Guba Genocide Memorial Complex

Quba Genocide Memorial Complex – erected in memory of the tens of thousands of Azerbaijanis who perished as a result of the massive massacres carried out by Bolshevik-Armenian armed units on Azerbaijani lands in 1918.

History

On 30 December 2009, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on the creation of the "Genocide Memorial Complex" in the city of Quba in order to convey to the world community the territorial claims and aggression policy of Armenian nationalists against Azerbaijan, their bloody crimes, to protect the national memory of future generations and to immortalize the memory of the genocide victims.

On 18 September 2013, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and his wife Mehriban Aliyeva inaugurated the Quba Genocide Memorial Complex.

Architectural features

The monument consists of three parts: two constructions resembling serrated knives – the entrance and the exit, and the main hall with a black memorial stone at its centre.

The sharp points of the monument embody intense pain. The emergence of the sharp points from beneath the ground reflects the impossibility of concealing the truth.

The monument is entirely made of reinforced concrete. To embody the mournful silence in memory of the victims of the tragedy, the design deliberately omitted any ornamentation.

Interior

The exhibition of the monument-museum reflects the history of the genocide of the Muslim population in the five districts of the Baku governorate – Baku, Shamakhi, Quba, Javad and Goychay – during March–July 1918. The museum exhibition, consisting of 19 sections, is presented in Azerbaijani, Russian and English. The exhibition begins with photographs depicting the peaceful life of Quba on the eve of the 1918 events. Here, photographs are displayed showing the ancient life of Quba, the peaceful coexistence of Azerbaijanis, Lezgins, Jews and other peoples, and people belonging to various social strata.

The exhibition is rich with unique archival documents. Here are presented the decision on the creation of the Extraordinary Investigation Commission of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic to investigate the crime after the bloody events of 1918, the commission's documents, a special-content map reflecting the territory of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918–1920, and Heydar Aliyev's decree on the genocide.

During the genocides that occurred in various tragedies, the majority of people killed en masse with particular cruelty were burned, thrown into the sea, or into wells, and therefore could not be buried. In the center of the hall, a black marble stone has been erected in memory of such victims.

The Museum Complex houses an information center, a rich library, and a reading hall equipped with computers. The State Flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan is raised on the complex grounds. In the spacious courtyard area, a garden of apple trees, the symbol of Quba, has been planted.

In the museum, the historical tragedy of each tragedy is presented in separate sections with rich photos, archival documents, statistical data, and diagrams. All information appears in three languages in an electronic database installed in front of each section.

A documentary film reflecting the Quba genocide is continuously shown in the hall. The exhibition is completed by a contemporary art example—human faces depicted on a huge metal plate. This is evaluated as today's view of events that have pierced the blood memory of history, the contemporary era’s attitude.

The hall’s exit is completed with photographs depicting the liberation of Baku in 1918 by the Caucasian Islamic Army.