The entire republic was without power when, in a territorial dispute with Azerbaijan, Azeris in the Marneulskiy region of Georgia blew up a section of pipeline bringing gas to Armenia. This epitomized the country's worsening energy shortage, which continued through January.
Prime Minister Hrand Bagratian declared Armenia's food shortage “catastrophic.” Armenia's neighbors, Iran and Turkey, had stopped trade in protest of Armenia's role in its dispute with Azerbaijan.
Government opposition parties, along with some progovernment deputies, attacked the government's proposed privatization plans. In a compromise, the opposition Communists voted in favor of a plan that provided that 20 percent of the state enterprises would be turned over to the workers' collectives before privatization.
