Vitali Balasanyan, former Secretary of the Security Council of the Republic of Artsakh, has addressed an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressing hope that with Putin’s mediation, Armenians from Artsakh will be able to return to their homeland.

Balasanyan highlighted that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany and reminded Putin that the Armenian people, including many from Artsakh, played a significant role in that historic achievement.

“Twenty-nine Karabakh Armenians were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, seven received all three degrees of the Order of Glory, and thousands of soldiers were decorated with combat medals and orders,” he wrote.

Today, Balasanyan noted, the Armenians of Karabakh have been deprived of their historical homeland due to various circumstances. He emphasized that it is within the power of the Russian people and state to reverse this injustice. Citing the Treaty of Gulistan and the Treaty of Turkmenchay, he pointed to Russia’s historic role in preserving Armenian identity and statehood.

“Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, we hope that through your mediation, the Armenians of Karabakh—the descendants of those who triumphed in the Great Patriotic War—will return to their historic homeland,” Balasanyan wrote. “Urgent practical steps are needed to preserve the cultural and historical heritage built over millennia, including churches, khachkars (cross-stones), buildings, settlements, and monuments dedicated to the Great Patriotic War.”

On September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan launched a full-scale assault on Artsakh, subjecting the region to heavy shelling. The next day, local authorities agreed to a ceasefire brokered by Russian peacekeepers, accepting Baku’s terms for disarmament and the dissolution of the Republic of Artsakh. On September 24, mass displacement of the Armenian population began, with over 100,000 people forcibly relocated to Armenia. By some estimates, only around 20 Armenians remain in the region. On September 28, President Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree to dissolve Artsakh, effective January 1, 2024.