Mkhitarashen / Mukhtar Մխիթարաշեն / Muxtar | |
|---|---|
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  Mkhitarashen / Mukhtar | |
| Coordinates:39°45′41″N46°46′28″E / 39.76139°N 46.77444°E /39.76139; 46.77444 | |
| Country |  Azerbaijan |
| • District | Khojaly |
| Population (2015)[1] | |
• Total | 91 |
| Time zone | UTC+4 (AZT) |
Mkhitarashen (Armenian:Մխիթարաշեն) orMukhtar (Azerbaijani:Muxtar) is a village located in theKhojaly District ofAzerbaijan, in the disputed region ofNagorno-Karabakh. Until 2023 it was controlled by the breakawayRepublic of Artsakh. The village had an ethnicArmenian-majority population[2] until theexodus of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh following the2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh.[3]
The village was known asMkhitarikend (Armenian:Մխիթարիքենդ;Azerbaijani:Mxitarikənd;Russian:Мхитарикенд) during theSoviet period.[4]
During the Soviet period, the village was part of theAskeran District of theNagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. The village has been administrated as part of theAskeran Province of theRepublic of Artsakh after theFirst Nagorno-Karabakh War.
There was some initial confusion regarding control of the village after the2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war,[5][6] however, on 1 March 2021, the Armenian news organizationCivilNet published a video report from the village, confirming continued Artsakh control.[7]
Historical heritage sites in and around the village include a 17th/18th-century cemetery and the 19th-century church ofSurb Astvatsatsin (Armenian:Սուրբ Աստվածածին,lit. 'Holy Mother of God').[1] A monument in honor of the 18th-century Armenian satirist and fabulistPele Pughi was built in 1976 between Mkihtarashen andShosh.[8]
The population is mainly engaged inagriculture andanimal 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 ofShosh.[1]
The village has an ethnicArmenian-majority population, had 90 inhabitants in 2005,[9] and 91 inhabitants in 2015.[1]
