In 1991 a referendum was held in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) and the neighboring Shahumian region which resulted in a declaration of independence .
On the same year, on December 10, a voting for freedom was organized, 80 % of the Artsakh’s population participated in the elections, and the 99 % of the participants, voted for getting freedom.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a presidential democracy. The executive power rests mainly with the president. The president appoints and dismisses the prime minister.
The National Assembly of Nagorno-Karabakh is the parliament, forming a unicameral legislature. It has 33 members who are elected for 5 year terms. The current President is Bako Sahakian.
Today, Nagorno-Karabakh is a de facto independent state, calling itself the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. It is closely tied to the Republic of Armenia and uses the same currency, the dram (AMD).
The Nagorno-Karabakh republic is very mountainous, a feature which has given it the nickname “Mountain Karabakh”. It is 11,500 km2 (4,440 sq mi) in area, bordering Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran.
The flag of NKR consists of 3 colors, like Armenian flag, red, blue and orange, and the only difference is connected with some white coloring on the flag.
