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   Over the past decades, the Republic of Azerbaijan has made every possible effort to annihilate the diverse centuries-old monuments of Armenian culture and obliterate their traces, hoping to appropriate the Armenian lands annexed by Soviet Azerbaijan. Year after year more and more monuments are demolished, those located in such Armenian-populated lands as Karabakh, Northern Artsakh and the territory on the left bank of the river Kur sharing that fate (particularly heavy damage was inflicted on the ones situated in the districts of Getabek and Dashkesan as well as the areas adjacent to the present-day Republic of Karabakh and recently liberated by the local self-defense army).
    It is noteworthy that the destruction of the Armenian monuments at state level coincided with the attempts to appropriate some of them by declaring them "Albanian," a coincidence that was by no means accidental. It should be noted, however, that the Albanian tribes that disappeared in the 9th century inhabited only the area between the Caspian Sea and the river Kur.
    Since late 1988 the process of the demolition of the Armenian historical monuments has expanded to an unprecedented extent. Taking advantage of the ongoing war, the Azeris gave up their principle of blasting the Armenian churches and began destroying them by cannon and tank volleys, accompanied by the explosion of large-calibre shells which could not leave undamaged even the most durable walls. Thus, the monastery of Yeghnasar situated near Getashen, Khanlar District, Northern Artsakh, that had been standing thoroughly intact, was reduced to ruins in a flash in the days of the occupation of the village .
   Between the 1950s and 1960s, the Armenian cross-stones, gravestones and lapidary inscriptions (about 133 pieces) were removed from the large historical cemetery (13th-18th centuries) of Tzar Village, Karvajar District, Republic of Karabakh: crumbled to pieces, they were used as building material in the construction of a school erected at the south-eastern extremity of the settlement.

The traces of the main church (13th century) of Tzar Village, that was in a semi-destroyed state till the end of the 1950s, have been entirely obliterated.
St. Sargis Church (1274) of Tzar Village, that stood intact till the late 1950s, has been totally annihilated.
Getamijo Monastery (1301) was destroyed in the 1960s: its stones served as building material for the construction of several houses and a school in Jrag Village: the 22 fragments of an Armenian lapidary inscription can still be seen in the latter's walls.
A church (12th-13th centuries) situated 2 kms south-west of Yeghegnut Village (Ghamshli), Karvajar District, was blasted in 1983.
By the period between the 1970s and 1980s, all the cross-stones of a cemetery (12th-13th centuries) situated at the edge of Aghghaya Village were displaced and broken.
A church (13th century) erected between the villages of Arakelots (Arokhlu) and Movsisashen (Kyurd-Hajji), Kashatagh (formerly Lachin) District, was blown up in 1983.
The territory of a cemetery (12th-20th centuries) situated at the southwestern extremity of Harar (Nerkin Parajan) Village, Kashatagh District, was smoothed away between the 1970s and 1980s, a cattle-breeding farm being built in its site.
A medieval church (known among the local people as "Ohana Eghtsi," i.e. Ohan's Church), situated on the wooded mountain range of Susansar, in the vicinity of the castle of Gerham, to the north of Zangelan, has been blasted in the recent years.
A church (12th-13th centuries) standing in Hin Tumas Village, Jebrail District, was destroyed in the 1970s: its stones were used in the construction of the steps of a school.
The church of Vankasar (6th-7th centuries) was altered in the mid-1980s under the pretense of "restoration": its only preserved cross-stone was moved to Aghdam Museum, where it was represented as an "Albanian" monument.
Out of the 12 churches (9th-11th centuries) situated in Ghalakyand Village, Getabek District, only one has been preserved in a semi-destroyed state.
A church (9th-11th centuries) situated 8 kms south of Banants Village, Dashkesan District, was destroyed between 1986 and 1987, its stones being thrown into the ravine.
A church (16th-17th centuries) erected in Tsntzahal Village, Dashkesan District, was levelled with the ground in the 1960s, being replaced by a school.
In the late 1970s, a church situated near Kirants Village, Dashkesan District, was reduced to ruins under the pretense of erecting an electricity transmission pole in the area.
In the 1970s a church (16th-17th centuries) situated in Verin Karhat Village, Dashkesan District, was demolished under the pretense of exploiting the local mines.
Before Shushi's liberation, the church of the city, commonly known as "Kanach Zham," i.e. Green Church, served as a hall for mineral water drinking, while Ghazanchetsots Sourb Amenaprkich (Holy Saviour) Church was reduced to a public toilet.
Two bridges (12th-13th centuries), 3 chapels (13th-17th centuries), about 70 cross-stones and vaults that were neither measured nor photographed fell prey to the construction of Sarsang Dam: their stones were either set in the barrier or left at the bottom of the dam.
In the 1980s under the pretense of "repairs," the exterior of St. Sargis Church (17th century) located in Gandzak (Gyanja) City was faced with brick, which stripped it of its Armenian features: it used to serve as a Palace of Peoples' Friendship.
In the recent years, a cemetery (18th-20th centuries) lying in Baku, Azerbaijan, has been levelled with the ground: the local tombstones were used in the construction of the steps of a road extending from the Intourist Hotel to Kirov Park.
Held under Azeri control for only 11 months, Parin Pizh Monastery (liberated on 17 May 1992), located in Shushi District, Republic of Karabakh, was almost completely destroyed: the chapel was totally reduced to ruins, but the church (1658) was only partly damaged.
Sourb Astvatzatzin Monastery of Meysari, Shamakhi District, was blown up in the early 1970s.