Gugark pogrom

'Big Black Church') by its Azerbaijani inhabitants,[9] was one of the districts of the Armenian SSR, then part of the Soviet Union.

Following the dissolution of Soviet Union, the district became part of the independent Republic of Armenia, replaced with the Lori Province.

The authorities tried to protect the local Azerbaijanis, putting soldiers and police officers on the roads leading to Azerbaijani-inhabited villages.

[21] A former chairman of a collective farm in the region, Stepan Ayvazyan stated that the culprits had burnt the bodies of the dead in Shahumyan to prevent their identification.

[19] The Armenian radio reported that the Communist Party leader and head of the parliament in the Gugark area had shown "political short-sightedness", and that the Soviet government had relieved them of their duties.

[19] The first Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan, Ismat Gayibov, criticized Soviet authorities for not paying enough attention to the events, since only four people had been arrested for the killings.

According to the former prosecutor of Vanadzor, Grigori Shahverdyan, the attacks were organised by small groups of young Armenians.

[20] The chairwoman of the Azerbaijani National Committee of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, Arzu Abdulayeva, stated that the events in Sumgait were very similar to what happened in Gugark.