November 17 - National Revival Day

November 17 is celebrated in Azerbaijan as National Revival Day.

On November 17, 1988 uninterrupted rallies began on the main square of Baku - "Azadliq" (former Lenin Square - ed.) with the demand to ensure the sovereignty over Karabakh.  Later, the participants of the rally raised the question of Azerbaijan's independence.

This date is considered to be the beginning of the national liberation struggle of the Azerbaijani people to secede from the USSR.

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the square to protest against the anti-Azerbaijani policy of Moscow and its unjust position over the flaring Armenian separatism in Karabakh.

On the night of December 4 to 5, the rally was dispersed by the Soviet troops, and repressions began. But that did not stop the national liberation movement.

As early as July 1989, the People's Front of Azerbaijan (PFA) was set up, and under pressure from the PFA, the Supreme Council adopted a Constitutional Act on the Sovereignty of Azerbaijan in September that year. This provoked irritation and anger from Moscow.

On January 19-20, 1990 the Soviet Army carried out a punitive operation in Baku in order to suppress the national movement in Azerbaijan.

Heavy weapons and firearms were used against the protesters, resulting in deaths and wounds of hundreds of civilians. However, even this step by the Soviet authorities failed to suppress the will of Azerbaijan for independence.

In the 1990 elections, most of the PFA leaders won seats in the Supreme Soviet and formed a faction called the Democratic Bloc.

On October 18, 1991, the state independence of Azerbaijan was declared by the efforts of this faction.

In May 1992, the People's Front came to power. Soviet troops were withdrawn from Azerbaijan within a short period of time.

November 17 is celebrated as a national holiday since December 1992. However, since 2006 it became a working day.