BAKU — 1990 · Major Tragedy
Black January in Baku
On the night of 19 January 1990, under a state-of-emergency decree signed by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, some 26,000 Soviet troops entered Baku. After knocking out the central television station and cutting communications, units advanced into the city in armoured vehicles and opened fire on demonstrators and civilians in the streets. Official Azerbaijani figures put the dead at 147 civilians with about 800 injured; independent sources give more than 130 deaths. Moscow defended the intervention as necessary to restore order and stop violence against Armenians. Human Rights Watch concluded the force used was disproportionate and amounted to collective punishment. 20 January is marked in Azerbaijan as Martyrs' Day.
- Date
- 1990
- Place
- Azerbaijan, Baku, AZ
- Category
- Major Tragedy
- Case Status
- Closed
- Coordinates
- 40.3800, 49.8500 ↗
Timeline of Events
- 19 January 1990A state of emergency was declared; TV broadcasts were cut.
- 19-20 January 1990Soviet troops entered Baku; more than 130 civilians died.
- 1995HRW found the force used disproportionate.
- 20 January 2010The 20th anniversary was marked as Martyrs' Day.
Sources
- BBC News — Azerbaijan remembers Martyrs' Day news.bbc.co.uk ↗
- Human Rights Watch — 1995 report on communal violence hrw.org ↗
- Wikipedia — Black January en.wikipedia.org ↗
- BBC News
- Human Rights Watch
- Wikipedia
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.