Martuni, Nagorno-Karabakh

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For other uses, see Martuni.
Martuni / Khojavend

Մարտունի / Xocavənd
Street in Martuni
Street in Martuni
Martuni / Khojavend is located in Republic of Artsakh
Martuni / Khojavend
Martuni / Khojavend
Coordinates: 39°47′43″N 47°06′47″E / 39.79528°N 47.11306°E / 39.79528; 47.11306Coordinates: 39°47′43″N 47°06′47″E / 39.79528°N 47.11306°E / 39.79528; 47.11306
Country Azerbaijan (de jure)
 Artsakh (de facto)
DistrictKhojavend (de jure)
ProvinceMartuni (de facto)
Elevation
390 m (1,280 ft)
Population
 (2015)[1]
 • Total5,700
Time zoneUTC+4 (AMT)
Area code(s)(+374) 478

Martuni (Armenian: Մարտունի) or Khojavend (Azerbaijani: Xocavənd About this sound(listen)) is a town de facto in the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh as the centre of its Martuni Province, and the de jure centre of the Khojavend District of Azerbaijan. It is approximately 41 kilometers east of the regional capital, Stepanakert. It has a population of 5,700 as of 2015.[1]

The town has an ethnic Armenian-majority population, and also had an Armenian majority in 1989.[2]

Etymology[]

The name Martuni originates from the nom de guerre of Armenian Bolshevik revolutionary and official Alexander Miasnikian. The name Khojavend is of Persian origin.[3]

History[]

Martuni was founded[when?] by local Armenians as a village named Honashen (Armenian: Հոնաշէն), where shen means village and hona, depending on the source, allows different interpretations (namely, “village, dwelling” or “reservoir, well, spring”). In 1925, the settlement was transformed into a city and renamed Martuni.[4]

Excavations in the settlement have uncovered a number of tombs dating to the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. Martuni is also home to several ruined medieval churches and remains of settlements, and khachkars have also been preserved.[5]

During the Soviet period, Martuni was the capital of the Martuni District in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. The population of the town, grouped into kolkhozes, largely occupied itself with raising livestock, grape growing, wheat cultivation, and gardening.[5]

Martuni, and the district itself, became a frontline city during the latter stages of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. In early February 1992, Vazgen Sargsyan, then Defence Minister of Armenia, appointed Monte Melkonian as Chief of Headquarters and assigned him to lead the defense of Martuni and the surrounding regions.[6] On October 2, 1992, Armenian armed forces captured the region around Martuni. According to an Azerbaijani source, considerable damage was done to the infrastructure of 10 villages settled by Azerbaijanis in the region during the war.[7] Melkonian remained as regional commander until he was killed in combat in June 1993.[8]

Historical and cultural heritage[]

The town has a House of Culture commonly called "The Opera", and the Church of St. Nerses the Great, opened in 2004. The Russian 19th-century Gevorgavan Church is located near Martuni.[9]

Economy and culture[]

The population mainly works in different state institutions as well as with agriculture and animal husbandry. As of 2015, Martuni has a municipality building, a House of Culture, two schools, a music school, two kindergartens, a youth centre, 36 commercial enterprises, two factories and a regional hospital.[10]

Gallery[]

  • Church of St. Nerses the Great in Martuni, opened in 2004

  • A street in Martuni

  • A memorial in Martuni

  • Martuni Museum

  • Martuni House of Culture ("The Opera")

Climate[]

hideClimate data for Martuni (Khojavend)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 5.5
(41.9) 		6.4
(43.5) 		10.1
(50.2) 		17.5
(63.5) 		21.7
(71.1) 		26.6
(79.9) 		29.8
(85.6) 		29.7
(85.5) 		24.8
(76.6) 		19.1
(66.4) 		12.6
(54.7) 		8.0
(46.4) 		17.7
(63.8)
Average low °C (°F) −1.7
(28.9) 		−1.0
(30.2) 		1.8
(35.2) 		7.6
(45.7) 		12.1
(53.8) 		16.4
(61.5) 		19.5
(67.1) 		18.4
(65.1) 		15.2
(59.4) 		10.2
(50.4) 		4.9
(40.8) 		0.6
(33.1) 		8.7
(47.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 20
(0.8) 		26
(1.0) 		36
(1.4) 		49
(1.9) 		68
(2.7) 		55
(2.2) 		23
(0.9) 		23
(0.9) 		28
(1.1) 		44
(1.7) 		31
(1.2) 		25
(1.0) 		428
(16.8)
Source: http://en.climate-data.org/location/21894/

Demographics[]

Ethnic structure of the population of Martuni (town)
Ethnic group Number, 1939 sa.[11] Ratio, 1939 sa.[11] Number, 1970 sa.[12] Ratio, 1970 sa.[12] Number, 1979 sa.[13] Ratio, 1979 sa.[13] Number, 2005 sa.[14] Ratio, 2005 sa.[14]
Total 1,906 100 % 4,654 100 % 5,497 100 % 4,878 100 %
Armenian 1,701 89,2 % 3,120 67 % 3,588 65.3 % 4,863 99,7 %
Azerbaijani 52 2,7 % 1,482 31.8 % 1,862 33.9 % - -
Russian 136 7,1 % 44 0.9 % 41 0.7 % 8 0,2 %
Ukrainian 7 0,4 % 3 0.1 % 1 0.0 % 1 <0,1 %
Other 10 0,5 % 5 0.2 % 5 0.1 % 6 0,1 %

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Figures" (PDF). stat-nkr.am. 2015.
  2. ^ Андрей Зубов. "Андрей Зубов. Карабах: Мир и Война". drugoivzgliad.com.
  3. ^ Arsène Saparov (2017-09-01). "Contested spaces: the use of place-names and symbolic landscape in the politics of identity and legitimacy in Azerbaijan". Central Asian Survey. 36 (4): 534–554. doi:10.1080/02634937.2017.1350139. S2CID 149221754.
  4. ^ (1998). Географические названия мира: Топонимический словарь: Свыше 5 000 единиц. М.: «Русские словари». Отв. ред. Р. А. Агеева. p. 262. ISBN 5-89216-029-7.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b (in Armenian) Anon. «Մարտունի» (Martuni). Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia. vol. vii. Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1981, p. 352.
  6. ^ See Markar Melkonian (2005). My Brother's Road: An American's Fateful Journey to Armenia. New York: I.B. Tauris, pp. 207ff. ISBN 1-85043-635-5.
  7. ^ "25 years pass since occupation of Khojavend region".
  8. ^ Melkonian 2005, p. 264.
  9. ^ Kiesling, Brady; Kojian, Raffi (2019). Rediscovering Armenia: An in-depth inventory of villages and monuments in Armenia and Artsakh (3rd ed.). Armeniapedia Publishing.
  10. ^ Hakob Ghahramanyan. "Directory of socio-economic characteristics of NKR administrative-territorial units (2015)".
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Ethno-Caucasus, Этнодемография Кавказа: Мартунинский район (1939 г.)
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b Ethno-Caucasus, Этнодемография Кавказа: Мартунинский район (1970 г.)
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b Ethno-Caucasus, Этнодемография Кавказа: Мартунинский район (1979 г.)
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b "Национальный состав населения самопровозглашённой Нагорно-Карабахской Республики по переписи 2005 года". Population statistics of Eastern Europe & former USSR.

External links[]

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