Mkhitarashen
{{Other uses|Mukhtar (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = Mkhitarashen / Mukhtar
|native_name = Մխիթարաշեն / Muxtar
|image_skyline = Համայնապատկեր,Մխիթարաշեն.jpg
|image_size = 300px
|pushpin_map = Azerbaijan
|pushpin_mapsize = 300
|subdivision_type =
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|subdivision_type1 =
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|subdivision_type2 = Country
|subdivision_name2 = {{flag|Azerbaijan}}
|subdivision_type3 = {{*}} District
|subdivision_name3 = Khojaly
|leader_title =
|leader_name =
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|established_date =
|area_total_km2 =
|area_footnotes =
|population_as_of = 2015
|population_total = 91
|population_density_km2 =
|timezone = AZT
|utc_offset = +4
|timezone_DST =
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|coordinates = {{coord|39|45|41|N|46|46|28|E|region:AZ|display=inline,title}}
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Mkhitarashen ({{langx|hy|Մխիթարաշեն}}) or Mukhtar ({{langx|az|Muxtar}}) is a village located in the Khojaly District of Azerbaijan, in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Until 2023 it was controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh. The village had an ethnic Armenian-majority population{{cite web |url=https://drugoivzgliad.com/karabach-mir-i-voina-a-zubov/ |title=Андрей Зубов. Карабах: Мир и Война |author=Андрей Зубов |date= |website=drugoivzgliad.com |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}} until the exodus of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh following the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh.{{Cite news |last=Sauer |first=Pjotr |date=2 October 2023 |title=‘It’s a ghost town’: UN arrives in Nagorno-Karabakh to find ethnic Armenians have fled |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/02/nagorno-karabakh-ghost-town-un-ethnic-armenians-azerbaijan |access-date=9 November 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}
Toponymy
The village was known as Mkhitarikend ({{langx|hy|Մխիթարիքենդ}}; {{langx|az|Mxitarikənd}}; {{langx|ru|Мхитарикенд}}) during the Soviet period.{{cite web|url=http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/130385|title=Azerbaijan (& Nagorno Karabakh) Topographic Map 1:200,000 Russian Soviet Military|author=Landmine Mapper|website=GigaPan}}
History
During the Soviet period, the village was part of the Askeran District of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. The village has been administrated as part of the Askeran Province of the Republic of Artsakh after the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.
There was some initial confusion regarding control of the village after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war,{{cite web|url=https://report.az/dagliq-qarabag-munaqishesi/lacinin-guleburd-sefiyan-turkler-kendlerini-isgaldan-azad-etmisdir-esq-olsun-azerbaycan-ordusuna-qarabag-azerbaycandir/|title=Prezident: Azərbaycan Ordusu daha 48 kəndi, 1 qəsəbəni işğaldan azad edib|language=az|date=2020-11-09|website=report.az}}{{cite web|url=https://newsarmenia.am/news/nagorno_karabakh/opublikovan-spisok-121-naselennogo-punkta-v-artsakhe-kotorye-pereshli-pod-kontrol-azerbaydzhana/|title=Опубликован список 121 населенного пункта в Арцахе, которые перешли под контроль Азербайджана|website=newsarmenia.am|date=2020-11-23}} however, on 1 March 2021, the Armenian news organization CivilNet published a video report from the village, confirming continued Artsakh control.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDREnR7CdUg&feature=emb_title&ab_channel=CIVILNET |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/VDREnR7CdUg |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Մխիթարաշեն․ Հունոտի կիրճից որբացած գյուղը|date=1 March 2021|website=youtube.com|publisher=CivilNet|access-date=1 March 2021}}{{cbignore}}
Historical heritage sites
Historical heritage sites in and around the village include a 17th/18th-century cemetery and the 19th-century church of Surb Astvatsatsin ({{langx|hy|Սուրբ Աստվածածին}}, {{lit|Holy Mother of God}}). A monument in honor of the 18th-century Armenian satirist and fabulist Pele Pughi was built in 1976 between Mkihtarashen and Shosh.{{cite web|url=https://armedia.am/eng/news/83276/pele-pughi-monument-symbol-of-humor-and-joy-of-artsakh-people.html|title=Pele Pughi Monument - Symbol of Humor and Joy of Artsakh People|website=armedia.am|date=2020-06-06}}
Economy and culture
The population is mainly engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. As of 2015, the village has a municipal building, a house of culture, and a medical centre. Students study in the secondary school of the neighboring village of Shosh.
Demographics
The village has an ethnic Armenian-majority population, had 90 inhabitants in 2005,{{Cite web|url=http://census.stat-nkr.am/nkr/1-1.pdf|title=The Results of the 2005 Census of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic|website=National Statistic Service of the Republic of Artsakh}} and 91 inhabitants in 2015.
Gallery
Համայնապատկեր Մխիթարաշենում.jpg|A view of the village
Մուտք դեպի Մխիթարաշեն.jpg|A sign reading "Mkhitarashen" in Armenian
Մխիթարաշեն.jpg|Janapar Trail sign in the village
Պըլը Պուղուն նվիրված հուշարձան,Մխիթարաշեն.jpg|Monument to Pele Pughi
Առաջին բուժօգնության կայան Մխիթարաշենում.jpg|Aid station
Հուշարձան, Մխիթարաշեն.jpg|WWII memorial
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons}}
- {{GEOnet2|32FA881502623774E0440003BA962ED3}}
- {{YouTube|9lyHZVb7rEQ|A short documentary about the village}}
{{Askeran Province}}
{{Khojaly District}}
{{Portal bar|Geography}}