Today marks the 37th anniversary of the Karabakh movement.

On February 20, 1998, an extraordinary session of the Council of People's Deputies of the NKAO in Stepanakert adopted a decision to appeal to Yerevan and Baku with a demand to withdraw the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast from the Azerbaijani SSR and return it to the Armenian SSR. After the decision, a demonstration in support of the Artsakh Armenians began in Yerevan on the same day.

The Theater Square, where the first rally was held with thousands of people participating, became the place of gatherings of the Artsakh movement after some time and was later renamed Freedom Square.

The creation of the "Karabakh" committee was already announced at the rally on February 26. The first composition consisted of nine people, figures originally from NK, as well as party representatives.

However, after some time, the composition of the "Karabakh" committee underwent radical changes. On May 19, Igor Muradyan was dismissed from the committee. His speech at the rally called for armed struggle, contrary to the movement's strategy of not violating any laws.

The newly formed 11-member "Karabakh" committee, consisting of Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Babken Ararktsyan, Vano Siradeghyan, Vazgen Manukyan, Hambardzum Galstyan, Samvel Gevorgyan, Rafael Ghazaryan, Samson Ghazaryan, Alexan Hakobyan, Ashot Manucharyan, Vano Siradeghyan, and David Vardanyan, led the independence movement.

In March-May 1988, the movement's agenda was exclusively Karabakh's reunification with Armenia. However, already in May, in addition to the Karabakh issue, demands for Armenia's democratization and sovereignty were also put forward.