Shusha is one of the rare and unique pearls of urban culture of Azerbaijan, which has an ancient history. The city is located 373 km from the city of Baku, 11 km from Khankendi, at an altitude of 1400 m above sea level, on a mountain plateau surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs. Shusha has a rich and glorious historical past. This is the center of the district of the same name.

Shusha is a symbol of the historical traditions of the Azerbaijani people - one of the oldest settlements included in the sphere of the ancient Khojaly-Gedabay culture (II half of the second millennium - beginning of the first millennium BC).

In the 18th century, independent khanates were formed on the territory of Azerbaijan. The founding of the Karabakh Khanate in 1748 and the transformation of the city of Shusha into its capital is associated with the name of Panahali Khan Javanshir (1748-1763). In 1752, construction began on the fortress on a high, steep mountain, which was completed in 1756-1757. The Karabakh khan Panahali Khan declared Shusha the capital and fortified it. The city was named "Panahabad" in honor of Panahali Khan, and later "Gala" and "Shusha".

The Karabakh range is a mountainous area, with the highest peak being Mount Big Kirs (2725 m). Keceldag pass is located in the Shusha region. Mainly Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits are common here. Mainly Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits are common here. There are various deposits of building materials and sources of mineral waters (Tursu, Shirlan). The Gargar River flows through the region. The land is mostly brown mountain forest, grassy mountain meadow. In the highlands the land is covered with subalpine and alpine meadows.

In Shusha functioned the State Drama Theater, Shusha Television, State Museums of the History of Karabakh and the History of the City of Shusha, Memorial Museums of Uzeyir Hajibeyov, Bulbul, Mir Mohsun Navvab, a branch of the Azerbaijan State Carpet Museum, State art gallery, four technical schools, two branches of the institute, vocational schools, 25 secondary schools, secondary and secondary specialized music schools, 7 kindergartens, 8 cultural centers, 17 clubs, 31 libraries, 40 medical institutions, 2 sanatoriums, children's sanatorium, children's health center a school, a 70-bed camp site, a hotel, 5 cultural and recreation parks, 4 cinemas, and catering establishments.

There were 17 neighborhoods in Shusha: Gurdlar, Seidli, Julfalar, Kuyulug, Chukhur, Dordlar Gurdu, Haji Yusifli, Derd Chinar, Chel Gala, Mardinli, Saatli, Kocharli, Mamai, Khoja Marjanli, Demirchi, Hamam Gabagi and the Taza area. In each quarter there was a bathhouse, a mosque, and a spring. In Shusha, which the architect of independent Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev called the city of monuments, in a protected area of 350 hectares, there were 300 historical monuments, 550 ancient residential buildings, and restored fortress walls 870 meters long. 23 historical monuments belonged to republican and world monuments. A large number of national monuments in Shusha, their color diversity rightfully led to the fact that the city began to be called the richest cradle of our culture. Most of these monuments date back to the 18th-19th centuries. In Shusha, every house, street, majestic fortress walls, mosques, towering minarets, and the remains of magnificent castles tell about our past.

During the occupation of Shusha on May 8, 1992, 200 people died, 150 people became disabled, 552 babies were left orphans, and about 22 thousand people became refugees.

During the occupation of Shusha, our historical monuments were brutally destroyed and razed to the ground. When the Armenian armed forces occupied Shusha, 15 pieces of ethnographic samples, 5 pieces of copper items, 2 silver daggers, 1 stone pot, 20 pieces of various objects decorated with stones and other valuable items were stolen from the Shusha city museum. From the Karabakh History Museum, the home museum of Mir Mohsun Navvab and Bulbul, 5 valuable antique carpets, 4 kilims, 5 carpets, 1 valuable rare lamp, a portrait of Uzeyir Hajibeyov and many other valuable and rare historical items were stolen.

Valuable treasures of Shusha museums were exported to Armenia - works of painting and sculpture, carpets and rugs, samples of folk art, archaeological finds, historical documents, souvenirs of prominent figures of Azerbaijan and other valuable materials. Now these items are sold at foreign auctions or presented to the world community as examples of Armenian culture at various exhibitions and museums.

From the first days of the Patriotic War, which began on September 27, 2020, the Azerbaijan Army launched a counteroffensive. Having inflicted a heavy defeat on the enemy in the direction of Fuzuli and Jebrail, Azerbaijani troops advanced in the direction of Hadrut.

After Hadrut’s release on October 15, Armenian forces began to withdraw. Azerbaijani forces then liberated the cities of Zangilan and Gubadli, and fighting continued in the direction of Lachin. Special Forces of our army crossed the forests and mountain passes and entered the territory of Shusha region.

Throughout October, Azerbaijani forces came under artillery and rocket fire from Shusha, as well as from nearby villages. On October 28, our special forces were stationed around the village of Chanagchi, a few kilometers southeast of Shusha. Violent clashes took place around Dashalti and near Shusha on October 30.

The relief of Shusha did not allow approaching the city with the military equipment.  Therefore, Special Forces marched in the direction of Shusha for five days. The Armenian command expected the Azerbaijani army to advance in the direction of the Red Bazar settlement. The second direction in which Azerbaijani troops were expected to attack Shusha was Lachin. However, the command of the Azerbaijani army made an unprecedented decision due to its scale, plan and sequence. A new road was opened to Shusha from the dense Karabakh forests. A 42-kilometer-long bulldozer and a new manual road were opened from the Great Mountains to the forests in three days. In this way, the engineers and sappers turned the narrow mountain path into a forest road where machinery could move. As a result, Azerbaijani units were able to deploy artillery around Chanakhchi. The successful attack of the Azerbaijani mountain infantry also broke the last resistance of the besieged Armenian soldiers.

Azerbaijani forces also seized control of part of the Shusha-Lachin road. Armenian officials said Shusha came under heavy fire on the morning of November 5 and the fighting continued the next day. Azerbaijani forces managed to besiege the city from three sides - south, west and east. Employees of the National Security Service of Armenia left Shusha on November 6, when the city collapsed. The next day, thousands of Armenians left Shusha and Khankendi and went to Armenia, causing heavy traffic jams.

The tactics of the liberating Shusha from occupation are one of the brightest pages in the history of the war. On November 7, 400-strong Azerbaijani Special Forces, armed with light weapons and divided into four groups of 100 people each, climbed the steep cliffs of Shusha with ropes and entered in the city from different directions in the morning as a result of hand-to-hand combat. At the same time, one group blocked the Lachin corridor so as not to send additional support from Armenia, and another group provided fire support to the forces entering Shusha after the liberation of Dashalti. Armenian forces were evacuated from the city in the afternoon, and on the morning of November 8, Azerbaijani forces completely cleared the city from the Armenian bandits.

On the same day, the President of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, appealed to the nation describing the announcement of the liberation of Shusha as one of the happiest days of his life: “Shusha, which has been under occupation for 28 years, has been liberated! Shusha is free now! We have returned to Shusha! We won this historic victory on the battlefield. November 8, 2020, will forever remain in the history of Azerbaijan. This history will live forever. This is the day of our glorious victory! We won this victory on the battlefield, not behind the negotiating table. "

Taking into account the historical significance of the city of Shusha and its liberation from occupation, it was decided to celebrate November 8 as a Day for Victory every year. On December 29, 2020, President Ilham Aliyev signed an order on awarding servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan with the Medal for the Liberation of Shusha.

The state is taking urgent measures to heal the wounds of Shusha. Was established the “Karabakh Revival Fund” to carry out construction, restoration, and landscaping works in the liberated territories, as well as to support safe living and efficient activities.

On September 27, 2020, in response to the start of regular large-scale military operations by Armenia, which struck the positions of the Azerbaijani army and peaceful settlements, a counter-strike operation was launched. The Iron Fist turned into the Patriotic War.

According to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev dated July 31, 2023, on the establishment of city days in the liberated territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan, November 8 is solemnly celebrated as Shusha City Day.

Recommended literature:

1. Hacılı, Asif Abbas oğlu. Şuşa: ədəbi-mədəni mühit / A. A. Hacılı; Azərbaycanda Vətəndaş Cəmiyyətinin İnkişafına Yardım Assosiasiyası.- Bakı: CBS Polygraphic Production, 2022.- 256 s.
2. Məmmədov, Nazim Rəhbər oğlu. İkinci Qarabağ müharibəsi: Zəfər salnaməsi / N. R. Məmmədov; elmi red. M. İ. Əmrahov; AMEA A.A. Bakıxanov adına Tarix İnstitutu.- Bakı: Optimist MMC, 2022.- 464 s.
3. Şuşa - Azərbaycanın mədəniyyət paytaxtı / Bakı Beynəlxalq Multikulturalizm Mərkəzi [et al.]; red. heyyəti: R. Ənvərli [et al.]; ideya müəl. A. Kərimov; layihənin rəh. A. Cəfərli.- Bakı: n. y., n. i. y. - 203 s.
4. Mahmudov, Yaqub Mikayıl oğlu. Şuşa - Pənahabad / Y. M. Mahmudov, C. M. Mustafayev; layihənin rəh. Y. M. Mahmudov; AMEA A.A. Bakıxanov adına Tarix İnstitutu.- Bakı: Təhsil, 2012.- 152 s.
5. Садыхова, Гюльджамал Нариман кызы. История города Шуши: XIX - начало XX вв.: монография / Г. Н. Садыхова; науч. ред. М. А. Исмаилов; Институт Истории им. А. А. Бакиханова НАНА.- Баку: Nurlan, 2004.- 184 с.
6. Ismayilov, Faig. Historical and Cultural Monuments in the Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan: Damage and Loss / F. Ismayilov; ed.: L. Ahmadova, A. Isgandarov; Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences Institute of Law and Human Rights.- Baku: Elm və təhsil, 2016.- 170 p.- İngilis dilində.