Azerbaijan commemorates the 29th anniversary of the January 20 tragedy.
January 20 is a day that went down in history of Azerbaijan’s fight for independence and territorial integrity.
On January 20, 1990, the Soviet army forces entered Baku to suppress the masses protesting the USSR-supported Armenian aggression based on territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
The result was an unprecedented tragedy for Azerbaijan. Valiant sons and daughters of Azerbaijan put the country’s freedom, honor and dignity above everything else, sacrificed their lives and became martyrs.
On the night of January 19-20, 1990, 137 people were killed, 744 were injured and 841 were illegally arrested after Soviet troops entered Baku. The Soviet troops also destroyed 200 apartments and houses, as well as private and public property. The January 20 tragedy brought huge losses and death of innocent people. But it also demonstrated the spirit and pride of Azerbaijani nation, which couldn’t stand the betrayal of the criminal empire led by Mikhail Gorbachev.
Azerbaijanis gained the independence they were dreaming of, and the country achieved sovereignty. Despite that many years have passed since those bloody days, Azerbaijanis remember the dreadful night that took many innocent lives and marks the anniversary of the January 20 tragedy every year. January 20 is immortalized in the memory of Azerbaijani nation as a Day of the Nationwide Sorrow.
Azerbaijani president,
first lady pay tribute
to January 20 martyrs
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva visited the Alley of Martyrs on the Day of National Mourning to pay tribute to the victims of the bloody January 20 tragedy. The president laid a wreath at the Eternal Flame memorial. The National Anthem of Azerbaijan was also performed by a separate exemplary military orchestra of Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry. State and government officials, leaders of religious communities, ambassadors of foreign countries and representatives of international organizations functioning in Azerbaijan also attended the commemoration ceremony.
