Julien Pebrel - Hovhannes Land: Nagorno-Karabagh

Hovhannes Land : Nagorno-Karabagh

Photos : Julien Pebrel / Myop || Text available by Anaïs Coignac

Hak, Kashatagh (Lachin) province. The village is one of the freed territories which was not landlocked to soviet Karabagh. Since then, the Armenians come to repopulate it. They found a non-occupied territory where the living conditions are very har

A map of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabagh in the Moshatagh school

Five brothers from a numerous family on the Knowledge Day in the Chouchi school.

A volunteer native from Talish came back in his village after the april war to defend it. Talish is one of the villages which was bombed by azerbaijan army.

In Chouchi, a little boy from a large family in his bed, thoughtfully.

Two young soldiers having rest on the contact line

A destroyed military vehicle in Talish after the 2016 4 days war

A monument from the soviet period in Chouchi

In the Ghazanchetsots cathedral of Chouchi during a mass for peace after the april war.

In the Ghazanchetsots cathedral of Chouchi.

A young soldier on the frontline during his service .

A young soldier on the frontline during his service, just after the april war2016 4 days war.

A shooting training in a military base in Askeran region.

Somewhere in the mountains of Kashatagh (Lachin) province, close to the border with Armenia.

The museum of the soldiers dead during the war, in Stepanakert

Hak, Kashatagh (Lachin) province. The shepherd comes back from the pasture at night. All the villagers pay him to take care of the beasts. Many inhabitants have beasts even if they are not all farmers. Their idea is to insure a food self-suffiency.

This house in Chouchi belonged to an azerbaijani family in the past, now it hosts an armenian family.

The truck collecting milk in isolated villages in the mountains of Kashatagh (Lachin) province, close to the border with Armenia.

In Mataghis, one of the villages which was bombed by azerbaijan army. Most of the inhabitants have left the villages after the bombing.

Just after the 2016 4 days war. Villagers from Mataghis are leaving the village with their cattle to keep them safe in their family.

In Mirik, an isolated village in the mountains of Kashatagh (Lachin) province.

In the Stepanakert Choregraphical School.

Nagorno-Karabagh means montainous black garden in a strange mix of russian turkish and persian.

In a school of Stepanakert. All the pupils attend a military strategy class which includes military culture, firearms handling, first aid, etc

The inhabitants of a district of Armenvan in Stepanakert attending to a meeting of a candidate running for municipal elections.:Alexandre Suren Grigorian is the minister of the state employees.

A veteran from the Great Patriotic War with her medals, the day of the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the independence of Nagorno-Karabagh

In the house of a numerous family in Chouchi

Preparation of the Knowledge day in Chouchi, where young students entering the first class are being welcomed. It’s a soviet ceremony maintained in the country and an important day for the kids.

In Hak, an isolated village in the mountains of Kashatagh (Lachin) province, a grandmother of a just married girl who left the family home earlier.

Mirik, Kashatagh (Lachin) province. Wounded by a mine, he is considered as a « non permanent » disabled person and get a very little pension. To earn a living he has to work as a shepherd in the Moshatagh village, a few kilometers far from Mirik.

She's 96 years old and a Bakou refugee. She lives in the only nursing home of the country. One of her sons is dead, the other is imprisoned whithout her knowing. That’s why she lives in this institution. Usually seniors are in charge of family.

A tailoring shop implanted in Stepanakert for decades.

On the road between Berdzor and Stepanakert, the unique road which links Nagorno-Karabagh and Armenia

We met Hovhannes during our first trip in Nagorno-Karabagh. He was living in Chouchi. He was an Armenian from Iran. He traveled a lot and earned money. He lost everything when he decided to settle in Nagorno-Karabagh, a sacred land for him. A land where his grand-parents were burried, somewhere close to an old caravanserail. His family didn't want to stay there in such hard conditions so he lived there alone. He was writing some poetry for his grand son. He was a patriot, a word i hated and still hate, but a word i started to understand in Caucasus. When we came back in Karabagh in 2016 we asked some news about him: "He died alone a few months ago, 3 persons came to his funeral". This project, shot in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2016 is dedicated to him.