Russian Investments in Occupied Nagorno-Karabakh Ignore Armenian Ethnic Cleansing

The government of Azerbaijan is ramping up efforts to attract foreign business to the occupied indigenous Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh (known to Armenians as Artsakh)—an area that, until September 2023, was home to over 120,000 ethnic Armenians.

Today, the region is empty of its indigenous Armenian population, following Azerbaijan’s military assault and forced displacement campaign. Despite international concern and unresolved questions about the rights of Armenians from Artsakh, Russian companies are now lining up to invest in the area, sparking outrage among Armenian communities around the world.

Russia's Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Mikhail Yevdokimov, recently visited Stepanakert—the historic capital of Artsakh—and publicly praised the region's beauty, especially the landscapes of Lachin. He revealed that 24 Russian companies have submitted bids to operate in the now Azerbaijani-occupied territory. One project already underway involves the Astrakhan region of Russia building a kindergarten to be handed over to Azerbaijani families this summer.

But for Armenians, this is not a story of development—it is a story of erasure. Stepanakert, once a vibrant Armenian city, is now under foreign control with no Armenian inhabitants. The Russian ambassador's glowing comments about the reconstruction process fail to acknowledge the elephant in the room: the indigenous population has been driven out, and their return remains unlikely.

Azerbaijan is actively rebranding Nagorno-Karabakh through what it calls the “Great Return” program. With more than $30 billion earmarked for reconstruction between 2022 and 2026, the Azerbaijani government says it aims to make the area economically attractive for both local and foreign investors. Turkish companies have already secured over $4 billion worth of contracts. Now, Azerbaijan is opening the door to Russian, Hungarian, Swiss, British, and Slovakian firms as well.

Government officials in Baku have promised lower taxes and subsidies for investors—particularly in agriculture and construction. They are also developing “smart villages,” with one already functioning in Aghali, Sanasar (Zangilan), and more planned in Akna (Aghdam) and Kashunik (Gubadli). Azerbaijan presents these projects as forward-thinking and green. But critics argue this is window-dressing for a much darker agenda: the permanent transformation of a once Armenian homeland.

Since Azerbaijan’s September 2023 attack on Artsakh, more than 120,000 ethnic Armenians have fled. Despite Azerbaijani promises of safety and reintegration, no Armenians have returned. Baku says Armenians are welcome—yet at the same time, it is bulldozing Armenian homes and cultural landmarks, replacing them with new developments aimed at attracting settlers and foreign businesses.

Even the presence of Russian peacekeepers, meant to protect Armenian civilians under the 2020 ceasefire deal, proved to be a mirage. Russian troops stood by as Azerbaijan launched its assault, and in April 2024, Russia began withdrawing from the region altogether. Now, instead of offering security, Russia is offering investment.

For Armenians, Russia’s new role in Artsakh feels like betrayal. Once seen as a protector and strategic ally, Moscow is now viewed as complicit in the ethnic cleansing of the region. The shift is especially painful for families in the diaspora, many of whom still have roots in Artsakh or were involved in humanitarian efforts during the 2020 war and its aftermath.

More than 500 foreign companies have expressed interest in participating in Karabakh’s reconstruction. But few are asking the hard questions: Who lived here before? Why aren’t they here now? What happened to their homes, churches, schools, and cemeteries?

The UK’s Chapman Taylor signed a $2.29 million deal to design a master plan for Shushi—a city that until recently was home to thousands of Armenians and rich with Armenian heritage. Slovakia is building a smart village in Akna (Aghdam). Hungary is drafting a strategy for economic participation. All these initiatives ignore the absence of Armenians.

And while Azerbaijan promises to preserve Armenian cultural heritage, evidence on the ground suggests otherwise. Churches have been desecrated. Cemeteries paved over. Streets renamed. The past is being rewritten, one construction project at a time.

Nagorno-Karabakh is more than real estate. It is a cultural homeland with deep significance to the Armenian people. Its monasteries, khachkars (stone crosses), and villages tell the story of a community that has lived there for centuries. Turning this land into an “investment zone” without addressing the human rights crisis it now represents is not only unethical—it is dangerous.

When the world invests in stolen land, it sends a message: that might makes right, and that ethnic cleansing can be followed by profit.

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