Twenty five years have passed since the occupation of Azerbaijan's town of Shusha by Armenia's armed forces.
At the time, Azerbaijan, which just regained its independence, and which was caught in the midst of a profound political, economic and social crisis, had to face Armenia’s aggression. In 1992, the Armed Forces of the republic were still forming, and it was soldiers of a voluntary self-defense unit who had to defend Shusha. Although they have demonstrated courage and heroism, on May 8th, 1992, the invaders managed to seize the city.
In that battle, 195 people defending Shusha were killed, 165 people injured, 58 people captured and taken hostage.
Shusha, one of the unique cultural centers of Azerbaijan, is a city, characterized for its natural beauty, and is a valuable monument of national architecture and medieval urban art. Constantly keeping the Azerbaijani national-spiritual values and traditions of music, Shusha before forming as a city of great economic, political and cultural significance, has passed a rich way as a center of Karabakh khanate, played its role in the lives of the people of Azerbaijan.
During the occupation vandals looted the museums, stealing thousands of exhibits, destroyed hundreds of historical and cultural monuments, desecrated shrines and mosques, ruined a large number of rare manuscripts, destroyed education and health care institutions. Here include 279 religious, historical and cultural monuments, as well as Khan cave, Gakhal cave, Shusha castle.
In 1977 at the initiative of the national leader Heydar Aliyev a decree "On the declaration of the historic part of the city of Shusha as historical and architectural reserve" was passed.
Since that time, creative work in Shusha became widespread, house-museums of the great figures of our culture and arts Uzeyir bey Hajibeyli, Khurshidbanu Natavan and Bul-Bul were created, a mausoleum of an outstanding poet Molla Panah Vagif was built. However, all these works were ruined after the occupation of Shusha by the Armenian forces.
