NAGORNO KARABAKH IN 1918-1920

1918-1920's is one of the hard periods of the century-old history of the Karabakhi Armenians. It was in these years that the ancient Armenian region Artsakh was turned into the subject of "territorial debates".

After the collapse of the Russian Empire on February 10, 1918 the Transcaucasian seim was convened which on April 9 of the same year declared on the secession of Trascaucasus from Russia and proclaimed the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic. However, the independent Transcaucasus existed shortly. Azerbaijan wanted the unification with Turkey, Georgia relied on Germany, whereas nobody supported Armenia, that continued to be loyal to the allied duty before the Entente and to the interests of Russia. The new offensive of the Turkish troops, begun early in April 1918 after the withdrawal of the regular Russian Army, accelerated the break-up of Transcaucasus.

On May 26,1918 "taking into account of arisen fundamental divergences on the subject of war and peace between the peoples having created the Transcaucasian Independent Republic", the Same stated the break-up of Transcaucasus and giving up its authorities.On the same day Georgia declared on its independence. On May 28, the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic and the Republic of Armenia were proclaimed.

As it is known an administrative territorial division in the Imperial Russia was carried out not according to the ethnic indication. Till the end of May 1918, i.e. before the dismissal of the Transcaucasian Seim, Nagorno Karabakh was a part of the Yelizavetpol Province .

In these circumstances the government of Azerbaijan declared the incorporation of Karabakh into the newly established Azerbaijani Democratic Republic of Baku and Yelizavetpol provinces. By this act Azerbaijan sought to consolidate its hold on Karabakh and Zangezur the historical territories of Armenia with the Armenian population predominant.

Such actions of Azerbaijan were conditioned also by those tragic circumstances the Armenians were plunged into during the year of World War I. As it is known, in 1915 the Ottoman Turkey carryied out the great massacres of the Armenians in the territory of the Western Armenia . From the very beginning the Young Republic of Armenia was already so exhausted , that was not able to implement the function of defence of the Armenian population and advocate its right for primordial Armenian lands in full measure.

However, the people of Nagorno Karabakh and Zangezur rejected to recognize the jurisdiction of the Azerbaijani Republic.Here the Armenian national Councils took the power into their hands, organized and headed the struggle against Azerbaijan .

On July 22, 1918 the first Congress of the Armenians of Karabakh was convened, which proclaimed Nagorno Karabakh an independent administrative-political unit elected the National Council as well as the people's government, made up from seven persons. On July 24, the Declaration of the People's Government of Karabakh was adopted which set forth the objectives of the newly established state authority problems.

After this Congress the Azerbaijani Government was trying to incorporate Nagorno Karabakh into the Azerbaijani territory with the help of theTurkish troops.The commander of the troops, Nuri-Pasha, laid an ultimatum to the National Council of Karabakh, however, the second Congress of the Armenians of Karabakh, convened on September 6, rejected this demand of the Turkish commandment and the Government of Azerbaijan.

On September 15, 1918 the Turkish troops entered Baku and the great massacres of the Armenian population of the city began, the victims of which became 30 thousand Armenians. Hundreds of villages in Baku and Yelizavetpol regions were subjected to destructions and extermination.Under these circumstances the command of the Turkish troops' again laid an ultimatum to the Nagorno Karabakh People's Government, demanding disarmament from Karabakh, the pass of the Turkish and Azerbaijani troops into Shoushi and recognizing the power of Azerbaijan.

To discuss the ultimatum the Third Congress of the Armenians was convened, on September 17, 1918, where the draft of the answer to the Turks was adopted, in which the demands of disarmament and subordination to the power of Azerbaijan were decisively rejected. The Turkish command had to refuse from the demand of the general disarmament of the people and agreed not to insist on recognizing the power of Azerbaijan and preserve the status quo of Karabakh. The Turks only insisted on the necessity of bearing the troops into Shoushi. Since the defeat of the German block in World War I was the question of some days, People's Government of Karabakh agreed on this demand to win the time. However, the population of the district was dissatisfied and couldn't reconcile themselves to bringing the troops into Shoushi. Marching into Shoushi without fighting the Turks disarmed the Armenian population of the town, arrested the representatives of intelligentsia. On this account the Armenians of Karabakh cancelled the decision of the Third Congress and began to prepare for resistance.

On October 31,1918 Turkey admits its defeat in World War I. Its troops retreated from Transcaucasus and the English troops replaced them in December and became entire masters. The Government of Azerbaijan for this once tried to capture Nagorno Karabakh with the help of the English. The new borders of Transcaucasus could not be defined without the agreement of England. Stating that the fate of the disputable territories must be solved at the Peace Conference in Paris, the English command in reality did everything for incorporating Nagorno Karabakh into Azerbaijan long before the final resolution of the problem.

Establishing a full control over the export of the Baku oil, the English sought the final secession of Transcaucasus from Russia ; Azerbaijan , as it was supposed, was to play a role of an advanced post of the West in the South Caucasus to create barriers to the sovietization of the region.

On this account the policy of the allied powers in the relation with Transcaucasia had a pro-Azerbaijani trend. The Karabakh problem settlement was dragged out rather calculating on the development of the military-political situation that would be favorable for Azerbaijan , therefore the change of the ethnic structure of Nagorno Karabakh.

On January15, 1919 the Azerbaijani Government with the ''knowledge of the English command'' appointed Khosrov bek Sultanov governor-general of Nagorno Karabakh, simultaneously laying an ultimatum to the Karabakhian National Council to recognize the power of Azerbaijan.

On February 19, 1919 the 4th Congress of the Armenian population of Karabakh was convened in Shoushi decisively rejected this ultimatum of Azerbaijan and expressed protest in connection with the appointment of Sultanov governor-general. The resolution adopted by the Congress says,"Insisting on the principle of the self –determination of people, the Armenian population of Karabakh respects the right of the neighbouring Turkish people for self-determination and together with this decisively protests against the attempts of the Azerbaijani Government to eliminate this principle in relation to Nagorno Karabakh, which will never admit the power of Azerbaijan over it."

In connection with the appointment of Sultanov the British mission came out with an official notification, which stated , that "by the British command's consent Dr. Khosrov bek Sultanov is appointed provisional governor of Zangezur, Shoushi, Jivanshir and Jebrail provinces. The British Mission finds it necessary to confirm that belonging of the mentioned districts to one or another unit must be solved at a Peace Conference."

The National Council of Karabakh gave the following answer: "The National Council of the Armenians of Karabakh with its full complement, in common with the commanders of all the districts of Karabakh , having discussed the fact of appointing general-governor of the Government of Azerbaijan, came to the conclusion that the Armenian Karabakh cannot accept such a fact, as the Armenians of Karabakh consider the dependence on the Government of Azerbaijan , in whatever form it might be, unacceptable due to those violence and violations of rights, which the Armenian people was systematically subjected to by the Azerbaijani Government till recently whenever it connected its hope with this Government. The Armenian Karabakh showed the whole world that it in fact did not recognize and does not recognize within its borders the power of the Azerbaijani Government as it had been decided recently by the Congress of the Armenians of Karabakh. Proceeding from the fact that the British command recognizes the Armenian Karabakh such a territory that has not been subordinated to any state before the solution of the Peace Conference, therefore and in particular to Azerbaijan, the National Council considers the appointment of the English general-governor the only acceptable form for the Government of the Armenian Karabakh , and it asks the mission to solicit before the Supreme English Command."

However, in spite of the Karabakhi people's protests the English commandment continued to assist the Azerbaijani Government in realizing the policy of incorporation of Armenian Karabakh into Azerbaijan . The English troops' commander in Baku Colonel Shatelwort stated to the Karabakhian people:"Your roads are closed, your starving people will not get bread, we will not help you, until you recognize the power of Mousavat Azerbaijan ." Unable to force Nagorno Karabakh to its knees by threats or by the help of the armed forces Shatelwort personally arrived at Shoushi late in April 1919 to compel the National Council of Karabakh to recognize the power of Azerbaijan . On April 23, in Shoushi the Fifth Congress was convened which rejected the Shatelwort's demands.

Having received a refusal from the Fifth Congress, Sultanov decided to subordinate Nagorno Karabakh by means of the armed forces. Almost the whole army of Azerbaijan was concentrated at the Nagorno Karabakh borders. On June 12,1919 the English troops withdrew from Nagorno Karabakh to give the Azerbaijani troops a free hand.

On those days there was concluded an agreement to convene the Sixth Congress of the Karabakhi Armenians, at which the representatives of the English Mission and Azerbaijani Government were to take part. The main objective of the Congress was the discussion of the interrelations of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan before the convention of the Peace Conference in Paris . However, the representatives of the English Mission and the Government of Azerbaijan arrived at the Congress after it had finished its work and the negotiations did not take place. To find out whether Nagorno Karabakh would be able to defend its independence in case of war, the established Commission of the Congress came to the conclusion that the Karabakhians would not be able to do so. Under such circumstances the Congress, being under the threat of the armed assault from Azerbaijan , was compelled to start negotiations.

Eager to win time and to concentrate the forces available, the Congress of the Armenians of Karabakh convened on August 13, 1919 concluded the agreement on August 22 according to which Nagorno Karabakh considered itself to be provisionally within the borders of the Azerbaijani Republic till the final solution of the problem at Peace Conference in Paris. However, the Armenians did not lay down their arms and the Azerbaijani troops did not enter Nagorno Karabakh. The Agreement signed on August 22 in essence did not change the status of Nagorno Karabakh: the land still remained an independent political entity.

This circumstance could not satisfy Sultanov who was preparing for the final incorporation of the territory into Azerbaijan by changing the ethnic structure of Nagorno Karabakh. On February 19,1920 Sultanov turned to the National Council of the Karabakhi Armenians with the demand "solve the question of the final incorporation of Karabakh into Azerbaijan urgently."

From February 23 till March 4, 1920 the Eighth Congress of Karabakhi Armenians was held, which rejected the demand of Sultanov. The resolution of the Congress criticized the policy of the Government of Azerbaijan, which roughly violated the terms of the Agreement signed on August 22. In accordance with the decision of the Congress the diplomatic and the military representatives of the allied states of the Entente, three Transcaucasian republics and the provisional governor-general were informed that "the repetition of the events will compel the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh to turn to the appropriate means for defence."

However, the Government of Azerbaijan did not intend to stop. It decided hastily to conquer Nagorno Karabakh and azerbaijanize it.

Proceeding from this being the circumstances, the Karabakhi Armenians decided to prepare for defence. On the night from March 22-23 they rose in an armed revolt in Nagorno Karabakh. Heavy fighting continued from March 22 till April 13. March 23, 1920 became a particularly tragic day, Turkish-Azerbaijani troops burned and robbed Shoushi, the capital of the district, at that time the fifth town in Transcaucasia in number of residents. On that day about 20 thousand Armenians perished and the town was practically razed to the ground. In the course of the war tens of churches and other monuments of history and culture were destroyed and profaned.

Soon the military units arrived from Armenia to help: Nagorno Karabakh was entirely liberated. On April 1920, the Ninth Congress of the Karabakhi Armenians was held which proclaimed Nagorno Karabakh an essential part of Armenia . The concluding document reads:

1. "To consider the agreement, which was concluded with the Government of Azerbaijan on behalf of the Seventh Congress of Karabakh, violated by the latter, in view of the organized attack of the Azerbaijani troops on the civilian Armenian population in Shoushi and villages.

2. To proclaim Nagorno Karabakh as an essential part of Armenia ."

Thus, in the period of an initial definition of the borders and establishment of the three National States in Transcaucasia, Nagorno Karabakh was not a part of Azerbaijan . From late May 1918 till April 1920, i.e. before the establishment of the Soviet power in Azerbaijan , Nagorno Karabakh was independent. All the attempts of the Government of Azerbaijan to capture Nagorno Karabakh failed.

The International Community in the person of the League of Nations recognized the disputable status of the Armenian Nagorno Karabakh within much broader borders than present boarders of the NKR. The League of Nations indicated that in connection with the question of recognizing the independence of Armenia and Azerbaijan the final status of Nagorno Karabakh is to be solved at the Paris Peaceful Conference. So never recognized by the League of Nations de jury Azerbaijani Democratic Republic left the arena of history when Russia (already Soviet) returned to Transcaucasia .

Artsakh from ancient times till 1918

Principilates of Artsakh

Nagorono Karabakh in 1918-1920

Nagorno Karabakh during the establishment of soviet rule in Transcaucasia

Nagorno Karabakh's Struggle for Freedom

Genocide of the Armenians

War of 1991 - 1994