Poka Leanui, a Hawaiian decolonial activist, wrote an essay called, “Processes of Decolonization,” where he suggests five steps to decolonizing a people group: recovery, mourning, dreaming, commitment, and action. Essentially, Leanui was suggesting that decolonization involved looking at how power was distributed within a society and what changes had to take shape in order for everyone to be treated fairly. In the broader geographical context, the scholar’s thesis is relevant in many other parts of the world. In fact, many former Soviet countries are currently navigating their own process of decolonization. This process mostly went unnoticed until Russia invaded Ukraine, and many post-soviet nations began to reflect on their past and, specifically, Russia's role in their histories. Russia’s military and political presence in the South Caucasus as well as the wider geography, is undisputed. Western powers were not involved in political processes in the South Caucasus for decades, traditionally regarding it as Russia’s sphere of influence — a brief overview of the history of the region attests to that. While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 is the most recent example of the former’s interest and aspirations in the region, it is just one echo of the past that unfortunately continues to haunt not only Ukraine and its people but the entire post-soviet region. The ethnic and territorial issues of the former Soviet republics remain unresolved largely because Russia’s role and interest in keeping simmering conflicts and strife alive have damaged the prospects of peace and co-existence. One example is Nagorno-Karabakh (in Arm. Artsakh). Image source: International Crisis Group. Used with permission. The region was first incorporated into Azerbaijan in 1921 when the Soviet Union created the Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, which included Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia as its constituent republics. At the time, Nagorno-Karabakh was an autonomous region within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. The decision to place Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan was made by the Soviet authorities, who were seeking to create administrative units based on ethnic and linguistic criteria. While Nagorno-Karabakh had a majority ethnic Armenian population, the Soviet authorities deemed it appropriate to place it within Azerbaijan. The autonomy of Nagorno-Karabakh was established by the Soviet authorities in recognition of the region's unique cultural and linguistic identity, as well as the ethnic tensions that existed between the Armenian and Azerbaijani populations in the region. However, despite the autonomous status of Nagorno-Karabakh, tensions persisted, with all the parties involved seeking to exert greater control over the region. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence from Azerbaijan and sought to reunite with Armenia. This led to a full-scale war — the First Karabakh war — between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which ended with a ceasefire declared in 1994 and a victory for the Armenian army, which took control over disputed territories but also occupied additional ones citing the safety of the Karabakh population. The inability or unwillingness of leaders to resolve the conflict after the first Karabakh war kept both countries at a distance, often exchanging blame, and showering accusations against each other. Ceasefire violations and tensions followed the two countries over the next several decades until September 27, 2020, when a full-scale war broke out. The 44-day war left thousands of soldiers and civilians killed on both sides. Azerbaijan regained control over much of the previously occupied seven regions. Azerbaijan also captured one-third of Karabakh itself during the war. Russia brokered a ceasefire that ended the active phase of the war but did not resolve the conflict. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to the presence of Russian peace-keeping forces. Although an active player in negotiations after the second Karabakh war, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year later, shifted its power dynamics in the region and changed the course of the post-war developments. This shift in power dynamics was visible with post-war escalations that continued despite the 2020 agreement to end hostilities. In May 2021, Azerbaijani troops made a significant incursion into Armenian territory, crossing several kilometers into the provinces of Syunik and Gegharkunik and occupying around 41 square kilometers of land. The move drew international condemnation, including from the European Parliament, as well as the United States and France, who urged Azerbaijan to withdraw its troops from Armenian territory.