Over the following decades Armenia pressed for the inclusion of NKAO within the Armenian SSR, notably in the post-Second World War period when the USSR was pushing its territorial claims against Turkey (later dropped) and again in 1960 following the transfer of Crimea from Russia to Ukraine. In 1965 large protests took place in Yerevan calling for greater recognition of the Armenian genocide, with many also calling for the transfer of NKAO to Armenia. Allegations of discrimination against Armenians in the NKAO by Azerbaijan's government continued, with many claiming that Azerbaijanis were being encouraged to move so as to alter the demographic balance in their favour. Mikhail Gorbechev’s announcement of "glasnost" and "perestroika" in 1987 allowed these frustrations to be publicly vented, and Armenians began openly pressing for the transfer of NKAO to Armenia. Protests escalated throughout 1988 with increasingly violence, culminating in the Sumgait pogrom in which 32 Armenians were killed. The violence caught Moscow unawares – they introduced direct rule in January 1989, and sent in troops to Azerbaijan in 1990 following further violence.