Shusha set to celebrate Victory Day with festivities, fireworks

A vibrant series of festive events and a spectacular fireworks display will be held in the city of Shusha on November 8 to mark Victory Day. 

According to the Shusha State Reserve Management, a military march will be held from Flag Square to Shusha Fortress in honour of the day, Caliber.Az reports per local media.

The celebrations will also include a performance by local schoolchildren, along with an exhibition of paintings and crafts created by children, teenagers, and young people.

Additionally, a festive concert will be held, alongside a performance of the play Musyo Jordan and Dervish Mesteli Shah by actors from the Shusha State Musical Drama Theatre.

Victory Day will conclude with a grand fireworks display.

Notably, on May 8, 1992, Armenia occupied Shusha, a city of immense cultural and historical significance to Azerbaijan. During the subsequent years of occupation, Armenian forces initiated a systematic campaign to destroy Azerbaijan's heritage in the region.

Before the outbreak of the 2020 conflict, the illegal separatist regime established in the occupied territories held a staged and unrecognised “presidential inauguration” in Shusha, further emphasising their claims.

The situation escalated on September 27, 2020, when Armenia's forces, positioned in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, launched attacks on both military and civilian targets across Azerbaijan. This marked a violent turn in the decades-long conflict. Over the course of the 44-day military operations that followed, Azerbaijani forces succeeded in liberating nearly 300 settlements, including the cities of Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Zangilan, Gubadli, and Shusha, ending almost 30 years of illegal Armenian occupation.

The war culminated in a ceasefire agreement signed on November 10, 2020, between Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia. As part of this agreement, Armenia returned the occupied territories of Aghdam, Kalbajar, and Lachin to Azerbaijan.

On November 8, 2020, Azerbaijani forces regained control of Shusha, restoring the country's sovereignty over the city.

President Ilham Aliyev hailed the liberation of Shusha as the defining moment of Azerbaijan's victory in the 44-day war.

By Aghakazim Guliyev