Black January
| Black January Azerbaijani: Qara Yanvar |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Azerbaijani national independence movement | |||||
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| Belligerents | |||||
 Popular Front of Azerbaijan
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 Azerbaijan SSR
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||
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Abulfaz Elchibey
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 Alexander Lebed
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| Strength | |||||
| 26,000 troops | |||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
| 131–170 civilians killed 700–800 injured |
21–29 soldiers killed 90 injured |
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Transcaucasian Military District
Black January (Azerbaijani: Qara Yanvar), also known as Black Saturday or the January Massacre, was a violent crackdown in Baku on 19–20 January 1990, pursuant to a state of emergency during the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party Mikhail Gorbachev and Defence Minister Dmitry Yazov asserted that military law was necessary to stop the violence against the Armenian population and to thwart efforts by the Azerbaijani independence movement to overthrow the Soviet Azerbaijani government. According to official estimates between 133 and 137 Azerbaijani civilians died, 800 people were injured and 5 persons went missing. However unofficial number put the number of victims at 300 dead. Later on, in 1995 Gorbachev apologised to Azerbaijan by stating: "The declaration of a state emergency in Baku was the biggest mistake of my political career."
In a resolution of 22 January 1990, the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR declared that the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 19 January, used to impose emergency rule in Baku and military deployment, constituted an act of aggression. Black January is seen as the rebirth of the Azerbaijan Republic.
In December 1989, Azerbaijanis living in regions bordering Iran ripped down border fences, demanding closer ties with ethnic Azerbaijanis living in Iran. The local authorities in Jalilabad surrendered to rioters, turning over administration to the Popular Front of Azerbaijan. This was followed by a non-violent turnover of the Lankaran administration to the Popular Front two weeks later.
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Wikipedia