was so deeply embedded among Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh that the region was almost universally regarded as an integral part of Armenia rather than a distinct entity. Nagorno-Karabakh was unique in the Soviet Union as the only autonomous region whose ethnic majority matched that of a neighboring republic (Armenia) but was not allowed to join it.

Building on these grievances, Armenian intellectuals within the Karabakh Movement also rejected the long-standing belief that Armenia's membership