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Today in history. On April 27, 1920, the armored trains of the Red Army crossed the border of the Samour river and overthrew the 23-month-old Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.

As a result of the occupation, shortly after the establishment of Soviet power in Azerbaijan, prominent members of the Democratic Republic were This is one of the most painful pages of our history. In spite of all the conflicts, the brave people of Azerbaijan regained their freedom and independence in 1991 and announced to the world the establishment of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the successor of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. And many were forced to emigrate, and many were either exiled or killed.
Photo: The Red Army entered Baku.
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From the pen of our historians: a look at the genocides committed by the Armenian Dashnaks against the Azerbaijanis in 1918 #genocid

Natig Mammadzade: 1918-1920 is one of the most glorious and, at the same time, the most difficult and dramatic periods in the history of Azerbaijan. On the one hand, on May 28, 1918, the people of Azerbaijan gained independence, restored their national statehood, and were able to create a democratic state in the form of a republic. On the other hand, during this period, the Azerbaijani people were subjected to genocide committed by Armenian nationalists. The most tragic page in the history of XX century Azerbaijan is connected with the name of the Baku Soviet and its leader Stepan Shaumyan. Judging by the important political processes that took place as a result of the collapse of the Russian Empire, he was at the head of the political regime established in Baku and surrounding areas. Speaking under the banner of the Bolshevik movement, Shaumyan, in fact, expressed the interests of Armenian nationalism, which declared the establishment of the Armenian state in many parts of Turkey and Azerbaijan as his strategic goal. The political force led by Shaumyan, who occupied Baku and surrounding areas, could have achieved its goal only by destroying the Azerbaijani population. Thus, Azerbaijanis became victims of the policy of state terrorism in their land. The result of the policy pursued by Shaumyan and the Baku Soviet led by him was the genocide of tens of thousands of Azerbaijanis. The lifes of these innocent people were sacrificed for the realization of the “Great Armenia” ideology.

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From the pen of our historians: a look at the genocides committed by the Armenian Dashnaks against the Azerbaijanis in 1918 #genocid

Solmaz Rustamova-Tohidi: The most painful, bloodiest, most tragic moment in the history of the twentieth century is the beginning of a series of events in which the existence of our people and territories was under serious danger. Taking advantage of the historical conditions for independence after the collapse of the Russian Empire, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia declared their independence. However, from the first days of independence, Armenia began to make territorial claims against neighboring republics, especially Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. Armenian Dashnaks and terrorist organizations, together with the Bolsheviks, committed bloody massacres in Baku and other regions, killing thousands of innocent people in order to shake the strong social base of Azerbaijanis. In those days, the property of Azerbaijanis was looted in the amount of 400 million rubles. Mass looting led to famine and the spread of various diseases among the Muslim population of Baku. Only after the liberation of Baku by the Caucasian Islamic Army in September 1918, the Azerbaijanis escaped the danger.

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From the pen of our historians: a look at the 1918 genocide against Azerbaijanis #genocid

Academician Yagub Mahmudov: Armenians committed terrible crimes in Azerbaijan in 1918, not only against Azerbaijanis, but against humanity as a whole. Dashnak groups attacked all Muslim neighborhoods of Baku, killing old and small unarmed people.
Becouse of research, a large number of new facts and documents have been collected. A mass grave was discovered in Guba. The revealed historical facts prove that the geography of the bloody actions carried out by the Armenian nationalists in March-April 1918 and later was wider and the number of victims of the tragedy was much more higher.
If you look at the history of genocide, it is clear that it has never been used, such a brutal and ruthless killing of people. Separate books on genocide committed in Azerbaijan have been published.
Armenians were resettled in the South Caucasus, and the territory of the current Armenian state is the historical lands of Azerbaijan. Since March 1918, the Armenian nationalists have destroyed the peaceful Azerbaijani population only on the basis of their ethnicity, burned people alive, and destroyed rare historical monuments and mosques.
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From the pen of our historians: a look at the 1918 genocide against Azerbaijanis

Firdovsiya Ahmadova: “The main reasons for the massacres committed in the areas of Azerbaijan in 1918 were: complete neutralization of the national movement, deprivation of its social base, that is, the de facto ethnic cleansing of the local population. In order to escalate the massacres, the Bolsheviks had to enter into an alliance with the Dashnaks and the Armenian National Council in order to ensure the superiority of their military forces. Armenians preferred the Bolshevik dictatorship to realize their intentions. Bolshevik-Dashnak cooperation resulted in the mass extermination of the peaceful Muslim population.

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Zangazur area

After the establishment of independent republics in the South Caucasus (1918), the territorial claims of Armenians against Zangazur began to be observed with genocides in May-August. The report of Mikhailov, a member of the Extraordinary Investigation Commission of Azerbaijan, stated that Armenians had destroyed 115 villages and about 10 new buildings in Zangazur district. As a result of the savagery of Andronicus and other Armenian-Dashnak bandits, 10,068 people were killed or injured in Zangazur district.
In order to protect the local civilians, on January 13, 1919, the Karabakh Governor-General’s Office was established, which included Javanshir, Shusha and Jabrayil districts, as well as Zangazur district. Despite all defensive measures, the genocide of Armenians against the Azerbaijani population of Zangazur district continued in 1919-20.
After the collapse of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the nefarious enemy became more active in the Soviet period in the policy of tearing Zangazur from Azerbaijan, and a large part of the lands of the area was annexed to Armenia. During the zoning policy implemented in the lands of ancient Azerbaijan since the late 1920s, Gafan, Gorus, Mehri and Sisiyan districts were established in those territories, and Zangazur was abolished as a historical province.
Source: Encyclopedia of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. In two volumes, Volume II, Baku, 2005, p.459-460

 

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Provided within the framework of the project "We study and teach the monuments of Karabakh!" Historical and architectural monuments of Shushi

Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque is the oldest mosque located in the central square of Shusha. The construction of the Upper Govhar Agha Mosque was carried out in four stages. The first mosque in the area was built of reeds in about 1750, parallel to the Karabakh khan’s palace, by the order of Panahali khan, the founder of the Karabakh khanate and Shusha fortress. In 1768-1769, a new stone mosque was built on the site of that mosque. In the first half of the 19th century, a third mosque with a double minaret was built on the site of the dilapidated mosque, and in 1883, the fourth and last Juma mosque in Shusha was built on the site of the third mosque at the expense of Govhar agha.
Ashagi Govhar aga mosque is a Juma mosque located in Gapan Square of Shusha city. It is considered to be the first mosque built in Shusha by Ibrahim khan’s daughter Govhar aga. The architect of the mosque was Karabaghli Karbalai Safikhan . After the construction of the Yukhari (Upper) Govhar Agha Mosque, this mosque became known as theAshagi (Lower) Govhar Agha Mosque among the people of Shusha. The construction date of the mosque dates back to 1874-1875. The Yukhari and Ashagi Govhar Agha mosques were considered to be one of the great and rare pearls of the Muslim East in the true sense of the word.
With the occupation of Shusha on May 8, 1992, like all architectural monuments in the city, these mosques became victims of Armenian vandalism, and over the past 28 years, these monuments have been extensively destroyed. As a result of the Second Karabakh War, Shusha was liberated from occupation and our historical and architectural monuments there were liberated from Armenian captivity.