Thirty one years since the last deportation of Azerbaijanis from Armenia

Baku / 04.12.19 / Turan: Thirty one years  passed since the deportation of Azerbaijanis from their places of historical residence in modern Armenia.

In November-December 1988 from an area of 8000 square km., where 172 settlements were located, the entire indigenous Azerbaijani population was expelled - 182 thousand people (data of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees), 18000 Kurds and 1000 thousand Russians (data of the Refugee Commission of the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan).

According to the criminal case filed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the former USSR, 216 Azerbaijanis were killed during this deportation. Including: two heads were cut off, 11 were burned alive, two were burned after the murder, one was hanged, three were stabbed to death, 29 were crushed by cars, 41 were killed to death, one was electrocuted, one was suicidal, 10 people died of a heart attack, and eight were missing to lead.  Fifty-seven of those killed were women, 23 were children.

The first deportation of Azerbaijanis from these territories took place at the beginning of the 19th century, after the conquest of the Irevan Khanate by Russia. To create a social base, the Muslim population was squeezed out of the region on the territory of the Irevan and Karabakh khanates and the Armenians moved from Turkey and Iran.

The deportations were carried out in several stages - in 1905, 1918-1920, 1948-1956 and 1987-1988.

According to statistical and archival documents, in total for the indicated period 1.5 million Azerbaijanis were deported from the territory of modern Armenia.

After the establishment of Soviet power in Armenia, the Turkic toponyms of 698 of the 940 settlements where the Azerbaijanis lived were changed. This process was completed after the complete deportation of Azerbaijanis. Thus, by the decree of the ex-president of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan dated April 9, 1991, the last 90 Azerbaijani villages were renamed. -03B06-