The Karabakh Movement of 1988: The Beginning of the Modern Conflict

In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. His policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) gradually created opportunities for public discussion of previously suppressed political grievances.

Across the Soviet Union, nationalist movements began demanding greater cultural rights, political autonomy, and eventually independence.

In Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian activists organized petitions and public demonstrations calling for the region's transfer from Soviet Azerbaijan to Soviet Armenia.

February 20, 1988: The regional council's appeal

On February 20, 1988, the regional Soviet of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast voted to petition the supreme soviets of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and the Soviet Union to consider transferring the autonomous oblast to Armenia.

The vote was a major political event. It demonstrated that the demand was no longer confined to informal petitions or intellectual circles but had been formally expressed by the region's governing body.

The appeal did not itself legally transfer the territory.

Soviet authorities opposed changing the republic boundaries, while Azerbaijani leaders rejected the proposal.

Mass demonstrations followed in Stepanakert and Yerevan.

In Armenia, the movement grew into one of the largest public mobilizations of the late Soviet period. Hundreds of thousands of people participated in demonstrations supporting the Karabakh Armenians.

The movement's central demand was commonly described by Armenians as Miatsum, meaning unification.

The emergence of the Karabakh Committee

A group of Armenian intellectuals and political activists organized the Karabakh Committee, which helped coordinate demonstrations and public demands.

Important figures associated with the movement included Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Vazgen Manukyan, and other political activists who later played major roles in Armenia's independence.

Although the movement initially focused on Nagorno-Karabakh, it became increasingly connected to broader demands for Armenian political sovereignty, democratic reform, and freedom from Soviet control.

February 22, 1988: Violence near Askeran

Only two days after the regional council's appeal, clashes occurred near Askeran between Armenian residents and Azerbaijanis traveling toward Stepanakert from the direction of Aghdam.

Two Azerbaijanis were killed.

These deaths became important in the escalating cycle of fear, anger, and communal mobilization.

Rumors spread rapidly, often exceeding the verified facts.

The Soviet authorities proved unable to control the political confrontation or prevent further violence.