Ethnic Tensions Rise in Sumgait Amid Nagorno-Karabakh Protests
Growing unrest in Azerbaijan's industrial city as Armenian demands for Nagorno-Karabakh unification spark counter-demonstrations
SUMGAIT, Azerbaijan SSR - Ethnic tensions are escalating in this industrial city north of Baku as thousands of Azerbaijanis take to the streets in response to Armenian demands for the transfer of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.
The demonstrations, which began as peaceful gatherings, have grown increasingly hostile following reports from Stepanakert of Armenian protests demanding unification with Soviet Armenia. Local Communist Party officials struggle to maintain order as crowds surge through the city’s central squares.
“They want to take our land,” shouted one demonstrator, reflecting widespread Azerbaijani anger over the territorial dispute. The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, while predominantly Armenian, has been part of Azerbaijan since 1923.
Factory workers from Sumgait’s chemical plants have joined the protests, with production halted at several major facilities. The city, home to a significant Armenian minority of approximately 18,000 people, has seen sporadic confrontations between ethnic groups.
Local Armenian residents report growing fear and intimidation. “We’ve lived here peacefully for decades, but now neighbors look at us differently,” said one Armenian teacher who requested anonymity.
Soviet authorities have dispatched additional militia units to the city, but their presence has done little to calm the situation. As night falls, the streets remain tense, with groups of young men gathering on corners and Armenian families staying indoors.
The escalating crisis in Sumgait reflects the broader ethnic tensions unleashed by Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies of glasnost and perestroika, which have allowed long-suppressed national grievances to surface across the Soviet Union.