Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh, is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus. Martakert Province is a province of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (de facto), and the Tartar Rayon of Azerbaijan (de jure). It has been under Armenian control since the 1994 ceasefire. On the road, a propaganda billboard with the words "A well-trained army saves your future". Two young children, a boy and a girl, stands in the middle of soldiers and salutes the marching military men. On June 2, 1992, the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh adopted a flag derived from the flag of Armenia, with only a white pattern added. A white, five-toothed, stepped pattern was added to the flag, beginning at the two verges of the flag's right side and meeting at a point equal to one-third of the distance from that side. The white pattern symbolizes the current separation of Artsakh from Armenia proper and its aspiration for eventual union with "the Motherland." This symbolizes the Armenian heritage, culture and population of the area, and represents Artsakh as a separated region of Armenia by the triangular shape and the zigzag cutting through the flag. The white pattern on the flag is also similar to the designs used on rugs, a symbol of national identity. A Kalashnikov rifle is any one of a series of automatic rifles based on the original design of Mikhail Kalashnikov. They are officially known in Russian as "Avtomat Kalashnikova" , but are widely known as Kalashnikovs, AK47s, or as a "Kalash ». Nagorno-Karabakh is a disputed territory, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but most of the region is governed by the Republic of Artsakh (formerly named Nagorno-Karabakh Republic), a de facto independent state with Armenian ethnic population. Since 1994, regular peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group have failed to result in a peace treaty. 5.10.2019 © 2019 Didier Ruef