14 January 2020, 11:00

On the 30th anniversary of the Baku pogroms, residents of Yerevan paid tribute to victims of the tragedy. Refugees from Baku told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent about their relatives who were killed during those tragic events.

On January 13, 1990, a two-day pogrom of Armenians began in Baku. According to various sources, from 40 to 90 Armenians were killed during the pogrom. On January 13 and 14, 1990, the pogroms reached their peak and did not stop until the introduction in the city of 35,000 soldiers and officers of the army corps on January 20. As a result of the operation, 137 civilians were killed, and more than 744 people were injured.

Liya Babayan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that she was only 7 years old when her family fled Baku and left for Armenia to escape the pogroms.

"Meanwhile, I remember everything. In the early 1990s, being an Armenian in Baku was equal to a death sentence," Liya Babayan said.

Kamo Arutyunyan, a native of Baku, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that he grew up in the Baku village of Kirov, and his father took him every day after work for a walk in the nearest park. According to Kamo Arutyunyan, he lost his father during the pogroms in Baku.

Iren A., a resident of Baku, who has been living in Florida in USA since 1992, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that her personal story was not tragic, but she saw people who were beaten and crippled and whose relatives and friends were killed or disappeared.

"As far as some of my acquaintances are concerned, I have no information what happened to them. A woman told me how several people, including her brother, were thrown into a pit, doused with gasoline, and set on fire. Her brother managed to get out of the pit, although he got severe burns. The others were less fortunate," Iren told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 14, 2020 at 07:12 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.