Massacre victims honored in Azerbaijan
The victims of mass killings committed by mainly
ethnic Armenian Bolsheviks in Baku and other regions populated by
Azerbaijanis in 1918 were commemorated in Azerbaijan on March 31.
An organization called the People`s Commissars Council was
responsible for the massacre.
Local historians point out that, on that tragic day, over 10,000 civilians were slain in Baku and adjacent residential areas alone merely due to their national affiliation. The massacre was also unleashed in Shamakhi, Khachmaz, Lankaran and other districts. Over 50,000 Azerbaijanis were brutally killed, including women and children. Architectural and other monuments, schools, hospitals, and mosques were destroyed and a considerable part of Baku was ruined.
Stepan Shaumyan, the head of the Baku Council, then regarded these developments as civil war between the Bolsheviks and national forces.
The Azerbaijan People`s Republic was established two months thereafter. Its Council of Ministers set up an emergency commission on July 15 to investigate the events.
The People`s Republic, which existed for slightly over two years, marked March 31 as the nationwide day of mourning in 1919 and 1920.
The national leader, former President Heydar Aliyev issued a decree in 1998 to commemorate the date as genocide against Azerbaijanis every year.
Retired journalist Tofig Akhundov said in his recollections of the 1918 developments: "In 1918, the former Bazarny and currently Azerbaijan Avenue divided Baku into two parts, with Armenians living in upper neighborhoods and long-time Baku residents in the lower part. Territorial fights frequently flared up between them.
"I have witnessed this firsthand. Dashnaks (nationalists) often attacked steamships and other vessels approaching the port. Moreover, they assaulted such settlements of Baku as Mashtagha and Mardakan whenever they could," Akhundov recalled.
Baku resident Aytan Gahramanova remembers the March massacre from her grandmother`s account. The woman recalls that the Dashnaks shot her aunt`s husband dead in his own home.
"They also captured and took away his wife and kids," Gahramanova says. "My grandmother`s family were gathered at a mosque together with other prisoners. They were all covered with blood."
Local historians point out that, on that tragic day, over 10,000 civilians were slain in Baku and adjacent residential areas alone merely due to their national affiliation. The massacre was also unleashed in Shamakhi, Khachmaz, Lankaran and other districts. Over 50,000 Azerbaijanis were brutally killed, including women and children. Architectural and other monuments, schools, hospitals, and mosques were destroyed and a considerable part of Baku was ruined.
Stepan Shaumyan, the head of the Baku Council, then regarded these developments as civil war between the Bolsheviks and national forces.
The Azerbaijan People`s Republic was established two months thereafter. Its Council of Ministers set up an emergency commission on July 15 to investigate the events.
The People`s Republic, which existed for slightly over two years, marked March 31 as the nationwide day of mourning in 1919 and 1920.
The national leader, former President Heydar Aliyev issued a decree in 1998 to commemorate the date as genocide against Azerbaijanis every year.
Retired journalist Tofig Akhundov said in his recollections of the 1918 developments: "In 1918, the former Bazarny and currently Azerbaijan Avenue divided Baku into two parts, with Armenians living in upper neighborhoods and long-time Baku residents in the lower part. Territorial fights frequently flared up between them.
"I have witnessed this firsthand. Dashnaks (nationalists) often attacked steamships and other vessels approaching the port. Moreover, they assaulted such settlements of Baku as Mashtagha and Mardakan whenever they could," Akhundov recalled.
Baku resident Aytan Gahramanova remembers the March massacre from her grandmother`s account. The woman recalls that the Dashnaks shot her aunt`s husband dead in his own home.
"They also captured and took away his wife and kids," Gahramanova says. "My grandmother`s family were gathered at a mosque together with other prisoners. They were all covered with blood."
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