Azerbaijan’s historic Shusha city that was recently liberated from the Armenian occupation has been declared the country’s cultural capital.

President Ilham Aliyev signed a relevant decree on May 7, Azertag reported.

Guided by paragraph 32 of Article 109 of the Azerbaijani Constitution, the decision was made to restore the historical appearance of Shusha, restore its former glory and reunite it with a rich cultural life, as well as promote Azerbaijan's rich culture, architecture and urban planning in the international arena, the report said.

The Cabinet of Ministers has been entrusted to solve the issues arising from the order.

Shusha has historically been one of the important centers of historical, cultural, socio-political life of Azerbaijan.

In 1977, Azerbaijan's national leader Heydar Aliyev declared the historical part of Shusha as the historical and architectural reserve. As a result, major steps were taken to protect monuments in Shusha and perpetuate the memory of prominent cultural and artistic figures.

However, Armenia occupied the city of Shusha on May 8, 1992 and pursued a policy of destroying the historical and cultural heritage of the Azerbaijani people in the city.

The historical justice was restored and on November 8, 2020,  when Shusha was liberated from Armenian occupation.

An immediate inventory of the damage to the city, its historical and cultural heritage and nature was carried out, and restoration work has begun. In order to ensure the efficiency of restoration works, great attention was paid to public administration in Shusha. Special envoy of the Azerbaijani President was appointed in the city.

Shusha, along with 300 other city centers, villages and settlements were liberated from around 30  years of Armenian occupation during the war between September 27 and November 10.