Photographs by Stephen M. Bland. Select a photograph to enlarge.
Stepanakert
Vardan Mamikonain Poghots, the road to the bazaar in the capital of Nagorno-KarabakhStepanakert
Under the bridge on Kamo PoghotsStepanakert
Babushka at the Shuka (Market)Stepanakert
Wedding partyStepanakert
One of the biggest employers in Karabakh, at 7 AM on Monday morning, the 210 strong staff of the HALO Trust gather at their compound in Stepanakert.Stepanakert
With Vera Grigoryan and cohorts at the Union of Relatives of Artsakh War Missing in Action SoldiersThe Lachin Corridor
Fog descends over the mountainous, heavily mined Lachin Corridor.North of Stepanakert
"We Are Our Mountains" monument, symbol of Nagorno-KarabakhKhojaly
Renovated at a cost of millions of dollars, the sole airport in Nagorno-Karabakh has not seen a flight since 1992, as Azerbaijan has declared it will shoot down any planes. Inside, TV screens were on, a luggage carousel rotated and a single, glum attendant stood by an empty departures board.Shushi
The tank monument outside of Shushi, a popular place for parents to bring their children.Shushi
Once home to 45,000, Shushi now has a population of under 4,000. Many live in semi-derelict buildings such as this war-ravaged huskShushi
Babushka at a semi-derelict mosqueShushi
Nifty solution for derelict buildings bombed out in the war; paint scenes of shops in the windowsShushi
Soviet war memorial, bullet ridden face where the sign reads 'victory'Shushi
Soviet memorial to the Great WarAgdam
Once home to 150,000 & the third biggest city in Azerbaijan, now the town of Agdam is utterly derelict. We got in and out a day before heavy fighting broke out on the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh/Azerbaijan border. Fifteen were reported killed.Agdam
Burnt-out vehicle, one of many. Only a single building remains standing. Even the militia are housed in a semi-derelictVank
Rebuilt to the design of native son made good, Levon Haieapetian, the town of Vank features a hotel supposed to resemble the Titanic. A week before I arrived the shortly after the lumber baron was arrested in one of Putin's purges, purportedly over a dodgy oil dealVank
A wall of number plates taken from cars owned by Azerbaijanis when they fled the war.Vank
Levon Hairapetyan's iconic lion cave.Vank
A favoured hangout for local men after dark, by the gas station a camo-clad man sold knives which he'd hung from a tree.Gandzasar Monastery
Completed in 1266, Gandzasar is the Holy See of Nagorno-KarabakhGandsazar
Graves of the war dead look out over the Mardakert District, their machine gun wielding likenesses etched on their headstonesDadivank Monastery
Set high in the hills, the Dadivank Monastery dates back to the 9th Century.