Hundreds of thousands gathered in Stepanakert in 1988 to demand Artsakh’s reunification with Armenia
BY RAZMIG SARKISSIAN AND ALIK OURFALIAN
The Artsakh movement was born thirty years ago. A movement grounded in the ever-present notions of justice and fairness, what was rightful and necessary. A people, exercising their basic human rights, the right of self-determination, to freely determine their political status and pursue their economic, social, and cultural development.
On February 13, 1988, the people of Artsakh gathered for a rally in Stepanakert. What precipitated quickly after that would lead to the liberation of Artsakh after what had been nearly 70 years of forced Soviet and Azeri rule.
The South Caucasus, which had been under some form of imperial rule by Russia, Turkey, or Persia since the 14th century, experienced a power vacuum after the First World War.
After Armenia, and with it, Artsakh, became Sovietized in 1920, the Caucasian Bureau of the Soviet Communist party decided to include Artsakh within Azerbaijan’s territory, partly because Moscow was careful not to upset Turkey, a possible strategic ally. In theory, part of Artsakh’s territory, dubbed the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, was to be self-governing. But the people of Artsakh were nevertheless subject to Azeri oppression. A region inhabited by an overwhelming 95 percent Armenian population, taken from Armenia, given to Azerbaijan. Just like that.
The conflict was left in a semi-dormant state until Mikhail Gorbachev came into power in the late 1980s, and brought the policy of perestroika along with him. Perestroika promised the liberalization of Soviet society and a more democratic method of decision making. Traditionally, the tightly-controlled state media and strong centralization of power left little room for the population to demonstrate any unrest or agitate any disputes. As Marina Kurkchiyan, author of “The Karabagh Conflictâ€
