“There’s some fresh produce available,” one resident told Eurasianet by telephone, “but shelves with eggs and other things usually brought in from Armenia are now bare.” Meanwhile, food stands at the market fry up batches of jingalov hats, a flatbread stuffed with herbs that has traditionally been a way to use ingredients at hand in times of famine and war.

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The protests on the Lachin Corridor ostensibly began over claims that the Karabakh Armenians were “illegally” extracting gold from mines in the area and refusing requests for an inspection of the environmental impact. However, an investigation by RFE/RL found that few if any of those demonstrating have any record of eco-activism. Environmental slogans have given way to nationalist ones, and several of the protesters have been photographed giving the Turkish nationalist Gray Wolves hand gesture.

A number of foreign states have moved to condemn the blockade, implying that Azerbaijan is deliberately orchestrating the crisis. “The closure of the Lachin Corridor has severe humanitarian implications and sets back the peace process,” United States State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a December 13 statement. “We call on the government of Azerbaijan to restore free movement through the corridor. The way forward is through negotiations.”

At the same time, the European Union, which struck a deal with Baku this summer to boost energy imports from the gas-rich South Caucasus state, has pressed the government to end the ongoing “distress to the local population” and reiterated the need for “dialogue and consultations with the parties involved.”

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For the time being though, many Karabakh Armenians are defiant. “It’s like living in a cage – people are running around town looking for medicine while young mothers are helping each other get hold of baby food,” said Gaya Sarkisyan, a 28-year-old office worker from Stepanakert.