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2025.01.16

Institute of Zoology held a commemorative event on the 35th anniversary of the January 20 tragedy

On January 16, 2025, a commemorative event was held at the Institute of Zoology on the 35th anniversary of the January 20 tragedy. The participants of the event commemorated the dear memory of the victims of the tragedy with a minute of silence.

The event was opened by the Executive Director of the Institute, Dr., Associate Professor Elshad Ahmadov. In his speech, he stated that the January 20 event, which entered the history of the Azerbaijani people as the Bloody January tragedy, was a glorious date when the nation raised its voice for freedom and demonstrated courage for its sovereignty. The January 20 tragedy remained in the memory of our people as a page of sadness and grief, pride and heroism. On the night of January 19-20, 1990, units of the former Soviet Union troops were deployed to Baku and several regions of Azerbaijan without declaring a state of emergency, the civilian population was massacred, hundreds of people were killed, wounded, and missing. The occupation of Baku by a large contingent of the Soviet army, special forces, and internal troops was accompanied by special cruelty and unprecedented atrocities.

Later, at the event, the chairman of the first Party Organization of the 504th Neighborhood Area of the YAP Yasamal district, PhD Hafiz Mukhtarov, and the chief specialist of the Institute's library Fatma Abdulova shared their bitter memories of this bloody history.

At the end of the event, a video clip reflecting the bloody January events was shown.