On Sunday, January 20, Azerbaijani embassy in Russia hosted an event to commemorate 132 victims of the Black January tragedy - massacre of Baku’s residents, perpetrated by the Soviet army at the country's Central Committee orders. As correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza reports, at the beginning of this event, press release of the diplomatic mission was read out, reminding participants of the event about details of tragedy that occurred on the night of January 19 to January 20, 1990.
"January 20, 1990 is a date that will forever be remembered by Azerbaijani people as the Day of Sorrow. On this day, which entered the history of Azerbaijan as Black January, Soviet leadership, which was losing control over situation in the country, decided to commit a crime against peaceful population Baku, which took to streets and squares to protest against aggressive actions of Armenia. This led to bloody events, as a result of which hundreds of innocent people were killed and injured. Children, women, old people, people with disabilities, representatives of various nationalities and professions were among the dead," according to press release of the Azerbaijani Embassy in the Russian Federation.
"Honorable sons and daughters of Azerbaijan sacrificed their own lives for sovereignty and independence of modern Azerbaijan. 29 years have passed, but Azerbaijani people remember that tragic night and deeply disdain those who committed this act of violence. Every year on January 20 Azerbaijani citizens go to the Alley of Shahids to pay tribute to innocent victims of this tragedy," press release said.
Azerbaijani Ambassador in Russia Polad Bulbuloglu said: "Dear friends, dear compatriots, I'm very grateful that today so many people have come to our embassy in Moscow, in the Russian Federation. I would like to emphasize that we don't identify today's democratic Russia with those who were responsible for what happened in the Soviet Union, because there are people who want to use this rethoric, but I would like to stress once again that neither Azerbaijani people, nor Azerbaijani government and our President think that today's democratic Russia
should be blamed for what happened under totalitarian regime of the Soviet Union."
He also noted that Azerbaijani people will never forget their martyrs. “I don’t want to retell the entire story, you all know it perfectly. They attacked civilians, shot people who weren't guilty of anything. It was scary, it was incomprehensible, it was hard to believe something like that is happening, because when the country begins to crush its citizens with tanks, such country can't exist for too long. Perhaps that's why the Soviet Union collapsed very soon after this. This was the point of no return. People understood that it was impossible to live in such a country," he noted.
On the night of January 19-20, 1990, 147 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.
As Trend recalls, 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.
