The separatist parliament of Nagorno-Karabakh has approved a proposal to make Russian the ethnic Armenian-populated region's second official language, along with Armenian. The amendments to the region's language laws were passed 27-0 on March 25, with two abstentions.
The bill, which will become law upon being signed by the region's ethnic Armenian leader, Arayik Harutiunian, says that giving the Russian language an official status would deepen Nagorno-Karabakh's history of "cultural, military, and economic links" with Russia.
Three of the five political parties represented in the region's legislature proposed the measure last month, arguing that it would facilitate communication with Russian soldiers and aid workers deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh after last year's Armenian-Azerbaijani war over the separatist region.
