The Karabakh movement (), also known as the Artsakh movement (), was a national mass movement in

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and Nagorno-Karabakh from 1988 to 1991 that advocated for the transfer of the mainly Armenian-populated

Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) was an Autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union, autonomous oblast within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic that was created on July 7, 1923. Its capital was the city of Stepanakert. The majori ...

of neighboring

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

to the jurisdiction of Armenia. Initially, the movement was entirely devoid of any

anti-Soviet Anti-Sovietism or anti-Soviet sentiment are activities that were actually or allegedly aimed against the Soviet Union or government power within the Soviet Union. Three common uses of the term include the following: * Anti-Sovietism in inter ...

sentiment and did not call for independence of Armenia. The Karabakh Committee, a group of intellectuals, led the movement from 1988 to 1989. It transformed into the Pan-Armenian National Movement (HHSh) by 1989 and won majority in the 1990 parliamentary election. In 1991, both Armenia and

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh (, ; ) is a region in Azerbaijan, covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Part of the greater region of Karabakh, it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik. Its ter ...

declared independence from the Soviet Union. The intense fighting known as the

first Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

turned into a full-scale war by 1992.

Background

1987

*September: the Union for National Self-Determination, the first non-Communist party, established in Armenia by Paruyr Hayrikyan *October 17: the first protests concerning ecological issues held in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

*October 18: a minor rally on Freedom Square, Yerevan for the unification of Karabakh with Armenia

1988

*February 13: First demonstration in

Stepanakert Stepanakert officially Khankendi is a city in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. It was the capital city of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh prior to the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in ...

. Traditionally considered the start of the movement. *February 18–26: Major demonstrations held in

for the unification of Karabakh with Armenia. *February 20: the NKAO Supreme Council issued a request to transfer the region to Soviet Armenia *February 22–23: Local Armenians and Azerbaijanis clash in Askeran, resulting in several deaths *February 26: Demonstrations paused after

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

's asked for time to develop a position. *February 27–29: Sumgait pogrom starts, Armenians of Azerbaijan start to leave in large numbers *March 9: Gorbachev meets with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan Karen Demirchyan and Kamran Baghirov in Moscow to discuss the public demands of unification of Armenia and Karabakh. *March 22: Over 100,000 people discontented with the tendencies demonstrate in Yerevan. *March 23: The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union rejects the demand of NKAO Regional Party. *March 25: Gorbachev rejects Armenian claims, forbade demonstrations in Yerevan. *March 26: Despite not being authorized by the Moscow government, tens of thousands demonstrate in Yerevan. *March 30: NKAO Communist Party adopts a resolution demanding unification. *April 24: Hundreds of thousands of Armenians march to the genocide memorial in Yerevan. *May 21: Karen Demirchyan resigns. *May 28:

Flag of Armenia The national flag of Armenia (), also known as the Tricolour (), consists of three horizontal bands of equal width, red on the top, blue in the middle, and orange on the bottom. The Armenian Supreme Soviet adopted the current flag on 24 August 1 ...

first raised in front of Matenadaran. *June 15: Soviet Armenian Supreme Council votes in favor of the unification of NKAO. *June 17: Soviet Azerbaijani Supreme Council opposes the transfer of NKAO to Armenia. *June 28–29: Conference of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union disapproves Armenian claims to NKAO. *July 5: Zvartnots Airport clash, the Soviet troops confronted by protesters in Zvartnots Airport, one man left dead, tens injured. *July 12: NKAO Soviet Council votes in favor of unification with Armenia. *July 18: Soviet Supreme Council refuses Armenian claims. *July 21: Paruyr Hayrikyan deported to Ethiopia. *Autumn: Around 150,000 Azerbaijanis of Armenia start to leave in large numbers. *September: State of emergency declared in

after Armenian and Azerbaijanis clash. *November: Kirovabad pogrom *November 7: Hundreds of thousands demonstrate in Yerevan to support the Karabakh Committee. *November 22: Soviet Armenian Supreme Council recognizes the Armenian Genocide. *November 24: State of emergency declared in Yerevan. *December 7: Armenian earthquake. *December 10: Karabakh Committee members arrested, sent to Moscow.

1989

*March 16: Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant shut down. *May 31: Karabakh Committee members freed. *December 1: Soviet Armenian Supreme Council and NKAO Supreme Council declare the unification of the two entitie

1990

*January 13–19: Baku pogrom, Pogrom of Armenians in Baku. *May 20: 1990 Armenian parliamentary election, pro-independence members form majority. *August 4: Levon Ter-Petrosyan elected chairman of the Supreme Council, ''de facto'' leader of Armenia. *August 23: Soviet Armenian Supreme Council declared independence.

1991

*April 30 – May 15: ''

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

'': Soviet and Azeri forces deport thousands of Armenians from Shahumyan during

Operation Ring Operation Ring (; , ), known in Azerbaijan as Operation Chaykand () was the codename for the May 1991 military operation conducted by the Soviet Army, Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Soviet Union), Ministry of Internal Af ...

. *August 19–21:

1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt The 1991 Soviet coup attempt, also known as the August Coup, was a failed attempt by hardliners of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) to Coup d'état, forcibly seize control of the country from Mikhail Gorbachev, who was President ...

*September 2:

Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Artsakh ( ), officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh ( ), was a list of states with limited recognition, breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory was internationally recognised as part of Azerbai ...

proclaimed in Stepanakert.

Miatsum

''Miatsum'' () was a concept and a slogan used during the Karabakh movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which led to the

in 1992–1994. The idea originated in an era of realignment among the

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

who were unhappy that the area inhabited predominantly by an Armenian population has remained under the jurisdiction of

. From the 1970s, with the support of the first secretary of the Central Committee of Communist Party of Azerbaijan SSR,

Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev (10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was an Azerbaijani politician who was a Soviet party boss in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic from 1969 to 1982, and the third president of Azerbaijan from October 1993 to ...

, a policy of settling NKAO by

Azerbaijanis Azerbaijanis (; , ), Azeris (, ), or Azerbaijani Turks (, ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group living mainly in the Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan region of northwestern Iran and the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. They are predomin ...

was being implemented. The Armenian pogroms in Sumgait and

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

only exacerbated these trends, which led to military clashes between troops of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the forces of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army (Artsakh).

References

Bibliography

* * {{navboxes bottom 1988 protests 1989 protests 1990 protests 1991 protests 1988 in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic 1989 in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic 1990 in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic 1991 in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Protests in Armenia Protests in Azerbaijan Protests in the Soviet Union Armenian irredentism First Nagorno-Karabakh War Politics of the Republic of Artsakh Dissolution of the Soviet Union Armenia–Azerbaijan relations