Armenia and Azerbaijan hurt each other. How did the Naka problem come about?

The Nagorno Karabakh region lies between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Internationally, this region is generally regarded as a part of Azerbaijan, but in fact, the main ethnic group in this region is Armenians.

After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan and Armenia gained independence, and there was a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, which led to the fact that this Armenian-dominated region did not join Armenia and Azerbaijan did not gain de facto control. The Nagorno-Karabakh region gained de facto independence, and the "Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh" was established locally, but it was not recognized internationally.

▲ The location of Naka * * and China.

How did the Naka problem come about? Who owned this area in history?

First of all, the once glorious kingdom of Armenia

Armenia and Azerbaijan are located in the Caucasus Mountains, where Russia, Turkey (Ottoman) and Iran (Persia) meet. As long as any country becomes stronger in history, it will compete for the geographical barrier of the Caucasus mountains. Armenia and Azerbaijan, two relatively weak nations, have experienced ups and downs due to the rise and fall of great powers.

▲ The location of the Caucasus Mountains

Among the many ethnic groups in the Caucasus, Armenians are the first to rise. As early as 86 BC, the territory reached its peak, extending from the Caspian Sea to a vast area of the Mediterranean Sea. Later, it was threatened by the Persian Empire in the East and the Roman Empire in the West, and was gradually divided by two more powerful empires.

Among them, Persians persecuted Armenians more deeply. In order to resist the Persian "cultural aggression", Armenia became the first country to declare Christianity as the "state religion".

▲ 83- 69 BC, the largest territory of Armenia.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, Armenia was divided between the Byzantine Empire and the Persian Empire on the east and west sides, so Armenia was divided between the two empires. Later, due to the long-term war between the Persian Empire and the Byzantine Empire, the Arabs in the south got the opportunity to rise. Arabs also joined the wave of dividing Armenia.

However, it is obvious that before the formation of the Azerbaijani nation, a large area of land in the Middle East, including the Caucasus mountains, belonged to Armenians.

Second, the formation of the Azerbaijani nation.

Azerbaijan's state was formed relatively late. They originally belonged to the Persian family, and their language also belongs to the Persian family. 11-1During the 3rd century, Azerbaijanis began to form. They mainly lived in the Caucasus Mountains and harsh coastal areas, and were influenced by Persians for a long time.

After the demise of the Arab Empire and the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Turkish Empire began to rise, and the Persian Empire and the Ottoman Empire launched another round of competition for Armenia. /kloc-In the 6th century, the area inhabited by Armenians was finally "split in two" again.

Third, Persia encourages immigrants, and the Naka problem arises from this.

Because Azerbaijanis are deeply influenced by Persians, who believe in Islam and will be given more land in the future, Persia encourages Azerbaijanis to move westward to areas where Armenians live. A steady stream of Azerbaijanis began to move westward from the Caspian Sea coast to the mountainous area, which is the "Naka area". The local ethnic composition has changed for the first time, with Azerbaijanis in the majority.

▲ The geographical location of the Naka region, Persia encourages Armenians to migrate inland from the west coast.

Fourth, with the rise of Russia, the Nagorno-Karabakh issue has turned over.

But the Caucasus has always been a big country game field. /kloc-before the 0/7th century, the main "big players" here were Persians, Arabs and Turks. However, Russia rose in the17th century and its territory expanded, thus taking a fancy to the Caucasus Mountains between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.

Russia expanded to the south and began to conflict with the Ottoman Empire and the Persian Empire, and Armenia was not spared. Finally, in the19th century, Russia acquired most of the territories inhabited by Armenians and the northern areas inhabited by Azerbaijanis.

▲ Russia acquired Armenia (purple area)

Russia believes in Christianity and has the same cultural context as Armenia; Moreover, Russia often conflicts with Islamic countries, so it is very unfriendly to Muslims. In order to support Armenia, Russia began to encourage Armenians to move back to "Nagorno Karabakh", and Armenians also began to expel Azerbaijanis living in Nagorno Karabakh, which eventually led to a large number of Azerbaijanis moving back.

Once again, the ethnic composition in Naka has undergone earth-shaking changes, and Armenians have once again become the main ethnic group.

Five, the Soviet Union was founded, and the administrative divisions were vague.

After the founding of the Soviet Union, it inherited the original territory of Russia, and Armenia and Azerbaijan became members of the Soviet Union. At that time, the concept of "nation-state" prevailed after World War I, but at that time, the boundaries of the two joining countries were not divided according to the areas where the two ethnic groups distributed. The Nagorno-Karabakh region is mainly Armenian, but it continues to be divided into Azerbaijan. This is because the Soviet Union does not want to anger Islamic countries in the south. So Armenia's interests were sacrificed by the Soviet Union.

However, under the leadership of the Soviet Union, such contradictions did not break out, the two countries still lived in peace, and the Armenians of Nagorny Karabakh were free to enter and leave the two countries. However, after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, contradictions were on the verge. The Armenians of Nagorny Karabakh want to join Armenia through a referendum, but Azerbaijan firmly opposes it. In the end, war broke out between the two countries and a ceasefire was achieved under the coordination of Russia.

▲ Internationally recognized border between the two countries, Naka belongs to Azerbaijan.

However, after the war, Azerbaijan completely lost control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The region did not join Armenia, but declared its independence on its own, but it did not gain international recognition.

In 2020, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict broke out again. Finally, under the coordination of the international community, the Nagorno-Karabakh region was retained as a part of Azerbaijan, and the Azerbaijani army entered the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Most Armenians in Nagorny Karabakh need to leave and return to Armenia. However, Armenians are not satisfied with the result of this coordination, and perhaps the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has not really been resolved.

▲ The Naka conflict in 2020