“Stepanakert, the capital of Artsakh, was and continues to be at the center of Azerbaijani vandalism policy. Stepanakert, as the center of Artsakh’s statehood and identity, has been and continues to be subjected to appropriation, desecration, Islamization and direct destruction in recent years,” warns the website monumentwatch.org, which monitors Artsakh’s cultural heritage.
“As a result of the wars, genocidal acts and ethnic cleansing of 2020-2023, many monuments were destroyed by Azerbaijan throughout the territory of Artsakh, but it is especially important to record that Stepanakert, the capital of Artsakh, was and continues to be at the center of Azerbaijani vandalism policy.
Stepanakert, as the center of Artsakh’s statehood and identity, has been and continues to be subjected to appropriation, desecration, Islamization and direct destruction in recent years. As a result of many studies and monitoring activities, the team of Artsakh cultural heritage monitoring project has found out cases of destruction of a number of monuments in the city in recent years. These processes were also not free from the rhetoric of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, promoting racial hatred. In particular, on December 21, 2023, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, speaking at the stadium of Stepanakert, announced that “Khankendi (Stepanakert) is an old Azerbaijani region. This village was founded by the Khan of Karabakh, and after that, a large city was created by Azerbaijani architects and builders with the funds of the Republic of Azerbaijan. It is obvious that the speech of the President of Azerbaijan contains blatant falsifications and distortions of historical facts, and the “Azerbaijanization” of the identity and history of many settlements of Artsakh, as well as the city of Stepanakert, is part of the Armenian-hating policy of this country’s regime.
As for the destruction of unique historical evidence, let’s note that the Azerbaijani side destroyed the historical district in the center of Stepanakert, whose houses were built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The monuments erected in memory of the Armenian Genocide and the heroic battles of Artsakh were also destroyed. The Armenian writing on the wall next to the bell tower-monument erected in 2015 in memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide has been erased.
In February 2025, the Azerbaijani side caused significant damage and desecrated a number of tombstones in the Stepanakert memorial complex. In particular, the faces, eyes and mouth of the freedom fighters depicted on some tombstones were deliberately carved and erased. Some tombstones are also broken.
In addition, projects of new cultural infrastructures are being developed in the city, which are done by destroying the Armenian language. In particular, on July 20, 2025, President Ilham Aliyev presented to the participants of the III Global Media Forum held in Shushi the plan to build a “Victory Museum” in Stepanakert (Azerbaijan’s official name is “Khankendi”), which, according to the president’s statement, will be located in the building of the “Former Party Committee of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region” (the presidential seat of the Republic of Artsakh).
On September 2, 2025, the Independence Day of the Republic of Artsakh, the Azerbaijani side demolished the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh in the center of Stepanakert, which was an architectural structure created in the 50s of the last century and included in the list of monuments of the Republic of Artsakh.
In February 2024, Azerbaijanis destroyed the memorial stone of Ashot Ghulyan (Bekor), which was made by the sculptor Yuri Samvelyan, within the framework of the 1996 Artsakh Annual Symposium, as well as the Artsvi monument, built in the 1960s in the Upper Park of Stepanakert, built during the Soviet era and a symbol of Stepanakert residents’ childhood. The statue of Soviet statesman-politician, intellectual and literary scholar Alexander Myasnikyan, which was carved by sculptor Yuri Hovhannisyan, was also destroyed on Martuni Street in Stepanakert. Azerbaijan also destroyed the bust of Charles Aznavour in the Armenian-French friendship park in Stepanakert. On February 16, 2024, the Azerbaijani side removed the bust of Admiral Ivan Isakov in the city of Stepanakert. In the city, Azerbaijan destroyed the monument of famous Armenian artist Hovhannes Aivazovsky, made by famous Russian sculptor Salavat Shcherbakov.
On January 10, 2023, in the city of Stepanakert, Artsakh district, the bust of former Chief of the General Staff of the Defense Army of the Republic of Artsakh, Lieutenant General Anatoly Zinevich was destroyed. The statue of Stepan Shahumyan, a public and political figure of the Armenian SSR, was also targeted for destruction.
In Stepanakert, the Azerbaijani side is also destroying whole districts of the city. This is noticeable in the vicinity of Artsakh State University, where apartment buildings and private houses have been demolished, and the university building has been “reconstructed” and changed (for details, see: Under the pretext of creating a “new university” of Azerbaijan, Artsakh State University is being demolished and disfigured…). Also noticeable is the tendency to change the external image of the city, the complete complexes, which is done by carrying out large-scale destruction in different parts of the city. The private property of citizens deported from Stepanakert is being demolished with all their property.
After the demolition of the National Assembly building in 2023. On July 5, Ilham Aliyev laid the foundations of a new administrative building on the site of the demolished National Assembly and Union of Freedom Fighters buildings.
The Azerbaijani side also started the reconstruction works of one of the central streets of Stepanakert, Azatamartiki Avenue. Let’s emphasize that the city’s music college, adjacent buildings, and construction equipment are standing near the Stepanakert geological museum.
In addition, let’s also note that the Azerbaijani side also knocked down the 50-meter illuminated cross on one of the hills near the village of Dashushen near Stepanakert.
Recently, the data on the destruction of Stepanakert was also supplemented with the data of the biannual Google Earth updates made by the Artsakh Culture and Tourism Center. in particular, the monuments of heroes of the Great Patriotic War: Marshal Hovhannes Baghramyan, pilot Nelson Stepanyan, cultural figures: Henrikh Barkhudaryan, Hovhannes Tumanyan, Khachatur Abovyan, Vahram Papazyan, human rights defender Andrey Sakharov, participants of the liberation movement and defenders of the homeland: Kristapor Ivanyan, Yuri Poghosyan, Alexander Tsaturyan were destroyed.
Our response
Actions of Azerbaijan against the monuments of Stepanakert contradict the 1972 UNESCO. Articles 4 and 5 of the Convention “On the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage”. Accordingly, each state is obliged to recognize, protect and preserve the cultural heritage on its territory for future generations. Deliberate destruction of heritage or failure to take necessary measures for its preservation is a gross violation of the state’s international obligations.
As a result of the wars, genocidal acts and ethnic cleansing of 2020-2023, many monuments were destroyed by Azerbaijan throughout the territory of Artsakh, but the statue is especially important.
Attempts to appropriate and privatize the cultural layers of the city violate UNESCO’s 1970 Convention “On Measures to Prohibit and Prevent Illegal Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Values”. In particular, according to Article 11 of the Convention, the forcible change of ownership of cultural values by the occupier is considered illegal.
The destruction of the cultural heritage of Stepanakert also affects the spiritual heritage of the population, which is protected by UNESCO’s 2003 With the Convention “On Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage”. The change and “Islamization” of the historical environment of the city aims to eliminate the social and cultural memory associated with these places, which is contrary to the convention’s principle of respecting cultural identity.
Furthermore, targeting cultural heritage violates the provisions of the Faroe Convention (On the Value of Cultural Heritage to Society). This document states that everyone has the right to use cultural heritage and participate in its preservation. The systematic destruction of the Armenian trace deprives the Armenian people of the realization of their cultural rights and is considered as a violation of human rights.
A key requirement of the Convention is that the protection of cultural heritage is directly related to human rights and democracy.
Azerbaijan, as a state, is obliged to recognize that everyone has the right to use cultural heritage and contribute to its enrichment. The Convention emphasizes the right of society to participate in the preservation of its heritage. The targeting or destruction of Armenian monuments in Stepanakert violates the fundamental right of Artsakh Armenians to participate in their cultural life.
The document requires states to protect heritage as an essential element of society’s identity and historical memory.
As a member of the Council of Europe and a potential party to the convention (or a state guided by its principles), Azerbaijan bears responsibility for respecting cultural diversity and preserving heritage in the territories under its control, regardless of its ethnicity,” the website wrote.
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