Military-political situation in Nakhchivan. Part II.

The Nakhchivan region, all the time had only one dream, to be freed through red Azerbaijan as soon as possible.” It should be noted that in the first months, Soviet power extended only to Nakhchivan and the surrounding villages. At the same time, the entire Sharur uyezd and partially Ordubad uyezd, mostly mountain villages, were in the hands of the Dashnaks. In order to regulate relations with the government of Armenia, on July 29, 1920, the Nakhchivan Revolutionary Committee turned to the Dashnak government with a proposal to start peace negotiations and stop the bloodshed. At the same time, in the address of the Nakhchivan Revolutionary Committee to the population dated July 30, 1920, it was noted that the Soviet government would not allow any interethnic clashes, and would also ensure the safety of Armenian refugees returning to their places of residence. However, the Dashnaks rejected these proposals. Moreover, on July 30, the Minister of War of the Dashnak government presented an ultimatum to the Nakhchivan Revolutionary Committee: “To ensure the unconditional obedience of the population of Nakhchivan to the Armenian government. The Nakhchivan National Committee, on behalf of the entire population of the Nakhchivan and Sharur districts, must declare that these districts are an integral part of the Republic of Armenia, and that all residents recognize themselves as citizens of the Republic of Armenia. The Nakhchivan National Committee, as well as the inhabitants of this district, undertake not to allow the Turks and refugees of Vedibasar, Zangibasar and Sharur and the agitators of Azerbaijan to come to them. Completion time 48 hours. Regarding the ultimatum presented to the population of the Nakhchivan region by the Dashnak government, on August 1, 1920, the Nakhchivan Revolutionary Committee wrote to the commander of the Armenian detachment in Shakhtakhty, with a view to handing the following to the Armenian government: “The working population of the Nakhchivan region, having overthrown the chains of monarchical rule from its neck, rejects even the or put on the yoke of Dashnak slavery. The working people of the Nakhchivan region declared themselves an integral part of the Azerbaijan Soviet Republic, which is in alliance with the RSFSR.

This people has never been at enmity and is not at enmity with the working population of Armenia and will fight only against the enslavers of the Dashnak people. It is interesting that on the pages of the newspaper “Slovo” dated August 8, 1920, the reaction of the plenipotentiary representative of the RSFSR in Armenia B. Legrand to this bold statement of the Nakhchivan Revolutionary Committee, which he 73 51 assessed as “a step of irresponsible persons”, was published. Legrand also assured that he had already applied to his government with a request to dispose of these ultimatums and establish peaceful and friendly relations with Armenia. As you can see, Soviet Russia openly supported the actions of the Dashnak government in relation to Nakhchivan, and on the eve of the conclusion of an agreement with it on August 10, 1920, it was ready to make concessions to it on this issue. Such support by Soviet Russia to Armenia was due to: 1) An attempt to gain time in order to prepare a decisive offensive against Armenia; 2) The desire to oust the Turkish troops from the region on which the local population relied, thereby preventing the Bolsheviks from flirting with the Dashnak government on the issue of mediation in the territorial conflict with Azerbaijan. At the same time, the Dashnak press (newspaper “Nor Ashkhatavor” dated August 4, 1920) was already spreading false rumors that: “The city of Nakhchivan is occupied by Armenian troops. There were no excesses between Armenians and Muslims during the occupation of the city. According to the information received, the Muslim population of Sharur and Nakhchivan are voluntarily resettling in Persia.” In the meantime, on August 28, 1920, at a meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the AKP, the issue of the situation in Nakhchivan was considered. The adopted resolution stated: “a) Instruct the Azrevkom to clarify the Nakhchivan issue, to outline the border desirable for us; b) Propose to the Azrevkom to negotiate with the Revolutionary Military Council of the XI Army on the creation of power in the Nakhchivan region and propose a candidate of the Central Committee for the post of commissioner of the Nakhchivan region, ”(M.D. Bagirov-IN was planned to be a candidate). In addition, the Azrevkom and the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan sent instructions to the Nakhchivan Revolutionary Committee with the following content: “1) Immediately dissolve all the former authorities, the bourgeois-nationalist National Committee of Nakhchivan and create local bodies of Soviet power. 2) In order to attract the broad working masses to state building, carry out measures to strengthen the workers’ and peasants’ power. From the first days of its activity, the Nakhchivan Revolutionary Committee established difficult relations with the National Committee of Nakhchivan, which was accused of protecting the interests of the beks and khans. Thus, an attempt was made to drive a wedge into the unity of the people in conditions when the enemy was knocking on the door. This policy of the Bolsheviks did not go unnoticed. At that time, the military commissar of Nakhchivan, the former general of the national army Habib bey Salimov was declared an “enemy of socialism” and shot. At the next meeting of the Revolutionary Committee on August 29, 1920, the leaders of the National Committee of Nakhchivan Jafargulu Khan, Rahim Khan and his son Israfil Khan of Nakhchivan became the object of discussion. The contribution of these people to the defense of Nakhchivan from the attacks of the Dashnaks is invaluable.

Now, their former merits were forgotten and repressions began against them. By the decision of the Revolutionary Committee, the property of Jafarguli and Rahim Khan were confiscated. At the end of August, the Nakhchivan Revolutionary Committee, having discussed the issue of the former members of the “National Committee”, who allegedly carried out anti-Soviet propaganda, decided to arrest and deport them to Baku. Relations between the Nakhchivan Revolutionary Committee and the command of the Turkish troops in the region also remained difficult. The Revolutionary Committee accused them of having links with the Dashnaks. As a result of this policy of the Revolutionary Committee, “the communists decided to remove the representative of the Turkish military (Khalilbek) from the Revolutionary Committee and strictly control their activities (Turks) within Nakhchivan.” The situation became so aggravated that during negotiations in August 1920 between representatives of the command of the XI Red Army and Turkish troops, the latter were asked to withdraw their troops from Nakhchivan. However, the Turkish command correctly assessed the situation and did not agree, explaining their presence here by the need for a common struggle against the Dashnaks. Not wanting to complicate relations between the Soviet government and Turkey, the Soviet government instructed the command of the XI Red Army to stop negotiations on this issue. In August 1920, the Soviet-Turkish treaty was initialed in Moscow, according to which it was decided to leave the military forces of both governments in Nakhchivan until it was concluded. Thus, on the eve of the resolution of the issue of the status of Nakhchivan, the situation in this region of Azerbaijan was difficult. On the one hand, the ongoing aggression of the armed forces of the Ararat Republic kept the situation tense, and on the other hand, the policy of flirting between Soviet Russia and Dashnak Armenia delayed the resolution of the issue of the status of Nakhchivan as part of the Azerbaijan SSR. In conditions when the leadership of Soviet Azerbaijan was under the dictates of Moscow, the only force on which the population of Nakhchivan relied in the fight against the Bolshevik-Dashnak bloc was the troops of Ataturk’s government.