A Brief Historical Overview for Those Unaware of the History of Shushi: Hasratyan

A brief historical overview for those unaware of the history of Shushi: This was stated by the former spokesperson of the Artsakh Defense Army, Senor Hasratyan, on his Facebook page. He specifically mentioned: "Shushi was established in the 10th century of Greater Armenia in the Varanda district of the Artsakh province and served as a protective fortress for the local Armenian population. Later, becoming fortressed, it became one of the prominent castles of the Varanda melikdom. In the late Middle Ages, Shushi was mentioned by various names, including Kar, Karaghlikh, Shosh Fortress, and Shoshi. In the 1720s, thanks to the efforts of the Armenian military commander Avan, the Shushi fortress was reconstructed and fortified.

After eight days of battles in 1725, the Armenians forced the Turkish army of 40,000 to flee. In the second half of the 18th century, Panah Ali Khan, the leader of a nomadic tribe, took advantage of the internal discord among the Artsakh melikdoms and seized the Shushi fortress. In 1752, the Shushi or Karabakh Khanate was founded, with Panah Ali Khan declaring himself the Khan of Karabakh. During the 1790s, Shushi became the scene of significant military operations. In August 1795, the Persian army besieged Shushi for 33 days but failed to capture it. In the spring of 1797, during the second campaign, Agha Mahmed captured the fortress.

As a result of the Russo-Persian War in the early 19th century, in May 1805, according to the Treaty of Kyurakchay, Karabakh was ceded to Russia. The Persian garrison in Shushi was replaced by the Russian one. In July 1826, a new war began between Persia and Russia. A Persian army of 60,000 besieged Shushi, but the 1,700 soldiers of the Russian garrison and 1,500 Armenian militia successfully thwarted the Persian conquest plans. In the mid-19th century, Shushi had 27,783 inhabitants, of whom 15,188 were Armenians. By 1895, the population increased to 33,252, including 20,584 Armenians.

During the Tatar-Armenian clashes in 1905, the Armenian commercial district was devastated, leading to a significant drop in the city's population to 16,500. In the following years, the population number began to rise again. According to 1916 data, Shushi had a population of 43,863, including 21,926 Armenians, 18,641 Tatars, 1,249 Russians, and the rest of other nationalities. Between 1918 and 1920, Shushi and surrounding Armenian settlements suffered new massacres and killings at the hands of Turkish-Tatar marauders. Only on the night of March 22-23, 1920, Turkish-Musavatist armed groups barbarously killed tens of thousands of Armenian residents, plundering and burning the entire Armenian district.

In 1921, by a decision of the Caucasian Bureau of the RK(b)P, Shushi was handed over to Azerbaijan within the framework of Nagorno-Karabakh. During the Soviet years, Shushi experienced significant decline. The local authorities, under the direct patronage of Baku, destroyed and eliminated almost everything Armenian in the city, including the remaining churches. In 1988, the last 2,000 Armenians still residing in Shushi were forcibly displaced. After that, the once-Armenian fortress town was turned into a military base by Azerbaijan.