Azerbaijan commemorates the genocide of Azerbaijanis on March 31

Today, March 31, marks the Day of the Genocide of Azerbaijanis, commemorating 107 years since the tragic events of 1918.

Between March 30 and April 3, armed groups, including the Baku Soviet and Dashnak Armenians, perpetrated a horrific genocide against Azerbaijanis across Baku, Shamakhi, Guba, Khachmaz, Lankaran, Hajigabul, Salyan, Zangezur, Garabagh, Nakhchivan, and other regions.

Official sources report that approximately 12,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, with tens of thousands more reported missing. Exploiting the political turmoil in Russia following the 1917 February and October revolutions, Armenians carried out their plans under the Bolshevik banner.

The Baku Commune, beginning in March 1918, implemented a systematic campaign aimed at eradicating Azerbaijanis, justifying the violence as a fight against "counter-revolutionary elements."

In 1919 and 1920, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic marked March 31 as a day of national mourning in memory of the atrocities. Following Azerbaijan's independence, the nation gained the opportunity to present an objective historical account of these events.

The decree "On the Genocide of Azerbaijanis," signed by national leader Heydar Aliyev on March 26, 1998, officially recognized the genocide and condemned the actions of the Armenian perpetrators.

March 31, Genocide Day, is now observed annually at the state level in Azerbaijan and has become an integral part of the country’s foreign policy, ensuring the acknowledgment of this tragic chapter in Azerbaijani history.