Azerbaijan held ceremonies on Thursday to commemorate the victims of the Black January massacre committed by the Soviet military on Jan. 20, 1990.
Seen as the turning point in Azerbaijan regaining its independence after 70 years of Soviet occupation, thousands commemorated the sad day at the martyrs’ cemetery.
The Organization of Turkic States commemorated the victims while pledging solidarity with Azerbaijan.
"January 20, 1990 is not only a ‘Day of Mourning’ for Azerbaijan but also a ’Day of Honor’ that fostered the country toward independence. On this day, which went down in history as ‘Black January,' we respectfully commemorate victims and martyrs and share the pain of the brotherly people of Azerbaijan," the organization said in a statement posted on Twitter on Thursday.
On the night of Jan. 19-20, under direct instructions from Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the USSR's State Security Committee (KGB) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs entered Baku and its regions, massacring the civilian population, including women and children, using heavy military equipment and other weaponry.
Mass arrests accompanied the illegal deployment of troops and subsequent military intervention.
The Azerbaijani people lost all confidence in the USSR after the Soviet Army's massacre on Jan. 20, now a national day of mourning, thus accelerating the process that lead to the country's independence.
Azerbaijanis refer to Black January as a day of sorrow, but at the same time, as a day of pride, because the country's heroes who perished laid the groundwork for the state's independence.
The events that led to the tragedy of Black January can be traced to the end of the 1980s when attempts to annex Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia were gaining momentum and more and more native Azerbaijani people were being expelled from their historical lands.
Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory, and seven adjacent regions.
When new clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, Armenia launched attacks on both civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.
During the nearly six-week conflict, Azerbaijan liberated its lands and at least 2,855 of its soldiers were said to have lost their lives in the conflict. There are differing claims about the number of casualties on the Armenian side, which sources and officials say could be as high as 5,000.
The two countries signed a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10 to end the fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution. The cease-fire is seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia, whose armed forces have withdrawn in line with the agreement.