Shusha District (NKAO)

Shusha District (Azerbaijani: Şuşa rayonu, Шуша рајону; Armenian: Շուշիի շրջան) was an administrative unit within the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic.^[1]

Shusha District
District
Map of Shusha District within NKAO
Autonomous region	Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast
Country	Azerbaijan SSR
Established	8 August 1930
Abolished	26 November 1991
Capital	Shusha
Population  (1979)
• Total	16,019

History

The district was formed on 8 August 1930. Its capital was the city of Shusha.^[2] Shusha district was the only district in Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast where Azerbaijanis formed a majority.

The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast was abolished on 26 November 1991.^[3]

Following the First Nagorno-Karabakh war, all of the district came under the control of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh and was incorporated into its Shushi Province. However, following the Battle of Shusha during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Azerbaijan recaptured the city of Shusha and several surrounding villages.^[4]

Demographics

Year	Population	Ethnic groups	Source
1939	10,819	58.3% Azerbaijanis, 38.6% Armenians, 2.4% Russians	Soviet Census[5]
1959	10,626	61.8% Azerbaijanis, 35.7% Armenians, 1.9% Russians	Soviet Census[5]
1970	13,664	72.4% Azerbaijanis, 26.2% Armenians, 1.0% Russians	Soviet Census[5]
1979	16,019	80.9% Azerbaijanis, 18.0% Armenians, 0.7% Russians	Soviet Census[5]