The town of Vardenis sits near the shores of Lake Sevan, encircled by mountains, on the eastern edge of Armenia. The surrounding beauty belies the troubled history of this area in the southern Caucasus.
Beyond the snow-capped peaks is Azerbaijan. For decades, the two neighbours have been locked in an ongoing battle over Nagorno-Karabakh, located roughly 50 miles away in what is today Azerbaijani-controlled territory. A year ago, the conflict over the territory escalated into a six-week war, killing thousands of people and further deepening the rift between the two countries.
Then, overnight on 9-10 November 2020, Moscow brokered a peace deal that ended fighting, with Azerbaijan making significant territorial gains, including the second largest city in Karabakh, Shushi (which Azeris call Shusha). According to the UN Sustainable Development Group, 90,000 people, mostly women and children, fled Nagorno-Karabakh during the war. Now a year on, thousands are still living across Armenia, many in Yerevan, the capital, and some in border towns such as Vardenis.
