Lachin district - is one of the charming corners of the Republic of Azerbaijan - is located in the south-western part of the Minor Caucasus. It neighbors with Kalbajar district in the north, Gubadli district in the south, disctricts of Khojaly, Shusha and Khojavend in the east and Armenia in the west. The area of Lachin district is 1835 km2  and its envisages a city, a settlemet and 125 villages.

The territory was included in the Karabakh Khanate and Zangezur district from the time of Tsarist Russia until it was organized as an independent administrative district in 1930.

The city of Lachin, which was previously called Abdallar and received the status of a city in 1923, has been the district center since 1930. The city was named Lachin by the famous Azerbaijani writer Taghi Shahbazi Simurg, after the name of the nearby mountain. The word Lachin means “pride”.

The district was occupied by the Armenian army on May 18, 1992. Before the invasion, there were 48 industry, 63 agriculture, 217 culture, 101 education, 142 healthcare institutions, 462 trade, 96 household, 30 communication, and various production enterprises in the district. As a result of the Armenian occupation, 13745 residential houses were looted and torched, 54 world and more than 200 locally important ancient historical monuments in the district were vandalized by Armenians, 25,000 cattle and more than 200,000 livestock in public and private farms.

Also, red oak was cut from Pijenis and Hajishamli forests and sent to France for the preparation of barrels used in the production of cognac. Large-bodied walnut trees, which grow naturally in large quantities, were massively cut, and sold to Iran and European countries for use in furniture production, 65 hectares of forest area in the territory of the villages Hajilar and Sadinlar was destroyed.

In general, more than 7.1 billion US dollars damage was caused in the Lachin region as a result of the occupation and 58736 residents of Lachin have been living as IDPs in 58 cities and regions of Azerbaijan.

Armenia, blatantly violating its commitments under the Geneva Conventions continues its illegal actions in the occupied Lachin district such as changing geographic names of the region, exploiting its natural resources, and turning them into the source of illegal income, deliberate settlement of mainly Syrian refugees of Armenian origin into Lachin district and altering its demographic situation.

As a result of the successful counterattack operation launched by the Azerbaijani Army in Karabakh on September 27, 2020, the Azerbaijani troops advancing through the Arazboyu regions entered the Gubadli region in October and started advancing towards the Lachin corridor. On November 9, 2020, the Azerbaijani army liberated the villages of Gulabird, Safiyan and Turkler of Lachin region from Armenian occupation. On November 10, 2020, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, and the President of the Russian Federation signed a statement. According to the statement, on December 1, 2020, the rest of the territory of Lachin district, except for Lachin city, Zabukh and Sus villages, was returned to Azerbaijan. On August 26, 2022, the city of Lachin, the villages of Zabukh and Sus, which were under the control of the Russian peacekeeping contingent and were illegally settled by Armenians, were returned to Azerbaijan.

Today, like other liberated territories, major construction and improvement works are being carried out in Lachin district.

Lachin district is in the new stage of development. Gulabird hydropower plant with a generation capacity of 8 megawatts has been commissioned in the region. This station will play an important role in providing electricity to the population of about 7,000 people. The road transport infrastructure of the region is being rebuilt. The length of the Kalbajar-Lachin highway built by the order of President Ilham Aliyev is 72,8 kilometers. The construction of three tunnels will be carried out on the road as well. The total length of the tunnels will be 9,450 meters. In 2025, Lachin International Airport will be built and put into operation. The construction of an airport in the liberated territories, including Lachin, will increase the international status of the region. The airport to be built in Gorchu village of Lachin district is important due to several factors. The construction of Lachin International Airport will stimulate the socio-economic development of the region in general and will increase the tourism potential. The construction of Lachin International Airport, which shows the extent of the improvement and construction works carried out in Azerbaijan’s ancient lands liberated from occupation.

The Master Plan of the city of Lachin has been prepared. The conceptual basis of the master plan is the “City in harmony with nature” approach. According to the master plan, the city of Lachin will become a sustainable and innovative center characterized by “smart management”, modern education and inclusive mobility solutions.

Lachin is one of the districts of strategic importance for Azerbaijan. From a geographical point of view, it has strategic advantages, and from an economic point of view, it is important for Azerbaijan. Both the volume and scale of the natural resources of Lachin region are quite wide. This makes it possible to build and develop industrial enterprises in Lachin. There are quite large opportunities for the development of both agriculture and tourism in this district. After the stage of reconstruction and restoration, as well as settlement, Lachin will become one of the regions that make a special contribution to the economic development of not only East Zangezur, but also Azerbaijan as a whole.

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, August 26 is solemnly celebrated as the city day of Lachin.

Recommended literature:

1. Nəbibəyli, Ziyadxan İsrafil oğlu. Laçın - 85 / Z. İ. Nəbibəyli ; red.: Ş. H. Alışanlı, İ. Cəlilbəyli. - Bakı : Araz, 2009. - 150 s.
2. Nəbibəyli, Ziyadxan İsrafil oğlu. Zəngəzurun altun tacı Laçın / Z. İ. Nəbibəyli ; elmi red. F. Süleymanov ; red. Ş. Arif. - Bakı : UniPrint, 2009. - 270 s.
3. Qarabağ - irsimizin əbədi yaddaşı = Garabakh - the eternal memory of Azerbaijan heritage / Azərbaycan Respublikası Mədəniyyət və Turizm Nazirliyi ; ideyanın müəl. Ə. M. Qarayev ; layihənin rəh. Ə. Vəliyev ; red. T. Vəliyev ; foto: H. Hüseynzadə [et al.]. - Bakı : Rəqəmli Dövr, 2012. - 379 s.
4. Abdullayev, Əsgər İbrahim oğlu. Qarabağ faciəsi : monoqrafiya / Ə. İ. Abdullayev ; elmi red. Ə. Əliyev ; baş red. İ. Səfərov ; red. R. Cəbrayılova ; Azərbaycan Dövlət İqtisad Universiteti. - Bakı : İqtisad Universiteti nəşriyyatı, 2016. - 228 s.
5. 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.