On January 20, 1990, the deployment of the Soviet army to Baku became one of the most tragic pages in Azerbaijani history. The inadequate force used against the civilian population resulted in the deaths of 131 people, the wounding of 744 people, and the illegal arrest of 841 people. The subsequent fate of the main political and military figures behind this bloody operation has been a matter of public interest for years.
Modern.az presents the fate of the organizers of the January 20 tragedy:
Mikhail Gorbachev
Gorbachev, the last president of the USSR, was the person bearing the highest political responsibility at the time the January 20 decision was made. By his order, a state of emergency was declared, and the Red Army was deployed to Baku. Although Gorbachev claimed in later years that this decision was “necessary,” he never apologized to either Azerbaijani society or the international community. After the collapse of the USSR, he lost his political influence but did not bear legal or political responsibility for January 20. Gorbachev passed away on August 30, 2022, at the age of 91.
Dmitry Yazov
Marshal Dmitry Yazov, then the Minister of Defense of the USSR, was one of the direct military implementers of the troop deployment to Baku. He is known as the main figure who led the army's operations during the January 20 operation. Although he was arrested for his participation in the August coup attempt in Moscow in 1991, he was later pardoned. Yazov passed away in Russia on February 25, 2020, at the age of 95.
Vadim Bakatin
Bakatin, who was the Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR at that time, was one of the political figures who played a role in the activities of the power structures applied in Baku. Unlike other Soviet leaders, Bakatin is considered one of the rare individuals who later expressed regret for the January 20 events. He assessed this operation as a major mistake by the Soviet leadership. After the collapse of the USSR, he withdrew from politics and passed away on July 31, 2022, at the age of 84.
Viktor Karpukhin
Karpukhin, who was the commander of the KGB's “Alfa” special forces unit, participated in special operations carried out in Baku. The forces under his command were one of the main elements of the harsh force mechanism deployed against the civilian population. He lived in Russia in later years and passed away in 2003.
Yevgeny Primakov
Primakov, who was the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and an influential political figure at that time, was among those who defended the position of the central government. During the January 20 events, he tried to justify Moscow's political line. He later rose to the posts of Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Russian Federation. He passed away on June 26, 2015.
Andrey Girenko
Andrey Girenko, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the USSR, is known as one of the party functionaries who participated in the adoption of the January 20 decision. His name is mentioned among those who provided political support for the event. He passed away on December 28, 2017, at the age of 81.
Vladimir Lyashenko
Lyashenko, who was part of the Soviet military-political leadership, was one of the figures involved in the implementation of decisions related to the Baku operation. Vladimir Lyashenko was the commander of the Caspian Military Flotilla at that time. Lyashenko passed away in Moscow in 1994.
Aleksandr Lebed
He commanded a part of the forces deployed to Baku as the commander of the 106th division of the USSR Airborne Forces during the tragedy. In his statements and memoirs in later years, he provided contradictory information regarding the use of force against the civilian population. Lebed died in a helicopter crash in Russia on April 28, 2002, at the age of 52.
