A memorial event dedicated to the 36th anniversary of the January 20 tragedy was held at Azerbaijan University. Prior to the ceremony, University staff visited the Alley of Martyrs. Carnations were laid at the graves of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the independence and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and their memory was honored with deep respect.

The memorial event, held in the University’s academic building, began with the performance of the National Anthem, followed by a minute of silence in remembrance of the martyrs.

The event was attended by Prof. of the Department of Political and Social Sciences Gabil Aliyev; head of the Department of Finance and Accounting, Assoc. Prof. Nariman Boyukkishi; senior lecturer of the Department of Economics and Management Chingiz Mammadov; and Arzu Aliyeva, a former classmate of Larisa Mammadova, one of the victims of the January 20 tragedy, and an employee of the “Xalq” Newspaper.

Gabil Aliyev stated that the deployment of Soviet troops in Baku in January 1990 constituted an unprecedented military crime against the civilian population. He emphasized that this state-level atrocity failed to break the national pride and love of freedom of the Azerbaijani people. Nariman Boyukkishi, as a direct witness to the tragedy, spoke about the courage demonstrated by young people on the night of January 20. He underscored that the spirit of patriotism formed during the 1990s played a significant role in the victory achieved in the 44-day Patriotic War. Chingiz Mammadov, recalling documented facts about how civilians were shot that night and how the wounded were transported to hospitals under heavy gunfire, noted that this brutality exposed the true face of the Soviet empire and accelerated its collapse.

The participants listened with deep respect and emotion to the speech of Arzu Aliyeva, a former classmate of Larisa Mammadova. She recalled that 13-year-old Larisa and her father, Farman Mammadov, were in one of the buses that came under fire in Baku on that tragic Saturday night. Her father was wounded in the leg, while Larisa was fatally wounded in the heart. The speaker described Larisa as quiet and modest, remembered for her kindness toward others. She was passionate about painting and took piano lessons. Larisa`s unfulfilled dreams, she noted, serve as a profound call to the youth living in an independent and fully sovereign Azerbaijan to demonstrate devotion to their homeland and honor the memory of the martyrs.

The memorial event concluded with the screening of a documentary video dedicated to the January 20 tragedy.

Public Relations Department