20 January Special Day in Azerbaijan's History
Late
at night on January 19, 1990, 26.000 Soviet troops stormed Baku. They acted
pursuant to a state of emergency declared by the USSR Supreme Soviet Presidium,
signed by President Gorbachev and disclosed to the Azerbaijani public only after
many citizens lay wounded or dead in the streets, hospitals and morgues of Baku.
More than 130 people died from wounds received that night and during subsequent
violent confrontations and incidents that lasted in February; the majority of
these were civilians killed by Soviet soldiers. More than 700 civilians were
wounded. Hundreds of people were detained, only a handful of whom were put on
trial for alleged criminal offenses. Civil liberties were severely curtailed. In
1991 Azerbaijan became independent.
Black January of 1990 January 20, 1990 is a Special Day in Azerbaijan's History
