17:26, 20 January 2018

Azeri residents come out to commemorate victims of "Black January"

Memorial in the Alley of Martyrs in Baku. Photo by Aziz Karimov for the Caucasian Knot.

In spite of cold weather and strong wind, residents of Baku have come today to the Alley of Martyrs to commemorate those who perished as a result of the invasion of Soviet troops to Baku on January 20, 1990.

Under the order of the USSR leadership, at night on January 20, 1990, a 35,000-strong army corps was introduces into Baku. As a result of the operation, 137 civilians were killed; more than 744 other people were wounded. These events are known in the history of Azerbaijan as "Black January".

Today, people were coming to the Alley of Martyrs since early morning. In this context, the motor traffic in the streets adjacent to the alley was blocked. Marchers were bringing red carnations to casualties' graves – the flower has become a symbol of this tragedy, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

At 12:00 a.m. local time, many residents of the republic suspended their activities to commemorate the victims. At that moment, the ships in the Baku Bay, locomotives on the railway, trains in the Baku Metro, and automobiles gave their audio signals.

By tradition, funeral music was heard in the Baku Metro. Carnations were arranged as a sign of mourning along escalators and turnstiles. On that tragic night, the metro was open till morning and sheltered many, who tried to escape fire and shelling.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.

Author: Faik Medzhid

Source: CK correspondent