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The Beginning of Soviet Expansion and the Treaty of Sevres By Andrew Andersen and Georg Egge
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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[1] and
the Soviet blitzkrieg of April, 1920,
against Azerbaijan followed by the rapid Sovietisation of that country
performed with the help of Turkish Nationalists[2] 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[3]. 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[4].
Most of the Turkish officers stationed in Azerbaijan also went to Soviet
service including Nuri Pasha[5].
On May 12 the first Soviet detachments reached Shusha having the directive to
take over the whole of Mountainous Karabakh, Zanghezur and Sharur-Nakhichevan[6].
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[7]. 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[8].
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[9].
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[10]. 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[11].
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[12].
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”[13]. 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)[15].
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[16]. 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”[17], 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[18]
(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.[19]
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)[20]. 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[21]. The Red Army was
meanwhile fighting Armenian militias in Zanghezur in order to capture Gerusy[22].
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[23].
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[24]. 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[25]. 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[26].
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” [27]
(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[28]. 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[29].
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[30].
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
Treaty of Sevres, 10.08.1920 The Treaty of Sevres legally satisfied less
than 40% of Armenian claims in Western Armenia. Article 88 of the Treaty gave
international recognition to the Democratic Republic of Armenia as a
sovereign and established nation, whereas a Article 89 gave Armenia the
vilayat of Erzerum, half of the vilayats of Van and Trebizond and almost all
of the vilayat of Bitlis delegating the decision regarding the exact borders
between Armenia and Turkey as well as Armenia and Georgia, to the President
of the United States (see Figure 3.4). As can be seen from the below quotation of
Article 89 (Section IV, Part III) of the draft piece treaty with the Turkey,
it lacked clearance regarding the future Turco-Armenian border delegating the
final decisions to the US President: 89. Turkey and Armenia as well as the other
High Contracting Parties agree to submit the arbitration of the President of
the United States of America the question of the frontier to be fixed
betweenTurkey and Armenia in the vilayats of Erzerum, Trebizond, van and
Bitlis[32]. The treaty contained even less clearance in
regards with the borders between Armenia and her South Caucasian neighbors.
In accordance with Article 92: 92. The frontiers between Armenia and
Azerbaijan and Georgia respectively will be determined by direct agreement
between the States concerned[33].
Figure 3.4 |
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