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THE STRUGGLE FOR KARABAKH, NAKHICHEVAN AND OTHER TERRITORIES
DISPUTED BY ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN (1918-1920) Andrew ANDERSEN, George EGGE
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On May 26, 1918, the Transcaucasian
Federation dissolved, and within the next 2 days later independent republics
of Azerbaijan and Armenia were proclaimed. The birth of the new nations was
facing economic disaster, Turkish invasion and political isolation. On June
4, 1918, a peace-treaty was signed in Batum, according to which considerable
part of South Caucasus was assigned to Turkey, most of Georgia remained under
German protectorate and the Armenian Republic was cut down to a tiny enclave
around the cities of Yerevan and Vagarshapat (Echmiadzin) that embraced the
county of New-Bayazet as well as the eastern parts of Alexandropol,Yerevan,
Echmiadzin and Sharur-Daralaghez counties of the province of Yerevan[1].
Turkey was also given carte blanche to act in Azerbaijan a considerable part
of which including Baku was in the hands of Bolsheviks who at that time opposed
any idea of independent Azerbaijani statehood.
Figure 2.2
Figure 2.2a By the end of summer 1918, Ottoman troops
supported by the mainly Tatar “Army of Islam” took over most of the territory
of what could be considered the former Russian Azerbaijan (the provinces of
Baku and Elizavetpol) and marched into Baku where they massacred between 10
and 30,000 Armenians still residing in the city[2].
In late September, 1918, once-cosmopolitan Meanwhile, contrary to the provisions of
the Treaty of Batum, some Armenian troops under general Andranik continued
guerrilla operations against the Turks from the mountainous area of
Zanghezur, thus having formed another de-facto independent Armenian
quasi-state formation there. At the same time, the Armenian-inhabited
part of Karabakh (including its northern areas) enjoyed relative peace in
August and September of 1918 administered by the People’s Government of Karabakh elected by the First Assembly of
Karabakh Armenians[3].
It was only at the very end of September when Shusha, the capital of
Mountainous Karabakh did submit to the Ottoman-Azerbaijani conquest[4].
As for the rural areas of Mountainous Karabakh are concerned, they formed
several enclaves (Khachen, Jraberd, Varanda, Dizak and a few smaller areas of
Northern Karabakh) that were kept under control of local Armenian warlords
until the very end of the World War[5].
Figure 2.2b The surrender of Ottoman Turkey on October 30,
1918, and the subsequent end of World War I in November, 1918, resulted in
evacuation of regular troops of the defeated Central Powers from most of the
Caucasus. However, in accordance with Clause 11 of the Mudros Armistice, the
Turkish troops were allowed to occupy the territories of Batum and Kars left
to the ottoman Empire by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk for an indefinite period
of time until and if ”demanded by the Allies after investigation”[6].
At the same time, the Ottoman Ministry of War issued a special directive
according to which thousands of Turkish officers and soldiers were
unofficially left at the service of the republics of Azerbaijan and North Caucasus
in order to keep them within the sphere of Turkish influence[7]. The future of the self-proclaimed republics
of the South Caucasus however, still remained unclear. The treaties of
Brest-Litovsk and Batum were now both null and void thus allowing Armenia and
Georgia to claim the territories previously lost to the Turks but at the same
time, the recognition of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan was withdrawn as
well[8].
The victorious allies initially tended to consider them as temporarily
breakaway Russian territories but the development of the crisis situation in
and around revolutionary Russia in combination with current inability of the
two fallen empires to satisfy their ambitions in the region, gave the new
nations of the South Caucasus a historical chance to establish/recover[9]
their statehood, and as early as in November 17 the allied command in the
Middle East declared that the representatives of Britain, France and the USA
were ready to establish relations with the de-facto governments of Armenia, Azerbaijan
and Georgia[10].
Besides the problem of diplomatic recognition accompanied by a variety of
other political as well as economic problems, the period of nation-building
in the South Caucasus was marked by territorial disputes and conflicting
claims, that caused serious troubles for all the nations of the region not
excluding Armenia. As of late October, 1918, the Democratic
Republic of Armenia claimed a considerable part of the former Russian South
Caucasus that included the whole of the province of Erevan, all the four
districts of Kars territory, the counties of Akhalkalaki and Borchalo in the
province of Tiflis and in the province of Elizavetpol – the whole Zanghezur
county as well as mountainous parts of the counties of Elizavetpol,
Javanshir, Karyaghino, Shusha[11]
and Kazakh (see Maps 2
and 3). The above claims
were based on the principle of historical belonging of the above territories
to ancient and early mediaeval Armenian states and on ethnic principle, since
most of the territories in question had either Armenian majority or at least
heavy presence of Armenians. Some of the Armenian elites also considered
laying claims to the territory of Batum, so that landlocked Armenia could
gain access to the sea. The Armenian territorial claims were in
sharp conflict with the aspirations of Azerbaijan and Georgia, not to mention
Turkey. The political elites of Azerbaijan were also basing their claims on
both historical and ethnic principles. In terms of history they tended to
disregard the earlier periods when the South Caucasus was dominated by
Armenian and Georgian states but put an emphasis on the period that started
from the late 14th century when the area was turned into the realm
of Kara-Koyunlu and later of the Safavids both of whom they considered to be
the fore-founders of modern Azerbaijan. Following the above principle, there
was no place left for Armenia on the map at all. Even the tiny enclave left
for the Armenians as per the Treaty of Batum, was according to the leadership
of Azerbaijan inalienable part of their new-born country. As for the ethnic
composition of the territory claimed by Armenia in the Caucasus, it would
hardly be an exaggeration to say that most of it was also marked by heavy or
significant presence of Turco-Tatars and other Muslim groups.
Map 2. Click on the map for better resolution
Map 3. Click on the map for better resolution Although resting on more or less equally
logical foundations[12]
the above mentioned territorial disputes in the South Caucasus led to a
series of clashes and wars in 1918-1921. As a result, mutual dislike
intensified in the area and the dragon’s teeth of a number of modern regional
conflicts were sawn. The
Conflict around the South-West Caucasian Republic, 05/11/1918 – 22/04/1919 On the 11th of November, 1918
Jevad Pasha received a communiqué from
British Commander in Chief in the Mediterranean, Vice Admiral Gough-Calthorpe
containing an unequivocal demand of the Supreme Allied War Council to clear
completely all the occupied territories of the Caucasus including the
territories of Kars and Batum where some 50 000 Turkish troops were still
stationed after Mudros[13].
The Ottoman reaction was slow and the tactics of delaying was adopted in
order to postpone evacuation of the above territories. After long
negotiations the Turkidh 9th Army under Shevki Pasha was allowed
to stay in Kars up until January 25, 1919 whereas the transfer of the Kars territory
to Armenia was to begin no later than January 15[14]. While formally accepting the demands of the
victorious allies the Turks took certain measures to keep Kars and some other
territories around it within the sphere of Turkish dominance just like it was
dome in Azerbaijan, Daghestan and other areas they had taken over by the end
of summer, 1918 and were to leave after Mudros. Not only numerous Turkish
officers were left behind as instruvctors but the whole units of the 9th
Army were only cosmetically re-uniformed in order to look more like local
militia and in order to prevent Armenian and Georgian takeover in the
territories of Kars and Batum[15].
The evacuating Ottoman administration was also quite successful in the
establishment of a few puppet governments in the former Russian areas of the
South-Western Caucasus that would attempt to stay in close connection and
possibly even alliance with Turkey. One of the new state formations of that
kind was the South-West Caucasian Republic (SWCR) created in Kars shortly
after Mudros. The pro-Turkish government of Fakhreddin (Erdoghan) Pirioglu
formed in Kars on November 5, 1918, claimed effective control not only over
the four districts of Kars territory but also over all the former Russian
territories annexed by Turkey as per the Treaty of Batum including but not
limiting to Nakhichevan and Alexandropol counties of the province of Erevan,
the counties of Akhaltsikhe and Akhalkalaki in the province of Tiflis and
Batum territory (former Batum district of the province of Kutais) (see Map 3)[16]. The Kars government rejected both Armenian
and Georgian authority and rather effectively exploited the principle of
self-determination declared by the USA, Britain and France. Indeed the SWCR
enjoyed some favor on behalf of the British mission in the Caucasus[17].
The British troops even blocked the roads leading to Kars from the province
of Erevan and prevented some 100 000 Armenian refugees from returning to
their homes[18]. At
the same time the Azerbaijani government of Khan Khoisky tried to urge
British approval for at least temporary annexation of the SWCR territory by
the Republic of Azerbaijan[19].
The
sympathies of allies turned around in early February of the year 1919 when
the paramilitary forces of SWCR under the command Server Beg invaded
Georgian-controlled counties of Akhaltsikhe and Akhalkalaki in order to
expand the Kars-controlled territory[20].
Following the counter-offensive of the Georgian army of early April, 1919 the
British troops already stationed in the province of Erevan entered Kars on
April 6-9. On April 10, 1919, the SWCR leaders were arrested and deported
whilenine days later, the city of Kars was handed to the Armenian governor.
By April 22, the Georgians completely crushed the resistance of Server Beg’s
paramilitaries in the county of Akhaltsikhe and the district of Ardahan and
put both counties under their control. The South-West Caucasian Republic was
abolished, and the districts of Kars and Sarykamysh were annexed by the
Democratic Republic of Armenia while the county of Ardahan was taken over by
Georgia[21]. The
British command in the Caucasus did not allow either Georgian or Armenian
troops to enter the territory that included the district of Oltu (Olti) which
was claimed by both nations and the sector of Karaqurt claimed by Armenia
leaving it in the hands of local Muslim chieftains until it was once again
taken over by the Turks during the Turkish-Armenian war of late 1920. A few
months later Georgia conceded part of the district of Ardahan (Okam sector
and most of Chyldyr sector) to Armenia[22]
(see Maps 2 and 4). Armenia
versus Azerbaijan: The British Mediation Failure Mutual territorial claims of Armenia and
Azerbaijan led to the series of brutal wars accompanied by periodical
massacres of civilians in the disputed area that included Kazakh-Shamshadin, Nakhichevan,
Zanghezur and Karabakh. The first hostilities in the above and other areas
with mixed population occurred as early as the spring of 1918, when the South
Caucasus was invaded by the Ottoman armies to end in 1921 only.
The government of Armenia was not prepared
to drop their claims to Kazakh-Shamshadin, Zanghezur and Karabakh while
Azerbaijan was not accepting the idea of Armenian control over Surmala and
Nakhichevan - Ordubad. To make things worse, the masses of population of a
number of territories assigned to Armenia and Azerbaijan were not prepared to
consider themselves a part of the republics to which they were assigned by
Thomson. Thus the fragile peace with an unresolved territorial dispute at its
background could not last for too long, and the series of Azeri-Armenian wars
broke out both in the provinces of Erevan and Elizavetpol as early as at the
end of 1918. Contrary to Armenian aspirations and hopes
for special treatment following their uninterrupted loyalty to the Allies
throughout the whole of the Great War, the British Command in the South
Caucasus decided in the late fall of 1918, to leave the Karabakh-Zanghezur
area under the jurisdiction of oil-rich Azerbaijan at least until the moment
when the final delimitation agreement would be reached at the Paris peace
Conference[24]. That
led to a fragile diarchy in the Armenian-populated parts of Karabakh where
the Erevan-oriented People’s Government in Shusha that had been running the area
since July 1918, was forced to share its power with the British appointee Dr.
Khosrow Bek Sultanov who was given authority by Thomson to run a considerable
part (4 of 8 counties) of the province of Elisavetpol including Mountaineous
Karabakh and Zanghezur[25](see
Map.4). The following 8 months in Mountainous
Karabakh were marked with the total failure of cooperation between
consecutive Armenian Assemblies and Sultanov as well as with the non-stopping
ethnic conflicts that led to armed clashes between local Armenian
self-defense forces and the regular army of Azerbaijan that included some
3000 Turkish troops still stationed in the area[26]
and were assisted by armed militias recruited from Tatar and Kurd nomads of
western Karabakh. At the same period of time, almost the
whole county of Zanghezur was under stable control of Armenian military units
and formations of general Andranik who being formally disloyal to the
government in Erevan, felt quite free to act independently and crashed all
attempts of the regular armies of Turkey and Azerbaijan to put Zanghezur
under their control. Following the armistice of Mudros
and an appeal from the Armenian-controlled part of Karabakh, Andranik sent
his “Special Striking Division” out toward Shusha on November 29, 1918. After
three days of fierce fighting against Azeri-Kurd irregulars for a narrow
strip of land separating Armenian-controlled parts of Zanghezur and Karabakh
Andranik’s men had the way to the heartland of Karabakh unobstructed.
However, an urgent message from Major General Thomson received by Andranik on
December 03 contained an unequivocal order to move back to Zanghezur and to
refrain from taking any disputed territory by force until the decision of the
peace conference[27].
Andranik submitted and stepped down as a commander of the Armenian forces in
Zanghezur while Muslim militias wiped out all remaining Armenian settlements
connecting Karabakh with Zanghezur[28]. Despite repeatedly expressed aspirations of
the Karabakh Armenians for unification with Armenia, the government of the
First Republic in Erevan was reluctant to insist on immediate annexation of
Mountainous Karabakh rather leaning towards the creation of a buffer state in
the areas with mixed population east of Zanghezur[29].
Finally, on August 22, 1919, after long negotiations, an agreement was
reached in Shusha between the Seventh Assembly of Karabakh
(Armenian-dominated) and Sultanov in accordance with which Mountainous
Karabakh (but not Zanghezur) was to remain temporarily within Azerbaijan
until the final resolution of the conflict at the Paris Peace Conference[30].
In the county of Zanghezur that in
accordance with the initial plans of Thomson was to be included into the
special governorate of Karabakh run by Khosrow Bek Sultanov, the situation
was different. After disappointed with the British Major General Andranik
stepped down as a commander of all Armenian forces in Zanghezur on March 22,
1919[31],
local Armenian field commanders refused to submit to the British dictate.
After being pressed by British representatives they expressed their
preparedness to fight to the end against any power that would attempt to
submit them to Azerbaijan including Britain and France, Thomson agreed to
exclude Zanghezur from the list of ethnically diverse counties “temporarily”
granted to Azerbaijan. The government of Azerbaijani Republic was informed on
that concession on May 29, 1919[32].
By that time the Armenian militias of Zanghezur destroyed rebellious Muslim
communities in the central areas of the county and expelled them to the
periphery[33]. In addition to the five major historical
districts of Karabakh (Gyulistan, Khachen, Jraberd, Varanda and Dizak) there
is another area sometimes included into the disputed historical province.
That is the mountainous part of the Elizavetpol (Gyanja) county. The smaller
part of this area The smaller part of the described area south of the village
of Chaykend and north of Inja river (which also served as a border between
the counties of Elizavetpol and Javanshir) that embraced a group of ethnic
Armenian settlements forming a triangle with apexes in the villages of
Karachinar, Enghikend and Gyulistan, is the continuation of historical
Gyulistan whereas the remaining part of that mountainous territory
predominantly Armenian-inhabited until 1989, is referred to by various
historical geographers and politicians as Northern Karabakh, North-Western
Karabakh or Parisos. The Armenian communities of Parisos were not represented
at the Karabakh Assemblies (unlike those of Gyulistan). Instead they were
administered by the Armenian National
Council of Gandzak in Gyanja that in turn, demonstrated loyalty to Turkey
during Ottoman occupation and later – to Azerbaijan to the extent that two of
the Council members were selected to represent the area in the Azerbaijani
Parliament[34]. One should add to the above that there was
a considerable no-man’s land between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the upper flow
of the river Terter and around the mountains of Omar, Gyamysh, Jinaldagh,
Delidagh, Klyshdagh and Sarychly. It embraced south-western part of the
county of Gyanja, eastern part of Javanshir county and northernmost
Zanghezur. Having no infrastructure that mountainous area had almost no
population except a few nomadic tribes (predominantly Kurds relatively loyal
to Azerbaijan) that used to be present in the area in summer only and moved
down to the lower Karabakh in winter together with their livestock. During
the period between the fall of 1918 and the spring of 1920, the
above-described area was claimed by both Azerbaijan and Armenia but hardly
any of the conflicting parties could boast an effective control over it until
the Soviet takeover in May, 1920.
Map 4. Click on the map for better resolution
The delay proved crucial. By that moment
the pan-Turanist “Arasdayan Republic” was proclaimed in the disputed area[36]
and local anti-Armenian forces were armed and organized well enough to repel
or at least slow down possible Armenian expansion. The eruption of a new war
was this time prevented through Allied mediation and establishment of a
special British governorship on January 26, 1919[37].
The new British protectorate embraced most of the county of Nakhichevan
(excluding the mountainous area) all of Sharur and even some 30% of the
county of Erevan up till the river of Vedichay[38].
Although the area was excluded from the Armenian republic, the British
governorship put an end to the “Arasdayan Republic”[39]
leaving most of the real administrative power to Japhar-Kouli Khan of
Nakhichevan with the police functions performed by a small British
contingent. The spring of 1919 saw the reversal of
British sympathies for Muslim aspirations in the some areas of the South
Caucasus. The analysis of the reasons of such a reversal would go far beyond
the framework of this article. Here we can only mention that after a series
of talks performed by British emissaries in Tiflis, Erevan, Baku and
Nakhichevan the allied governorship was abolished and the British units
stationed in the area were to be replaced Armenian troops under General Dro
(Drastamat Kanayan). On May 16, 1919, the whole of Sharur, Nakhichevan and
Goghtan were put under formal Armenian control and By June 7 the last British
units left the disputed area. Thus by the beginning of the summer of
1919, the First Armenian Republic managed to put under her formal control
most o the territory that could be called “the former Russian Armenia” with
the exception of the Mountainous Karabakh (see Map 5). The temporary borders
of Armenia were reflected on the map prepared for presentation at the Peace
Conference in Paris by British Brigadier General William Henry Beach.
According to that map Armenia included most of the Kars territory as well as
all of the province of Erevan (including Sharur, Nakhichevan and Goghtan) and
the county of Zanghezur[40].
The map of Beach is a document of specially interest keeping in mind that
until April, 1919, its author (the head of the
British military intelligence in the Caucasus) was known as a
strong advocate of the inclusion of the counties of Zanghezur and Nakhichevan
into Azerbaijan[41]. Nevertheless, in the early summer of 1919
neither Armenian, nor Azerbaijani governments and elites believed that the
territorial dispute was over. The events that followed confirmed that the
status quo in the South Caucasus was quite fragile. Muslim
Uprisings in Kars and Sharur-Nakhichevan and the failure of American Mediation,
07/1919 – 10/1919 The fragile status quo followed by the
abolition of South-West Caucasian Republic (SWCR) and Arasdayan Republic as
well as the establishment of Armenian administration in Kars territory and
Nakhichevan county in April-May, 1919, did not last long. Extensive
anti-Armenian campaign based on pan-Islamic and pan-Turanic agenda launched
by numerous emissaries of Turkish nationalists and Azerbaijani government in
combination with massive arms deliveries to the areas of Muslim majority from
Erzurum through Barduz and from Baku via Northern Persia, triggered a series
of well-organized uprisings against Armenian rule in July, 1919, in the
province of Erevan (in the counties of Surmala, Sharur, Nakhichevan and
Erevan[42]) and
all over the Kars territory[43]. By the beginning of August, Armenian
administration was expelled from the Araxes valley between Ordubad and Davalu
in the province of Erevan[44],
and most of Nakhichevan county was lost except the eastern foothills. The
area of Sharur-Nakhichevan taken over by the Muslim rebels commanded by Samed
Bey Jamalinsky was hoisting Azerbaijani and Turkish flags, and the majority
of local Armenians, who still resided there in June, 1919, were either wiped
out or forced to flee[45].
In Kars territory fierce fighting that
occurred throughout July and August around Karaurghan, Karakurt and Bashkey
west of Kaghyzman[46]
and in the area of Merdenek - Novo-Selim - Beghli Akhmed west of Kars,
resulted in a series of Armenian successes against Kurdish and Turco-Tatar
tribes enforced by regular Turkish troops and often commanded by Turkish
officers[47]. By
September, 1919, the Armenian control was re-established in most of the Kars
territory excluding the Georgian-controlled northern sector of Ardahan
district and the British-protected district of Olti still controlled by the
Muslim militiamen of Ayyub-Khan and Server Beg[48].
At the same time, in Surmala Armenian control remained limited to the plain
of Ararat while the strategic heights dominating the areas around Kulp, Orgov
and Aralikh remained firmly in the hands of Kurdo-Tatars[49]. All the above events occurred against the
background of British withdrawal from the South Caucasus that started with
the evacuation of Baku between August 15 and 23, 1919, and by September 11,
there was only a small British contingent remaining in Batum still
administered by the United Kingdom[50]. Meanwhile, a US Colonel William Haskell who
arrived to the Caucasus as an Allied High Commissioner for Armenia in August,
1919, made an attempt to arrange a truce between the conflicting parties.
After having met with Armenian and Azerbaijani officials, Haskell proposed a
creation of a Neutral Zone between the two “sister republics” that would
encompass the counties of Nakhichevan and Sharur-Daralaghez and be
administered by a US governor. The American proposal was met with reserved
satisfaction in Azerbaijan and indignation in Armenia due to the fact that both
governments clearly understood that the fulfillment of Haskell’s proposal
would be another step towards absorption by Azerbaijan of the territory that
was considered to be inalienable part of Armenia in Erevan and was referred
to as “South-Western Azerbaijan” in Baku[51].
The proposed Neutral Zone would also cut Zanghezur off the rest of Armenia
thus making it more vulnerable to the Azerbaijani expansion. By the end of
October, 1919, it became clear that all efforts of Haskell’s mission ended up
in vain. No agreement was
reached on the disputed territory most of which remained under de-facto
control of Azerbaijan and Turkey until March, 1920. Azerbaijani
invasion of Zanghezur, the Truce and the Fall of Goghtan, 11-12/1919 Within a week and a half after the invasion
began, Armenian forces under Njdeh took action against the armed Muslim
villages that reportedly supported the invaders in Meghri and Ghapan cantons
in the very the centre of Zanghezur. That operation resulted in the capture
of Kajaran, Shabadin, Okhchi, Piroudan and a few other Muslim villages its
defendants wiped out and inhabitants expelled, and in re-opening the mountain
pass to the still fighting northern Goghtan in the foothills of Ordubad
sector of Nakhichevan county. In the middle of November US and British
representatives in the Caucasus Sir Oliver Wardrop (British Chief
Commissioner since July, 1919) and Colonel James Rhea addressed the
governments of Azerbaijan and Armenia and demanded that the undeclared war
between the two republics should be stopped immediately. The
Armenian-Azerbaijani talks started on November 20 in Tiflis (Georgia) and
came to an end three days later with no breakthrough. On November 23, 1919 the Prime Ministers of
the two countries (Alexandre Khatisian and Nasib Bek Usubbekov) signed an
agreement that was in fact nothing more but a declaration of intent[54].
Meanwhile, military operations and ethnic cleansing went on in Zanghezur and
Goghtan. Goghtan, a very small Armenian historical
province with its centre in Akulis in size and location roughly corresponding
to Ordubad sector, managed to withstand the Ottoman invasion of 1918 and
attempted to survive the Muslim uprising of July-August of 1919 through the
declaration of its loyalty to the de-facto authorities in Nakhichevan and
Ordubad. Nevertheless, most of the southern villages of Goghtan were
devastated by the rebels. Facing the massacre, the northern villages took up
arms to defend themselves and asked Erevan for help. The Armenian government
could sent only a small relief detachment that reached Goghtan only in
October to help local militiamen to hold against the offensive of Ordubad
militiamen and regular Turkish troops. In November Lieutenant Colonel Njdeh
was planning to lift the siege of Akulis and launch an offensive in the
direction of Ordubad in order to secure the flank of Zanghezur. However he
was ordered to postpone the Goghtan operation until his troops would finish
the pacification of the last Muslim communities in the Barkushat mountains.
The hero of Zanghezur had to obey orders but by the time when the last Muslim
village of Ajibaj in the heart of Zanghezur was put to sword and fire it was
too late to save what was left of Goghtan. By December 18, 1919 the
resistance of Goghtan was crushed and a week later the last surviving
Armenians left the area for Zanghezur. That marked the completion of ethnic
cleansing both in Zanghezur and in the southernmost sector of Nakhichevan[55].
Map 5. Click on the map for better resolution
The Shosh resolution signaled the
escalation of tension in Mountainous Karabakh. Less than a week after its
adoption, additional units of the Azerbaijani Army prepared to enter the
region while in the villages of Varanda, Dizaq, Khachen, Jraberd and
Gyulistan Armenian self-defense units were preparing for an armed uprising
encouraged by the envoys from Armenia[61]. The Armenian uprising in Karabakh that
started on March 23, 1920, was rather a failure due to its poor organization
and even poorer coordination with Erevan and Zanghezur. Initial success that
took place in Askeran where the rebels sealed the Askeran pass making it
impossible for Azerbaijani reinforcements to advance to Shusha and in Dizaq
where the stable access to Zanghezur was secured came to naught after the
fiasco of the rebels in the cities of Shusha and Khankendy. At the same time,
no expected relief forces came from Zanghezur due to the physical absence of
General Dro (the commander of regular Armenian expeditionary forces that had
been prepared to advance into Karabakh) and because the fighters of the
Zanghezur warlord Gareghin Njdeh got stuck in their abortive attempt to
re-conquer Goghtan (March 21-25, 1920) and later (March 25-30) in the repel
of Azerbaijani invasion from Jabrail[62]. Until April 03 badly outnumbered Armenian
defenders of the Askeran pass were repelling non-stopping attacks of the
Azerbaijani army under the command of General Samed Bek Mekhmandarov.
However, the insufficiency of the Armenian forces combined with the lack of
ammunition and artillery on their side, made the fall of Askeran inevitable,
and on April 4 thousands of Azerbaijani troops decimated the last rebels
blocking their way into the heart of Karabakh and poured into the area down
the road towards Khankendy and Shusha where most of the local Armenians had
been already massacred by the victorious Azerbaijani garrisons and armed
Muslim mobs. The Christian part of Shusha (de-facto capital of Mountainous
Karabakh) was completely destroyed and burnt down and so were dozens of
Armenian villages around it[63].
Five days later the rebels counter-attacked forcing Azerbaijani forces to
draw back. However hankendy and the ruins of Shusha still remained in
Azerbaijani hands thus cutting the rebel-controlled area into two isolated
enclaves (see Map 6), Simultaneously, armed clashes involving
regular units of Armenian and Azerbaijani armies also resumed in Kazakh and
Nakhichevan counties thus allowing some researchers to define the Karabakh
uprising as a full-scale Armeno-Azerbaijani war. It was not until April 13, 1920
when regular Armenian troops under General Dro (Drastamat Kanayan) finally
entered Karabakh through Zanghezur and put Dizaq and rural Varanda under
stable Armenian control (see Map 6). In the Armenian-dominated parts of
Karabakh the Directorate was formed
that became de-facto government of the region. On April 22 the Ninth Assembly of
Mountainous Karabakh[64]
was summoned in Taghavard to reaffirm the union of Mountainous Karabakh with
Armenia and authorize Dro to take “whatever action necessary to
liberate the district”[65].
Meanwhile, keeping most of its armed forces in the areas disputed with
Armenia, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was left defenseless against the
Red army that concentrated on her northern frontier[66].
On April 27, 1920, Soviet Russian 11th Army invaded Azerbaijan. Less than 24
hours the First Azerbaijani Republic collapsed as a result of a bloodless
coup in Baku, and on April 29 Soviet occupants and local communists
proclaimed Azerbaijani Soviet Republic thus signalling the beginning of the
Soviet era in the South Caucasus. The atmosphere of political vacuum that
lasted another two weeks till the moment when the first units of the 11th
Army stated their advance into Mountainous Karabakh[67],
was quite favorable for Dro to take over Shusha, Khankendy and Askeran and
secure the unification of the region with the Armenian republic. However,
Armenian commander did not issue the order to attack, and the last chance for
complete liberation of the Mountainous Karabakh was lost. The war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the spring of 1920 ended
up with at least partial Armenian victory. However, it completely destroyed
the reputation of both nations in the West as well as the confidence of their
ability to live in peace with each other and their neighbors[68].
Map 6. Click on the map for better resolution North-Western
Karabakh/Parisos: “the Forgotten Armenia”? During the period preceding the Karabakh
uprising the Armenian communities of North-Western Karabakh/Parisos
subordinate to the Armenian National
Council of Gandzak (see Map 6 and pp. 15-16 for the description of the
area) were consistent in keeping their loyalty towards Azerbaijani republic.
The rural Armenian communities scattered in the mountainous area of the
county of Elizavetpol (Gyanja) from Chaykend to Chardakhly were mostly
well-armed but tended to avoid any forms of inter- racial or inter-religious
violence were armed for self-defence. In January 1920 they expelled and
labeled as instigators the envoys from Armenia who came to the area in an
attempt to organize an anti-Azerbaijani uprising[69],
and as soon as the first armed clashes occurred in Karabakh, both the Council
of Gandzak and all the villages of the county except those south of Chaykend
(Northern Gyulistan) vocally distanced themselves from the Karabakh rebels[70]. The loyalty to Azerbaijan, however, did not
spare the Armenians of Gandzak/Parisos from paying for their brethren’s
revolt in Karabakh. The rural Armenian enclaves were surrounded by
Azerbaijani militia and gendarmerie and ordered to disarm. Most of the
villages that complied were looted and burned while those that did not found
themselves under siege. Some of the villages were forced to pay “protection
taxes”. The spillover of the Karabakh violence into North-Western
Karabakh/Parisos resulted in thousands of deaths and in exodus of many rural
Armenian communities into the Armenian quarter of Elizavetpol
(Gyanja/Gandzak) and the German colony of Elenendorf[71]. The Evacuation of the British troops from
the South Caucasus that started in summer of 1919 and finished in the middle of
summer of the year 1920[72] and
the Soviet blitzkrieg of April, 1920,
against Azerbaijan followed by the rapid Sovietisation of that country
performed with the help of Turkish Nationalists[73] signalled the
beginning of an undeclared Soviet-Armenian war that lasted more than FIVE
months and resulted in the loss of most of the disputed territories[74]. The first decade of May 1920 was marked by
the Soviet 11th Army advance toward Karabakh, Gandzak and Kazakh
(see Map 7). In
view of the approaching Soviet troops most of the units of the Azerbaijani
army as well as the members of the Azerbaijani administration quickly
transformed into the Red Army and Soviet bureaucracy swearing allegiance to
the new dominant power of the region[75].
Most of the Turkish officers stationed in Azerbaijan also went to Soviet
service including Nuri Pasha[76].
On May 12 the first Soviet detachments reached Shusha having the directive to
take over the whole of Mountainous Karabakh, Zanghezur and Sharur-Nakhichevan[77].
A week later after a few skirmishes Armenian General Draw whose troops still
controlled Dizaq and most of Varanda was given an ultimatum to withdraw. By
that time most of the Armenian militias in Jraberd, Khachen and Gyulistan
became rather pro-Soviet under the influence of Bolshevik propaganda. As a
result, all the Armenian officers and instructors there who refused to surrender
to the Soviets were killed, arrested or expelled and the whole
Armenian-controlled part of Karabakh to the north of Soviet-dominated
Shusha-Khankendy-Askeran corridor was lost to the Soviets. In view of the
loss of the above territory, as well as the change in sentiment even among
Varanda and Dizaq Armenians and bad communication with Erevan, General Dro
and his Staff decided to comply with the Soviet demands, and on May 25-26 all
regular Armenian forces still in Karabakh withdrew to Zanghezur. After the
evacuation the evacuation of the Armenian troops of Dro and Njdeh, only few
isolated groups of Armenian fighters kept conducting guerilla operations in
the mountains of Karabakh[78]. However, since the end of May 1920,
Mountainous Karabakh now united under the Soviet red banners was administered
by the two Revkoms: Muslim-dominated one in Shusha and Armenian-dominatred in
the village of Taghavard[79].
Map 7. Click on the map for better resolution The situation in the north-western section
of Armeno-Azerbaijani frontier was even more complicated (see Map 7). The county of Kazakh faced open Red Army incursions
into Armenian-controlled territory in attempts to support the abortive
communist uprising of May 1920[80].
The attempted communist coup in Armenia (May 10-30, 1920) was unsuccessful.
Although Armenian communists managed to take over the towns of Alexandropol,
Kars, Sarakykamysh, as well as several villages in disputed Kazakh-Shamshadin
area, the uprising was put down by the government troops and militias in less
than a month. However, it undermined the efforts of Armenia to withstand
Soviet invasion and led to the series of military defeats in
Kazakh-Shamshadin and Karabakh[81]. At the same period of time quite confusing
was the development of events in the county of Elizavetpol (Gyanja/Gandzak).
According to Kadishev, facing little resistance on behalf of disorganized and
demoralized Azerbaijani army Armenian troops and guerillas took over all of
the mountainous sector of the county reaching the outskirts of Gyanja[82].
The situation was further complicated by some facts of joint Soviet-Armenian
operations against Azerbaijani rebels during an abortive anti-Soviet uprising
that occurred in and around Gyanja at the end of May 1920[83].
As of today, it is not very easy to define where exactly stretched the limits
of de-facto Armenian control in Kazakh-Shamshadin and Gandzak-Parisos in late
spring of 1920. Some official documents of that period of time, define some
portions of that border quite clearly making modern researchers quite
confused. As an example, one can adduce an excerpt from the text of the
Soviet-Georgian Treaty of Moscow signed on May 07, 1920, according to which
the border between Georgia and Soviet Azerbaijan “…goes along the eastern
border of Zakatala district to the south until it touches the border of
Armenia”[84]. The
above excerpt clearly states that Armenian territory near the city of Gyanja
at least for a while could have stretched until the river of Kura. Soviet-Armenian
Negotiations in Moscow and the Summer Campaigns in Armenia, 05/1920 - 08/1920 The first sessions
of negotiations seemed to be moderately favorable to the Armenians. Chicherin
assured Shant that the Soviet Russia had no plans to invade Armenia or to
establish a Soviet regime in that country.
Chicherin even offered that Soviet Russia would take a role of a mediator in Armenian
territorial dispute with the Turks keeping in mind close cooperation between
Moscow and Turkish Nationalist de-facto government of Kemal Ataturk. The
Armenians were promised a part of Western (Turkish) Armenia roughly
corresponding with the initial proposal by Berthelot
(see above)[86].
As for the border conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan the initial Soviet
proposal was to leave Zanghezur and Sharur-Nakhichevan with Armenia while
declaring Karabakh a disputed territory the future of which would be defined
by plebiscite[87].
One should keep in mind here that Chicherin "graciously" offered
the Armenians to keep only those territories that were not yet sovietized. As
will be mentioned below, the format of Soviet proposals kept changing while
the Red Army was taking over new Armenian-claimed territories. The Armenian
delegation was also deeply impressed by the map of a projected Armenian state
that was unofficially demonstrated to them by Karakhan. The map presented by
the Bolshevik diplomat was offering the Armenians not only all the
territories disputed with Azerbaijan (including Mountainous Karabakh) but
also most of Borchalo, the counties of Akhalkalaki and Akhaltsikhe (the
latter never claimed by Armenia) and the Chorokh-Imerkhevi corridor to the
Black sea (see Map 7),
i.e., the territories that the Soviets recognized unequivocally Georgian by
signing the Soviet-Georgian treaty in early May 1920. After being reminded of
that Karakhan replied that the question of Georgian territorial integrity was
“still open”[88],
and significant concession could be given to Armenia if only the Armenians
dropped all or at least most of their aspirations against Turkish territory. During the first
phase of Soviet-Armenian negotiations in Moscow, the 11th Army was busy
putting down anti-Soviet Azerbaijani rebellions in Gyanja, Zakatala and
Agdam-Shusha while Armenian forces were similarly busy with crushing
Bolshevik uprisings in Kars, Sarikamysh, Alexandropol, Nor-Bayazet and
Delizhan and later pacifying rebellious Muslim enclaves in Zenghibazar,
Vedibazar and Peniak[89]
(see Map 8). By mid-June the
Soviet tone at negotiation changed drastically. If earlier the Red Army was
unable to invade Zanghezur-Nakhichevan being tied up with Azerbaijani
uprisings but after the fall of Shusha on June 15, the way to Nakhichevan via
Gerusy (Goris) was open.[90]
Gerusy was taken by the Reds on July 5, and on July 17 the 11th Army
started advance towards Nakhichevan while at the same time the detachments of
Turkish Bayazet division in the amount of 9000 trespassed Iranian territory
north of Khoy and concentrated in Maku. Those Turkish forces under the
command of Jevad Bek were preparing to cross Aras river and enter
Nakhichevan, Julfa and Ordubad from the south-west in order to block further
re-conquest of the Nakhichevan county by Shelkovnikov’s Armenian troops who
had already reached Shakhtakhty by July 25 (see Map 8)[91]. Reflecting rapidly
changing military situation at Soviet-Armenian frontier, Chicherin now
proposed that the new boundary would run along the administrative border
between the old provinces of Erevan and Elizavetpol thus leaving Nakhichevan
to Armenia, Karabakh to Azerbaijan and Zanghezur under "temporary"
Soviet administration as a disputed territory. At some point Influenced by
Sergo Orjonikidze (at that time the Chairman of Kavburo of Russian Communist
Party), Chicherin and Karakhan even proposed to include Sharur-Daralaghez
county into the list of disputed lands. The Armenian delegation was not
prepared to accept permanent loss of Karabakh not to mention the questioning
of the status of Sharur-Daralaghez, and after some fruitless discussions the
talks were suspended[92].
The Red Army was meanwhile fighting Armenian militias in Zanghezur in order
to capture Gerusy[93].
It may be important to mention here that immediately after the Soviet - Armenian
negotiations were interrupted Chicherin started the talks with Foreign
Affairs Commissar of the Turkish Nationalist government in Angora Sami Bey
who arrived in Moscow to arrange joint Soviet - Turkish operations in
Nakhichevan aimed at opening a stable land corridor between Soviet Russia and
Nationalist Turkey[94].
One of the few results of the interrupted Soviet-Armenian negotiations was
the appointment of the lawyer Boris Legran a Soviet plenipotentiary in
Armenia who was supposed according to Chicherin, to finish the negotiations
with the Armenian government directly in Erevan. While Legran’s
mission was slowly making his way to Erevan with prolonged stops at Baku and
Tiflis marked with the exchange of proposals with the Armenian government,
the Soviet-Armenian warfare escalated in Zanghezur. After having taken over
Gerusy in early July 1920, the Soviets established the red terror regime in
the north of Zanghezur and in the middle of the month tried to expand
southwards in an attempt to sovietise the whole county (see Map 8). However, the
first Soviet expedition into the heart of Zanghezur ended up in fiasco by the
beginning of August. Defeated by the militias of Njdeh near Kapan and attacked
by the regulars of Dro in the rear from Angelaut the components of the 11th
Army rapidly evacuated Northern Zanghezur and retreated into Varanda[95].
Following Dro’s ultimatum to clear “all occupied Armenian territories”
including Karabakh, the Soviets started counter-offensive on August 05, and
two days later Gerusy was lost by the Armenians for the second time. The
Shusha-Gerusy-Nakhichevan corridor vbetween Nationalist Turkey and Soviet
Azerbaijan was re-opened, and both Turkish and Soviet officers celebrated
that victory as partners[96]. Meanwhile, in the
county of Nakhichevan Soviet-Turkish and Armenian troops facing each other
halfway between Nakhichevan and Shakhtakhty tried to abstain from open
hostilities following verbal “Gentlmen’s agreement” between Armenian General
Shelkovnikov and “the commander of the united troops of RSFSR and Red
Turkey”, Colonel Tarkhov[97].
On July 28 “Soviet Socialist Republic of Nakhichevan” was proclaimed, and its
“Revolutionary Committee” offered Erevan to recognize the new “independent state”.
Map 8. Click on the map for better resolution On August 10 1920, the cease-fire agreement
was signed in Erevan by the representatives of Soviet and Armenian
governments leaving Armenia without most of the disputed territories but
temporarily ending major hostilities along Soviet-Armenian front-lines. As
per the agreement, the temporary south-eastern border of Armenia was defined
as follows: “Shakhtakhty-Khok-Aznaburt-Sultanbek
and further the line northward from Kyuki and westward from Bazarchai
(Bazarkend). And in the county of Kazakh – the line they hjeld on 30 July of
this year. The troops of RSFSR will occupy the disputed districts: Karabakh,
Zanghrzur and Nakhichevan, with the exception of the zone determined by this
treaty for the disposition of the troops of the Republic of Armenia… The
occupation of the disputed territories by the Soviet troops does not
predispose the question about the rights to those territories of the Republic
of Armenia or the Azerbaijan Socialist Soviet Republic. By this temporary
occupation, the RSFSR has in view the creation of favorable conditions for
the peaceful resolution of the disputed territories between Armenia and
Azerbaijan on the principles to be laid down in the peace treaty to be
concluded between the RSFSR and the Republic of Armenia as soon as possible” [98]
(see Maps 8 and 9). Thus the Soviet
negotiators assured their Armenian counterparts that the occupation of the
disputed territories by the Red army did not necessary mean their annexation
by Soviet Azerbaijan but was of a temporary character and would not last only
until the future peace treaty is concluded by all the involved parties to
resolve all the border disputes. Armenia was also given ex-territorial rights
for the Shakhtakhty-Julfa section of Erevan-Julfa railway[99]. According to Hovannisian,
the preliminary treaty between Soviet Russia and Armenia was a result of
Soviet bogging down in the war against Poland and the anti-Soviet government
of Baron Wrangel as well as the dangerous anti-soviet uprising in Kuban[100].
In any case, that treaty gave Armenia 22 days of peace interrupted
only by sporadic attacks on Sadarak-Karabaglar section of Erevan-Julfa
railway performed by Muslim irregulars from Persian territory (see Map 9). After August 10, some fighting also
continued in Zanghezur where the Armenian forces under Lieutenant Colonel
Garegin Njdeh refused to evacuate and the mountainous area of southern
Zanghezur between Gerusy (Goris) and Meghri which they kept under stable
control even after the August counter-offensive of Soviet General Nesterovsky[101].
The guerillas of Njdeh kept their formal loyalty to the Republic of Armenia
and were getting some support from Erevan but that support was of rather
private than official nature.
Map 9. Click on the map for better resolution The First Phase of the Turkish-Armenian War and the
Soviet-Turkish Invasion of Zanghezur 09/1920 – 10/1920 It would be beyond the framework of this essay to
provide a detailed analysis of the Turkish-Armenian War that broke out in
early September, 1920, when the Turkish army under Karabekir enforced by
local Muslim militiamen, launched a full-scale offensive along the whole
perimeter of Turkish-Armenian border. We would only take the liberty to
mention that the leadership of the First Republic definitely under-estimated
both military and ideological strength of Turkish nationalists
overestimating, at the same time, their own resources and forces as well as
the possible support on behalf of their Western Allies. On September 24 the
war was officially declared. Within the following week, the defense
lines of Armenian forces collapsed and the Turks took over the towns of
Sarykamysh, Kaghyzman, Ighdyr and Merdenik (see Map 9). The advancing Turkish
armies were devastating the area and wiping out the civil Armenian population
that did not have time or willingness to flee. Simultaneously, some of
Armenian regiments reportedly started performing ethnic cleansing in Kars and
Erevan counties that still remained under Armenian control. While Armenia was busy trying
to withstandthe new Turkish aggression, the Soviets made one more attempt to
“pasify” Zanghezur. On September 3 the
components of the 11th red Army under General Nesterovsky launched
an offensive against Njdeh pressing his fighters southwards beyond Kapan and
Katar. Three weeks later the combined Soviet-Turkish and Soviet-Azerbaijani
forces started incursion from Nakhichevan and Jabrail in the direction of
Meghri. Despite such dramatic development the militias of Zanghezur succeeded
in defeating the enemy groupings one after another and by the end of the
second week of October they re-conquered Kapan and Katar from Nesterovsky and
chased the Soviet-Turkish corps under the cpmmand of Veysel Bey back to
Nakhichevan[102]
(see Map 9). Meanwhile, during the two-week lull that
followed after the loss of Penyak, Sarykamysh, Peniak and Merdenek, Georgia
attempted to take over the remaining part of the disputed Ardahan (see Map 9). On
October 1 1920, Georgian troops occupied the small area near Chyldyr
lake and entered the village of Okam (Gyole) on
the ”Armenian side” of Kura. The above
demarche caused indignation and protests on behalf of the Armenian Foreign
Affairs ministry especially keeping in mind that the capture of disputed area
was taken place during the negotiations Tiflis regarding the possible Armeno-Georgian
alliance aimed against Soviet and Turkish expansion. The talks ended up with
no result partially due to the efforts of Turkish diplomats in Tiflis who in
fact encouraged the government of Georgia to take over the disputed territories
to the south of Ardahan. A few days after the Georgian incursion
south of Kura, the Armenian command ordered the West Armenian regiment of
Sebough to move into Okam. In order to avoid military confrontation, the
Georgian troops evacuated Okam on October 6 and retreated back to Ardahan.
The Chyldyr sector with the town of Zurzuna remained under Georgian control,
and on October 13 it was ceremonially declared Georgian[103]. The
very same day the lull at the Turkish front was broken,
and the Republic of Armenia was in no position to re-take Chyldyr from
Georgia. Ironically, just four months later that was taken over by the Turks
as a result of the Soviet-Turkish conquest of Georgia.
Map 9. Click on the map for better resolution The Second Phase of the Turkish-Armenian War and the Fall of the
First Republic 10/1920 – 11/1920 In early October 1920, Armenian
Republic addressed the governments of Great Britain, France, Italy and other
Allied powers asking them to force the Turks to stop their offensive, but all
the desperate pleas for help seemed to fall upon deaf ears. Great Britain had
to concentrate most of her forces available in the Middle East to crush the
tribal uprisings in Mesopotamia (now Iraq). France and Italy had similar
problems in Syria, Cilicia and Adalia. The only country who provided some
support through active operations at the Turkish western front was Greece.
But Greek military support was not sufficient to ease Turkish pressure on
Armenia. As a result of the new Turkish
offensive the strategic town of Agin south of Alexandropol fell to the Turks
on November 12, and the Armenian troops were in retreat to the east along
Alexandropol – Karaklis railroad. The same day Armenian troops and population
started evacuation from Surmala crossing Aras river near Echmiadzin[107]
(see Map 10). At this point the Turkis were getting ready
for the final spurt on Erevan. Ironically enough, it was the beginning of
November when US President Wilson was done with the final sketches of the
Sevres-based Turkish-Armenian borders[108]
(see Figure 3.4). In the middle of November the
new Turkish offensive started in the direction of Erevan from Nakhichevan. In
breach of the Soviet-Armenian Treaty of August 10, the Nakhichevan
expeditionary corps contained the components of the Soviet 11th
Army. Between November15 and 16 demoralized Armenian troops left Shakhtakhty
and all of Sharur with little or no fight and stopped Soviet-Turkish offensive
only at Davalu on November 17 1920[109]
(see Map 10). The only war theater where
Armenians had significant success was Zanghezur. In that mountainous county
Armenian forces of Colonel Njdeh successfully repelled another
Soviet-Azerbaijani invasion from Jabrail in early November and on November 09
started counter-advance towards Goris (Gerusy). By November 22 the Armenians
of Zanghezur assisted by an expeditionary corps from Daralaghez completely
defeated the Soviet forces of General Pyotr Kuryshko (who replased
Nesterovsky in late October, 1920) and re-took the towns of Goris, Tatev,
Darabas and Angelaut expelling the reds out of the county as far as Abdalar
near the old administrative border of Karabakh[110]
(see Map 10).
Map 10. Click on the map for better resolution
As a precondition
for any talks, the Armenian delegation headed by Alexander Khatisov was
forced to renounce the Treaty of Sevres[112].
After having complied with that demand under pressure the Armenians presented
their border proposal. Giving up most of the former Turkish Armenia including
the cities of Bitlis, Erzurum and the coastal city of Trebizond granted at
Sevres the the delegation of the Armenian Republic asked for the small parts
of the vilayats of Van and Bitlis with the cities of Van, Bayazet, Mush and
Khnys as well as for the narrow corridor in Lazistan with the town of Rize.
As for the former Russian Armenia, the Armenians hoped to keep the whole of
the province of Erevan and the territory of Kars[113]
The Armenian proposal was flatly rejected by the
Turkish delegation presided by General Nizam Karabekir Pasha as absolutely
non-realistic and even insulting. Instead, the Armenian delegation was to
accept unconditionally the Turkish provisions that were quite severe. Armenia
was to disarm most of her military forces and cede more than a half of her
pre-war territory. All of the Kars territory with the districts of
Sarykamysh, Kars, Kaghyzman, Olti and the Armenian sector of Ardahan district
was to be ceded to Turkey, as well as the county of Surmala in the province
of Erevan with the city of Ighdyr and Mount Ararat. The county of Nakhichevan
combined with the Sharur sector of the county of Sharur-Daralaghez were to be
placed under Turkish protectorate (see Figure 3.5). Self-explanatory, Armenia was not receiving any parts of
the Turkish Armenia that was now referred to as “Eastern Anatolia” by the
Turks. The Armenian Republic was also supposed to limit her relations with
the Allied Powers[114]. According to
Karabekir, the Turkish-drafted border between Turkey and Armenia was based on
“ethnical principle” that could not justify incorporation into Armenia of any
territories where Armenians had not formed majority before the outbreak of
the First World War[115]. The Final Soviet
takeover, 11/1920 – 02/1921 As early as on November 19
1920, the Soviet plenipotentiary in Erevan Boris Legran and his staff started
the arrangement of the bloodless Sovietization of Armenia following the
instructions from the Kremlin. The Dashnakist leadership of Armenia were to
be persuaded that that would be the only way to save Armenian people as well
as some form of the Armenian statehood[116]. At the same time, the Kavburo in Baku dominated by Orjonikidze
and Stalin was more impatient about the rapid conquest of exhausted Armenia
than Lenin and Chicherin in Moscow. Contrary to the instructions coming from
their communist party bosses from the Central Committee in the Kremlin, the
Caucasian Bolsheviks formed the Armenian Revkom
(Military Revolutionary Committee) in Baku on November 22, 1920, that was
designed to become the new communist government of Armenia. Three days later
the Revkom departed for Kazakh were the units of the Soviet 11th Army under
General Kuryshko (just recently defeated in Zanghezur) were preparing for the
invasion of Armenia. Same day the “Special Armenian Rifle Regiment”
previously stationed in Kedabek was re-deployed to Kazakh as well. The
invasion started o the night of November 28-29 by crossing the demarcation
line between Armenia and Soviet Azerbaijan south-east of Kazakh in the
direction of Karavansaray and Sevkar (Karadash). The two towns fell into the
hands of the Reds after some resistance on behalf of Armenian border guards
and militias was crushed by the end of November 29. The attempts of Armenian
General Seboukh (Arshak Nersisian) to organize counter-offensive from Dilijan
failed due to the unwillingness of the Armenian soldiers to fight one more
war against superior enemy, and on November 30 the Red Army was already in
Dilijan from where the Sovietization of Armenia and the overthrow of the
Dashnakist government was proclaimed[117].
Later, the soviet historians portrayed that military operation as a
“communist uprising of November 28 in the district of Kazakh”[118]
(see Map 11). The Soviet invasion from Kazakh
not only shocked the Armenian government but greatly confused Boris Legran
who had not been informed on those plans of the Kavburo. Nevertheless the
reaction of the Soviet envoy was quick and effective. By December 2, Legran
successfully pressured the Parliament and the Cabinet of Simon Vratsian to
step down and officially transfer the whole power to General Dro pending the
arrival of Revkom to Erevan. Two
days later, on December 4, Dro left Erevan for the lake Sevan area where he
welcomed the Revkom and, in turn,
gave up his power to the new Bolshevik administration. Two more days later,
the first units of the red Army entered the Armenian capital[119].
Thus the first Armenian republic shared the fate of the first republic of
Azerbaijan, and independent statehood of both nations was interrupted for
more than 70 years until August 1991.
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