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Speech in the U.S. Congress on January 20: This incident contributed to the breakup of the Soviet Union

20 January 2009 07:37 (UTC +04:00)

According to Steve Cohen, Black January marks the evening of January 19, 1990, when at midnight 26,000 Russian troops stormed the capital city of Baku with tanks. Armed with a state of emergency declared by the U.S.S.R. Supreme Soviet Presidium and signed by then President Mikhail Gorbachev, the incursion was intended to suppress a growing independence movement.
â€œThe net result was the opposite. This incident inflamed Azerbaijani nationalism and contributed to the breakup of the Soviet Union,â€ he said.

â€œThe Republic of Azerbaijan has maintained its independence for more than 17 years, despite lingering economic and social problems from the Soviet era and the military occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijan by Armenia. Today, Azerbaijan has developed into a thriving country with double digit growth, in large part due to a freely elected president and parliament, free market reforms led by the energy sector, and, most importantly, no foreign troops on its soil,â€ the congressman said.