On August 23, 1990, Armenia declared independence from the Soviet Union by adopting a Declaration of Independence.
The Supreme Council of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic signed Armenia’s Declaration of Independence in Yerevan, renaming itself as the Republic of Armenia.
Armenia officially became an independent state on September 21, 1991, upon the dissolution of the USSR.
Adopting the Declaration signified the beginning of establishment of independent sovereignty and creation of a democratic state.
In the Declaration, the newly-independent republic acknowledged Armenian as the state language and initiated the creation of its own system of education and of scientific and cultural development.
The Republic of Armenia also stood in full support of achieving international recognition of the Armenian Genocide that took place in Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia in 1915.
In the video below, Supreme Council member Aram Manukyan declared the secession of Armenia from the USSR and also declared Armenia as an independent nation.
The declaration was signed by Armenia’s first president Levon Ter Petrosyan and secretary of the Supreme Council of Armenia, Ara Sahakian.