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Parliament building in Stepanakert (Photo: Marco Fieber)

Feature

Referendum to create 'Republic of Artsakh' on Europe's fringe

by Andrew Rettman, Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh,
Parliament building in Stepanakert (Photo: Marco Fieber)

Some 100,000 ethnic Armenians are voting on a new name for their territory and new powers for their leader on Monday (20 February) in the crosshairs of Azerbaijan’s artillery and missiles.

The referendum, in what used to be called the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, but what is likely to be called the Republic of Artsakh after the vote, comes in reaction to Azerbaijan’s military assault last April, which claimed between 50 and 350 lives on both sides.

The conflict, which dates back...

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

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