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| 20 Yanvar Memorial at Martyrs' Lane, Baku* |
Preface. I had wanted to post this yesterday, but by the time I had finished drafting, we lost power for the rest of the night.
The Day of Nationwide Sorrow. İyirmi Yanvar (20 January) is a secular holiday to honor those who died on 19-20 January 1990 when the Soviet army rolled into Baku to put down a protest, killing approximately 130 people and wounding 700+ more.
Having occurred only 22 years ago, the tragedy is very much within recent memory. I've talked to many a person who was there and/or who knew someone who was killed. In my community, just down the way, is a street named for a friend's relative who died in the attack.
It can be challenging for foreigners to understand the significance of 20 Yanvar in the national psyche of Azərbaycan. To help put it in perspective for Americans, indulge me for a moment.
Imagine that it's the turn of the 19th Century in America. The young nation has just elected its third president, Thomas Jefferson. Only 25 years before had the people of these newly United States, living in some outlying territories of a world power, waged and won their War of Independence. Maybe you and your family still remember the death, chaos, and fear first-hand. George Washington, founding father and general during that war, had just died in 1799. The Boston Massacre, which foreshadowed the outbreak of the American Revolution, is freshly within living memory.
March 5, 1770, Boston. Turmoil brews just under the surface of the city. The taxation of trade to the outlying colonies is in dispute. British troops have essentially occupied Boston to help enforce these taxes, the Townshend Acts, which are highly unpopular and considered oppressive by many. Outbreaks of brawling between soldiers and your sons, brothers, and fathers are not uncommon. You are afraid that, at any moment, the British will force you to quarter soldiers in your house.
One evening, Edward Garrick - maybe you knew him from the barbershop where he was an apprentice - exchanges insults with a British sentry, Hugh White. Tempers rise and White strikes Garrick on the side of his head with the butt of his rifle. Garrick calls out. A mob forms and begins throwing things at White, who calls for backup. Seven soldiers join Garrick. The crowd swells to around three or four hundred. Some of them are your friends, your neighbors. The Captain shouts for the crowd to disperse. They do not, continuing to taunt the soldiers, yelling "fire!" The crowd knocks down a soldier, who drops his weapon. He recovers his musket and discharges it into the crowd, shouting, "Damn you, fire!" In the confusion, the soldiers shoot into the crowd, killing three immediately and two others who die later of their wounds. The crowd disperses.
Although only five people were killed in the Boston Massacre, it turned the tide of public sentiment against the British empire, which ruled from afar, and fueled the movement for independence. In the aftermath, the British Parliament repealed most of the taxes in the Townshend Acts but retained the tax on tea, unknowingly setting the stage for the Boston Tea Party and, eventually, the Revolutionary War.
Imagine that, in addition to the feelings of patriotism associated with this and subsequent events on the road to independence, you knew some of the people who died. They were your relatives, friends, or fiancés. Maybe someone you had just seen the day before and took for granted you would see the next had been crushed by a tank 22 years ago. Maybe that begins to capture the mixture of emotions surrounding 20 Yanvar in Azərbaycani culture, a combination of personal sadness, outrage, and nationalism.
The tragedy of 20 Yanvar 1990 is considered to have unified public support for independence and been a significant milestone in the collapse of the Soviet Union, which experienced increasing difficulty ruling the outlying republics from Moscow. Azərbaycan declared independence the following year. Gorbachev later remarked in his April 27, 1995 speech in Istanbul that "[t]he declaration of a state of emergency in Baku was the biggest mistake of my political career....."
I don't mean to say that 20 Yanvar and the Boston Massacre were exactly the same (and not that the American Revolution and Azərbaycani independence were the same), but I hope that drawing some parallels can help non-Azərbaycanis to a better understanding of the culture and history.
The Day of Nationwide Sorrow. İyirmi Yanvar (20 January) is a secular holiday to honor those who died on 19-20 January 1990 when the Soviet army rolled into Baku to put down a protest, killing approximately 130 people and wounding 700+ more.
Having occurred only 22 years ago, the tragedy is very much within recent memory. I've talked to many a person who was there and/or who knew someone who was killed. In my community, just down the way, is a street named for a friend's relative who died in the attack.
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| Burial of victims of 20 Yanvar* |
Imagine that it's the turn of the 19th Century in America. The young nation has just elected its third president, Thomas Jefferson. Only 25 years before had the people of these newly United States, living in some outlying territories of a world power, waged and won their War of Independence. Maybe you and your family still remember the death, chaos, and fear first-hand. George Washington, founding father and general during that war, had just died in 1799. The Boston Massacre, which foreshadowed the outbreak of the American Revolution, is freshly within living memory.
March 5, 1770, Boston. Turmoil brews just under the surface of the city. The taxation of trade to the outlying colonies is in dispute. British troops have essentially occupied Boston to help enforce these taxes, the Townshend Acts, which are highly unpopular and considered oppressive by many. Outbreaks of brawling between soldiers and your sons, brothers, and fathers are not uncommon. You are afraid that, at any moment, the British will force you to quarter soldiers in your house.
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| Portrayal of Boston Massacre engraved by Paul Revere. (Copyright expired.) |
Although only five people were killed in the Boston Massacre, it turned the tide of public sentiment against the British empire, which ruled from afar, and fueled the movement for independence. In the aftermath, the British Parliament repealed most of the taxes in the Townshend Acts but retained the tax on tea, unknowingly setting the stage for the Boston Tea Party and, eventually, the Revolutionary War.
Imagine that, in addition to the feelings of patriotism associated with this and subsequent events on the road to independence, you knew some of the people who died. They were your relatives, friends, or fiancés. Maybe someone you had just seen the day before and took for granted you would see the next had been crushed by a tank 22 years ago. Maybe that begins to capture the mixture of emotions surrounding 20 Yanvar in Azərbaycani culture, a combination of personal sadness, outrage, and nationalism.
The tragedy of 20 Yanvar 1990 is considered to have unified public support for independence and been a significant milestone in the collapse of the Soviet Union, which experienced increasing difficulty ruling the outlying republics from Moscow. Azərbaycan declared independence the following year. Gorbachev later remarked in his April 27, 1995 speech in Istanbul that "[t]he declaration of a state of emergency in Baku was the biggest mistake of my political career....."
I don't mean to say that 20 Yanvar and the Boston Massacre were exactly the same (and not that the American Revolution and Azərbaycani independence were the same), but I hope that drawing some parallels can help non-Azərbaycanis to a better understanding of the culture and history.
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| Stamp commemorating 20 Yanvar.** |
Most years, throngs of people process down along Şəhidlər Xiyabanı ("Alley of Martyrs" or "Martyrs' Lane") and around the eternal fire memorial in Bakı to honor the deceased, leaving red carnations (the symbol of 20 Yanvar) on the graves, but people have commented to me that due to the cold and snow this year, the throngs may have been slightly less throng-ish than usual. Indeed, when I suggested on Thursday to one person that we go, the skeptical response was basically, "Well, if you want to..." Certainly, I would be the first to admit that it was much more comfortable ("rahat," from the Persian, meaning "the palm of the hand" or "ease / tranquility") to watch the coverage on TV. Bonus: better viewing angles and hot tea while you watch.
The story behind the red carnations. I've heard a number of origin stories for the tradition of leaving red carnations on 20 Yanvar. One is that red carnations were popularly exchanged among couples, and because there were many student couples among the protesters, the streets were strewn with red carnations during the chaos. Another story is that Azərbaycan used to export red carnations to the rest of the Soviet Union, so in protest against the Soviet invasion, Azərbaycanis laid down their red carnations in the streets before the advancing troops. (An almost identical version of this story is recounted noted by another Peace Corps Volunteer here.) The most pragmatic explanation I've heard is that red carnations were plentiful in Bakı at the time, so when the unexpected and tragic need for massive quantities of flowers arose, red carnations became the flower of choice, essentially out of necessity.
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| Eternal Fire Memorial* |
- A selection of Azərbaycani press coverage in English here (article and photos of President Aliyev paying tribute), here (general article), here (attempted protest outside Russian embassy), and here.
- Reflections by an Azərbaycani blogger on the dark events that occurred shortly after he had turned one.
- Other posts by Peace Corps Volunteers about 20 Yanvar here and here.
** Image in public domain pursuant to the law of the Azerbaijan Republic "On Copyright and Neighboring Right," No. 115-1Q of 5 June 1996.
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