Tartar District

Tartar District is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the west of the country and belongs to the Karabakh Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Kalbajar, Goranboy, Yevlakh, Barda, and Aghdam. Its capital and largest city is Tartar. As of 2020, the district had a nominal population of 104,700.

History

The district was expanded to include the eastern part of the Mardakert District of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast following its abolishment in 1992, however only a small part of it remained under the control of Azerbaijan following the First Nagorno-Karabakh war. Azerbaijan recaptured Talish and Madagiz villages of Tartar during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war and the rest of the district was put under the control of the Russian peacekeepers. Mardakert District was re-established as the Aghdara District in 2023, and the Tartar District was subsequently returned to its pre-1992 size.
Some Azerbaijani IDPs from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding occupied regions were moved into tent settlements in the district following the First Nagorno-Karabakh war. Most of them now live in new houses built by the government.
The district became the center of the notorious Tartar treason case, as mass torture took place in the old administrative building of the district, where soldiers were taken and tortured during interrogations.