Soviet Union Defiance in the Streets

Armenians challenge Moscow in a territorial dispute

Rarely, if ever, had the Soviet Union seen such huge and persistent protests. Day after day, large crowds filled the central square of Yerevan, capital of the Soviet Armenian Republic. About 115 miles to the east, similar throngs clogged the streets of Stepanakert, capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region, which is mainly populated by ethnic Armenians. In both cities the protesters voiced the same demand: that the Armenian Republic be permitted to annex Nagorno-Karabakh, now part of the Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan. "We've reached our limit," said a Yerevan resident by telephone late last week. "If this is a time for...

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