The article examines the development of Russian-Turkish relations over the past 30 years, the main aspects of geopolitical relations and, in particular, the conflicts in the South Caucasus and adjacent regions. The authors believe that the key ones are the two Karabakh wars, the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict and the fve-day Georgian-South Ossetian war, as well as the Ukrainian crisis, the Libyan and Syrian conflicts, in which Moscow and Ankara have different interests. The new confguration of forces in the South Caucasus will largely depend on the outcome of the resolution of these conflicts. The authors identify the main patterns in the development of bilateral Russian-Turkish relations, which are characterized by a combination of confrontation, competition and cooperation. The article was based on the results of a scientifc discussion held at the National Communications Development Research Institution (NIIRC), Moscow, Russia in 2022.

Khachkar, undergoing ideological, iconographic, thematic and substantive changes during its centuries-long existence, continues to be one of the most important symbols of Armenian national identity. In the 60s of the last century, when the new stage of khachkar-making began in Armenia, it did not gain much popularity in Artsakh, center of Azerbaijan's culture-destroying policy. In fact, if in different regions of Armenia we can talk about khachkars as a serious cultural phenomenon, then in Artsakh we are able to talk about its separate, individual manifestations. Only after the first Artsakh war, the khachkar became the main symbol of marking and sanctifying the liberated territories, settlements and especially the borders, including corresponding dimensional and iconographic changes. This report discusses the developments and transformations of the Artsakh khachkar culture, the features of khachkar construction, the process of “khachkarization” of the territories liberated as a result of the first Artsakh war.