Azerbaijan's Independence Museum pays tribute to Black January victims
By Nazrin Gadimova
Azerbaijan's Independence Museum hosted an event to pay tribute to victims of the heinous bloodshed in January 1990, dubbed the Black January, which claimed lives of hundreds of people in Azerbaijan's capital.
The event, entitled "24 years ago..24 years after", was dedicated to the 24th anniversary of the Black January. It began with a minute of silence in memory of victims of the tragedy of January 20.
Speaking at the event, Director of the museum Farida Shamsi said the museum features more than 50 art works dedicated to the tragedy. This works were made by students of Fine and Applied Arts School and the Republican Center of Young Tourists and Local History.
Musical and literary compositions devoted to the January 20 tragedy were also presented at the event.
On January 20, 1990, hundreds of civilians were crushed or injured by the Soviet troops in Baku, on an order from the USSR leadership that was trying to maintain the Communist regime in Azerbaijan and strangle the national liberation movement.
The invasion was launched at midnight and was committed with brutality; even children, women and the elderly were not spared.
As a result of the intrusion of troops into Baku and regions of the country, 133 people were killed, 611 wounded, 841 illegally arrested, and five went missing.