Związku Bojowników o Wolność Arcachu.jpg, Union of Artsakh Freedom Fighters building. 2017-07-26 - Stepanakert (Artsakh) 12.jpg, National Assembly building.

References

External links

{{commons category
Renaissance Square, Stepanakert, National Assembly
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Aviplatform.com

360° view of the squareA video of the square
Stepanakert Squares in Azerbaijan Buildings and structures in Stepanakert 1994 establishments in the Republic of Artsakh