
In July 1923, the regions of the Azerbaijan SSR with a predominantly Armenian population (Shusha, Jabrayil and parts of the Jevanshir and Zangezur counties) were merged into an autonomous entity (the Autonomous Region of Nagorno-Karabakh (AONK) (since 1937 — the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region (NKAO))
At the same time, some territories in which Armenians also formed an ethnic majority remained outside the AONK and were included in two districts of the AZSSR bordering on the NKAO