From tragedy to independence
Twenty-five years ago today, while then-President George H.W. Bush was delivering his State of the Union message before a joint session of Congress in Washington, Soviet troops attacked unarmed civilian protesters in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, killing some 133 people and wounding hundreds of others. The Soviet effort to crush the growing Azerbaijani pro-independence movement culminated in the largest massacre in a generation, it but failed miserably, hastened the end of the USSR, and led directly to our formal declaration of independence two years later.
The events of 1990 helped crystalize key elements of the Azerbaijani social and political identity.… Seguir leyendo »