The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War has had a lasting impact on the South Caucasus, leading to a massive geopolitical shift. Azerbaijan emerged victorious, taking control of large swathes of territory in 2020, and eventually what remained of Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023. Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian population was forced to flee the region into Armenia, which since the war, has been forced to reassess its traditional alliance with Russia and to turn West for assistance.

This episode, we spoke to Marut Vanyan, a journalist from Nagorno-Karabakh, about the exodus of the region’s Armenian population and the challenges they face in Armenia. We also spoke to Civilnet’s editor-in-chief, Karen Harutyunyan, about how Armenia changed since the war and its partnership with Russia, to Bahruz Samadov, a PhD candidate at Charles University in Prague, about how the conflict has helped further legitimise President Ilham Aliyev’s rule.

Read more:

• Opinion | Fourteen years on Rustaveli Avenue — documenting Georgia’s descent into authoritarianism

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