Kalbajar District in the context of "Lachin District"

Goranboy District (Azerbaijani: Goranboy rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the west of the country in the Ganja-Dashkasan Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Kalbajar, Tartar, Yevlakh, Samukh, and Goygol. Its capital and largest city is Goranboy. As of 2020, the district had a population of 105,000.

During the Soviet era, the region was best known for the oil-cure sanatorium resort of Naftalan, though administratively Naftalan counts as an independent city. Naftalan is now starting to operate again following several years of virtual inaction when the resorts were filled with refugees from the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.

Vayots Dzor (Armenian: Վայոց Ձոր, Armenian pronunciation: [vɑjˌɔt͡sʰ ˈd͡zɔɾ] ) is a province (marz) of Armenia. It lies at the southeastern end of the country, bordering the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan to the west and the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan to the east. It covers an area of 2,308 km (891 sq mi). Known for its mountainous terrain, Vayots Dzor is Armenia's most sparsely populated province, with a population was 47,369 in the 2022 census, down from 52,324 at the 2011 census. The capital and largest city of the province is the town of Yeghegnadzor.

A major wine-producing region in Armenia, Vayots Dzor is home to many ancient landmarks and historical attractions. Among them are the Areni-1 cave complex and Areni-1 winery of the Chalcolithic period, the 8th-century Tanahat Monastery, the 10th-century fortress of Smbataberd, and the 13th-century monastery of Noravank. The province is also home to the spa-town of Jermuk and the village of Gladzor, known for the 13th and 14th-century University of Gladzor.

Tartar District (Azerbaijani: Tərtər rayonu) 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.

Goygol District (Azerbaijani: Göygöl rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan, situated in the western part of the country within the Ganja-Dashkasan Economic Region. The district is bordered by districts of Goranboy, Kalbajar, Dashkasan, Shamkir, Samukh, and the city of Ganja. Its administrative center and largest city is Goygol, close to the Goygol Lake. Originally established in the early 19th century as "Helenendorf" by German settlers, the area has evolved into a key region for agriculture and tourism in Azerbaijan. As of 2020, Goygol District has a population of approximately 64,600 residents.

Kurdistan Uezd, also known colloquially as Red Kurdistan, was a Soviet administrative unit within the Azerbaijan SSR that existed for six years from 1923 to 1929 and included the districts of Kalbajar, Lachin, Qubadli and part of Jabrayil. It was part of Azerbaijan SSR, with the administrative center being in Lachin. It was briefly succeeded by the Kurdistan Okrug from 30 May to 23 July 1930.

The political status of Nagorno-Karabakh remained unresolved from its declaration of independence on 10 December 1991 to its September 2023 collapse. During Soviet times, it had been an ethnic Armenian autonomous oblast of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, a conflict arose between local Armenians who sought to have Nagorno-Karabakh join Armenia and local Azerbaijanis who opposed this.

The conflict soon escalated into ethnic cleansing and open warfare in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, as a result of which the region came under the control of an Armenia-allied de facto state, the Republic of Artsakh. The surrounding regions of Azerbaijan were occupied by the self-declared republic under the justification of a "security belt," which was intended to be exchanged for recognition of autonomous status from Azerbaijan.