In 1989, a year after the 1988 Armenian earthquake that killed 25,000 people and left more than 500,000 homeless, along with the break out of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War and the rise of the Karabakh movement and nationalism, hundreds of thousands of Armenians were looking for some kind of temporary diversion from the devastation and feeling the importance of national activities. More than 110,000 fans packed the Hrazdan stadium to hear revolutionary and patriotic songs performed by the Armenian famous singer Harout Pamboukjian. Then-Minister of Culture Yuri Melik-Ohanjanian remarked this was the highest-attended performance in the history of Armenia.