Following the escalation of tensions in the NKAO in the late 1980s, significant socio-political events unfolded in the Azerbaijan SSR. The forced deportation of ethnic Azerbaijanis from Armenia, coupled with Armenia’s increasingly assertive separatist claims over Nagorno-Karabakh as well as the Soviet leadership’s tepid response to the ongoing processes, catalyzed the first significant wave of political mobilization in Azerbaijan. These developments provoked widespread public indignation, culminating in mass demonstrations that marked a pivotal moment in the political awakening of Azerbaijani society. Thus, the initial demonstration occurred on February 19, 1988. It was primarily led by students, academic staff, workers, and members of the intelligentsia. The demonstrators initiated a march from the premises of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences towards the main administrative buildings in Baku, chanting slogans such as “[Nagorno-Karabakh] belongs to Azerbaijan.”[1] Although symbolically significant, this protest did not gain sufficient momentum to develop into a broader mass movement at that time, reflecting both the nascent stage of civil mobilization and the societal hesitancy under Soviet authoritarianism.
The first large-scale and sustained public mobilization emerged later that year. On November 17, 1988, an unprecedented mass rally was convened in Baku’s central Lenin Square, subsequently renamed Freedom Square. This demonstration marked a turning point in the political life of Soviet Azerbaijan. Hundreds of thousands, and eventually millions, of Azerbaijani citizens participated in the rally. The protesters voiced sharp criticism of the Azerbaijani Communist Party leadership, particularly its failure to adequately address the challenges posed by Armenia’s territorial claims and its ineffective management of the crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh. One of the specific triggers for this mass mobilization was the plan to construct a guesthouse in Topkhana Forest near Shusha for workers of the Yerevan aluminum factory.[2] Many Azerbaijanis perceived this development as a direct encroachment on their land and a symbolic assertion of Armenian claims over Nagorno-Karabakh.
The rally, characterized by peaceful sit-ins and continuous overnight protests, persisted for eighteen consecutive days, demonstrating the depth of public dissatisfaction and the increasing politicization of Azerbaijani society. The protest was eventually dispersed by Soviet internal security forces on December 5, 1988, through the use of force.[3] These demonstrations were not merely expressions of nationalist sentiment; they signified a broader awakening of political consciousness and civic agency among Azerbaijanis. The 1988 mobilizations laid the ideological and organizational groundwork for the subsequent independence movement that would emerge more forcefully in the early 1990s. The events of November 1988 are now widely recognized as a foundational moment in the modern political history of Azerbaijan. In recognition of this historic mobilization, November 17 was officially designated as National Revival Day in post-independence Azerbaijan. Since 1992, this date has been commemorated annually as a national holiday, symbolizing the genesis of Azerbaijan’s struggle for sovereignty and national identity within the disintegrating Soviet framework.
[1] De Waal, Black Garden, p. 20.
[2] De Waal, Black Garden, p. 83.
[3] Seyidağa, Etibar, “Xalq hərəkatının başlanmasından 20 il keçdi,” Müsavat, Noyabr 17, 2008; http://musavat.com/news/gündem/xalq-hərkatının-baslanmasından-20-il-keçdi_43013.html. Accessed on December 2, 2024.
