In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became the new general secretary of the CPSU, implementing a planned reform of the Soviet Union.

This came at a time when support for the integration of Nagorno Karabakh into the Armenian SSR was high, with the movement for this change dating back to a petition in 1963.

[2] A couple days later, Boris Kevorkov, who served as the unpopular First Secretary of the Nagorno-Karabakh Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, was fired by the Supreme Soviet.

The actions of the Soviets saw the events at Sumgait to occur as well as marked beginning of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.

[5] In 2020, Artsakh President Bako Sahakyan described it as "the symbol of our people’s courage, determination and love for freedom, our nation-wide solidarity".