From: dbd@urartu.sdpa.org (David Davidian)
Subject: To Blame the Victims -- Armenians in Azerbaijan, Part 2
Summary: The Armenian - Azeri Conflict, Parts 4-7 
Organization: S.D.P.A. Center for Regional Studies
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 02:13:21 GMT

In article <1992Dec13.060610.16054@mail.cornell.edu> Mark Lipsits <ml12@cornell
.edu wrote:

[ML] I've been seriously flamed for posting a follow-up article to the
[ML] President Ter-Petrossian letter.  I am sure the remark was arrogant, but
[ML] I have perfect reasons for it.  
[ML]    I am absolutely convinced that the Karabach affair was started by
[ML] Armenians.  No, I am not talking about Armenians in general.  It would be
[ML] very dumb to assume that your average working man, who have enough
[ML] domestic worries would all of the sudden go out on the streets and demand
[ML] that Karabach is annexed to Armenia ASAP.   No, here I am speaking about
[ML] Armenian leaders.  The Karabach conflict was nothing more than a
[ML] political intrigue.  And anyone would agree with me that whoever were the
[ML] people who started this were smart enough to be able to predict the
[ML] cosequences.  So, weren't the Armenians who lived in Azerbaijan virtually
[ML] sacrificed?  And in whose interests?  In the interests of those who died
[ML] in that pointless war?  Or in the interests of those who lack the food
[ML] and medication now?  And then Mr. Davidian, (who doesn't even have enough
[ML] intelligence to conduct a discussion without personally insulting his
[ML] opponent with obscenities) is trying to tell me that it was done in the
[ML] interests of the enire nation!  And don't give me that historical or
[ML] statistical b.s. !  I have heard it from all the angles.  You might as
[ML] well demand the restoration of Rech Pospolitaya, or better yet, why don't
[ML] we give some of the parts of the Texas or California heavily populated by
[ML] Latinos back to Mexico.  And don't tell me about the genocide.  First, it
[ML] is very questionable against whom the genocide took place, and second,
[ML] and most important is that it all is nothing but an international
[ML] vendetta!  And because of people like you, Mr. Davidian & Co. this
[ML] vendetta will not end soon.  

Before we continue, it seems you need both some background on this subject, as
well as learning something about your opponent -- the Armenian people. Please
read the following study, which was assembled during the 1990 exodus of 
Armenians from Baku, written by request for UseNet readers.

You foolishly assume I am some kind of fanatic nationalist. Well sir, if I 
were,  I would not be here behind a workstation in Cambridge, Massachusetts, I 
would be behind an AK-47 in Karabagh killing Azeris! If I were a fanatic, I
would have stayed in Armenia, having been in region twice in the past two 
years. Sir, I know what I am talking about, and can back it up.


---------------------------- PARTS 5-7 out of 7 ------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: This was written before the collapse of the Soviet Union, to be complete
this study needs to include the final 6 month of the Soviet Union, the latest 
struggle for Nagorno-Karabakh, and unrest in Nakhitchevan
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

			The Armenian-Azeri Conflict

		   (c) Center for Regional Studies 1990

			    by David Davidian
                           dbd@urartu.sdpa.org

Contents:

Section 1.	Introduction

Section 2.	Origins of the Armenians and Caucasian Albanians

Section 3.	Historical Geopolitics of the Eastern Caucasus

Section 4.	The Formation of the Azerbaijanis

Section 5.	Early Twentieth Century Clashes.

Section 6.	Transcaucasia in the Final Stages of World War One.

Section	7.	From the Dismemberment of Soviet Armenia to Glasnost



		Early Twentieth Century Clashes

The Armeno-Tatar (Azeri) Conflict of 1905 can to be viewed today as an example
of how history will repeat itself, if we let it.

Notwithstanding efforts to ease the explosive situation between the Armenians 
and Azeris circa 1905 (see section 4), the situation escalated into open 
warfare. The pro-Azeri/anti-Armenian then pro-Armenia/anti-Azeri policies of 
the Russians were bearing fruit. Based on religious, ethnic, social, and 
economic factors fueled by mutual suspicions based on Russian rumors of an 
impending Armenian economic takeover and of a Pan-Islamic entity, a general 
outbreak of violence ensued. 

One must keep in mind that by the turn of the century the oil boom enjoyed in 
Baku came to an end and the city's labor force (mostly Azeri) was in a high 
state of unrest. This came at a time when the Russian Social Democratic 
Workers Party spilt into Bolshevik and Menshevik factions. With many Azeris 
laborers working for Armenian managers and Marxist Armenians leaning toward 
the Social Democratic Huntchak Party or to the Armenian Revolutionary 
Federation, there were general strikes called by Russian, Azeri and Armenian 
organizations. State of emergencies were called to quell the unrest. In a 
word, Baku was in a state of social, political, and economic strife.

Let's look back at the Armenian/non-Armenian ratio of power in Baku. In the 
1872 oil field auctions, the Azeris were responsible for 5% of the successful 
bids, the shares taken by the Armenians were tenfold. Of the 167 oil firms,
the Azerbaijanis owned 49, mainly small; but Armenians owned 55 large and 
medium-sized enterprises. By 1900, Armenians owned 29% of the industrial 
companies, while Azeris owned 18%. In the labor force, Armenians, accounted 
for 17.5% of all workers in Baku, but held 25% of the highly skilled jobs, 
while Muslims (Azeris, Lezghians, Persians, Volga Tatars) formed more than 70%
of the low paid, unskilled workers.[1]

We can see a wide disparity in Armenian and Azeri economic power. This at a 
time when the fledgling Azeri bourgeoisie needed success in order to back the 
progressive policies mandated by the conditions of the times (see section 4). 
Azeri reaction by this time was directed against the Armenians just as much as
it was against the Russians. The Azeris saw Armenians in rather good "tune" 
with the requirements of a modern society. The Armenians had a rather well 
organized political party, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, and had a 
higher percentage of its population in urban areas than did the Azeris. The 
Armenians were the direct competition to emerging Azeri artisan, bourgeois,
and professional classes. 

The Armeno-Azeri violence began on February 6th, 1905 in Baku. The conflict 
triggered when it was alleged that an Azeri was murdered by an Armenian of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation. The Armenian section of Baku was attacked 
by mobs of Azeris, some coming from nearby villages.

	"There followed three days of killing and looting while the troops 
	 remained conspicuously inactive, as they would during most of the 
	 clashes to come. The horrors of Baku recurred, on a smaller scale,
	 in Yerevan on February 20-21, then in May in Nakhitchevan...and so 
	 on [2]. 

There were thousands of killed on both sides, However, it is generally 
believed that the Azeris, on the offensive, suffered more casualties than did 
the defending Armenians. In a piece of deja vu:

	"Much of the bloodshed could have been avoided if the representatives 
	 of the Tsar had used the power at their disposal to halt the 
	 spreading violence" [3]. 

The Armeno-Azeri battles of 1905-1907 were considered a moral victory for 
Armenians. However, it put a burden on the progressives in Baku: if the Azeris
are going to succeed in the face of an Armenian dominated artisan and
bourgeois class, the Azeris too must develop an infrastructure to generate 
their own educated class. In addition, the clashes solidified Moslem resolve 
in a way that was never seen before. Unfortunately, such solidarity was based 
on violence against Armenians.

The pro-Azeri policies of Tsarist officials, as seen in the wake of the 1905
Armenian Church property confiscation, began to reverse again when Russian 
soldiers began firing at the Azeris in May of 1905. This came at a time when 
tensions were so high that such action was deemed pro-Armenian. The perception
of an Armenian-Russian (Christian) "pact" brought renewed Azeri solidarity.

The Baku neo-intelligentsia called for a true evaluation of the events. They 
in fact, blamed the Russians for generating inter-ethnic and inter-religious
xenophobia. The following is just one example:

	"We, the Muslims, were told by the administration: you have been 
	 economically enslaved by the Armenians. They [Armenians] are arming
	 themselves and plan to create their own state; one day they will do 
	 away with you. The Armenians were told that the idea of Pan-Islamism 
	 had put down deep roots in all strata of the Muslim community, and 
	 one day the Muslims would massacre them." [4]

Once the conflicts ended in 1907, Armenian communities were re-invigorated, 
while at the same time there were mass arrests of Armenian political leaders 
and the splintering of many Armenian progressive societies. However, yet 
another shift was to take place in Armenian-Russian-Azeri political relations.
The apparent solidarity demonstrated by the Azeris caused the Russians to look
favorably on the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, or Dashnaktsutiun
(Dashnaks), whick was by far the most powerful political party in the region. 
This prominence was in part due to its role in defending the Armenians during 
the Armeno-Azeri battles, part due to its program being acceptable to some of 
the Baku progressives, and to the Russian's favorable outlook on the Dashnak 
agenda of reforms for minorities in Ottoman Turkey.

Such a "reconciliatory" attitude among the progressive parties and 
intelligentsia on the part of the Azeris and Armenians set the stage for a 
federated Transcaucasia after the outbreak of World War One. This will be 
addressed in section 6.

Now let's list the similarities between events in 1905 and 1990.

	1905						1990

1. Economic depression in the 		1. A slowdown in demand of Baku
Baku oil fields.			oil within the Soviet Union and its 
					trading partners.

2. Armenians own/run a large 		2. In 1988 there were over 220,000
percentage of Baku's industry.	   	mostly skilled Armenians
					in Baku. Now - nill.

3. "New" social and economic theories	3. Perestroika and Glasnost.
become the basis for progressive
thought in the region.

4. Armenians make demands for reforms	4. Armenians call for the re-
and autonomy in both Turkish and	unification of Nagorno-Karabagh
Russian Armenians.			with Armenia.

5. Azeris see Armenian advances in the	5. Armenian political demands (above #4)
political, social, and economic 	are perceived as an affront to
fronts as a threat to Azeri progress.   Azeri nationhood.

6. Anti-Armenian attacks in Baku,	6. Anti-Armenian pogroms in Sumgait,
spread to the surrounding land.         just north of Baku, hundreds dead.
					Pogroms repeted in Kirovabad and Baku.

7. Forced Armenian population shifts	7. 1988 Armenian earthquake causes
and Church property confiscation        huge social and economic hardships
causes social upheavals, with calls 	on the Armenians. Armenians feel
for greater Armenian control on 	they can't count on the Russians for
their property, and political future.   much of anything. There were forced
					removals of Armenians.

8. 1905 Armeno-Azeri conflict starts 	8. An announcement during a Baku rally
after an Azeri murder is attributed 	that an Azeri was killed by an
to an Armenian. 			Armenian sparked violence against
					Armenians.

9. Violence is suppressed by the 	9. Anti-Armenian pogroms curtailed
Russian army, after waiting             after Soviet soldiers enter Azerbaijan
backstage				after a week of anti-Armenian pogroms.

10. Azeri solidarity results from the	10. Calls by both Turkey and Azeris
perception that the Russian were      	that the West favors Christian
helping the Armenians.		    	Armenians, and that the Russians
					are helping the Armenians.


11. Russians feed faer and mistrust	11. Turkey claims Armenians will take 
between Armenians and Azeris. Pan-	Azeri land as well as parts of Turkey.
Turanism on the rise in Instanbul	Pro-Azeri / anti-Armenian demonstrations
and in Salonika.		        in Turkey. Huge increase in pro-Azeri
					broadcasts on Radio Turkey. Short-
					lived pro-Azeri (Shiite) sentiment in
					Iran.
				
12. Vorontsov-Dashkov along with	12. High-level discussions mediated by
progressive Azeris and Armenians	the Soviets between Armenians and
set the stage for a federated		Azeris in Nakhitchevan, perhaps
Transcaucasia.				preventing an Armenian takover.

13. Pro-Islamic and neo-reformist	13. Azeri and Armenian intelligensia
conflict in Baku.		 	movements become irreconcilable. Both
					overcome by Shite fundamentalists in
					Baku. 

14. Low-level conflict continues for 	14. Conflict continues.
well over two more years.


			--- notes for Section 5 ---

[1] _Russian Azerbaijan 1905-1920, The Shaping of National Identity in a 
Muslim Community_ Tadeusz Swietochowski, Cambridge University Press, 1985. 
page 39.

[2] _Russian Azerbaijan_ page 41.

[3] _Armenia on the Road to Independence 1918_, Richard Hovannisian, 
University of California Press, 1967, page 21.

[4] _Russia, Gosudarstvennaia Duma, Vtoroi Sozyv, St. Petersburg, 1907, page 
1229, quoted in _Russian Azerbaijan_

Also see:

_The Fall of Baku_ Jaques Kayaloff, Michael Barour Publications, 1976.

_The Armenian Crisis 1912-1914, Roderoc H. Davison, G.W. University, 1948.


		Transcaucasia in the Late Stages of World War One

Section 6 sets the stage for the problems that manifest themselves today 
between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Injustices that were created then and never 
addressed since have reappeared today. Whole peoples were transformed into 
nation-states while others were exterminated.

The remains of the Armenian people in historic Armenia, after their genocidal 
removal from Ottoman Turkey, were in Caucasian (Russian) Armenia. The remnants
of former Armenian detachments of the Russian army in the Caucasus were 
victorious against the Turkish army in May of 1918. Armenians considered it a 
fight for ultimate survival, for if they were not the victors, there would 
effectively be no Armenian people left on any part of historic Armenian land. 
On May 26th, 1918, Georgia declared itself an independent republic, with 
Azerbaijan and Armenia following suit on May 28th, affecting the breakup of 
the Transcaucasian Federation.

A discussion of the Turkish genocide of the Armenians, although the single 
most tragic event in the history of the Armenians, will be mentioned here 
only for the sake of completeness. In addition, descriptions of battle plans, 
etc. during WWI on the Caucasian front are not necessary to this discussion. 
An in-depth history text (see the general references below) can provide the 
details.

The setting is Turkish Armenia prior to Turkey's entry into World War One,
during late summer 1914 in Erzerum. It was the Eighth General Congress of the 
Armenian Revolutionary Federation, or the Dashnaktsutiun (Dashnaks, see 
section 5):

	"As the delegates hastened to their respective countries or provinces,
	authoritative members of the Ittihad ve Terakki [Young Turks] arrived
	in Erzerum to negotiate with Dashnaktsutiun. Dr. Beahaeddin Shakir, 
	Omer Naji and Hilmi Bey, accompanied by an international entourage of 
	peoples from the Caucasus, proposed to the Armenian liaisons, Arshak 
	Vramian, Rostom (Stepan Zorian), and E. Aknuni (Khachatur Malumian), 
	that in the event of Russio-Ottoman hostilities, Dashnaktsutiun incite
	rebellion among Russians who, by harassing the tsarist armies, would 
	facilitate Turkish conquest of Transcaucasia. The Ittihadist 
	representatives, disclosing that similar schemes already had been 
	approved by Georgian and Moslem spokesmen from Russia, promised in 
	return for collaboration, an autonomous state comprising Russian 
	Armenia and several "sanjaks" of the Erzerum, Van, and Bitlis 
	"vilayets". The three Armenian conferees, respected in Ottoman 
	governmental circles, rejected the feasibility of such a plot and 
	reiterated their party's plea for a sane policy - neutrality. If,
	however, despite their earnest endeavors, the conflagration should 
	envelop Turkey, the Ottoman Armenians would defend the fatherland and
	perform all obligations as faithfully and conscientiously as during 
	the Libyan and Balkan crises of 1911-1913. But provoke revolts within
	the Russian Empire they could not." [1]

In Tsarist Russia, Armenians, Azeris, as well as other Russian subjects were 
called up for duty as World War One began. There were approximately 150,000 
Armenians in the Russian army, however, their deployment was mainly in Europe,
with 30,000 on the Caucasian front. Tsar Nicholas II appealed especially to 
Russian Armenians by invoking a propaganda blitz.

In late 1914/early 1915, the Ottoman army was handed defeats all along the 
Turko-Russian frontier. The Russian army eventually penetrated Turkish lines 
and evacuated most of the Armenian population of the city of Van. By the end 
of 1917 the Russians had pushed the Caucasus front deep inside Turkey, 
encompassing Trebizond, Erzingan, Mush, Bitlis, the areas south of Van, and 
parts of Persian Azerbaijan. The Russians occupied an Armenia without 
Armenians. By the end of 1916, most all of the 2.5 million Armenians within 
the borders of Turkey were deported, with 1.5 million exterminated. Over 
200,000 Armenians had escaped the genocide by fleeing to the Caucasus.
Needless to say, these refugees, mostly women and children, caused additional
problems and fueled the already uneasy feelings between Armenians and Azeris.

In the Transcaucasus there were periodic high-level gatherings and
proclamations made on behalf of all three major peoples in the region, 
Georgians, Armenians, and Azeris. As was the case with Armenian and Azeri 
progressives in Baku a decade earlier, discussions proceeded along the lines 
of the mutual interest of both peoples. By early 1917, such emergency, wartime
conferences included the Georgians. The indication is that of the three 
peoples, the Georgian representatives in general, during, and after World War
One, were the most obstinate of the three [author's opinion].

With the announcement of Tsar Nicholas' abdication came popular acclaim for 
greater autonomy and moves toward more basic freedoms. In the weeks and months
following, there were lines of communication formed between three of the most 
important urban centers in the Transcaucasus: Baku, Tiflis, and Yerevan. 
Generally speaking, the Georgians were represented by the Tiflis Duma, Azeris 
in Baku by the Musavat, with its slogan of Turkism, Islamism, and Modernism, 
and Armenians by the Villager's Congress of Yerevan, reflecting the views of 
the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. Such beginnings expanded and, by late 
1917, a Transcaucasian Federation was born out of re-organized Georgian,
Armenian, and Azeri national units.

The "October Revolution" in Russia caused both demoralization within the
Russian army, its de-facto withdrawal from various fronts and stifled war 
effort.  One should not minimize the effect the withdrawal of Russian troops 
from occupied Turkish Armenia had on both those Armenians who tried to return 
to their homes in Turkish Armenia (now having to exit again) and on Armenian 
attitudes in the Caucasus. Additionally, the push made by Turkish forces 
towards Armenia during this period was not insignificant. The attempt here is 
to lay down the groundwork for an understanding of those forces that shaped 
the problems between the Armenians and Azeris today. In addition, having a
direct bearing on the present day situation only those treaties and violations
of them, will be noted.

Of all the three peoples within the Transcaucasian Federation the Armenians 
were the weakest and most easily manipulated. The Georgians and Azeris didn't 
have the majority of their people exterminated. 

The Transcaucasian Federation was constantly torn by intra and intercommunal 
strife. The Federation barely held up under the multitude of forces that were 
breaking it apart. For example, in talks with Turkey, the Federation actually 
had one voice, however each peoples had their own agenda. Their agendas became
irreconcilable by the spring of 1918. The British and Germans wanted their 
hands on Baku's oil, and the British manipulated the Armenians in such a way 
that only an expert in British imperialism could fully deduce. The Armenians 
wanted survival and a return of Turkish Armenian lands and properties. They
also wanted security in Russian Armenia. The Azeris wanted to be part of the 
modern age. The Georgians seemed to be looking for their own peace with both 
Turkey and the Russian Bolsheviks. Within the Federation, Georgians were 
overruling Armenian soldiers fighting advancing Turkish armies. Azeris and 
other Moslems were not taking up arms against Turkish soldiers. Georgians were
far enough away from hostilities to watch history unfold. Armenians in Tiflis,
the Federation's capital, protested the Federation's surrender of Kars to the 
Turks. As Armenian cities in Turkish Armenia came under Turkish control, the
final wave of refugees poured into Yerevan, making a difficult situation worse.

At the Batum Peace Conference, in April of 1918, Turkey effectively rejected 
the tenants of the earlier Brest-Litovsk treaty. This came as a shock to 
Chkhenkeli, a Georgian, the spokesperson for the Transcaucasian Federation who
was now paying the price for his earlier conciliatory dealings with Turkish 
army commanders like Vehib Pasha. Not only did Turkish forces control all of 
Turkish Armenia, they now had their eyes further east. Halil Bey, the Turkish 
representative demanded the following land from the Federation: Akhalkalak and
Akhaltsik regions (over 70% Armenian) of the Tiflis province, all of Surmalu, 
which included now part present day Leninakan and Etchmiadzin. It seems Turkey
wanted to destroy anything non-Turkic in its path to Baku. Referring to a map 
of the area, the Turks demanded the route of the Kars-Julfa railroad. Turkish 
control of this route would allow a link up with Azeri nationalists and 
pan-Islamists [Nationalismus und Pan-Islamismus] for the funneling of military
hardware into Baku. [2]

The political dealings of the Georgian leader Chkhenkeli transformed demands 
made by the Turks into a military attack on the Yerevan province on May 14, 
1918. Armenian forces battled the Turkish army. It was a fight for the 
survival of the Armenian people. The inability of those in Tiflis to affect 
control, caused a breakdown within the Federation. The Georgian collaboration 
with Germany during the war allowed an appeal by the Georgians for German 
protection in the event that Armenian areas to the south would fall under
Turkish control. The appeal was welcomed by the Germans. Such an agreement was
to be the basis allowing the Georgians to abandon the Federation and declare 
an independent republic on May 26th, 1918. The Kaiser recognized the Republic 
of Georgia on May 28th, 1918.

This left the Armenians and the Azeris "holding the bag". The Azeris were 
effectively awaiting the arrival of the Turkish army, while the Armenians were
fighting the Turkish advance on Yerevan from a line from the Araxes river 
north to Akhalkalak. On May 28th, 1918, the Republic of Azerbaijan was 
declared. The Azeris wanted the Armenians at bay long enough for the 
annexation of both Nagorno-Karabagh and Baku into the new republic. The Azeri 
declaration was made with Ganja (north and east of Nagorno-Karabagh) as its 
capital, where the Turkish commander, Nuri Bey, was readying his Azeri army to
capture Baku.

A superior Turkish army was defeated by Armenian forces. On May 28th, 1918 an 
Armenian Republic was declared. Turkey was the first to recognize the Armenian
Republic at the treaty of Batum. However, Turkey was still demanding annexation
of Armenian land in and north of Yerevan. An explanation of the Turkish point 
of view is provided by a commander of Turkish forces in the area, Vehib Pasha:

	"You see that destiny draws Turkey from the West to the East.
	 We left the Balkans, we are also leaving Africa, but we must
	 extend toward the East. Our blood, our religion, our language
	 is there. And this is an irreversible magnetism. Our brothers
	 are in Baku, Daghestan, Turkestan, and Azerbaijan. We must have
	 a road toward those areas. And you, Armenians are standing in
	 our way. By demanding Van, you block our road to Persia. By
	 demanding Nakhitchevan and Zangezur, you obstruct our descent
	 into the Kur valley and our access to Baku. Kars and Akhalkalak
	 seal our routes to Kazakh and Ganja. You must draw aside and give
	 us room. Our basic dispute rests on these grounds." [3]

Baku, while still cut off from the main Turkish forces, became a hot-bed of 
violence. In the middle were Armenian and Russian soldiers fighting both
Azeris and the Ottoman Turkish 5th Caucasian Division. Oil-rich Baku was still
the prize, awaiting capture. Soviet forces held out for only so long. The 
promised help from the British vanished with their retreat, leaving Armenian 
soldiers to defend the Armenian districts. In a few days the Turkish commander
Mursel Pasha, left Baku in defeat.

Under Enver Pasha's orders, Halil Pasha took charge of the Baku operation and 
on September 16th, 1918, Ottoman Turkish and Azeri forces took Baku. In the 
wake, 30,000 Armenian civilians were slaughtered by the combined Turkish and 
Azeri forces.

With the fall of the Young Turk government after the defeat of the Central 
Powers, after multiple delegations to and from Istanbul, Turkey and what 
remained of Armenia signed the Treaty of Sevres on August 10th, 1920. 
According to this treaty, Armenia constituted the areas of Batum, Artvin, 
Ardahan, Kars, Sarkamish, Igdir, Akhalkalak, Nakhitchevan, western Karabagh 
(including Nagorno-Karabagh), and the land which now constitutes Armenia 
S.S.R.

What once did and now does not belong to Armenia is at the heart of the 
Armenian-Azeri conflict in 1990. Part 7, the last section, will deal with the 
cutting apart of Armenian territory by the Soviets, after Kemalist and Soviet 
forces jointly attacked Armenia. It was land "taken" by the Soviets and 
"given" to Azerbaijan in 1923, namely Nagorno-Karabagh, which is one of the 
issues today.

			--- notes for Section 6 ---

[1] _Armenia on the Road to Independence 1918_, Richard Hovannisian, 
University of California Press, 1967, page 41-42.

[2] _Deutchland und Armenien, 1914-1918, J. Lepsius, Bremen, 1986 (original 
Potsdam 1919) page 374-375 (telegram #376), and a further explanation in 
telegram #396, page 389)

[3] _Armenia_ (op cit) page 195.

Also see:

_Russian Azerbaijan 1905-1920, The Shaping of National Identity in a Muslim 
Community_ Tadeusz Swietochowski, Cambridge University Press, 1985.

_The Fall of Baku_ Jacques Kayaloff, Michael Barour Publications, 1976.

_The Armenian Crisis 1912-1914_, Roderoc H. Davison, G.W. University, 1948.

_The Karabagh File, Documents and Facts on the Question of Mountainous 
Karabagh_ Ed. Girard Libaridian, 1988, Zoryan Institute, Cambridge, MA.

_The Battle of Sardarabad_, Jaques Kayaloff, 1973, Mouton Press, The Hague

_Armenian Victories at Khznavous and Sardarabad_ Ayvazian, 1985 St. Vartan Press


		From the Dismemberment of Soviet Armenia to Glasnost

This final section will concentrate on the division of the Armenian Republic 
and the subsequent incorporation of these lands into Turkey and the 
neighboring Soviet Republics of Azerbaijan and Georgia. This forced division 
of land and people is the at the heart of the Armenian-Azeri conflict today. 

The lack of information on this subject has led many to come to the incorrect 
conclusion that what we witness in places like Baku, the Azerbaijani capital, 
is a religious war. One may ask, "Is all this historicak background required 
to understand the present day conflict?", the answer is yes. After reading 
this series of articles one should be able to explain the message in a full 
color photo in the French language magazine, _Le Point_, 28 Janvier 1990, page
54, showing a group of Azeris carrying the Azerbaijani flag and the flag of 
the Republic of Turkey, while waiving a poster of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in an 
anti-Armenian protest.

After the dissolution of the Transcaucasian Federation and the declaration of 
independence of its three constituent peoples, the Georgians, Azeris, and 
Armenians, each republic took a different political course. The Georgians, 
whose people and land were the least affected by both the war and the Bolshevik
revolution, consolidated their hold on the middle Caucasus. The Georgians had 
a promise of German protection, and an agreement with Turkey that they, the 
Georgians, would not intervene in an Armenian-Turkish conflict.

The political situation in Azerbaijan was chaos. In the Ganja region, the 
Turkish commander Nuri Bey was still gathering support for his "Islamic Army".
In Baku there were Bolsheviks, Social Democrats, pan-Islamists, pan-Turanist, 
all wanting a voice. The British-backed Musavat party "running" the Azeri 
republic was split along many lines, but was roughly divided between 
conservative right, and progressive left - all against a backdrop of Turkish 
territorial advances and a new Bolshevik Russia.

Amidst the uncertainty in Azerbaijan, forces were at work manipulating the 
events to come. Most of the problems came from internal fighting along 
ideological lines with pressure from both Turkey and eventually the Red army. 
A prominent Turk, Halil Pasha, who helped Nuri Bey with his "Islamic Army", 
was even looking forward to to the Red Army's push into Azerbaijan by claiming
that the Red Army would enter Karabagh, Armenia, and join the Turkish war of 
independence. We see the Azeris being used to further the gains of others. On 
April 28, 1920, Azerbaijan was declared a Soviet republic, after an almost 
bloodless entry into Baku by the Red Army. [1]

The Bolsheviks saw in an emerging Kemalist Turkey a "revolutionary ally", at  
least at first.

	"The abiding aim of the Bolshevik foreign policy was the attraction
	 of all peoples to the cause of the world revolution, a cause which
	 became identified in the minds of Russian Bolsheviks with the 
	 interests of Soviet Russia. The Bolsheviks advocated national self-
	 determination in theory because they realized the strength of
	 nationalist feelings; but in practice they never allowed a 
	 nationalist movement to come before what they believed to be the
	 interests of the revolution. Unfortunately for the Armenians, the 
	 chief "revolutionary ally" of Soviet Russia in the Near East was
	 Kemalist Turkey; and Kemalist Turkey was an enemy of the Armenian
	 Republic. For the sake of its alliance with Turkey, Soviet Russia was
	 ready to sacrifice Armenian interests; Armenia was "expendable". On
	 the other hand, the Bolsheviks had no intention of abandoning all
	 Armenia to Turkey. According to Pipes [2], the relations between
	 Russia and Turkey deteriorated in the second half of 1920. It soon
	 became clear that Soviet Russia was unwilling to turn over the
	 railroads and strategic military positions of Eastern Armenia to its
	 "revolutionary ally". [3]

It was in the later half of 1920 that Turkish forces began the advance on 
Armenia, the second time in two years. A push that began in September 1920 
culminated with the taking of Kars on October 30, 1920. Thus began Turkish 
plans for the future of Caucasian Armenia. By the end of November the Red Army
began its move against the Armenian Republic. The Red Army entered Armenia 
from Soviet Azerbaijan, and from Georgia. Within a few days, on December 1st, 
1920, the Armenian government had to decide between a Turkish or Russian ruled
Armenia. On December 2, 1920, the Armenian government signed an agreement with
Soviet representatives in Yerevan at which time an independent Armenian 
Socialist Republic came into being. Within a few weeks previous Armenian 
government leaders were arrested. This caused a revolt rejecting Soviet rule 
which bagan on February 18, 1921. The last rebellion was finally put down on 
September 30th, 1921, with Georgia having come under Bolshevik rule on March 
18th, 1921, facilitating the advance of the Red Army into southern Armenia.

The sovietisation of Armenia and continued suppression of its people didn't 
seem sufficient enough to convince the Turkish armies from evacuating the 
front promised them by the Treaty of Moscow. In fact, after the fall of Kars 
to the Turks, the next Armenian city to fall was Alexandropol (Leninakan of 
today). In Alexandropol the Turkish Army massacred 20,000 Armenian civilians, 
with thousands more refugees fleeing into an already overcrowded Yerevan.

The Bolsheviks didn't seem to find many "revolutionaries" in the ranks of the 
Turkish army standing on its borders, despite the fact that Mustafa Kemal 
referred to his ministers as "commissars", and allowed a Turkish Communist 
Party to function (soon to be violently suppressed). The Russians only 
witnessed the continued massacre and slaughter of Armenians, with yet 
thousands more refugees escaping into the Yerevan region. Perhaps the reason 
why the southern most piece of Soviet Armenia (Zangezur) was kept Armenian, 
was to keep Nakhitchevan, Azerbaijan, and Turkey physically separated.

During this same time Turkey and Russia were negotiating the Treaty of Moscow.
The treaty allowed Turkish control of eastern Anatolia including land beyond 
its pre-1914 border with Russia. This included Kars, Ardahan, etc., and all 
the lands south of the Araxes and Akhurian Rivers. The Turks demanded that 
Nakhitchevan and Karabagh be made autonomous regions under the control of 
Soviet Azerbaijan. On October 21st, 1921, Soviet Armenia was forced to sign 
the Treaty of Kars which accepted the territorial demands of the Turks. The 
1923 Lausanne Treaty effectively ratified the disposition of the Transcaucasus
by world powers. From the Treaty of Friendship between Russia and Turkey, 
Article III states explicitly:

	"III. Both contracting parties agree that the Nakhitchevan district,
	 with boundaries shown in Annex 1 (C) to the present treaty, shall 
	 form an  autonomous territory under the protection of Azerbaijan, on 
	 condition that the latter cannot transfer this protectorate to any 
	 third State." [4]

The situation has changed very little since 1923. Georgia, Azerbaijan, and 
Turkey were the recipients of Armenian land. Turkey had all Armenian land in 
eastern Anatolia and further was "given" the western regions of Russian 
Armenia. Georgia was given Batum, Akhalkalak, Akkaltsik (the later two had 
over a 70% Armenian population and today is still over 60% Armenian). 
Nakhitchevan and western Karabagh (including Nagorno-Karabagh) was given to 
Azerbaijan. Nagorno or Mountainous Karabagh to this day boasts an 81% Armenian
population, in contrast to the 95% Armenian figure in the 1920s. According to 
the Russian plan, the short strip of land between present day Soviet Armenia 
and Nagorno-Karabagh was setup to be populated by Kurds after displacing many 
Armenians. This area was commissioned as the Kurdish Autonomous Region. This 
regional designation was abandoned in 1926, as well as the abolition of the 
Kurdish nationality in Azerbaijan: an interesting coincidence considering the 
violent suppression of Kurds in Turkey about the same time. According to the 
the 1979 Soviet census there were officially no Kurds in Azerbaijan versus the
1970 Soviet census which registered 5,500.

The transfer of Armenian lands to Azeri control goes contrary to agreements 
between Armenians and Azeris themselves. The following is but one example:

	"As of today [1 December 1920] the border disputes between Armenia
	 and Azerbaijan are declared resolved. Mountainous Karabagh, Zangezur
	 and Nakhitchevan are considered part of the Soviet Republic of
	 Armenia.
	
	 Chairman of Azerbaijan's Revkom (Revolutionary Committee)  
	 N. Narimanov.
	 Commissioner of Foreign Affairs
	 Huseinov" [5]
		
In July of 1923, Nagorno-Karabagh was officially declared an autonomous region
under the jurisdiction of Soviet Azerbaijan. 

In a final "modification of borders", one can look at an old map of the 
Turkish-Soviet border and see no apparent direct Turkish border with Azeri 
controlled land. It was circa 1933 when a land swap was conducted between 
Turkey and Iran, in which a 8-10 km strip of Iranian land on its northernmost 
border with Nakhitchevan was given to Turkey along with smaller Mt. Ararat. 
Iran got pieces of Turkish land further south along the same border.

Armenia, after 1923, was a land surrounded by Turkic peoples, with the 
exception of an area at the Armenian-Georgian border. This was done to ensure 
that Armenia was incapable of projecting its demands against both Turkey and 
Russia either physically or geopolitically. 

The Armenians have attempted through peaceful means to regain control of 
Nagorno-Karabagh for almost 70 years. The Armenians are second class citizens 
in a region that was historically theirs, while being 80% of the population.
The official Azeri explanation for the Armenian condition is that the 
Armenians in Karabagh are "ethnic Azeris", and for that matter any Armenian in
Azerbaijan is an Azeri! Therefore, these "people" don't need an Armenian 
education, etc.. Of the 220,000 Armenians who lived in Baku two years ago, 
there was not a single Armenian school left open to serve Armenian children, 
and only one Armenian church remained open in all of Azerbaijan, including 
Nagoro-Karabagh. This is in sharp contrast, for the 2,000 Azeris in Yerevan, 
the Armenian capital, there were two Azeri schools for a handful of Azeri 
children.

There have been periodic requests for the re-unification of Nagorno-Karabagh
with Armenia. One example was on May 19, 1964, when the Armenians of Karabagh 
presented a petition for the reunification of Karabagh with Armenia. 
Petitions and letters of appeal were also sent to Brezhnev (October 15th, 
1977).

There have been a multitude of appeals to Soviet Armenia by the Armenians of 
Nagorno-Karabagh for help. Unequal rendering of Azeri law to Armenians is 
criminal. Azeris have murdered, raped, robbed, beaten Armenians with impunity,
if not caught red-handed.

The advent of perestroika and glasnost brought new hopes. With such hopes, the
Armenians once again demanded the re-unification of Nagorno-Karabagh with 
Soviet Armenia.

The millions of dollars Gorbachev had promised in late 1988/early 1989 to
modernize the Nagorno-Karabagh, to provide cultural and social institutions, 
neglected under Azeri rule, never materialized.

The rest we witness today; Soviet and Turkish manipulation and the violent  
response by the Azeri Turks with Armenians paying the price. It is unfortunate
that demands of justice and reforms by Armenians is being translated by
various media as an affront to Azeri nationalism.

			 --- notes for Section 7 ---

[1] _Russian Azerbaijan, 1905-1920, The Shaping of National Identity in a 
Muslim Community_ Tadeusz Swietochowski, Cambridge University Press, 1985,
page 183. (Where footnote [2] is quoted).

[2] _The Formation of the Soviet Union_, Richard Pipes, Cambridge, MA, 1954, 
pages 235-236

[3] _The Impact of Soviet Policies in Armenia_, Mary Kilbourne Matossian, E.J.
Brill, Leiden, 1962, page 26.

[4] _British and Foreign State Papers_ 1923, Part 2, Vol. CXVIII, Treaty of 
Friendship between Russia and Turkey. Ratifications exchanged at Kars, 
September 13, 1921. page 992.

[5] _Komunist_, December 2, 1920, no 2.


-- 
David Davidian dbd@urartu.sdpa.org "It has been ever thus in all things, son, 
SDPA Center for Regional Studies    Whatever we thrash we give to the wind, 
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