In more recent times , in July 1988 , during the Karabakh movement , the killing of an Armenian man and the injury of tens of others by the Soviet army in a violent clash at Zvartnots Airport near Yerevan sparked anti-Russian and anti-Soviet sentiment in the Armenian public . An anti-Russian wave occurred following the mass murder of an Armenian family of 7 in Gyumri by a Russian serviceman stationed at the Russian base there . The sale of weaponry to Azerbaijan by Russia ( worth some $ 4 billion ) has caused some anti-Russian sentiments within Armenia . In April 2016 hundreds of protesters demonstrated near the Russian embassy in Yerevan to demand Russian to stop weapons sales to Azerbaijan and " fulfill its obligations as a strategic ally . " Azerbaijanis , in general , have a strong anti-Russian sentiment , particularly due to Russian occupation for almost 200 years , and as Soviet Union , behind the brutal 1990 Black January massacre prior to Azerbaijani independence ; or even its complicated role over the Nagorno-Karabakh War between her and Armenia . Under Abulfaz Elchibey , the relations between Russia and Azerbaijan were strained due to his anti-Russian policies
mass murder
2015 Gyumri massacre
Anti-Russian sentiment