Are demons bothering you? - once again about the "Armenian heritage" in Karabakh

Revanchist propaganda has prepared well for the Easter holiday. The whining about the alleged destruction of the Armenian heritage began with renewed vigor, and the nightmares of the separatists began to be thrown into public space in a colorful frame.

The highlight of the program this time was another renovation - the church, built in 2007. The facility was built at the height of the Armenian occupation without the permission of the country's legitimate authorities. The separatist regime's permits have never had any legal force, so all buildings from the occupation period are candidates for demolition. And no one has the right to make claims to the Azerbaijani side.

A rich Armenian from California, having decided to perpetuate the name of his son (according to another version, his brother) in this way, should have turned to Baku, and not to Khankendi with his idea. Even their own citizens do not have the right to build on the territory of Azerbaijan without approval and permission, and even more so foreigners are not given such a right. So what if the city was under separatist control? On the contrary, the occupation should have forced the inconsolable father to be more careful when investing. Because no occupation is permanent.

The day before, the Armenian media, which has mostly turned into a mouthpiece for opposition propaganda, published a statement by an obscure office that continues to call itself the "Artsakh diocese" regarding the demolition of the Surb Hakob Church, built in Khankendi during the Armenian occupation. The fake "diocese" accused Baku of "cultural genocide in front of the whole world" and called on international organizations to intervene.

A certain Nerses Yepremyan from the United States, wishing to perpetuate the name of his deceased son Hakob in his "historical homeland," financed the construction of a church in Khankendi. One of the Russian bloggers, who made a report from the occupied territories on the eve of the 2020 war, cited a slightly different version, apparently told to him by locals during a trip (also illegal, by the way). He was told that a Californian Armenian had built a church in memory of his brother, who left the States to fight for Miatsum and was eliminated in battle. Anyway, the church was built illegally, as were dozens of other similar structures that grew like mushrooms after rain in the occupied territories during the conflict.

By the way, the same blogger, apparently not familiar enough with Armenian historical fantasy, wrote that there were no Armenian churches in Khankendi until the 90s.

The blogger is absolutely right. Historically, there were and could not be Armenian churches in Khankendi due to the absence of the Armenians themselves. Having moved to Karabakh, the Armenians relied primarily on the beautiful Shusha. Khankendi was an inconspicuous village at the end of the century before last. But the massacre of Azerbaijanis in Shusha in 1918-20 did not help the Armenians to become the majority in this city. I had to change my priorities. The "ancient Armenian" history of the Khan's village was invented later, after the Second World War. 

During the years of occupation, about two dozen newly built churches were built on Azerbaijani lands. Moreover, they were built on, as it is called, frontal sites in order to dominate other buildings and the panorama of settlements. At the same time, every square meter received its "ancient" khachkar, and monuments to "liberators" and other scoundrels were erected on every corner. The same Khankendi has completely changed. Roughly speaking, wherever you spit, you'll end up in an "ancient" khachkar.

Speaking of khachkars. The Second Karabakh War had an amazing effect on the "yield" of khachkars in Karabakh. They began to be found en masse in forests and mountains, which was not observed even during the years of occupation. The separatists were in a hurry to collect more evidence of the legitimacy of their claims on the territory of Azerbaijan, apparently subconsciously anticipating the imminent end of the project. 

It goes without saying that after the de-occupation, these excesses began to be removed. Not only in Khankendi. After Azerbaijan regained sovereignty over all its territories, the process of clearing illegal structures began. It is impossible to immediately remove from the face of Karabakh everything that has been disfigured for thirty years. This is a gradual process, but let no one doubt that it will be completed. There will be no monuments, memorials, khachkars and other structures erected on Azerbaijani soil without the permission of the Azerbaijani authorities.

Despite all efforts, it was not possible to turn around much in Soviet times, but after the occupation of the territories, their accelerated Armenization began. The migrants were in a hurry to legitimize their illegal stay on this land. The Armenian sources themselves report that 14 churches were built in Karabakh after 1991. All of them were built, of course, without the knowledge of the legitimate owners of these territories. But the propaganda broadcast Baku's negative reaction to the "revival of Christianity" in order to hide the true essence and true goals of the Karabakh conflict behind such narratives.

The former head of the "Artsakh diocese", Pargev, played a major role in these processes. He was appointed there in 1989 and replaced after the Second Karabakh War. All these years, following the instructions of Etchmiadzin, he led the Armenization of the Christian heritage in the occupied territories and the increase in the number of markers that Churches have always been for Armenians. If you pay attention, the Armenians do not have historical cities, fortresses and other material evidence of the historical presence of this ethnic group in the region, and they try to compensate for this awkwardness by increasing the number of churches. Pargev diligently fulfilled the task assigned to him, fighting "demonic forces that do not slumber." By the latter, of course, he meant Baku and the Azerbaijanis.

But it was all in vain. The second Karabakh War destroyed all hopes, everything that had been done during the years of conflict collapsed like a house of cards. The monk escaped from Karabakh without waiting for the complete collapse. The demons he was dealing with probably warned him about what was going to happen in September 2023. His mission was a failure, and his continued stay in Karabakh made no sense.

It is clear that neither Pargev, nor Etchmiadzin, nor the separatist regime, nor the Karabakh clan - no one expected such a denouement. The peculiar logic of the Armenian nationalists played a cruel joke on all of them.

The demonic forces-and this time without the quotes - failed to hold their ground, because good always wins. Surely, it is written about this in the sacred books, the meaning of which was changed by the leaders of the Armenians.