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Events on Wednesday 7 December 1988 1
1988Armenian earthquake devastates Spitak and LeninakanMagnitude 6.8 quake kills tens of thousandsA powerful earthquake struck northern Armenia, then part of the Soviet Union, destroying the city of Spitak and badly damaging Leninakan. An estimated 25,000 to 50,000 people were killed. The disaster prompted an unprecedented opening of Soviet borders to international aid.