Armenikend
Non-official district | |
File:Baku - Armenikend 2005.JPG | |
File:Baku1914.jpg |
Armenikend Template:Lang-az, Template:Lang-hy, was a former settlement and non-official name of a district which rose, then outside the city limits of the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, and there where mainly Armenians lived.
History
Armenian community of Baku formed when the oil boom started in the late 19th century. That time a whole Caucasus was a part of Czarist Russia and many Armenians from the Armenia's nearest regions move in Baku. Then city of Baku expanded more, when Azerbaijan, after a brief period of independence as the "Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan" during 1918-1920 with the collapse of Czarist Russia (and also Armenia which went through the same brief stage as well) was invaded and annexed by the Soviet Union as the newly formed "Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic" in 1920. Later in 1926 construction of Armenikend started. Officially the district was part of a larger district named as "Shahumyan" after the Armenian Bolshevik leader Stepan Shaumyan who lived in Baku. Armenikend was designed to be the home of oil-workers. The Soviet architects Samoylov A.V. and Ivanitsky A.P supervised the architecture of Armenikend in the 1930's. The central part had 3-4 storied buildings in the style of Soviet socialist realist architecture (near the Mughan hotel). With the influx of many other nationalities and with the dispersal of the Armenian community to other districts of the city, the district lost this distinction and the nick-name almost disappeared. In 13 January to 20 January in 1990 the violent seven-day Armenian massacres in Baku taken place. Azerbaijani nationalists bestially killed a few hundred Armenian civilians of [various ages]. Very few in number of Armenian men, women, children or old men remaining in Baku could survive of [street beatings], [throwing out of windows] or burnings after thrown of oil. Former friends couldn't help them because of a fear of being killed too, [nurses refused to treat half-dead Armenians in hospitals]. Even blood-soaked clothes were burned to hide all traces of the genocide. After the Black January Baku lose its status of international city, Azerbaijan lose its Armenian community. And Armenians lose the last hope to live together with Azerbaijany people in the same country and informal name of Armenikend disappeared forever.