Shishkert, Syunik

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Shishkert (Armenian: Շիշկերտ) is a village in the Kapan Municipality, Syunik Marz (Province) of the Republic of Armenia, about 16 km southwest of Kapan, on the left bank of the left-hand Shishkert tributary of the Tsav River, 12 km northwest of the village of Tsav, at an altitude of about 1820 m above sea level.
Under the same name, it was included in the Zangezur province of Elizavetpol province of Tsarist Russia. During the Soviet years, it was part of the Zangezur province of the Armenian SSR, and from 1930, it was part of the Kapan region. Since 1995, it has been part of the Syunik region of the Republic of Armenia.
The village is surrounded by dense forests, from where the Basuta River begins, which flows through the villages of Tsav - Nerkin Hand and flows into the Araks River.
The village was one of the tax-paying villages of Tatev monastery and paid 10 units of tax. Later, the village was called Shishkert or Shket. The last name is more pronounced by the locals. Shishkert is mentioned in the history of "David Bek" by Ghukas Sebastasi, according to which the village was one of David Bek's military bases.
The local people fought victorious battles against the Khanate forces, keeping both the territory of the village and the province called Chavndur. Here, in the old cemetery of the village, Davit Bek's brave general Meghretsi Arakel, who according to tradition was the son-in-law of Shishkert village, is buried.
In the lower part of the old cemetery, at the edge of the valley, there is a tombstone on which a gourz is carved. It is Arakel's tombstone.
The history of the village has unknown pages. According to conversations, there was a time when the population left and settled in distant places. There is a hypothesis that the village was resettled by shepherds who came here from the village of Meghri Lichk. They noticed the church and ruined buildings buried in the road and bushes. They moved their families here, then invited those who wanted to live in Shishkert and breathed life into the ruins. It happened before the Russian-Persian war of 1826-1828. That is why the village had 82 inhabitants in the cameral (parish) description conducted by Tsarist Russia in 1832. Later, the population increased. The prominent Melik-Ohanjanians settled in Shishkert first, and after living here for some time, they moved to Meghri Kaler village. In 1840 in the cameral description, the Melik-Ohanjanians are listed in the village of Shishkert.
This mountain village stood out especially during Zangezur's struggle for existence. They fought many victorious battles against Muslim forces and the Red Army. Garegin Nzhdeh praised the devotees of Shishkertsi in Zangezur's war of existence.
Shishkert was the richest collective economy unit in the area during Soviet times.After the 1968 Zangezur earthquake, the village was moved to the Khachtap area of Tsav village at the request of the population. However, local people continued to work in Shishkert area rich in natural resources. The problem was set to restore the village. The government of Soviet Armenia started the restoration work. Residential houses were built, but the construction remained incomplete due to the Artsakh war.
According to the results of the RA 2011 census, the permanent population of Shishkert was 264, the current population was 229 people.