A Street in Shushi

Until 1920 Shushi was the capital of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and had 40,000 inhabitants. The town was divided into a Muslim part (35 percent of its area) and an Armenian part (65 percent). The Armenian part had 18 quarters, 12 churches, 7,000 dwellings, schools, 2 printing houses and 2 theatres. The houses were of white stone, with red roofs of tile or metal.

In March 1920 a large, well-armed Turkish army, aided by Tatars from the Muslim part of the town, carried out a massacre in the Armenian quarters. In 3 days 6,000–10,000 Armenians were killed, 2,000 were taken captive and the rest fled. All 18 Armenian quarters were looted and burned. The ruins stood empty for more than 40 years, until in 1961 the leadership of Soviet Azerbaijan decided to raze them and build five-storey blocks in their place.

The photograph shows a cobbled street, with a two-storey stone building on the right and houses with tiled roofs on the left. Boys are standing in the street.