The Karabakh Movement and the Revival of Armenian Independence

56. Gorbachev's Reforms

In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the Soviet Union.

His policies of perestroika and glasnost sought to reform the Soviet political and economic system.

These reforms created greater space for public debate, political mobilization, and criticism of government institutions.

Across the Soviet Union, unresolved national questions began to reemerge.

In Armenia, the status of Nagorno-Karabakh became the central issue around which a mass national movement developed.

57. The Historical Background of Nagorno-Karabakh

Nagorno-Karabakh was a mountainous region with a historically substantial Armenian population.

During the Soviet period, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast was established in 1923 within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic.

The arrangement reflected early Soviet decisions concerning the territorial organization of the South Caucasus.

Armenian residents and political activists periodically challenged the region's administrative status.

By the late 1980s, demands for its transfer to Soviet Armenia had become a major political movement.

58. The Mass Demonstrations of 1988

In February 1988, demonstrations began in Stepanakert and Yerevan calling for the transfer of Nagorno-Karabakh from Soviet Azerbaijan to Soviet Armenia.

The movement rapidly attracted mass participation.

Demonstrators gathered in Yerevan's central squares, demanding political change and recognition of Armenian national rights.

The Karabakh Committee emerged as an influential leadership group.

Among its prominent members was Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who later became the first president of independent Armenia.

The movement initially focused on Nagorno-Karabakh but gradually expanded into a broader challenge to Soviet authority.

59. The Sumgait Pogrom

In late February 1988, anti-Armenian violence erupted in Sumgait, Azerbaijan.

Armenian residents were attacked, killed, and subjected to serious abuse.

Soviet authorities officially recorded 32 deaths, including 26 Armenians and six Azerbaijanis, although the violence and its full consequences remain subjects of historical discussion.

The pogrom intensified fear and hostility between Armenian and Azerbaijani communities.

It also strengthened Armenian distrust of Soviet authorities, whose response was widely regarded by Armenians as inadequate.

The violence contributed to a broader cycle of ethnic conflict and displacement.

60. The Spitak Earthquake of December 1988

On December 7, 1988, a devastating earthquake struck northern Armenia.

The earthquake destroyed large parts of Spitak and severely damaged Leninakan, now Gyumri, and other communities.

Approximately 25,000 people were killed, according to widely cited estimates.

Hundreds of thousands were left homeless.

The disaster occurred during an already unstable political period.

International assistance arrived from numerous countries.

The earthquake revealed serious weaknesses in Soviet construction standards, emergency management, and infrastructure.

It also encouraged humanitarian cooperation between Armenia and diaspora communities.

The reconstruction burden continued long after independence.

61. From National Mobilization to Independence

By 1989 and 1990, the Armenian national movement increasingly demanded political sovereignty.

The Soviet Union was experiencing economic crisis, institutional breakdown, and rising nationalist movements in multiple republics.

The Armenian National Movement emerged as a major political force.

In 1990, elections to the Armenian Supreme Council brought reformist and national movement representatives into positions of power.

Levon Ter-Petrosyan became chairman of the Supreme Council in August 1990.

The political transformation marked a decisive transition from protest to governmental authority.

Armenian leaders began taking formal steps toward independence.