Martyrs' Lane or Alley of Martyrs ( az, Şəhidlər Xiyabanı), formerly known as the Kirov Park, is a
cemetery
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a bu ...
and memorial in
Baku
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...
,
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
dedicated to those killed by the
Soviet Army
uk, Радянська армія
, image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg
, alt =
, caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army
, start_date ...
during
Black January
Black January ( az, Qara Yanvar), also known as Black Saturday or the January Massacre, was a violent crackdown on the civilian population of Baku on 19–20 January 1990, as part of a state of emergency during the dissolution of the Soviet Uni ...
1990 and in the
First Nagorno-Karabakh War
The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 t ...
of 1988–1994.
History
In the closing days of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, fighting broke out in Baku as a result of the
Russian Civil War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Russian Civil War
, partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I
, image =
, caption = Clockwise from top left:
{{flatlist,
*Soldiers ...
, with four groups fighting for control of the area when the Russian Empire collapsed. Fighting each other were the
Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
,
Mensheviks
The Mensheviks (russian: меньшевики́, from меньшинство 'minority') were one of the three dominant factions in the Russian socialist movement, the others being the Bolsheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries.
The factions em ...
,
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...
and
Azeris. Many people were killed in the fighting including some from a small British force sent to prevent Baku falling into the hands of the Russians.
The Martyrs' Lane site first served as Muslim cemetery for victims of the
March Events of 1918.
The cemetery was completely destroyed and the corpses removed after the
Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
came to power, who created an amusement park on the site and installed a statue of
Sergei Kirov, the prominent Bolshevik leader.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the statue and the amusement park facilities were removed and the location was reinstated as a burial site for national heroes.
The first buried at the newly instated memorial were those who had died during the
Black January
Black January ( az, Qara Yanvar), also known as Black Saturday or the January Massacre, was a violent crackdown on the civilian population of Baku on 19–20 January 1990, as part of a state of emergency during the dissolution of the Soviet Uni ...
events of 1990 when Soviet forces invaded Baku.
The memorial was next used for the burial of the bodies of men who died in the
First Nagorno-Karabakh War
The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 t ...
, an armed conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the small
enclave
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
of
Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik, and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains. The region is m ...
in southwestern
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
, between the ethnic
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...
of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...
, and the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Design
It is estimated that approximately 15,000 people are buried in the cemetery. It is located on a hill in the south of the city overlooking the
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central A ...
. It is considered a shrine to those who have given their lives for Azerbaijan's independence and attracts thousands of visitors each year.
Memorials
The
Eternal Flame
An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which can ...
Memorial is located at Martyrs' lane and is frequently visited by Azerbaijani presidents and other dignitaries.
Martyrs' Lane is also home to
Baku Turkish Martyrs' Memorial
The Baku Turkish Martyrs' Memorial ( az, Bakı Türk Şəhidliyi, tr, Bakü Türk Şehitleri Anıtı) is a memorial dedicated to the Ottoman soldiers killed during the World War I in Azerbaijan. It is situated within the Martyrs' Lane ( az, Ş� ...
, a large memorial to the 1,130 Turkish troops who were killed while fighting Bolshevik and Armenian forces during the
Battle of Baku
The Battle of Baku ( az, Bakı döyüşü, tr, Bakü Muharebesi, russian: Битва за Баку) was a battle in World War I that took place between August–September 1918 between the Ottoman–Azerbaijani coalition forces led by Nuri Pas ...
in 1918. Next to the memorial there is a martyrs mosque, also built by Turks.
The memorial contains a hexagonal block clad in red granite; each face contains a pure white marble crescent-star, based on those in the
Turkish national flag. It was unveiled by the former Turkish president
Süleyman Demirel
Süleyman Sami Demirel (; 1 November 1924 – 17 June 2015) was a Turkish politician, engineer, and statesman who served as the 9th President of Turkey from 1993 to 2000. He previously served as the Prime Minister of Turkey seven times betwee ...
and the Azerbaijani president
Heydar Aliyev
Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev ( az, Һејдәр Әлирза оғлу Әлијев, italic=no, Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev, ; , ; 10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani politician who served as the third president of Azer ...
at a formal ceremony in September, 1999.
Not far from the Turkish memorial there is a small wall acknowledging the British soldiers killed during the same conflict.
Eternal Flame Memorial Complex
The proposal to establish the Eternal Flame Memorial was put forward in 1994. The Parliament of Azerbaijan, on the initiative of President Aliyev, subsequently agreed to erect a national monument in memory of Azerbaijani martyrs. Aliyev personally oversaw the project. During the exhibition on the fifth anniversary of Black January, three proposals, including one by sculptor Omar Eldarov, were submitted to the President; he requested several more proposals. The proposal developed by the architect Elbay Gasimzade won the competition. On August 5, 1998, President Aliyev issued an order to erect an Eternal Flame monument in the Alley of Martyrs with funding of 2 billion AZN.
The monument was inaugurated on October 9, 1998. The memorial complex is composed of a tomb standing on an 8-pointed star crown with a gold-framed glass dome. In 2007, the columns of the Eternal Flame were heightened and parts of the octangular star and eight-pointed mirror were made of gold.
Notable burials
The first tomb in the entrance of Martyrs' Lane belongs to married couple Fariza and Ilham Allahverdiyev who died during
Black January
Black January ( az, Qara Yanvar), also known as Black Saturday or the January Massacre, was a violent crackdown on the civilian population of Baku on 19–20 January 1990, as part of a state of emergency during the dissolution of the Soviet Uni ...
. Ilham, was shot dead by Soviet troops and Fariza committed suicide after hearing of her husband's death. The tomb has become a symbol of fidelity and love. The cemetery also contains the graves of the journalists
Chingiz Mustafayev and
Salatyn Asgarova, who were killed during the
First Nagorno-Karabakh War
The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 t ...
.
Təsisçilər Şurası
Gallery
File:Vladimir Putin in Azerbaijan 9-10 January 2001-10.jpg, President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
laying a wreath at the memorial.
File:Dmitry Medvedev in Azerbaijan 3 July 2008-7.jpg, President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...
laying a wreath at the Eternal Flame monument.
File:Ilham Aliyev and Recep Tayyip Erdogan have visited the Alley of Martyrs in Baku 07.jpg, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to ...
and Ilham Aliyev
Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev ( az, İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev, ; born 24 December 1961) is the fourth president of Azerbaijan, serving in the post since 31 October 2003.
The son and second child of the former Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev, ...
at the memorial
File:Mosque of the Martyrs in Baku.jpg, Mosque of the Martyrs
File:Memorial anglichanam.JPG, Memorial to the British soldiers.
See also
* Khojaly Massacre
* Chemberekend Cemetery
References
External links
{{Baku landmarks
Buildings and structures in Baku
Cemeteries in Azerbaijan
Architecture in Azerbaijan
Tourist attractions in Baku
Cemeteries in Baku