During the Gorbachev era of the 1980s , with the reforms of Glasnost and Perestroika , Armenians began to demand better environmental care for their country , opposing the pollution that Soviet-built factories brought . Tensions also developed between Soviet Azerbaijan and its autonomous district of Nagorno-Karabakh , a majority-Armenian region . About 484,000 Armenians lived in Azerbaijan in 1970 . The Armenians of Karabakh demanded unification with Soviet Armenia . Peaceful protests in Yerevan supporting the Karabakh Armenians were met with anti-Armenian pogroms in the Azerbaijani city of Sumgait . Compounding Armenia 's problems was a devastating earthquake in 1988 with a moment magnitude of 7.2
devastating earthquake
1988 Armenian earthquake
Armenia