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Starting from the end of March 1918, another horrific act of genocide was carried out in Azerbaijan by Armenian-Dashnak armed groups. As a result of mass massacres committed in various regions of the country, tens of thousands of Azerbaijani Turks, as well as representatives of other peoples, were brutally killed. The genocide was carried out with particular cruelty in Baku, Shamakhi, Quba, Karabakh, Zangezur, Nakhchivan, and Lankaran. In these areas, the civilian population was mass murdered, settlements were destroyed, villages were burned, national and cultural monuments were devastated, and tens of thousands of people were displaced from their native lands.

These bloody events committed against the Azerbaijani people were given a legal and political assessment by National Leader Heydar Aliyev. According to the decree “On the Genocide of Azerbaijanis” signed on March 26, 1998, March 31 was declared the “Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis.”

On March 31, 2026, at the National Library, the memory of the victims of the March 1918 genocide was honored with deep respect. A virtual exhibition titled “March 31 – A Genocide That Cannot Be Erased from Our Historical Memory,” an electronic database titled “March 31 – Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis,” and a large traditional book exhibition of the same name were presented to users in order to study the mass massacres committed against Azerbaijanis by Armenian-Dashnak armed groups and to pass these historical truths on to future generations.

The virtual exhibition (https://anl.az/el/vsb/31_Mart_Soyqirimi/index.htm) features official documents about the March 31 genocide, photographs reflecting the atrocities committed against Azerbaijanis, materials about the mass killing of tens of thousands of civilians in Baku, Shamakhi, and the villages of Shamakhi, Goychay, and Javad districts, as well as articles published in periodicals and literature in Azerbaijani and foreign languages.

The electronic database (https://anl.az/soyqirim/) provides systematized full-text resources presented online in sections such as “Unforgettable Tragedy,” “Official Documents,” “Opinions on the Genocide,” “Course of Events,” “Political and Legal Assessment,” “The Bloody History of Mass Repressions,” “Books,” “Articles,” “Filmography,” and “The Genocide in Memory.”

The traditional exhibition displays literature in Azerbaijani and foreign languages about the genocide committed against the Turkish-Muslim population in 1918, the destruction of historical and cultural heritage, the policy of genocide against Azerbaijanis and its tragic consequences, collections of documents, archival materials, studies on the early stages of genocide and deportations, publications based on press materials of the period, and books based on the memories of witnesses and participants in the events.

The traditional book exhibition will last for one week.