Newsgroups: talk.politics.mideast,soc.culture.turkish,talk.politics.soviet,soc.history
From: ahmet@eecg.toronto.edu (Ahmet Parlakbilek)
Subject: Baku massacre (1/2)
Followup-To: soc.culture.turkish
Organization: University of Toronto, Canada
Date: 7 Apr 92 19:51:34 GMT

                   THE MARCH 31, 1918 BAKU MASSACRE 
                        by Dr. Ahdulhaluk CAY

     Ever since the earliest ages of history, Caucasia has been a bridge
between the East and the West, and has been the battle ground for
many  struggles. Beginning from early  19th century Czarist Russia,
taking advantage of the political circumstances took over Gence in
January 3, 1804, Baku in 1806 and Erivan in 1827 consecutively.
However, the struggle between Czarist Russia ,and the Turkish Azerbaijani 
Khanates continued till 1844 in various areas, and in the same  
year Russian rule could be established only after the fall of
Zakatala, the last of the Turkish Khanates. In order to establish
firm control in the area,  Czarist Russia supported by all means the
Aghas and Beys, merchants and farm owners, whom she created in the
first place and the conservatives, who were against the New Movement
(Cedidcilik). The national resistance movement,  which  was  gaining
momentum, made it necessary for Russia to find additional support in
the area. Another important reason that tempted  Russia was Baku.

    Baku, which was a town with a population of 2500 in the 1825's
became an industrial, commercial and cultural  centre with a population 
of 200,000 at the end of 19th century. The main reason for the
increase of the population was the discovery of oil. Czarist  Russia
which  imported  35  million  roubles  worth  of  petroleum  annually
between the years 1864-1892, began to export 40 million roubles worth
of petroleum annually after the oil wells  in  Baku  began  operating.
Another factor that contributed to the importance of Baku was the
Baku-Batum railway. The railway construction gave rise to the need
of a big harbour. As a result of these factors, Baku became an 
important transit route between Russia-Iran-Turkestan via the Caspian
Sea, and a commercial and industrial centre. Gence, which was an
important centre, gave its place to Baku. The source of capital in Baku,
which was an industrial and commercial centre in the western sense,
was in the hands of firms operated by countries such as Belgium,
Denmark, France, Sweden, Germany and Britain. The Turks
formed the middle class. Thus, Czarist Russia took advantage of
the political circumstances. Russia began to support the Armenians
in Caucasia including those in the Kars-Ardahan-Batum area (Elviye-i
Selase) that she had obtained after the 1876-1877 wars. If the dates
of the Armenian atrocities in Turkey are inspected the importance
of the above date will be clear. While the economic development
of the Turks were hindered[1] the Armenian capitalists were supported.

     In Caucasia, in early 20th century, as all over Russia,  various
illegal political organizations of different nations were formed and
took action against Russia. In the same period there were two 
important movements in Caucasia that took action againt the Czar.One
of them was the Nationalist Movement, that wanted independence and
which was mainly in control in Azerbaijan, and the other was the
Social Democratic Movement that aimed to change the political
structure of Czarist Russia. The Social Democrats were fractioned in
the well-known London Congress of 1908; the Bolsheviks who were
under the leadership of Lenin, and the Mensheviks under the leadership 
of Martow. The difference between these fractions lay only in
their tactics. The Bolsheviks refused cooperation with the political
groups that were classified as the bourgeoisie; they aimed to change
the political system of imperialism by a revolution and they had a
a party system based on revolutionist autocracy. The Bolsheviks had
found support mainly in Baku and set up their headquarters in this
area. The Mensheviks were for a republican system and they believed
in a change of the present social-capitalist system not by force and
revolution but through gradual evolution, and their party structure
was based on a hierarchy brought to power by democratic means.

   In 1905, when Czarist Russia promised to set up a constitution,
these fractions clashed in Caucasia. The Armenian Taschnaks were
Mensheviks and Tiflis was the centre for Mensheviks but they could
not get along with the Georgians and the atrocities continued till
1917 with increasing violence.

    When the ratio of the populations before World War I are studied
closely, it will be observed that except for five towns, the Armenians
did not constitute the majority in any area. Except for Echmiyadzin,
Gumru, Novobayazad, Zengezur, and Shusha, in 47 settlements the
Turks formed the majority. At the end of the 19th century even in
Erivan,  the capital of today's Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia,
83 % of the population was Turkish. At the end of World War I the
percentage dropped to 4.3%. In Caucasia the two nations, namely,
the Turks and the Armenians, were  brought to fierce encounters
with each other by Armenian terrorism, peaking in the years of World 
War 1. The Russian Revolution of 1917 gave rise to new consequences  
in Caucasia.

    After the revolution of February 1917, the Caucasian nations
believing that Russia was to become a democratic and federal
republic, took action under the leadership of Georgian Mensheviks.
The members of the temporary government in Petrograd formed the
Transcaucasian Commissariat and sent them to Tiflis.

    The Kerensky government, which intended to continue with the
struggle, was brought down between October 25 - November 7, 1917 by
the Bolsheviks, who were supported financially and ideologically by
Germany, and the new government wanted to make peace with the
Central Powers. After the negotiations on the western front on
December 5, 1917 the Brest-Litovsk Treaty was signed.[2]  Meanwhile, 
on the Caucasian front important political and military changes 
had taken place. While the Russian elections were  taking  place
(December  25,1917) the Caucasian Committee had left its place
to a temporary government set up in the meeting of December 24,
1917.[3]

    This government which was called the Commissariat, published a
declaration announcing that it would "only deal with the interior
affairs during the absence of the Russian government."[4] The first
problem to be dealt with by the Caucasian Comissariat was the
signing of a treaty with Turkey. The number of the defectors from
the Russian army was continually increasing. Finally, General
Prjevalsky, the commander of the Russian armies in the Caucasian
front, applied to Vehib  Pasha, the  commander of the 3rd  Army,
declaring that as the representatives of the Caucasian Commissariat
(the Transcaucasian Temporary government) they were ready to take
part in the negotiations for a peace treaty. The Turco-Russian
negotiations began in Erzincan and mutual agreement was reached
on December 18, 1917. [5]

    The Caucasian Commissariat decided to take up the negotiations
with Turkey directly upon the abolition of the Constituent Assembly
by the Bolsheviks on January 18, 1918[6]. Meanwhile, the Commissariat 
invited the delegates of the Constituent Assembly of Russia, who
had been elected democratically and, hence, paved the way for the
formation of a new rule in Caucasia.

    The Bolsheviks, who could not firmly establish control all over
Russia, were observing the developments in Caucasia with anxiety,
because it was impossible for the new government to proceed
economically without the oil of Baku, since it was totally bankrupt.
Therefore, it could be observed that the Bolshevik leaders immedeately 
took action. Lenin appointed Stepan Shaumyan, a Bolshevik leader of 
Armenian origins, as Caucasian Commissar Extraordinary on December 
18, 1917.[7] He was sent to the location on December 30, 1917 and 
on January 11, 1918 he was given a decree signed by Stalin and Lenin,  
demanding Shaumyan to establish the Soviet regime in Caucasia, and to 
create an Armenian state in East Anatolia under the protection of 
Russia.[8]

    In the beginning, Shaumyan chose Tiflis as his base, however, he
moved to Baku as he could not put up with the Georgian Mensheviks.
At the time, Baku was under the control of the Armenian Taschnaks
and the Russian forces which were under the command of Bicherov
since October 1917.[9] Shaumyan organized the Armenians and the
Russian Labourers working at the Baku oil wells in a short time and
on March 18, 1918 he took control of the city. Shaumyan established
the Bolshevik rule of the Soviet of Labourers and Kadets of Baku,
which was formed of Armenians and Russians, and he became its
leader. The Shaumyan rule undertook a great massacre of the Turks
in the city between March 30-April 1. The Turks who survived
fled from the city. Artin H. Arslanian in an article on the Baku
event gives his account of the massacre as follows:

      The authority of both the Commissariat and the Transcaucasian
   Federative Republic was rejected by Baku. Until March, 1918, however,
   no single national, religious, Political, or military organization was
   in control of the city. One organisation that claimed supreme authority
   was the Baku soviet, which recognized the new Bolshevik regime in
   Petrograd. The Bolsheviks, however, were a minority in the soviet. The
   acquiescence of Social Revolutionaries and Armenians enabled the 
   Bolsheviks to dominate the soviet's executive committee, chaired by Stepan
   Shahumian-the Bolshevik regime's Extraordinary Commissar for Caucasian
   Affairs. The major rival of the soviet was the city duma which represented
   the Baku capitalists and bourgeoisie. It enjoyed the support of the 
   Mensheviks, Kadets, and a very small section of focal Armenians and 
   Azerbaijanis. However, the soviet had its Red Guards while the duma had
   no military force. Nevertheless, the soviet did not monopolize power
   Baku. The majority of some 95.000 Azerbaijani inhabitants of the
   city held themselves aloof from bolh the soviet and the duma. They
   had their own military formations, which were under the control of the
   Muslim national council. Still, the strongest local armed force belon,
   ged to the Armenians. The Armenian national council, in spite of its
   general support of the soviet refused to relinquish control of the Armenian
   units and merge with the Red Guards. In early 1918, these three seperate
   military formations - the Red Guards, the Azerbaijani militia, and the
   Armenian units-shared power in Baku. Barring intervention by an outside
   force, this stalemate could only be broken by a coalition between two of
   these formations against the third. That did not happen until late March...
   At the end of the month, a clash between the Red Guards of the Baku
   soviet and the armed Azerbaijani population of the city developed into
   racial and religious warfare when the Armenian military units, the strongest
   local force, joined the Bolsheviks. The Armenians, who regarded the
   Muslim Azerbaijanis as the Turks' allies, turned the battle in favor 
   of the Red Guards. About three thousand Azerbaijanis were killed.[10]

   The truth about the Baku massacre is clearly expressed by
Shaumyan: "The Nationalists who wish the independence of Azerbaijan 
will find only ruins." In reality, Shaumyan siezed the power
in Baku with the help of the Armenians, and he had 10.000 Turks
massacred by ordering the Bolshevik Red Guards and the Armenians
to attack the Turkish quarters. Meanwhile, the Russo-Armenians
and the Bolsheviks or Mensheviks had sacked the building of "Cemiyet-i 
Hayriye", the printing offices of the Turkish newpapers Aciksoz
and Kaspi and the Taze Pir Mesjid had been bombed by the naval
forces which were at the time anchored in the harbour. Parallel
to these massacres, most of the unarmed Turkish population of
Semahi, Kurdemir, Lenkeran, Salyan, Kuba and Nevahi provinces
were massacred by the Bolshevik leaders such as Caparidze, Amazaps,
Avetisov and the forces of Petrov-, the Russian artillery commander.
While a group of allied Bolshevik-Armenian forces were heading for
Gence, the Armenian militia lead by Captain Mosesyan and General
Areshov were undertaking massacres on a great scale in the Kars
area.

   As if these atrocities were not enough, Shaumyan organized
attacks on a bigger scale on the Turks living in the city on March 30-31,
1918. This massacre was undertaken on Lenin's personal orders and by
the participation of the Bolshevik Armenians. Those who survived this
massacre, in which about 20-30 thousand Turks were killed, swiftly
abondoned the area for Gence and defected to the Azerbaijan Republic
which was trying to show resistance against these forces.[11]

   While Russia was organizing actions of this nature in Caucasia,
she was also detaining the peace talks, which were being held at
Brest-Litovsk since December 20, 1917. Germany growing tired of
this detention officially made known on February 17, 1918, their
intention to attack. Enver Pasha and Talat Pasha, the leaders of
the Committee of Union and Progress(Ittihat-Terakki) who were
in power in Turkey, did not believe that negotiations with Russia
would be fruitful. All the Turkish applications concerning the 
atrocities undertaken by the Armenians against the Turks in the 
invaded territories, were being ignored. Moreover, Decleration Number 3
dated January 11, 1918 made clear the true intentions of Russia.[12]

(to be continued)

Regards,
Ahmet Parlakbilek