Soviet National Policy: The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict as a Manifestation of the Systemic Crisis of the Soviet Model of Interethnic Relations (1988–1991)

Abstract

The article analyzes the origins and key features of the escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (1988–1991) as one of the most significant manifestations of the systemic crisis of the national policy of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) during the period of glasnost, perestroika, and democratization. It demonstrates that the events of February 1988, particularly the mass rallies in Yerevan in support of Nagorno-Karabakh and the subsequent violent clashes, marked the initial stage of escalation, which rapidly acquired an inter-republican and systemic character. It is emphasized that the pogroms in Sumgait revealed the inability of the Party and Soviet authorities to prevent violence under conditions of growing disintegration within the USSR. The response of the союз center is characterized as contradictory and delayed, which contributed to the loss of control over developments in the South Caucasus.

Particular attention is paid to the increasing interethnic violence, the emergence of refugee flows, localized armed incidents, and administrative-military measures taken by the союз authorities, including the imposition of a state of emergency and direct governance of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. These measures not only failed to stabilize the socio-political situation in the region but also further politicized the conflict and eroded trust in central authorities. It is established that the key systemic factor in the escalation of the conflict was the institutional inability of the Soviet leadership to reconcile formally declared principles of autonomy with the actual practice of centralized governance. In the context of glasnost, democratization, and perestroika, both central and local authorities proved incapable of responding effectively to the deterioration of the ethno-political situation, resulting in a «legitimacy vacuum» at the level of republics and autonomous entities. It is argued that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was not a local phenomenon but a structural indicator of the exhaustion of the Soviet model of interethnic relations.