The “Artsakh Culture and Tourism Development Agency” has accused Azerbaijani authorities of turning a Russian Orthodox church in the occupied Martuni region into a military training site, saying the practice violates international conventions on the protection of cultural heritage.
According to the organization, footage aired by Azerbaijan’s CBC television channel shows combat exercises involving artillery fire being conducted within the protected zone surrounding the historic church. The agency warned that such activity could threaten the physical survival of the monument.
The church had already sustained significant damage between 1988 and 1991, when the area came under the occupation of Azerbaijani armed groups following the forcible displacement of the local Armenian population, the agency said. During that period, a protective roof installed by the authorities of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast was reportedly destroyed, while the church’s walls were extensively damaged.
After control of the area was later restored, the church was added to the list of historical and cultural monuments of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and placed under state protection.
The church was founded in 1864 by the 16th Mingrelian Grenadier Regiment while the unit was stationed in the area. It was consecrated on February 9, 1868, in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
During the Soviet period, the building underwent partial renovation and, in line with widespread Soviet-era practices involving religious buildings, was used by the authorities of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast as a storage facility.
