The military aggression of the former Soviet Army against the Azerbaijani people that day will go down in history as one of the gravest crimes against humanity.

The incursion of large numbers of Soviet Army personnel, special forces and internal troops into Baku was accompanied by special brutality and unprecedented brutality. On the night of January 19-20, 1990, under the leadership of the USSR Minister of Defense D. Yazov, troops broke down barricades in different directions and entered the city, firing on the population with heavy equipment and various types of weapons. The decree on the imposition of a state of emergency in Baku on January 20 at 00:00 was announced on the radio at 5.30 in the morning. By that time, more than 100 civilians had been killed. In January 1990, 131 people were killed and more than 600 were injured in massacres carried out by Soviet troops in Baku. Among those killed were representatives of 5 nations, more than 20 women and children.

At that time, the national leader Heydar Aliyev, demonstrating political will, came to the Azerbaijani representation in Moscow and made a statement strongly condemning this crime committed by the USSR leadership. After returning to the leadership of Azerbaijan, on the initiative of Heydar Aliyev, in January 1994, he gave a political assessment of the tragic events of January 20 in the Milli Majlis.