"You either love Artsakh, or have never been in Artsakh." This is how our conversation begins with Tigran Varag, a 38-year-old mountaineer from Yerevan. He’s the leader of the hiking group Armenian Geographic and recently climbed Kachaghakaberd Fortress.
Siranush Sargsyan is a freelance journalist from Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh, now based in Armenia. She covers human rights, politics and women in conflict zones, with work featured in outlets such as the BBC, Newsweek, Open Democracy, IWPR, The Armenian Weekly and other publications. Previously, she was Chief Specialist in Education and Political Science on the standing committee in Artsakh's parliament and taught History at Machkalashen school. Sargsyan holds degrees in History and Political Science and completed the Tavitian Scholar Program at Tufts University, as well as a journalism internship at Taz media.