Catastrophes do not occur by accident - they ripen over years, sometimes over decades, through unnoticed decisions, concessions, and mistakes that later become fatal. Today, as Armenia is living through perhaps the most dramatic period of its modern history, we return to the very beginning to understand where exactly the point of no return was reached. As part of the project we announced earlier, we are launching a series of articles that will reconstruct step by step the political, geopolitical, and human logic of events: from the first days of the late-1980s rallies to the decisions that led the country to its current state.

A recently released archive of letters and meeting minutes has revealed previously concealed aspects of the Karabakh negotiation process, delivering yet another shock to the public. Despite claiming to present the full story, the government continues to publish highly selective and one-sided documents. Critics point to the deliberate omission of a crucial document signed in 2001 in Key West, which proposed transferring several regions surrounding Artsakh to Azerbaijan in exchange for establishing a transport corridor for Armenia. Such selective handling of historical records casts serious doubt on the credibility of the official narrative.