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Politics
Ronald Suny, Professor of History and Political Science, University of Michigan

Death of the Armenian dream in Nagorno-Karabakh was predictable but not inevitable

Refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh. Middle East Images /AFP via Getty Images)

Thirty-five years ago, more than 100,000 Armenian protesters took to the streets to convince Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that Nagorno-Karabakh – an ethnically Armenian enclave stuck geographically in the neighboring republic of Soviet Azerbaijan – ought to be joined to Armenia.

In recent days, more than 100,000 people have taken to the streets again. But this time it is Karabakh Armenians fleeing their homes to find refuge in Armenia. They have been decisively defeated by the Azerbaijanis in a short and brutal military operation in the enclave. Their dream of independence appears over; what is left is the fallout.

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