Armenia earthquake 1988 city. Tears of Armenia. History of the Spitak earthquake. Church of All Saints

In 2016, the film "Earthquake" was released, which tells about the events of the 1988 Spitak earthquake in Armenia. The city of Spitak was completely destroyed in half an hour, and with it settlements Gyumri, Vanadzor, Stepanavan. This film tells directly about the city of Leninakan, which is now called Gyumri. We came here to see the remains of the ruins and chat with the locals who caught this terrible time.

In the center of the city, everything has been rebuilt a long time ago, the city hall is located on Vardanants Square.

And in the center of the square, the monument to Vardan Mamikonyan is the national hero of Armenia, the leader of the Armenian uprising against the Iranian Sassanids, who tried to impose the Zoroastrian religion.

To the question of the locals in the cafe: "What to see in your place?" Everyone answered: "We have beautiful churches." There are even two of them in this area.
Church of the Virgin.

And the Amenaprkich Church, which is still being restored.

By the way, this is how it looked after the earthquake.

But we are not entirely interested. Having learned the direction of movement to the area where the devastation remained after those times, we went to look for the ruins.

To be honest, even without an earthquake, the city is not in the best condition, although it is the second largest city in Armenia.

Electrician's nightmare

Slowly, we got to that area, destroyed, but never restored.

It seems that the earthquake took place here not 29 years ago, but yesterday.

The government set a period of 2 years for restoration, however, after 3 years the Soviet Union collapsed, in connection with which the period was pushed back. Actually, the consequences of the 1988 earthquake have not been eliminated so far. Remarkably, the Union threw all its financial and labor resources to help the victims of the disaster in Spitak: more than 45,000 volunteers came from the republics. Tens of thousands of parcels from all over Soviet Union arrived in the city and surrounding settlements as humanitarian aid.

During this earthquake, about 30,000 people died and more than 140,000 people became disabled.

And someone dropped everything and left.

It is noticeable here how one strong wall of the house was preserved, and a completely different wall was built up to it from the remnants of bricks.

This house just got a wall

There are also beautiful buildings nearby.

This memorial park

There is a memorial sign here, but its meaning is almost impossible to understand.

And on the other side of the park new monument"To innocent victims, merciful hearts", depicting a heap of people and concrete blocks.

The inscription on a stone slab nearby in Russian and Armenian reads:

“At 11:41 a.m. on December 7, on a foggy and gloomy December day in 1988, the mountains shuddered and the earth shook with great force.

Cities, villages, schools, kindergartens and industrial enterprises were instantly destroyed. More than a million people were left homeless.

During this tragic hour, 25,000 people died, 140,000 became disabled, and 16,000 were pulled out from under the rubble.

And the living ones were looking for their loved ones among those buried under the ruins.

And the children called their parents, and the parents called their children.

And there were thousands with merciful hearts with them in this grief.

And all the republics of the USSR and many countries of the world extended a helping hand to the Armenian people.

Deep people's grief for the innocent victims of the Spitak earthquake.

May the Lord rest their souls.

Eternal memory to them!

Along the square, tombstones were erected for the dead.

In front of the church you can see the collapsed dome.

One of the interesting acquaintances happened at a gas station on the outskirts of the city in the direction of Yerevan. I was surprised by a very strange way, when refueling, they counted not liters, but kilograms of gas. First, the guy refueled the balloon, which was on the scales, then poured it from the balloon into the car. This whole procedure took about half an hour. During this time, we managed to talk with him about the earthquake. At that time he was about 10 years old, but he remembers these events very well. horrible dream. Then he told how many people from the fraternal republics came and helped to rebuild the city, they were then given new apartment. He spoke with great warmth about the USSR and was very sorry that this country no longer exists.

This terrible earthquake began on December 7, 1988 at 11 o'clock in the afternoon. The seismic stations of Armenia and other nearby countries recorded several earthquakes of destructive force. Without having time to realize what was happening, the Armenian capital lost telephone connection with Spitak, Leninakan and other cities and towns of the republic. In an instant, almost the entire northern part of Armenia fell silent - 40% of the entire country with a million people.

But 7 minutes after the earthquake, a military radio station suddenly appeared on the air, thanks to which junior sergeant Alexander Ksenofontov said in plain text that the population of Leninakan urgently needed medical assistance, since the city had undergone very great destruction, as a result of which there were too many wounded and dead. It sounded like a terrible SOS signal!

As well as during Chernobyl disaster, the authorities remained silent for a long time. They, as always, pretended to try to comprehend what was happening and take the right measures, and, realizing the scale of the disaster, did not want to realize their helplessness. And the trouble at that time did not wait for their comprehension: at this time it was necessary to provide assistance to the victims as quickly as possible, to dismantle the rubble and save barely alive people.

In addition, it was winter outside, and thousands of people were left without shelter, clothing, water and food. And just imagine that only in the late afternoon the radio announced with a meager message that an earthquake had occurred in Armenia in the morning. Why scarce? Because it did not say a word about the scale of the disaster, nor about the approximate number of dead and wounded.

But still, it should be recognized that the plane, along with surgeons and medicines on board, took off on the same day from Vnukovo airport. Having transferred to the helicopter in Yerevan, the brigade was in Leninakan by the evening. The arrivals were able to fully appreciate and understand the scale of the disaster only in the morning, when the first rays of the sun ran over the ruins and the bodies of the dead. Everything was plowed up, broken, as if someone with his huge hand was trying to mix the city with the earth. Leninakan was no more - instead of it - ruins and corpses.

Nearby towns and small towns were also affected by the earthquake. Everywhere one could see only heaps of rubble and walls with empty eye sockets of windows. And only the day after the earthquake in Armenia in 1988 destroyed part of the country, helicopters and planes began to arrive with essentials. The wounded were taken from Leninakan and sent to Yerevan hospitals.

A lot of people came to the aid of Armenia. About 50 thousand builders and several dozen doctors arrived. In that terrible month of means mass media never gave data on the number of victims in Armenia. And only 3 months later, the Council of Ministers provided journalists with official statistics, which stated that the earthquake that occurred in Armenia in 1988 destroyed 21 cities, 350 villages, among which 58 were completely destroyed and became uninhabitable. More than 250 thousand people were killed and the same number were wounded. More than 17% of the entire housing stock of the country was destroyed: 280 schools, 250 hospitals, several hundred preschool institutions and 200 enterprises were rendered unusable. In the end, 500,000 people were left homeless.

It should be said that she did not remain aloof from the tragedy, and which was famous throughout the world for its charity. She periodically brought clothes and medicines necessary to save people who fell into this terrible misfortune.

But the collapse of the Soviet Union negatively affected the fraternal restoration of Armenia, as a result of which the construction gradually began to subside. As a result, the once flourishing region of Armenia turned into a desert zone: hundreds of thousands of inhabitants left those places, leaving ruins and bitter memories in their native “homes”.

The earthquake in Armenia reminded of itself, with its ruins, for another ten years, and even now the country has not fully recovered from the consequences of the tragedy. After all, until now, about 18 thousand people still live in wooden temporary huts, having completely lost faith that the government has not forgotten about them.

More than twenty-six years ago (December 7, 1988) Armenia was shaken by a strong earthquake in the city of Spitak, which was completely destroyed in half an hour, and with it 58 surrounding villages. The settlements of Gyumri, Vanadzor, Stepanavan suffered. Minor destruction affected 20 cities and over 200 villages located at some distance from the epicenter.

The strength of the earthquake

At the same place, earthquakes have happened before - in 1679, 1840 and 1931, but they did not even reach 4 points. And in 1988, already in the summer, seismographs recorded fluctuations in the Spitak region and its environs at 3.5 points on the Richter scale.

The very same earthquake in Spitak, which occurred on December 7, had a force of 10 points at the epicenter (the highest mark of 12 points). Most of the republic was subject to shocks with a power of up to 6 points. Echoes of tremors were felt in Yerevan and Tbilisi.

Experts who assessed the scale of the disaster report that the amount of energy released from earth's crust equal to ten atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima. It is noteworthy that the blast wave that bypassed the Earth was recorded on several continents. Data in the report "Earthquake. Spitak, 1988" report that the total surface break was equal to 37 kilometers, and its displacement amplitudes were almost up to 170 cm.

Scale of the catastrophe

What are the official data characterizing this earthquake? Spitak-1988 is almost 30 thousand dead and more than 140 thousand disabled. The destruction that has affected industry and infrastructure is also disappointing. Among them is 600 km highways, 230 industrial enterprises, 410 medical institutions. Work has been stopped

The earthquake in Spitak caused great damage. The financiers of the world estimated it at almost 15 billion dollars, and the number of victims exceeded all the global averages for those affected by natural disasters. The Armenian authorities at that time were not able to independently eliminate the consequences of the tragedy, and all the republics of the USSR and many foreign states immediately joined the work.

Elimination of consequences: friendship of peoples and political motives

On December 7, surgeons who could work in military field conditions and rescuers from Russia flew to the crash site. In addition to them, doctors from the USA, Great Britain, Switzerland and France worked at the crash site. Donor blood and medicines were supplied by China, Japan and Italy, and came from more than 100 countries.

On December 10, the head of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, flew to the site of the tragedy (now it was ruins instead of a prosperous city). For the sake of helping people and monitoring the rescue process, he interrupted his visit to the United States.

Two days before Gorbachev's arrival, humanitarian aid arrived from Sochi. The helicopter carried everything necessary to save the lives of the victims and ... coffins. The last ones were missing.

The stadiums of the Spitak schools became heliports, hospitals, evacuation points and mortuaries at the same time.

Causes of the tragedy and ways out

Experts name the untimely and incomplete assessment of seismic vibrations in the region, shortcomings in the preparation of regulatory documents and the poor quality of construction work and medical care as the reasons that caused large-scale destruction due to such a phenomenon as an earthquake in Spitak.

Remarkably, the Union threw all its strength, money and labor, to help the victims of the disaster in Spitak: more than 45,000 volunteers came from the republics alone. Tens of thousands of parcels from all over the Soviet Union arrived in the city and surrounding settlements as humanitarian aid.

But even more interesting is the fact that in 1987-1988, Azerbaijanis, Russians and Muslims were expelled from Armenian lands literally at gunpoint. People were cut off their heads, they were crushed by cars, beaten to death and walled up in chimneys, sparing neither women nor children. In the book of the writer Sanubar Saralla “The Stolen History. Genocide” provides eyewitness accounts of those events. The writer says that the Armenians themselves call the tragedy in Spitak God's punishment for their misdeeds.

Residents of Azerbaijan also participated in the elimination of the consequences of the disaster by supplying gasoline, equipment and medicine to Spitak and the surrounding cities. However, Armenia refused their help.

Spitak, the earthquake in which became an indicator international relations of that time, in fact confirmed the fraternal USSR.

View after 1988

The earthquake in Spitak gave the first impetus to the creation of an organization for the prediction, prevention and elimination of natural origin. So, twelve months later, in 1989, it was officially announced the start of the work of the State Commission on emergencies, known since 1991 as the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation.

Spitak after the earthquake is a controversial and at the same time painful phenomenon for the country. Almost 27 years have passed since the tragedy, but decades later, Armenia is still recovering. In 2005, there were almost 9 thousand families who lived in barracks without amenities.

In memory of the dead

Date December 7 - Day of mourning for those killed in the disaster, announced by the government. For Armenia, this is a black day. In December 1989, the Mint of the Union issued a three-ruble coin in memory of the Spitak earthquake. After 20 years, in 2008, a monument erected by the public was unveiled in the small town of Gyumri. It was called "Innocent Victims, Merciful Hearts" and was dedicated to all the victims who suffered in Spitak on 12/07/1988.

On December 1, 2016, the premiere of a new film based on real events took place in Russia. The 1988 earthquake in Armenia lasted only 30 seconds, but caused severe damage to almost the entire country. In the epicenter - Spitak - its power reached 10 points on the Richter scale.

"Ten Hiroshima"

Specialists involved in the investigation of the disaster found out that during the 1988 Spitak earthquake, energy equal to an explosion of 10 (!) atomic bombs simultaneously. Echoes of the elements spread all over the planet: scientists registered a wave in the laboratories of Asia, Europe, America and even Australia.

In just half a minute, the prosperous republic of the USSR turned into ruins - 40% of the country's industrial potential was destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of people were left without a roof over their heads.

How it was

The stories of eyewitnesses of the 1988 earthquake in Armenia cannot be heard without shudder. It all happened on Monday, the first day working week. The first shock occurred on December 7 at 11:41. Survivors of a terrible disaster say that in the first moment from the strongest movement high-rise buildings literally jumped into the air, and then folded like a house of cards, burying everyone who was inside under their rubble.

Those who were caught outdoors by the quake were a little more fortunate, but it was almost impossible to stand. People in a panic fled to the nearest squares and squares in the hope not to fall under the rubble.

After a long 30 seconds, the roar was replaced by deafening silence, and a huge cloud of dust hung over the ruins. But the worst has just begun...

Waiting for help

Although most often the government of the USSR was silent about the disasters, in 1988 the earthquake in Armenia was discussed in all the news. Rumors spread quickly - and this is not surprising, because at one moment half of the republic was destroyed.

Cell phones and the Internet did not exist. The victims tried to recover. Someone hurried home to save loved ones, but it was almost impossible to get the survivors out of the rubble without professional rescuers.

Unfortunately, help did not come immediately. Everything had to be prepared. In addition, the infrastructure was almost destroyed. And when the earthquake was reported on television, thousands of those who wanted to help rushed to Armenia. Many rescuers simply could not get there, as all the roads were clogged.

Those who, during the earthquake of 1988, found themselves under the rubble of their own houses suffered the worst. The whole world knows the story of Emma Hakobyan and her daughter Mariam. The woman miraculously survived. Under the rubble of the building, she spent 7 whole days with the baby. At first she breastfed the child, and when the milk ran out, she pierced her finger and gave her own blood. It took the rescuers 6 hours to rescue Emma and Mariam. However, most of the stories ended much more tragically - most people did not wait for help.

rescue work

Parts were sent to the scene armed forces USSR and the KGB Border Troops. In Moscow, a team of 98 doctors of the highest qualification and field surgeons was urgently formed and sent by air. The Minister of Health himself, Yevgeny Chazov, took part in the operation.

Having learned about the earthquake in Armenia, he interrupted his official visit to the United States and flew to the place of the tragedy in order to personally supervise the rescue work.

Tent camps and field kitchens were built throughout the republic, where the victims could find warmth and food.

Rescuers had to work in conditions of terrible cold and human panic. In these terrible days, people were ready to fight for cranes in order to lift heavy slabs and save their relatives. Mountains of bodies accumulated near the ruins of high-rise buildings, the smell of decay was felt.

More than 100 countries from all over the world sent humanitarian aid to Armenia. To revive the infrastructure, more than 45 thousand builders were called up from all over the USSR. True, after the collapse of the Union, work stopped.

One sorrow for all

In those difficult weeks, almost every inhabitant of the country considered it his duty to somehow help Armenia. Without any orders from above, students lined up to donate blood. People emptied their pantries and basements to give the victims of the 1988 earthquake canned food, cereals and other products stored up for a “rainy day.” And this despite the fact that the store shelves were empty.

Scale of the catastrophe

Spitak - the city that became the epicenter of the terrible earthquake of 1988 - was almost instantly destroyed, along with 350 thousand inhabitants. Enormous destruction befell Leninakan (now Gyumri - Ed.), Kirovakan and Stepanavan. In total, 21 cities and 350 villages were affected by the disaster. According to official figures alone, the disaster claimed the lives of more than 25,000 people.

“Blank Spots” in the History of the 1988 Earthquake

For modern scientists, the main question remains - why were there so many victims during the earthquake in Armenia on December 7, 1988? After all, a year later, an earthquake occurred in California, almost identical in strength, but 65 people died in the United States - the difference is huge.

The main reason is considered to be that the seismic hazard of the region as a whole was underestimated during construction and design. Many years of violation of building codes and savings on materials and technologies only “added fuel” to the fire.

However, there are still adherents of alternative versions - for example, some argue that the 1988 earthquake did not occur naturally, but as a result of a secret underground testing of hydrogen bombs by the authorities. How it actually happened is anyone's guess. One can only offer sincere condolences to those whose parents and loved ones were killed by one of the largest disasters of the 20th century.