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An Orthodox Christian country, Armenia was incorporated into Russia in 1828
and the USSR in 1920. There is a national preoccupation with the long
conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily
Armenian-populated exclave, assigned to Soviet Azerbaijan in the 1920s by
Moscow. Armenia and Azerbaijan began fighting over the exclave in 1988; the
struggle became more intense after both countries attained independence from the
Soviet Union in 1991. By May 1994, when a cease-fire took hold, Armenian
forces held not only Nagorno-Karabakh but also a significant portion of
Azerbaijan as well. The economies of both sides have been hurt by their
inability to make substantial progress toward a peaceful resolution. |
