On 19th January 1990 the military units of the former Soviet Union entered into Baku city and some regions of Azerbaijan. The invasion of a big contingent of the Soviet Army units, interior troops and special destination detachments into Baku was accompanied by particular cruelty and unprecedented atrocities. Reprisals were inflicted upon the peaceful population, hundreds of people were killed, wounded, missing.

At that night in Baku hundreds of people were cruelly and fatally wounded before the public declaration of the state of emergency. The soldiers sacked and burnt 200 houses and flats, 80 automobiles, including ambulance cars. Women, children and old men, as well as ambulance men and police officers also were among the killed persons.

The illegal declaration of the state of emergency in Baku, incursion of the armed forces into the city and atrocious violence against the peaceful population with the use of heavy equipment and killing weapons, when no resistance was shown – that was the crime against the Azerbaijani people. The military men were shooting people point-blank with particular cruelty, tanks and armored troop-carriers were hindering the medical staff from helping the wounded people.

The bloody tragedy, taken place in Baku in January 1990, showed the fictitious nature of the sovereign rights of the union republics, anti-national character of the totalitarian regime when the armed forces of the USSR were again used not for protection from the external aggression, but against its own people.

The analysis of the measures taken by the party and state structures on the threshold of 20 January and the contradictory processes, which were in progress in Baku at that time, shows that the January tragedy was the consequence of previously prepared military operation.

Additional contingents of the internal troops and forces of the Soviet Army were sent to Baku during the period from the end of 1989 right up to the January events. In connection with this fact the various preparatory measures aimed at quartering and provisioning military units were taken. Though there were already 110.000 armed security and law-enforcement personnel, in the middle of January 1990 about 66.000 extra soldiers and officers were transferred to Baku, among them there also were reservists, conscripted for the short period of time.

The Investigation Commission ascertained that the reservists and personnel of the units, consisting of more than 11.500 people, when entered the city, were undergoing intensive psychological pressure: the misinformation about the necessity of this action for the protection of Russian population, which is allegedly cruelly annihilated by the local population was spread; false information about the considerable amount of snipers and submachine gunner from the National Front, located around the casernes and on the roofs of houses, who would meet the troops with the burst of sub-machine gun fire was reported and etc.. Thus, the troops expected fierce fire resistance and essentially were psychologically ready for showing cruelty. At that, according to the materials of the Investigation Commission there were many people of the Armenian nationality among the reservists.

Some days before the events the wards in the hospitals of Baku were quickly vacated and prepared for receiving the large quantity of wounded people, the relatives of the Soviet servicemen were quickly evacuated from Baku. Thus, all conditions for committing military aggression and entering of the troops were created.

The explosion of the power block of the Azerbaijani television on 19 January and full suspension of broadcasting in the republic became the next stage of the military operation. Since the day of the tragedy the activity of other mass media was help up and the people were deprived of their rights to get information.

In order to implement that pre-arranged criminal action the Ministers of Defence and of the Interior of the USSR, other high rank military officials and party organization men arrived in Baku. In all their speeches they assured that they came to Baku in order to investigate the situation and prevent entering of the troops.