National Revival Day information

National Revival Day (Azerbaijani: Milli Dirçəliş Günü) is a national holiday celebrated in Azerbaijan every year on the 17th of November.^[1] Since 1992, 17 November has been celebrated as a National Revival Day in the country. It is related to the events in Baku in November-December 1988. As a result of the Soviet leadership's anti-Azerbaijani policy around the Karabakh issue, the anti-Soviet people's movement was formed in Azerbaijan at the end of the 80s of the 20th century.

On November 17, 1988, long-term rallies of the Azerbaijani people (November 17 - December 5, 1988) began in Azadlig Square (former Lenin Square), considered the main square of Baku.

In Azerbaijan, these events are regarded as a national liberation movement and are considered the main factor in the independence of our Republic.

The demands of the November 17 rally 1. The government of Azerbaijan should give a firm warning to Armenia that it will cut off economic relations. The television will broadcast live what is being done in Topkhana.

2. Curfew in Aghdam city should be canceled within 24 hours.

3. Party and Soviet bodies should be dissolved in the Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan's legal, political and economic norms should be restored there.

4. 63 deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, who will participate in the session opened in November, should provide information about this. Otherwise, it is not appropriate for them to return to Azerbaijan. We have given time until 6 o'clock in the evening...

5. If our condition of staying here and staying overnight is not met within 24 hours, the demonstration will be extended indefinitely.

As can be seen from these demands, the main demands of the rally were to stop Armenia's aggression against Azerbaijan, abolish the institution implementing anti-Azerbaijani policy in Nagorno-Karabakh, otherwise apply economic sanctions against Armenia, and raise the issue of Armenia's aggression at the session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. These demands satisfied the leadership of Azerbaijan, but when the government representatives demanded to stop the rally, the demonstrators said that they will not leave the square until their demands are fulfilled. Here, "Stop Moscow's riots!", "Sovereignty!", "Freedom!" slogans began to be heard. The forces that wanted to put pressure on Moscow and seize power in the republics tried to use this. In some districts of Baku, the situation was deliberately aggravated, and hooliganism was committed. The building of state bodies was attacked in Nakhchivan, on November 22, a bloody clash between the population and the army took place in Ganja, 160 people were injured, three soldiers and a child were killed. On November 24, a special state and curfew were imposed in the cities of Baku, Nakhchivan and Ganja. Heavily armed troops were deployed on the streets. Meydan could not slow down. People put carnations on the barrels of the tanks that were brought out into the streets, introduced the soldiers to the demands of the people, and urged them not to shed blood. Demonstrators came to the square with the hammer and sickle flag of the Azerbaijan SSR, but a few days later - on November 19, the flag of the Azerbaijan People's Republic, which existed for the first time in 1918-1920, was raised here. Every day, hundreds of thousands of people passed through tanks and soldiers and flocked to the square. Often, the number of rallying participants exceeded a million people. At night, thousands of people stayed around the bonfires left in the square. The people had already achieved the possible result with the rally. The country's leadership knew the attitude of the Azerbaijani people to the current problem. However, no measures were taken against Armenian nationalism and separatism. Now it was necessary to organize and continue the struggle with democratic means. Realizing this, the forces of the society gradually moved away from the rally, the encirclement of the square was narrowed. On December 3, the military authorities demanded the demonstrators to leave the square. On the night of December 4, the military attacked and forcibly evacuated the square, arresting the demonstrators who spent the night there. After the collapse of the square, protests and demonstrations were held in Baku and other cities for several days. The Day of National Revival symbolizes the beginning of the national liberation movement for the Azerbaijani people in general which led to the formation of the Popular Front of Azerbaijan in late 1988. As a result, Azerbaijan became an independent state in 1991 just 3 years after the historic demonstrations.^[2]

Today the 1988 events are marked as the beginning of a renewed national awakening of the Azeri nation.