Repression tragedy

One of the biggest tragedies which happened in Azerbaijan’s history was a repression that had been continued for about 30 years since 1920-es. Thus hundred thousand sinless people were undergone to repressions in the territory of Azerbaijan since Apr 28, 1920 as a result of anarchy made by totalitarian state regime, violence basing on laws against the human rights for their   national self-consciousness, national statehood and national self-acknowledgment but not for national sensitivity.

General ideas about repression can be summarized as follows:

1) Repression has killed the most talented citizens, intellectual of the nation;

2) Those subjected to repression did not accept the existing system;

3) Those subjected to repression have been arrested on the basis of information of comrades”

4) Persons which praised the socialist society in their works remained safe and those criticized it have been undergone to the repression;

5) Articles of newspaper or journal written about persons that underwent to the repression or different thoughts have been a cause for their repression.

6) Repression had been directed only against opposition. 

Considered in reality as a political event the repression although continued since 20-es of XX until early of 50-es but the events took place during 20-40-es years have especially brutal and distinguished with mercilessness. 

Mass killing of people with different accusations like counter revolutionary, trotskist, spy, nationalist, rebel was a very terrible politics carried out by Stalin, Beria and others and that surrounded them all the USSR.  Total 1575259 persons have been arrested in the repression years in the USSR. 173382 persons from them have been undergone to punishment as if fro carrying out counter revolutionary activities, 1344923 persons sentenced and 681692 persons had been shot.

During the repression years about 100 thousand intellectuals, military men, culture and cultural figures, scientists, writers, teachers, religious figures have been sent to Siberia, Kazakhstan and other places to exile from Azerbaijan territory. Thus very big part of the clever, educated, talented, diligent, moral layer of Azerbaijan society have been destroyed. This is the fact that Azerbaijan was first among post soviet republics for number of the sacrifices of repression falling to each thousand person of the population. If during 20-es republicans, or Musavat and Ittihad members were killed and arrested and sent to the Solovki islands under the name of counter revolutionary, but the repression of 37-es was some mixed kind. At this stage the people were killed with  label of people\'s enemy, panturk, coup d\'état attempter, panislamist. There were communists in this repression whirlpool, too. So, even the most famous and high ranked representatives of Communist Party could not escape from this calamity. The repression of the families of Political Bureau members in Center (Moscow) as shown the complexity of reason, aim and executive structure, is a proof of no mercy to anybody.   

At that time a special plan was prepared in regard of people killed in Azerbaijan, according to which it was intended to shoot 15000 people within 3 months.  

During 1937-38 it had have been decided to carry out repressions out of law court, too. The session begun activities in all over the country used to make a decision just within 15 minutes without participation of state prosecutor, advocate, and many cases of guilty person.  

Exactly in Azerbaijan 70 thousand persons were repressed during 1930-40 and beginning of the 50-es from them 29 thousand persons were intellectuals.  16 Azerbaijani generals had been killed only in the 1937. According to information of the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Kazakhstan Stalin has been killed 150 thousand Azerbaijanians during repression years in Kazakhstan and from them 28 thousand persons  have been shot without law-court and interrogation.

Abbas Mirza Sharifzade, Ayna Sultanova, Bakir Chobanzadem Jumshid Nakhchivanski, Huseyn Javid, Mikayıl Mushvig, Qambay Vezirov, Ruhulla Akhundov, Yusif Vezir Chamanzaminli, Omar Faiq Nemanzade, Ahmad Javad etc  notable science, culture and public figures of Azerbaijan were among those underwent to repression. So the repression has struck a crushing blow on Azerbaijan’s intellect potential as a whole.