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Advocating for the Correct Naming of Stepanakert to Khankendi on Wikipedia

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Subsequent move discussion at #Requested move 16 March 2025. CMD (talk) 02:52, 26 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Dear members of the discussion, I write to address the ongoing debate surrounding the appropriate legal name of the city currently listed as "Stepanakert" on Wikipedia. It is crucial to acknowledge the historical, legal, and cultural foundations that support renaming this city to its rightful name, Khankendi. Below, I outline the core arguments in favor of this correction:

Historical Accuracy: The city's original name, Khankendi, dates back centuries, long before the Soviet era when the name was altered to "Stepanakert." Khankendi reflects the city's authentic roots, underscoring its significance as part of the cultural and historical heritage of the region. Recognizing Khankendi is a step towards respecting documented history rather than perpetuating Soviet-era impositions.

Legal Grounds: Internationally recognized legal frameworks uphold Azerbaijan's sovereignty over the region, as reaffirmed by multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions and numerous international organizations. As the city is an integral part of Azerbaijan, it is appropriate and legally consistent to reflect the name endorsed by the Azerbaijani government—Khankendi.

Neutrality and Credibility: Wikipedia aims to maintain a neutral point of view while reflecting accurate and verifiable information. Adopting Khankendi as the official name ensures that Wikipedia adheres to its commitment to reliability and impartiality, avoiding politically biased narratives. Respect for Sovereignty: The continued use of "Stepanakert" disregards the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan, a principle widely recognized by international law. It is essential to use names that align with the legal and geopolitical realities of the region.

Consensus Among Reliable Sources: Authoritative sources, including government records, maps, and international documentation, consistently use Khankendi to refer to the city. Reflecting this name on Wikipedia would align the platform with credible, up-to-date references.

Public Expectations: The citizens of Azerbaijan and many supporters of historical justice strongly advocate for the restoration of Khankendi as the city's name. Renaming the city in Wikipedia is not only legally and historically correct but also reflects the aspirations of those who seek to preserve the region's authentic identity.

In conclusion, renaming the city from "Stepanakert" to "Khankendi" on Wikipedia is not only a correction of historical and legal inaccuracies but also a necessary step to uphold the platform's credibility and impartiality. I urge all participants in this discussion to consider these points and support the rightful restoration of the city's name to Khankendi.

Thank you for your attention and thoughtful consideration.

And please, be neutral guys :) So, I do not want someone to do racism. Be neutral and fair! 37.61.112.22 (talk) 20:26, 17 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I think ultimately it comes down to what is now most commonly used in English language sources and conversation, and I think Khankendi has now probably overtaken Stepanakert. I'm not sure of many sources still using Stepanakert Jimjom (talk) 22:46, 19 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Dear Jimjom, I would like to add to your thoughts. These days, "stepanakert" is not and cannot be used in the world media or world politics. The use of this expression anywhere today is considered vandalism (you can only and MAYBE come across this expression in media that tend to use this expression). Khankendi is one of the cities of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Khankendi University operates there. I read the opinions of some people in this discussion board, they simply do not want the real name of this city to be restored in Wikipedia by any means. This is based on their personal interests. In short,! Today, only Khankendi is used in the international community, using any other expression leads to vandalism, disrespect for the Republic of Azerbaijan, and many other violations of law Jabeerdi (talk) 08:22, 20 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Use by international community or not, a common person uses the name Stepanakurt (if they knew of the city pre-2024). The population of the city before they were forced out used Stepanakurt. Also you clearly have a bias towards Azerbaijan.
The same can be said for other cities like Gomel, Odessa (prewar and today to a lesser extend).
Due to historical reasons, ethnic reasons, and common name reasons we should use the name Stepanakurt. Roc1233 (Talk | Edits) 00:56, 24 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Someone mentioned Allahabad vs Prayagraj above, where Allahabad is still used much more in English-language sources ... yet the name change was swift. Thus it would seem the name usage isn't really the most important factor, isn't it? 119.74.188.226 (talk) 15:48, 14 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
You are far from neutral in what you wrote, what "historical" justice are you speaking about there? It is a common name, on Google Scholar "Stepanakert" yields 2800 results and "Khankendi" 600. Athoremmes (talk) 18:25, 25 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Definitely, it seems like they have a heavy Azeri bias. Roc1233 (Talk | Edits) 00:57, 24 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Its Stephankert. The town was founded by Armenians, was inhabitated by Armenians until you genocided them and has a Armenian Name. The Azeri Peoples republic declared it as Part of Armenia in 1921 and what Happens now is a illegal occupation that will hopefully be ended soon. So remove your comment, we dont need Turkish nationalists and genocide deniers on Wikipedia. 91.106.124.226 (talk) 17:22, 25 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Requested move 16 March 2025

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The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: no consensus. While not mentioned by name, WP:NAMECHANGES forms the crux of the discussion below. Some comments point out that Stepanakert continues to appear in more recent reporting; others see a trend away from the old name and toward more widespread use of Khankendi. Future discussions not only can determine if the trend continues, but they can also decide on any moves of related pages like Stepanakert in the Republic of Artsakh. (I come by way of Wikipedia:Closure requests#Talk:Stepanakert#Requested move 16 March 2025.) (non-admin closure) Rotideypoc41352 (talk · contribs) 00:31, 5 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Stepanakert → Khankendi – per WP:COMMONNAME, official name, sources, and maps. Tons of sources mention it as "Khankendi". Here are some sources: 1, and 2. Google maps also shows Khankendi here instead of Stepanakert. On a side note, Nagorno-Karabakh does not exist anymore. 🗽Freedoxm🗽(talk • contribs) 06:14, 16 March 2025 (UTC) — Relisting. Vanderwaalforces (talk) 11:01, 24 March 2025 (UTC) — Relisting. Reading Beans, Duke of Rivia 12:15, 1 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

  • Support. This is the logical move at this point. Previous RMs might have been a bit premature, but it's been 1.5 years. Now, when searching up both city names on Google, there is a noticeable preference for "Khankendi" in sources. Paul Vaurie (talk) 01:09, 19 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Support. It should have been done a long time ago. Not only this city, all localities of Karabakh (e.g. Martuni to Khojavend, Mardakert to Aghdara) need to be moved as per administrative division of Azerbaijan. Zohrab Javad (talk) 01:47, 19 March 2025 (UTC) – Restricted topic, can not participate in this discussion. Vanezi (talk) 04:01, 20 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Support Think it's necessary to do so as sources have clearly switched over Chessrat (talk, contributions) 06:04, 19 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose per WP:AT/WP:COMMONNAME, the city has been called Stepanakert by the authorities controlling it during the entire Soviet and post-Soviet period until 2023. Search engine tests give far higher results for Stepanakert [1] – 1 020 000, than Khankendi [2] – 190 000, and numerous journalistic sources have utilized the name Stepanakert either alone or together with Khankendi in the past year since the Azerbaijani takeover and emptying of the city of its Armenian population [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8] AntonSamuel (talk) 09:47, 19 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Note that search results were not the main factors in consideration when Allahabad was renamed to Prayagraj, or when Astana was initially renamed to Nur-Sultan, or when Swaziland was renamed to Eswatini, where all the latter names had lower ngram counts. Consider whether the factors that renamed those articles apply here. 128.106.142.123 (talk) 06:37, 9 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose per AntonSamuel. Generally, WP:COMMONNAME trumps due to its accessibility. If media and academia continue to use Stepanakert, at least more predominantly from a numerical/search-result POV, that ought to be reflected in the article name for the sake of consistency and closeness to the prevalent name of the city. – Olympian loquere 11:58, 19 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose It hasn't been 2 years since the Azerbaijani offensive, and apparently some people are ready to rename the article even though Stepanakert has been the common name still and throughout all of Nagorno-Karabakh existence, it's been the official name since Soviet times. WP:COMMONNAME still supports Stepanakert, and Wikipedia has it's own ruels for naming articles such as the common name. Vanezi (talk) 04:08, 20 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Two years is quite a long time. There have been a plethora of articles about the city since then. It is actually not that relevant if the city has been called "Stepanakert" since Soviet times if sources show a preference for "Khankendi" since 2023. See WP:NAMECHANGES, which states exactly what I just outlined. Paul Vaurie (talk) 05:48, 21 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support. The current title is not in line with WP:MODERNPLACENAME. The COMMONNAME argument is weak in this case, as most sources using "Stepanakert" are now outdated. Recent sources tend to prefer Khankendi, sometimes mentioning Stepanakert as a former name. Furthermore, per WP:COMMONNAME, "Ambiguous or inaccurate names for the article subject, as determined in reliable sources, are often avoided even though they may be more frequently used by reliable sources. Neutrality is also considered". Grandmaster 09:47, 20 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    WP:COMMONNAME arguments and policy itself is generally the strongest when determining Wikipedia article titles, and trying to discredit COMMONNAME based on recentism is in itself a weak argument. Vanezi (talk) 10:42, 20 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Another thought- as a rule I don't tend to support using different names of a city for different periods of its history, and it is uncommon on Wikipedia for it to be done– but given the complete and total destruction of the Armenian history, with the demolition of all notable Armenian buildings etc, I wonder if it might be worth considering repurposing this article to be a historic article focused on the pre-2023 period and making a new Khankendi article for the post-2023 period of the city being under Azerbaijani control. For the last two years this article has been getting increasingly outdated thanks to one editor consistently reverting most attempts to update the article in light of the 2023 ethnic cleansing, with the entire "Culture and Economy" section still being solely historic information only relevant pre-2023. If this article is not going to be updated in light of events, perhaps it needs to be formatted as a historic article like Königsberg. Chessrat (talk, contributions) 14:25, 20 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
It seems that you're referring to the article called Stepanakert in the Republic of Artsakh. This article can be updated to represent the current Khankendi. Paul Vaurie (talk) 05:36, 21 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Also, Khankendi was the official name of the city in the Russian empire. So if we make a new Khankendi article, it will need to cover different historical periods, not just events after 2023. Grandmaster 09:15, 21 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Stepanakert → Khankendi and Stepanakert in the Republic of Artsakh → Stepanakert, per Chessrat. Glide08 (talk) 14:58, 27 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose and suggest speedy close. There have already been 4 previous move request/suggestions within less than a year,[9][10][11][12] and the OP has given no new evidence to suggest the common name has changed, making this request very low effort. TripAdvisor is not a reliable source and Aljazeera is neither reliable nor neutral especially for this topic; it has referred to the Armenian genocide in scare quotes and promoted genocide denial revisionism for years.[13][14] More recent and reliable sources such as OC Media[15] (article is even written by an Azeri journalist) and Council on Foreign Relations[16] both refer to the name as Stepanakert. I suggest that not only this request be speedily closed, but also any future similar requests be speedily closed as well unless they can provide both substantial and new evidence suggesting a change of common name. There is no need to have this same discussion every few months whenever a new editor who did not review any of the previous discussions first stops by. KhndzorUtogh (talk) 07:33, 31 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    There's no speedy close unless WP:SNOW is approaching. 🗽Freedoxm🗽(talk · contribs) 16:38, 31 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support I previously opposed the change but Khankendi is now the common name for the current city under Azeri control. It is no longer a ghost town and it is becoming increasingly strange to refer to a city which is now entirely Azeri (despite its Armenian past) by its Armenian name. Compare it with Antakya and İzmir which, despite their Greek past, are now rarely referred to with their Greek names. De wafelenbak (talk) 21:50, 1 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support if a request is brought up 4 times within less than year, it suggests the title of the article needs to be updated. As I mentioned in the previous discussions, most of the other wiki projects have already renamed the article, including French and Russian. Khankendi was the official name of the town until 1923 and has been since 1991, despite the fact that the town was referred to as Stepanakert in line to the other Soviet place names due to the previously ongoing issues over the territory. Sources might use both versions for readers, but Khankendi is ubiquitous too. Taking into consideration that Stepanakert in the Republic of Artsakh article already exists, renaming the article makes a perfect sense. — Toghrul R (t) 14:16, 3 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Oppose per WP:AT/WP:COMMONNAME. Archives908 (talk) 14:28, 6 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Expecting a no consensus close. 🗽Freedoxm🗽(talk · contribs) 17:41, 6 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Nevermind, now expecting a move to occur. 🗽Freedoxm🗽(talk · contribs) 18:00, 22 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Weak oppose per WP:COMMONNAME. I do not really see much evidence that this has changed since the last RM. Although the city was renamed, it seems RS are still using "Stepanakert" or mentioning both names, not just "Khankendi". See for example this. When it becomes clear that most RS have switched to consistently referring to the city as "Khankendi", then it would be appropriate to move the article, but at the moment, it still seems a bit too soon. Admittedly, there is not a lot of English-language coverage on this since 2023. Mellk (talk) 21:16, 8 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support. I agree with the comment above that news coverage has become quite limited since 2024 but it seems like "Khankendi" is slowly gaining ground. A Google News search returns 120 results for "Khankendi" and 77 results for "Stepanakert" in articles from April 2024 onward (unsurprisingly, the vast majority of these are from Azerbaijani or Armenian outlets respectively). Parishan (talk) 02:24, 20 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Support - per above. Wheatley2 (speak to me) (watch me) 18:00, 22 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
"per above" doesn't mean much. Also, this is not a vote. KhndzorUtogh (talk) 07:40, 4 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@KhndzorUtogh This user never mentioned it as a "vote". They have a right to support something, whether they like it or not. Freedoxm (talk · contribs) 07:41, 4 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I didn't say they explicitly mentioned it as a vote, my point is it clearly reads like a vote and a move discussion isn't a vote. KhndzorUtogh (talk) 07:44, 4 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose per WP:COMMONNAME Athoremmes (talk) 18:26, 25 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Can you highlight how it is the WP:COMMONNAME? Almost all recent sources mention Stepanakert as Khankendi. 🗽Freedoxm🗽(talk · contribs) 21:46, 25 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
We get 3560 results, if we search for "Stepanakert" in Google Scholar and 693 results, if we search for Khankendi. Athoremmes (talk) 01:23, 26 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
The sources that mention Stepanakert are all old ones. 🗽Freedoxm🗽(talk · contribs) 02:03, 26 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
A lot of them are new as well. Some sources mention Stepanakert, some mention Khankendi, depending on a meaning Athoremmes (talk) 02:48, 26 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
As I mentioned, this is a good example of both names being mentioned, but "Stepanakert" still being used in today's context. Mellk (talk) 20:03, 28 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Colonialisation Not resetlement

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Fix this. 2A02:810D:808E:7500:4041:A660:E742:1A82 (talk) 21:10, 18 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done - Please abide by WP:NPOV. 🗽Freedoxm🗽(talk · contribs) 02:54, 26 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Even with a neutral point of view, the displacement of Armenians is similar to Displacement of Serbs during Operation Storm 1995, Displacement of Bosniaks in the Bosnian War, the Arabs during the Nakhba, they are argued as genocides therefore it would be colonization. Even if you do not consider it genocide from a factual and nonbiased prospective it very clearly is an act of ethnic cleansing which would also make it colonisation. Roc1233 (Talk | Edits) 01:02, 24 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Even if you do not consider it genocide I didn't say that I don't consider it as a genocide. (See their contribs on why I rejected it. They even in fact started to "advocate for the renaming of Stepanakert to Khankendi". In this case then, why are you switching topics and assuming that I don't recognize the Armenian genocide? Yes, I do recognize the Armenian genocide, but all I did was request a move since Azer took the city over. If you press on the link that I provided, it shows the IP's contributions contain non-WP:NPOV edits and show that they are sided with Azerbaijan. Freedoxm (talk · contribs) 01:49, 24 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I wasn't talking about the Armenian genocide. And I should have checked his contribs that was neglectful on my part. Roc1233 (Talk | Edits) 01:53, 24 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Move:

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This closing statement, I believe, was invalid. It is clear that 8 users supported the move, but 7 opposed. This should have taken longer or it should have been moved. Freedoxm (talk · contribs) 00:50, 5 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Then perhaps you should have tried talking to me first, as the move review instructions say. Requested moves are not a vote. The closing instructions at WP:RMCI clearly say, Once a move request has been open for the full seven days, it may be closed at any time by an uninvolved editor. As the nominator, you are not allowed to touch the close without permission, as you are involved. Furthermore, you shouldn't touch other people's comments in general per the talk page guidelines. Rotideypoc41352 (talk · contribs) 01:19, 5 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
WP:NOTAVOTE. Your argument was that this was the common name and evidence to the contrary was provided. Mellk (talk) 05:22, 5 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 12 May 2025

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The official name of the city is Khankendi so the title of the article being “Stepanakert” makes no sense. 2001:1530:1002:4BD0:464:7115:842A:4292 (talk) 12:49, 12 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done: Per the requested move discussion above, which found there is no consensus to move the article at this time. Day Creature (talk) 15:57, 12 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion

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The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 09:07, 19 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Name of this article needs to be changed

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The city is an Azerbaijani city and its official name is Khankendi. There is already an article about the Stepankert during Artsakh invasion. By resisting against change the name of article, Wiki is damaging its reliability as a credible and fact-based information source. Even Google map has changed the name of city. I believe majority Christian editors of Wiki top editors are detached from international laws and reality and letting their personal biased opinion to damage their professional behaviour. In the age of AI and presence of several rival information sources, Wikipedia cannot thrive if you keep this unprofessional behaviour. But unfortunately seems that there is not enough people among chief editors that can see things objectively. So good luck ignoring the common sense. Wikibiryalanmakinesi (talk) 05:24, 5 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Per previous move discussions, there is no consensus to move. Mellk (talk) 10:27, 5 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
You can literally put any subject in the world and there will not be any consensus about it. A encyclopaedia is not about consensus, it's about the facts. As I said earlier, this platform has become biased activist's platform rather than a fact-based honest encyclopedia. Wikibiryalanmakinesi (talk) 17:28, 5 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
The arguments for and against renaming the page were already laid out. I should note that per WP:GS/AA, you are only limited to posting constructive comments on the talk page. There are other websites to rant about Wikipedia, not here. Mellk (talk) 17:32, 5 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@ This will change whether if you want it or not. You better mind your language. Otherwise I will report you. Wikibiryalanmakinesi (talk) 05:51, 15 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
You also better read WP:GS/AA. Mellk (talk) 16:35, 15 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@Mellk Who said you that rant about Wikipedia is prohibited in Wikipedia? Zohrab Javad (talk) 12:31, 23 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
We have WP:NOTAFORUM. The purpose of this talk page is to discuss improvements to the article Stepanakert. Saying that other editors are detached from reality and that Wikipedia is unprofessional is off-topic. You can read WP:TALK for more information. Also, per WP:GS/AA, non-extended confirmed editors can only post constructive comments. Mellk (talk) 12:32, 23 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Also, per WP:GS/AA, non-extended confirmed editors can only post constructive comments.
Not only non-extended confirmed editors, but all editors, including administrators by the way can post only constructive comments. Zohrab Javad (talk) 12:40, 23 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion

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The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 17:37, 26 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

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