[5] The name Martuni originates from the nom de guerre of Armenian Bolshevik revolutionary and official Alexander Miasnikian.

The population of the town, grouped into kolkhozes, largely occupied itself with raising livestock, grape growing, wheat cultivation, and gardening.

In early February 1992, Vazgen Sargsyan, then Defence Minister of Armenia, appointed Monte Melkonian as Chief of Headquarters and assigned him to lead the defense of Martuni and the surrounding regions.

[11] From the very first days of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war (started on 27 September 2020), Martuni was subjected to artillery shelling by the armed forces of Azerbaijan.

[12][13] On 13 February 2021, the specialists of the International Mine Action Center of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation completed the clearance of the territory in the Martuni region.

[14] On 1 March, a block-modular town was commissioned for the residence of military personnel of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.

[17] The town has a house of culture commonly called "The Opera", and the Church of St. Nerses the Great, opened in 2004.