Today is the National Revival Day in Azerbaijan. National Revival Day was declared on November 17, 1992. This holiday is connected with the national liberation movement that began in Baku in November-December 1988. At that time, as a result of the anti-Azerbaijani policy of the Soviet leadership on the Karabakh issue, an anti-Soviet people's movement was formed in Azerbaijan. On November 17, 1988, long-term rallies of the Azerbaijani people began in Azadlig (formerly Lenin), the main square of Baku. Millions of people gathered in the square to protest against Moscow's anti-Azerbaijani policy. Although the rallies were broken up by Soviet troops in early December, Moscow failed to stop the national liberation movement of the Azerbaijani people. The Azerbaijan Popular Front (APF) was established in June 1989. The adoption of the Constitutional Act on the sovereignty of Azerbaijan by the Supreme Soviet in September of the same year further irritated Moscow, and on January 19-20, 1990, troops were sent to Baku.
ÄHeavy equipment and firearms were used against the protesters. Hundreds of protesters and civilians were brutally killed. But this event did not break the national pride of our people. On the contrary, it accelerated the liberation movement. In the 1990 elections, a majority of APC 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 restored. In May 1992, the Popular Front came to power. Within a short period of time, the USSR troops, which were a real threat to the independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan, were withdrawn from Azerbaijan. On November 17, 1990, the first session of the new Supreme Soviet of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic was held. The words "Soviet" and "socialist" were removed from the name of the autonomous republic. At a time when the empire had not yet been erased from the stage of history, the removal of the words "Soviet" and "socialist" from the name of Nakhchivan was a great historical step on the path to gaining our independence. Thus, national leader Heydar Aliyev took the first big step towards the revival of our national statehood. The issue of state symbols of the Autonomous Republic was also discussed at the historic session chaired by national leader Heydar Aliyev. After the discussion of people's deputies, a proposal was made to adopt the tricolor flag as a state symbol. The session, which decided to restore the tricolor flag of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, filed a petition with the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan to adopt it as the state flag. Thus, the beginning of the historical path from national revival to national progress was laid. This year, the 32nd anniversary of this holiday will be celebrated with special enthusiasm, joy and pride. Thus, the territories of Azerbaijan occupied by the Armenian armed forces for many years were liberated from occupation, and the territorial integrity of our country was ensured. During the military operations conducted under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, our dogmatic lands were liberated from the clutches of the enemy.