The book “Armenia, December ’88”

The photograph shows the title page of the book “Armenia, December ’88”, published in 1990 in Yerevan by the Hayastan publishing house. On the left-hand page is a photograph of an elderly woman holding her hands together.

On 7 December 1988, at 11:41 local time, the Spitak earthquake struck the north-west of the Armenian SSR. The epicentre was near the town of Spitak, and the magnitude was about 6.8. According to official figures, more than 25,000 people died, about 19,000 were disabled and more than 500,000 were left homeless. Spitak was almost completely destroyed, and Leninakan (Gyumri), Kirovakan (Vanadzor), Stepanavan and about 400 other settlements were badly damaged. The disaster gave rise to a powerful international movement of solidarity.