Voskepar
Ոսկեպար
Voskepar in May 2011
Voskepar in May 2011
Voskepar is located in Armenia
Voskepar
Voskepar
Voskepar is located in Tavush
Voskepar
Voskepar
Coordinates: 41°03′53″N 45°03′27″E / 41.06472°N 45.05750°E / 41.06472; 45.05750
CountryArmenia
ProvinceTavush
MunicipalityNoyemberyan
Area
[1]
 • Total11.5683 km2 (4.4665 sq mi)
Elevation
[1]
850 m (2,790 ft)
Population
 (2011)[2]
 • Total818
Time zoneUTC+4 (AMT)
Voskepar at GEOnet Names Server

Voskepar (Armenian: Ոսկեպար) is a village in the Noyemberyan Municipality of the Tavush Province of Armenia, located close to the Armenia–Azerbaijan border.

Etymology

Voskepar derives its name from the Voskepar mountain range; from Armenian ոսկե (voske, gold), and պարան (paran: string or chain). In the 19th and 20th centuries the village was also known as Aksibara and Akhsibara.

History

Holy Mother of God Church of Voskepar

Voskepar was founded in the 6th century.[1] The village contains the 7th-century Armenian Holy Mother of God Church.[3]

First Nagorno-Karabakh War

During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, seven people were killed in inter-ethnic fighting in and around the village.[1]

In 1991, the second operation of Operation Ring took place in and around Voskepar. This was a military operation conducted by Soviet Internal Security Forces and OMON units, officially dubbed a "passport checking operation." The stated goal launched by the Soviet Union's internal and defense ministries was to disarm Armenian militia detachments, which were organized in "[illegally] armed formations."[4] The operation involved the use of soldiers who accompanied a complement of military vehicles, artillery and helicopter gunships to be used to root out the self-described Armenian fedayeen. However, contrary to their stated objectives, Soviet troops and the predominantly Azerbaijani soldiers in the Azerbaijan SSR OMON and army forcibly depopulated many Armenians. Some authors have also described the actions of the joint Soviet and Azerbaijani force as ethnic cleansing.[5] According to Svante E. Cornell, Operation Ring was carried out with "harshly systematic human rights violations."[6]

Five Azerbaijani soldiers were killed in the border area close to the village in May 2012.[7]

Geography

The town lies in a valley to the south of the Voskepar Ridge, which reaches heights of 1,538 metres (5,046 ft).[8] The average temperature is 30 °C (86 °F) in summer and −2 °C (28 °F) in winter.[1] The abandoned villages of Yukhari Askipara (Upper Askipara, Verin Voskepar in Armenian) and Ashagi Askipara (Lower Askipara, Nerkin Voskepar in Armenian) are located near the village. The village is located 163 kilometres (101 mi) north of Yerevan.

Demographics

The population of the village was 956 in 2001,[9] 880 in 2008,[10] and 818 in 2011.[2]

Economy and culture

The population is mainly engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. The village contains a health clinic, a house of culture, and a community center. There were 103 school pupils in the village in 2011.[1] Besides the Holy Mother of God Church, the village also contains the St. Astvatsatsin Church and the St. Sarkin Church, built in 2000.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Voskepar", Tavush Province website (in Armenian)
  2. 1 2 Statistical Committee of Armenia. "The results of the 2011 Population Census of Armenia" (PDF).
  3. ↑ Soviet Armenia, Arsham Arshami Aslanyan, Progress Publishers, 1971 - 255 pages, p.79
  4. ↑ De Waal, Thomas. Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War. New York: New York University Press, 2003, p. 114. ISBN 0-8147-1945-7.
  5. ↑ Melander, Erik in "State Manipulation or Nationalist Ambition" in The Role of the State in West Asia. Ed. Annika Rabo and Bo Utas. New York: I.B. Tauris, 2006, p. 173. ISBN 91-86884-13-1.
  6. ↑ E. Cornell, Svante (2001). Small Nations and Great Powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus. p. 77. ISBN 9780203988879.
  7. ↑ (Russian) "Пятеро азербайджанских военных погибли в бою на границе с Арменией", Lenta.ru, June 5, 2012
  8. ↑ Анохин (Anohin), Г.И. (G.I.) (1981). Малый Кавказ (Maly Kavkaz) (in Russian). Физкультура и спорт (Fizkul'tura i Sport).
  9. ↑ Report of the results of the 2001 Armenian Census, Statistical Committee of Armenia
  10. ↑ Armenian census summary for Tavush Marz
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