Chronicle of Black January- Reza Deghati

On January 20, 1990, due to a planned massacre against the civilian population in Baku by the Soviet government, famous photojournalist Reza Deghati and his Turkish-French video journalist friend documented the events through photos and videos. As a result, "Black January" is no longer a secret, and the world is aware of the massacre committed against civilians.

During a time when the population in Azerbaijan was being disarmed, the main news source, television broadcasts, were halted, and foreign journalists were banned from entering Baku, Reza Deghati headed to Baku as soon as he learned about the massacre on January 20. Since direct travel from Paris to Baku was impossible, he and his colleagues obtained a Soviet visa under the pretense of filming a ballet in Moscow. In Moscow's "Rossiya Hotel," several foreign media representatives were also present, eager to learn what had happened in Baku and prepare their reports.

"At that time, a government official in Moscow informed journalists that he would take them to Baku the next day. However, it was not credible that journalists would be taken to Baku while the Soviet government was committing a massacre. I conveyed this to the Azerbaijani representative office in Moscow, and they shared my concerns.

Later, news was released by the Soviet government that the promised flight for journalists could not land in Baku and was redirected to Yerevan Airport. During this time, several Armenian women were seen crying, saying, 'We came from Baku; the Azerbaijanis are killing us.' Journalists at the airport believed them and reported January 20 as a tragedy of the Armenians, not the Azerbaijanis."

Reza Deghati

Since journalists were prohibited from entering, Reza Deghati, Shirin Malikova, and their video journalist friend set out for Baku with the help of their Azerbaijani acquaintances. They traveled for 48 hours, hiding on the train and avoiding unnecessary interactions with people to stay safe. Their first task on the train was to learn a few Russian phrases, like "Ya po ruski ne znayu" (I do not speak Russian) and "Ya Azerbaycanets" (I am Azerbaijani) because those who did not speak Russian were less likely to be questioned. However, if anyone were to check his documents, it would mean disaster. Therefore, they bribed the inspectors with vodka to avoid any inspections.

When Reza Deghati finally arrived in Baku after this long journey, he compared the scene he encountered to a scene from a World War II film.

"After 48 hours on the road, as the train entered Baku station in the evening, just half an hour before curfew, we saw armed Soviet soldiers in hats and long coats lined up on the platform. It was cold, and I felt like a character in a World War II movie. It seemed as if nothing had changed."

Reza Deghati

When the train arrived in Baku, the curfew was already approaching, and there were numerous Soviet soldiers checking everyone at the station. With the help of two women who introduced themselves as Reza Deghati and his friend's fiancée, and who carried guns, they managed to leave the station without being searched. One of the women was later recognized as Eleonora Huseynova, who would become the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan in France and also Azerbaijan's Permanent Representative to UNESCO.

On January 24, he was welcomed in Baku by friends, including Azerbaijani diplomat Ramiz Abutalibov, who worked at UNESCO. They informed him about how Soviet soldiers shot peaceful demonstrators, how Soviet tanks ran over vehicles and civilians, killing unarmed individuals including children, women, and the elderly.

At a time when even walking in the streets was dangerous, Reza Deghati, surrounded by Soviet tanks and patrols, risked his life with a fake Azerbaijani passport to secretly capture photographs with his camera. He went to hospitals and morgues, taking pictures of the scenes he witnessed from different angles, including from within vehicles and from the windows of buildings.

"Baku was besieged by tanks and soldier patrols. It was extremely risky to openly take pictures of what we were seeing. We had to be cautious and find ways to hide the camera while taking photos from the windows of cars and buildings."

Reza Deghati

When Reza arrived at the city park, which had become a cemetery where the martyrs of "Black January" were buried, with the graves covered in red carnations and black attire, he disguised himself like everyone else to avoid drawing suspicion and concealed his filming equipment with the help of the people.

"All I remember was red and black."

Reza Deghati

While the army helicopters were flying over the cemetery to disperse the crowd, Reza had already finished capturing his footage that consisted of this "red and black." Due to security measures, he returned to Moscow without his camera and equipment but later obtained them with the help of friends and then proceeded to Paris.

On the evening of the day he arrived in Paris, over 18 television channels broadcast the photos taken by Reza and videos recorded by his friend, discussing the events in Baku. Furthermore, numerous radio stations disseminated information about the January 20 tragedy. In addition, Sipa Press, the photo agency where Reza worked at the time, sent these photos to more than 20,000 media outlets. Thanks to the photographs and videos taken by photojournalist Reza Deghati and his team, the blood memory of "Black January" is not forgotten, and the whole world is informed about this brutality against civilians.

Moreover, Reza Deghati's book titled "Massacre of the Innocents," published in English and French in 2014, discusses the massacres perpetrated against our people since the early 1980s and remains the only significant and comprehensive publication about "Black January" released worldwide.

In the book, photos taken by a photojournalist during the 1990 January 20 tragedy, as well as the genocide committed on February 26, 1992 in Khojaly, are included. Additionally, photos of our bloody history being introduced in various countries of the world and events related to this, as well as photos depicting the lives of refugees and forced migrant families are also featured.