Today, the Azerbaijani people commemorate the anniversary of the 20 January tragedy. 36 years ago, our people, who rose up for independence and freedom, faced the brutal reaction of the Soviet Union leadership. The Red Army, deployed to Baku, massacred its own citizens, killing, wounding, and arresting hundreds of Azerbaijanis.
Modern.az asked today's party chairmen about their memories of the events that occurred 36 years ago. We present their responses.
Sabir Rustamkhanli, Chairman of the Civic Solidarity Party: “20 January, along with all its tragedies, losses, and the approximately two-year advancement of the people's democratic struggle in Azerbaijan, is a heroic page in our history. My attitude towards those barricades, people gathering in the streets, and so on, is distinct, different. But the people themselves, independent of any agitation, could not tolerate this injustice and came to block the roads.
Because Moscow consistently sided with Armenians and, instead of deploying the army against Armenians in the mountainous part of Karabakh, actually deployed it to peaceful Baku. At that time, there were rumors that there were pogroms, pressures against Armenians in Baku, and so on. That is, this action is entirely wrong. Baku, which saved the USSR with its oil during World War II, found itself facing the very army that had been subjected to fascism and was advancing upon fascism.
Therefore, Moscow's pretext was known: allegedly, the borders of the USSR were collapsing, there was armed resistance in Baku, and after that, the legitimate government was being changed. It was with these pretexts that the army was deployed to Baku. That evening, the National Assembly convened. I was a member of the Investigation Commission established that day. Starting from that day, it was engaged for months in investigating what had happened.
Many participants were interrogated. We investigated who invited the army to Baku, and who consented to this matter – all of it. Later, these documents somehow did not surface. After Heydar Aliyev came to power, this issue was investigated again. In short, time passes, but this tragedy is not forgotten. The Russian army entered Baku, cursing our nation, and there were Armenians among them. “Slaughter these Turks,” tanks roared through the streets of Baku. Now, after all this, when I see Russian and Moscow admiration in Baku again, and Russian schools opening one after another, I am astonished. This forgetfulness among us weighs heavily on me.”
Akif Naghi, Chairman of the Free Homeland Party, stated in his interview with our website that he led one of the barricades at that time: “At that time, I lived in a well-known dormitory in the settlement of Ahmadli. On the evening of January 18, a bus arrived in front of the dormitory, and they announced that they were going to the barricade. I said, 'You go, we will come ourselves.' We organized the construction of the barricade on the Zigh highway, at the exit from the sea. I was the chairman of the dormitory council. Elkhan Nuriyev was also my deputy. The two of us went around the rooms together. 300 families lived in the dormitory; we invited everyone to go to the barricade together. We listed 45 people, and then waited there until morning on the night of January 18-19.
In the morning, we rested. Everyone went about their business. The next evening, 45 people went together again. I led the barricade. We stayed there until morning. At 12:00, information was coming in that people were being killed, disperse, or you would also be harmed. Because the exit from the sea to the Zigh highway was one of the possible options. We said we would stay until morning.
Around half past five in the morning, we listened to the appeal on the radio. They were saying that the streets of Baku were covered in blood. After this, we thought, should we stay or go? About 15 people remained; the rest had dispersed. I said, 'Let's wait until it gets light.' Elkhan Nuriyev said, 'We brought these people out, we bear responsibility, let's go.”
Natig Jafarli, Chairman of the REAL Party, although 17 years old at the time of the events, witnessed certain incidents:
“During the 20 January tragedy, I grew up in Alatava, right next to the Salyan barracks; at that time, we were students and among those who took an active role. Since we were near the Salyan barracks on January 20, my parents came and called me home to eat around 11-12 in the evening. I was at home when the events began. Our house is 500-600 meters away from the Salyan barracks. When the events started, I ran out into the street. There were people lying on the ground. If I'm not mistaken, a person named Adil was wounded in the hand. I brought him home, and we bandaged his arm and hand. Later, with the help of neighbors and adults, he was taken to the hospital. So, it was a day etched in my memory. However, I am now against evaluating this day solely as a tragedy. Time has passed, may Allah have mercy on our martyrs; they became martyrs for freedom and independence. I advocate for it to take its place in Azerbaijani history not only as a day of tragedy but also as a chronicle of heroism. Figuratively speaking, this also served as a vaccine for the Azerbaijani people, teaching that the further we are from Russia, from the Russian empire, the better.”
Iqbal Aghazade, Chairman of the Umid Party, noted that he was part of the student movement during the events:
“I was a student in Baku in 1990. On January 18, we were thinking about going to Karabakh. We were supposed to go to Karabakh as volunteer detachments. However, the state of emergency and other issues in Baku left these processes unfinished. Around 20:30 at night, the television block was blown up; towards night, I was in Narimanov, on the former Moscow, now Heydar Aliyev Avenue. We also saw what happened there. The next day, we gathered in front of the building of the current Presidential Administration, then the Central Committee. On January 22, there was a funeral day in Azadlig Square, and we went to the funeral from there. After the funeral, I went to Fuzuli district where our parents lived. We were amidst the unfolding processes, within the student movement. We did not hear about the events from afar. On the contrary, they mostly heard from us what was happening.”
Tural Abbasli, Chairman of the White Party:
“On 20 January, I was somewhere around 8–9 years old. Our family was politically active; both my mother and father participated in the square, doing as much shopping as they could, cooking and taking food. They also took us to the Front's rallies near Sahil metro station. We have been part of the processes since childhood. Specifically, on the night of January 19-20, we lived in an area called Kubinka. We did not wake up there that evening. We were siblings. Our parents heard gunshots but did not go outside. Burning bullets fell into our neighborhood, and neighbors stayed awake. In the morning, I remember, our parents took us by the hand, and we went out into the city. There was no fear among people that they would kill us, or take us away. The uniforms and weapons of the Russian soldiers are still in our memory; we walked past the line where they were arrayed. We looked at what was happening in the city, and then returned home. From children to adults, those who were pioneers threw away their ties, and Octobrists threw away and trampled the stars with Lenin's childhood picture. These were such times. During those times, there was the Karabakh war; they were turbulent times. But one thing I remember clearly is that no one was afraid. Everyone looked to tomorrow with hope, believing it would be better, more beautiful.”
