An expectant mother waits for an ultrasound scan at Stepanakert Maternity Hospital. Any couple married after 1st January 2008 will benefit from the government’s “birth encouragement program” which gives cash payments for each baby born. Stepanakert, Nagorno Karabakh, 2011.

Anastasia Taylor Lind

The National Womb: Baby Boom In Nagorno Karabakh

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In 2008 Nagorno Karabakh’s de facto government introduced the ‘birth encouragement program’ which distributes cash payments to newlyweds for each baby born, with the aim of repopulating the region after the devastating 1991-1994 war.

The conflict started when the Soviet Union collapsed. Nagorno Karabakh’s ethnic Armenians went to war with Azerbaijan, backed by neighboring Armenia. The war left 65,000 ethnic Armenians and a further 40,000 ethnic Azeris displaced from Nagorno Karabakh. The Muslim Azeri population never returned, and neither did many of the Armenians who had fled. While a ceasefire was declared in 1994, there has been no peace settlement yet between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

In keeping with traditional marriage ceremony, guests and friends of the bride Armine Baghdasaryan wait together in her bedroom for the groom, Artak Petrosyan, and his family to arrive and deliver a wedding dress before starting the celebrations. The young couple will receive a wedding payment of approximately €575 (300,00 ad) as part of the government’s “Birth Encouragement Program”. Togh village, Nagorno Karabakh, 16th July 2011.

Artak Petrosyan and his bride Armine Baghdasaryan sit at the main table during the evening reception in Khtsaberd village hall. The young couple will receive a wedding payment of approximately €575 (300,00 ad) as part of the government’s “Birth Encouragement Program”. Khtsaberd village, Hadrut Region, Nagorno Karabakh, 16th July 2011.

Gayane Aghajanyan breastfeeds her newborn son Rafael at Stepanakert Maternity Hospital in Nagorno Karabakh, 2011. Gayane will receive a 1st baby payment of approximately €190 (100,000 ad) as part of the government’s “Birth Encouragement Program”.

Expectant mothers wait for check-ups at Stepanakert Maternity Hospital. Any couple married after 1st January 2008 will benefit from the government’s “birth encouragement program” which gives cash payments for each baby born. Stepanakert, Nagorno Karabakh, 2011.

A wedding party visits the “Grandmother and Grandfather” monument in Stepanakert, for a traditional photoshoot by the country’s national symbol. The newlyweds will receive a wedding payment of approximately €575 (300,00 ad) as part of the government’s “Birth Encouragement Program”. Nagorno Karabakh, 2011.

Newborn baby Inna Hakobyan lies in her cot at Stepanakert Maternity Hospital. Her mother Narine and father Suren have received approximately €1150 (600,00 ad) in wedding and baby payments as part of the government’s “Birth Encouragement Program”. Stepanakert, Nagorno Karabakh 2011.

21 year old Ani Hakobyan (b.1989) at home with her mother-in-law Maro Hakobyan and 2 of her 4 daughters. Ani and her husband Artak got married in the 2008 mass wedding and have so far received approximately €2800 ($4000) and an apartment in Stepanakert from the private businessmen who organised and funded the wedding, and a further €2680 (140,000 ad) from the government’s “Birth Encouragement Program” in baby payments for their triplets born in 2010. Aygestan village, Nagorno Karabakh, 2011.

Marianna Avanesyan, 24, giving birth to daughter Nare at Stepanakert Maternity Hospital on the 8th July 2011, Nagorno Karabakh. Marianna and her husband Sevak Gurgenyan got married in the 2008 mass wedding and have so far received approximately €2800 ($4000) from the private businessmen who organised and funded the wedding, and expect a further €2100 ($3000) shortly for the birth of Nare, who is their second child.

Maria Arustamyan is christened on her first birthday at Ghazanchetsots church in Shushi. Maria’s parents, Anush and Grigory (pictured with Maria’s godparents and grandmother) received a wedding and 1st baby payment of approximately €765 (400,000 ad) as part of the government’s “Birth Encouragement Program”. Nagorno Karabakh, 19th July 2011.

On the 2nd of September last year, Nagorno Karabakh celebrated 20 years of independence, yet remains unrecognized by the international community. Life is not easy in the republic. There is high unemployment, low salaries, few opportunities and the young continue to leave in search of better futures abroad.

Since its introduction 4 years ago, the ‘birth encouragement program’ is credited for an increased birthrate of 25.5% from 2007 to 2010. The program is administered by the Department of Social Security which oversees the payments to married couples of approximately €575 at their wedding. They are then paid €190 for the first baby born, €380 for the second, €950 for the third and €1350 for a fourth. Families with 6 children under the age of 18 are given a house.

Nagorno Karabakhs baby boom was also sparked in 2008 by a mass wedding on the 16th October that was held for 674 couples. The event was funded by private donations from several wealthy Armenian diaspora businessmen and couples who participated receive privately funded higher payments. Figures on the 1st July 2011 show that a total of 693 babies had been born to these mass wedding couples so far.

These payments are quite substantial in a region where the average monthly salary is €35.

19 year old Narine Hakobyan at home with her new born daughter Inna, in Kolatak village where she lives with her husbands family. Nagorno Karabakh, 2011. Narine and her husband Suren have received approximately €1150 (600,00 ad) in wedding and baby payments as part of the government’s “Birth Encouragement Program”.

Father Andreas marries Ara Avagimyan and Elita Khachaturyan at Ghazanchetsots church in Shushi, Nagorno Karabakh on the 22nd July 2011. The young couple will receive a wedding payment of approximately €575 (300,00 ad) as part of the government’s “Birth Encouragement Program”.

An expectant mother in the ultrasound department of Stepanakert Maternity Hospital. Any couple married after 1st January 2008 will benefit from the government’s “birth encouragement program” which gives cash payments for each baby born. Stepanakert, Nagorno Karabakh, 2011.

The records department at Stepanakert Maternity Hospital. Each file represents a current or recently discharged patient. Any couple married after 1st January 2008 will benefit from the government’s “birth encouragement program” which gives cash payments for each baby born. Nagorno Karabakh, 2011.

Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno Karabakh. 2011.

Marianna Avanesyan, 24, and her husband Sevak Gurgenyan at home with their new baby daughter Nare in Askeran, Nagorno Karabakh, 2011. Marianna and Sevak got married in the 2008 mass wedding and have so far received approximately €2800 ($4000) from the private businessmen who organised and funded the wedding, and expect a further €2100 ($3000) shortly for the birth of Nare, who is their second child and was delivered at Stepanakert Maternity Hospital on the 8th July 2011.

19 year old Narine Hakobyan combs her 2 year old daughter Angelina’s hair at home in Kolatak village, where she lives with her husbands family, including her young sister-in-law, Lilit (left). Nagorno Karabakh, 2011. Narine and her husband Suren have received approximately €1150 (600,00 ad) in wedding and baby payments as part of the government’s “Birth Encouragement Program”.

Artak Hakobyan holds one of his triplets at home in Aygestan village, Nagorno Karabakh, 2011. Artak and his wife Ani got married in the 2008 mass wedding and now have 4 daughters. They received approximately €2800 ($4000) and an apartment in Stepanakert from the private businessmen who organised and funded the wedding, and a further €2680 (140,000 ad) from the government’s “Birth Encouragement Program” in baby payments for their triplets born in 2010.

Rosa Sargsyan and some of her children outside their home in Nor Aresh, a suburb of Stepanakert, where the Department of Social Security has housed 8 large families as part of their welfare program which gives free homes to families with more than 6 children under the age of 18. Rosa, who was given this house in 2009, is 35 years old and a mother of 8 children. Nagorno Karabakh, 2011.

19 year old Narine Hakobyan is pictured in the kitchen of her husbands family home with young sister-in-law, Lilit (left) and her 2 year old daughter Angelina (right). Kolatak village, Nagorno Karabakh, 2011. Narine and her husband Suren have received approximately €1150 (600,00 ad) in wedding and baby payments as part of the government’s “Birth Encouragement Program”.

Bio

Anastasia Taylor-Lind (b. 1981) is an English/Swedish documentary photographer who is a member of VII photo agency. She is based in London and works for clients such as GEO Germany, The Sunday Times Magazine, Marie Claire, Newsweek and Time magazine.

Anastasias work has been exhibited internationally, in spaces such as The Saatchi Gallery, The Frontline Club, and The National Portrait Gallery in London, Fovea Exhibitions in New York and Pikto Gallery in Toronto.

She has received a number of photography awards, from a diverse range of organisations including a FNAC grant for photojournalism, which was presented at the Visa Pour L’Image photojournalism festival in 2011, a Canon Young Photographer award in 2010 and the Royal Photographic Society Joan Wakelin Bursary in 2009.  In 2011 Anastasia was selected to participate in the World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass.

Anastasia has degrees from the University of Wales Newport and the London College of Communication.