The deployment of Soviet army units in Baku on January 20, 1990, to suppress large-scale public demonstrations protesting against Armenia’s aggressive actions and territorial claims against Azerbaijan, and against the patronage of the former USSR’s leadership, led to a tragedy.
January 20, 1990, entered history as a heroic page in the struggle for the independence and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
Military units introduced in Baku and other regions of Azerbaijan, on the night of January 19-20, 1990, killed 147 civilians, wounded 744 innocent civilians, many of whom became disabled, and 841 people were unlawfully arrested.
Among the victims were minors, the elderly, and women. This crime committed against the peaceful population of Azerbaijan by the Soviet Army under the orders of the USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev is inscribed in the annals of human history in bloody letters.
January 20 in Azerbaijan is observed as the Day of National Mourning.
