Azerbaijan's new 'Victory Day' bumped up two days – all because of Atatürk

On December 2, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree establishing November 10 as ‘Victory Day’ in the Second Karabakh War.

But a day later, the date was bumped back following an uproar on Turkish social media, where users expressed their outrage over the fact the date coincides with Atatürk Memorial Day.

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Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder and first president of the modern Turkish Republic, died on November 10, 1938, and the day is celebrated annually in Turkey.

Taking this into account, Victory Day was bumped forward to November 8.

“On November 8, after 28 years of occupation by the Armenian forces, the Azerbaijani army liberated the city of Shusha, and thereby achieved recognition of defeat in the war by the enemy,” the new order says.

By another order of December 2, Ilham Aliyev established a Day of Remembrance for those killed in the Second Karabakh War. This day will be celebrated annually on September 27 – the day of the beginning of hostilities in the conflict zone in 2020.