Armenians in Azerbaijan

Armenians in Azerbaijan (Armenian: Հայերն Ադրբեջանում, romanized: Hayern Adrbejanum; Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan erməniləri) are the Armenians who lived in great numbers in the modern state of Azerbaijan and its precursor, Soviet Azerbaijan. According to the statistics, about 500,000 Armenians lived in Soviet Azerbaijan prior to the outbreak of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1988. Most of the Armenians in Azerbaijan had to flee the republic, like Azerbaijanis in Armenia, in the events leading up to the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, a result of the ongoing Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Atrocities directed against the Armenian population took place in Sumgait (February 1988), Ganja (Kirovabad, November 1988) and Baku (January 1990). Armenians continued to live in large numbers in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which was controlled by the break-away state known as the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from 1991 until 2023 when the region was incorporated into Azerbaijan using military force. After the Azerbaijani takeover, almost all Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh were expelled to Armenia.

Before the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenians were Azerbaijan’s third-largest minority but by 1999 their official number outside of Nagorno-Karabakh had dropped to 645, while the true figure is estimated to be about 3000, since many have changed their names due to mixed marriages or to avoid harassment. Many of the Armenians that remain in Azerbaijan are likely to be elderly, sick, or with no other family members.

Armenians in Azerbaijan are at a great risk as long as the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains unsettled. In Azerbaijan, the status of Armenians is precarious. Armenians in Azerbaijan face severe limitations on cultural expression, freedom of speech, and political participation, and often conceal their identity by changing names and avoiding public visibility. Those who remain in Azerbaijan keep a low profile, refraining from practicing their religion or speaking Armenian in public. They live with persistent fear, isolation, and exclusion, relying on anonymity or social integration for safety. Armenian churches remain closed because of the large emigration of Armenians and fear of Azerbaijani attacks.