Every year on November 17, Azerbaijan celebrates the important holiday — National Revival Day (Azerbaijani). Milli dirçəliş günü), which is celebrated at the state level, but is not currently a day off.
In 1988, on this day, on Lenin Square (today — Freedom Square) in Baku, the first open-ended mass rallies began to protest against the policy of the central authorities of the former Union regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict; for the first time, calls were made for Azerbaijan to secede from the USSR.
Gradually, the rally grew into a powerful, unprecedented political action. According to some estimates, approximately half a million people gathered in the square in those days.
On November 22, a curfew was introduced in Baku, and large forces of Soviet troops were gathered. But these government actions did not stop the rally.
A few days later, the square was cordoned off by internal troops drawn to Baku from their locations in different places of the USSR. On the night of December 3-4, using force from troops and armored vehicles, the protesters were dispersed, many of whom (about 400 people) were subsequently arrested.
For Azerbaijanis, National Revival Day symbolizes the beginning of the national liberation movement, as a result of which Azerbaijan became an independent state in 1991.