The date of May 8 is a symbol of the 28-year longing for Azerbaijan’s Shusha city because, on this day in 1992 Shusha, the crown of the Azerbaijani national culture was occupied.

Since then and until now, Shusha has lived in captivity for 28 years. At the same time, the Azerbaijani people experienced pain and sadness. The wounds began to bleed and hurt on May 8 each year. However, the hope of the Azerbaijani people never faded, that is why they endured 28 years of grief. Shusha is free now. All the wounds have healed.

The words of President of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev "You are free, dear Shusha! We are back, dear Shusha! We will revive you, dear Shusha!" put an end to the suffering of the Azerbaijani people.

The date of May 8 does not seem to be such a gloomy date. The Azerbaijani people will no longer mark the day of the occupation of Shusha city. From now on, 28-year-old sadness will be replaced by a life full of happiness. Just like the gloomy date of May 8 was replaced by a bright one - November 8.

Shusha has historically been one of the important centers of the historical, cultural, social, and political life of Azerbaijan.

A decision was made to declare the historical part of Shusha a historical and architectural reserve on the initiative of Azerbaijani national leader Heydar Aliyev in 1977.

As a result of this decision, important steps were taken to protect the monuments of Shusha and enshrine the memory of prominent figures of culture and art.

Life in custody accompanied by brutal torture

As a result of the military aggression unleashed against Azerbaijan, Armenia occupied Shusha city on May 8, 1992, and pursued a policy of destruction of the historical and cultural heritage of the Azerbaijani people in the city during the occupation.

However, historical justice has triumphed during the decisive struggle of the Azerbaijani troops. So, Shusha city was liberated from occupation on November 8, 2020.

Thus, the pearl of Azerbaijan, the Nagorno-Karabakh region - Shusha city was saved from long captivity accompanied by cruel torture.

From the first day of liberation, the damage caused to the city, its historical and cultural heritage, and nature was immediately assessed and the restoration work was launched.

Currently, the work is underway to return Shusha to its former condition, turning it into one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Much attention is paid to the public administration in Shusha to ensure flexibility and efficiency in organizing the restoration work.

Thus, the first special representative of the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Azerbaijani territories liberated from the Armenian occupation was appointed to Shusha district as the historical, cultural significance and exceptional moral value of Shusha for the Azerbaijani people requires a special approach.

In this regard, further improvement of public administration and legal regulation in Shusha will serve not only to restore and preserve the historical and cultural heritage in the city but also to create the conditions for its sustainable development.

Although the date of May 8 has lost its moral and psychological significance ...

Taking all this into account, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree declaring Shusha the cultural capital of Azerbaijan. Thus, Shusha entered the stage of independence as the cultural capital of Azerbaijan.

There is no doubt that in the coming years Shusha will become one of the cultural centers not only of Azerbaijan but also of the world. There is great potential and strong will for this.

Moreover, the Azerbaijani people will never forget the history of the occupation of the land of their great-grandfathers. Therefore, May 8, no matter how this date has lost its moral and psychological significance, still retains its place in history. So, let's briefly recall this recent history.

All historical facts show that Shusha became a victim of betrayal

Before the occupation, the spirit of the population of the city was high in early May 1992. They did not even think about leaving Shusha. When Armenia attacked the city, the main problem was the lack of weapons. In an unequal battle, the city was defended only by volunteer battalions.

However, the disorganization in the troops caused that moment due to the incompetence of mathematics teacher - Defense Minister Rahim Gaziyev, who had neither knowledge nor experience in the military sphere, as well as internal chaos, made the defense of Shusha extremely difficult.

Armenia admitted that during the occupation of Shusha, about 100 armored vehicles and tanks, 11,000 mercenaries brought from abroad were used.

During the occupation of Shusha, about 25,000 people lived in the city. During the defense of the city, 195 civilians were killed and 165 were wounded. Later, 114 Azerbaijanis captured by the Armenians and held in the Shusha prison were brutally killed, 58 residents of the city went missing. Residents of the city have ceased to trust the authorities.

The reason was the genocide that occurred both in Shusha and in Khojaly. However, residents who did not want to leave Shusha were forcibly evicted from the city.

Thus, Shusha, which for centuries held back the enemy's onslaught as an impregnable fortress, was occupied by Armenia.

At the same time, the Ministry of Defense, headed by Rahim Gaziyev, stated that the news about the attack on Shusha was false. So, this ancient city became a victim of betrayal.

Treachery of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan-Musavat tandem

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev again raised this issue on January 27 while receiving Aydin Karimov in connection with his appointment as special representative of the president in the Shusha district. The president said that the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan-Musavat tandem was responsible for the loss of Shusha on May 8, 1992.

"The loss of Shusha on 8 May 1992 was a great tragedy. The PPFA-Musavat tandem is responsible for that tragedy. Everyone should know this and no-one should ever forget about it. At that time, there was a struggle for power in Azerbaijan. The PFPA-Musavat tandem was striving for power, made this provocation to overthrow the then government, and actually surrendered Shusha to the enemy," the president noted

"At that time, the minister of defense of Azerbaijan was an offshoot of the PFPA-Musavat tandem, one of their henchmen. He was the first to sell Shusha. And then he said that he was not to blame. How can that be possible, traitor? He said that if Shusha is surrendered, he will put a bullet in his head. He has yet to fire the bullet into his traitorous head," President Aliyev stressed.

"The PFPA-Musavat tandem succeeded in its dirty intentions. As a result of the occupation of Shusha and of Lachin district a few days later, the then government was removed and, as a result of a military coup, the PFPA-Musavat duo came to power. After that, they forgot about Shusha, actually gave it to the Armenians, and then committed another act of betrayal – in April 1993, they surrendered Kalbajar to the enemy. They left innocent and unarmed people there alone, could not save and protect them," the president added.

What did they do after that? They deserted and fled. The commander-in-chief was a deserter, the secretary of state was a deserter, the parliament speaker was a deserter, other deserters also fled and hid, one in Kalaki, another abroad. If the commander-in-chief flees during the war, then this is desertion, there is no other name for that. Everyone should know this and not forget,” the head of state said.

After these words of the president, there are no more unclear moments about the occupation of Shusha. Therefore, the Azerbaijani people must not forget their history and not allow future generations to do this.

“History repeats itself in two cases: when a lesson is learned from it, bright pages are repeated, when not, dark pages,” Turkic philosopher Abu Turkhan said.