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The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (آذربایجان خلق جومهوریتی), also abbreviated as the ADR, was a short-lived state in the South Caucasus that existed between 28 May 1918 and 28 April 1920. The republic marked the first Azerbaijani nation-state and secular Muslim democracy in history.

National formation
From 1813–1828, as a result of Qajar Iran's forced cession through the Treaty of Gulistan (1813) and the Treaty of Turkmenchay (1828), the territory of present-day Azerbaijan, and in turn the short-lived Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, became part of the Russian Empire. By 1917, when both Russian revolutions took place the territory, Azerbaijan had been part of the empire's Caucasus Viceroyalty for more than 100 years, alongside the rest of the Transcaucasus, ever since Iran's cession.

Prior to the twentieth century, Azerbaijanis had lived under Russian colonial rule for a century and had never had their own nation-state. Azerbaijanis lacked a sense of national identity, and their unity was based solely on religion. By the late nineteenth century, however, European ideas of nationalism had begun to influence the Near East, and the Russian government's harsh colonial practices gave birth to various national movements among the Russian Empire's Turkic peoples. This sparked a new sense of national identity among the Caucasus peoples, including Azerbaijanis. Religious influence had begun to wane among Azerbaijanis, and it had been replaced by their own nationalism, which had taken on a Pan-Turkic and Pan-Islamic hue at times.

Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic
Following the October Revolution, which brought Bolsheviks into power on 7 November 1917, the Caucasus was left virtually ungoverned. The Provisional Government established a Special Committee to administer the region until Russian order was restored; however, the committee was replaced 21 days later, on 28 November, by the Transcaucasian Commissariat. Formed with the express purpose of being a caretaker government, the Commissariat was not able to govern strongly: it was dependent on national councils, formed around the same time and based on ethnic lines, for military support and was effectively powerless to enforce any laws it passed.

In the meantime in Baku, the enlarged session of Baku Soviet of Workers', Peasants', and Soldiers' Deputies, on the proposal of its leader Stepan Shaumyan, declared itself a local revolutionary legislative organ and adopted a resolution about the recognition of the authority of Sovnarkom of the new Russian Republic. Stepan Shaumyan was elected chairman of the Baku Soviet's executive committee. However, the Soviet's power did not extend beyond the boundaries of the Baku district.

With no desire to follow the lead of the Bolsheviks, the Commissariat agreed to form their own legislative body so that the Transcaucasus could have a legitimate government and properly negotiate with the Ottoman Empire, which was invading the Caucasus at the time. Thus on 23 February 1918, they established the "Seim" ('legislature') in Tiflis. The Seim comprised ten different parties. Three dominated, each representing one major ethnic group: the Georgian Mensheviks and the Azerbaijani Musavat party, both with 30 seats, and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, with 27.

In March, Ottoman forces invaded the Caucasus once more. The Seim deliberated on the best course of action, with the majority of delegates favouring a political solution. On 20 March, Ottoman delegates proposed that the Seim could return to negotiations only if they declared independence. In the face of Ottoman military superiority, the Georgian National Council determined that Transcaucasia's only option was to declare independence. On 22 April, the idea was debated in the Seim, with Georgians leading the way, noting that Ottoman representatives had agreed to resume peace talks if the Transcaucasus met them as an independent state. The decision to move forward was not unanimous at first: the mostly Armenian Dashnaks believed that stopping the Ottoman military's advance was the best option at the time, though they were hesitant to give up so much territory, while the Musavats, who represented Azerbaijani interests, were still hesitant to fight fellow Muslims, but conceded that independence was the only way to ensure the region was not divided by foreign states. The Bolshevik takeover of Baku added to the pressure on Transcaucasia to resolve its status. Thus, the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic declared independence on 22 April 1918.

However, independence did not halt Ottoman advances and on 26 May 1918, Georgia declared its independence, effectively ending the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic only six weeks after it was established.

Declaration of independence
After the dissolution of the federation, members of the defunct Seim's Muslim Faction (i.e. Muslim National Council) convened an emergency meeting to discuss the current political situation on 27 May 1918. After a lengthy debate, the Muslim National Council proclaimed itself the Azerbaijani National Council and became the first delegated legislative body in Azerbaijan's history. A day later, on 28 May, the National Council convened a meeting in Tiflis. During the meeting, the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the signing of the 6-item "Declaration of National Independence" were declared. The new republic's first interim government was formed an hour after the announcement.

Treaty of Batum
Following independence, two governments controlled the territory of Azerbaijan. The national government of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan controlled the western regions (Ganja Governorate), while the Baku Council of People's Commissars controlled the city of Baku and the adjacent Baku Governorate. The national government in recognizing the gravity of the situation negotiated a "Treaty of Peace and Friendship" with the Ottoman Empire—thus, the Ottoman army entered Ganja the following day. On 16 June 1918, the de facto capital of the nascent republic was relocated from Tiflis to Ganja, where the political situation was more complicated.

The assistance of the Ottoman Army of Islam in defeating the Baku Commune forces was a crucial step in the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic gaining its capital of Baku. Ottoman–Azerbaijani cooperation had been officialised in Ganja.

Battle of Baku
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British occupation of Baku
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Azerbaijani–Georgian treaty
Relations with Georgia were friendly due to the countries' minimal overlapping territorial claims and the necessity to depend on eachother due to the threat of Russia, as demonstrated in the border skirmishes over Sochi. In the Paris Peace Conference, Azerbaijan initially claimed the Zakatal, Borchaly, Akhaltsikhe, and districts and the Batum oblast (all also claimed by Georgia), however, later rescinded its claims, limiting their pretensions to the former which had been incorporated with Ottoman assistance in 1918.

On 16 June 1919, Georgia and Azerbaijani authorities agreed to settle the dispute over Zakatal "exclusively" by peaceful means whilst concluding a military defence pact that obligated each nation to come to the defence of the other should either one be attacked. The defence pact was primarily directed towards South Russia, which in the spring of 1919 had eliminated the neighbouring Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus. The treaty also provided a 2-week period for Armenia to join the alliance, however, they were unwilling to sabotage relations with their historic and cultural ally, Russia. Armenia's continued non-acceptance of the pact played to Denikin's advantage as Azerbaijan and Georgia both suspected a secret military alliance with Russia, and were thus forced to position their forces on both borders in the case that their apprehensions were true. The three-year agreement between Georgia and Azerbaijan was signed by Evgeni Gegechkori, Noe Ramishvili, General Ilia Odishelidze, and Major General Muhammad khan Takinski on the Georgian side, and Mammad Yusif Jafarov, Maciej Sulkiewicz, and General Samad bey Mehmandarov on the Azerbaijani side.

Mughan Soviet Republic
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Capitulation of Karabakh
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Armenian–Azerbaijani war
Despite their geographical proximity, Armenia and Azerbaijan for most of their existence found themselves at odds with each other due to their heavily overlapping territorial claims over the districts of the Erivan and Elizavetpol governorates.

The failed Azerbaijani offensive against Armenian-held Zangezur on 3 November 1919 led to consultations between between prime ministers Usubbeyov and Khatisian in Tiflis on 19 November. The negotiations which began on 20 November were accompanied by Georgian foreign minister Gegechkori and the acting Allied High Commissioner in Armenia, Colonel James C. Rhea and lasted 4 days. Usubbeyov would agree to withdraw the Azerbaijani army from the peripheries of Zangezur if the Khatisian agreed to do the same for Armenian forces within Zangezur, with the aim of reopening roads and allowing the repatriation of refugees, and the remaining issues to be resolved through consultations in Baku. Khatisian disagreed with this formula in the context of the Armenian victory, and also suspected Azerbaijan of trying to neutralise the area so that it could take advantage of its weakness and annex it to reach the rebelling Sharur–Nakhichevan districts. Khatisian also posited that it was difficult to implement the immediate repatriation of Azerbaijani refugees in Zangezur who had fled over a 2-year-period, and said the issue would be easier to discuss if arrangements were made for the surviving Armenians of the Nukha and Shemakha districts. On 23 November, an agreement was reached between the prime ministers which could essentially be summarised as a document of intent towards peace and pledge to halt all hostilities and resolve conflicts exclusively through nonviolent means.

Turkish ties
The fact that Usubbeyov and his companions were serious in their support for Azerbaijani independence and British friendship did not rule out the possibility of friendly relations with Turkey. That notion was emphasised by Azerbaijan's long battle with Armenia over control of the Karabakh–Zangezur–Nakhichevan corridor. As a result, Azerbaijani leaders investigated the possibility of reaching an agreement with the Sultan's government in Constantinople and with Nationalist commanders in Anatolia, where Azerbaijani spies were active, according to both Turkish and Allied sources. General Kâzım Karabekir claimed that their recruiting efforts were increasing the rate of desertion in the XV Corps, which was already understaffed. Nonetheless, Karabekir, mindful of Azerbaijan's significance as a route to Soviet Russia, acted as an intermediary for Mustafa Kemal and Azerbaijani and Turkish agents in the east. In September, he reported that "special Azerbaijani envoys were being sent to consult with the Nationalists," and that the Azerbaijani Ittihad party was shielding the Bolsheviks in Baku in the hope of turning Russians against each other in the North Caucasus, thereby reducing Russia's threat to Muslim lands.

Karabakh rebellion
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Caucasian confederation
The idea of "Caucasian confederation" was again raised during the Armenian–Azerbaijani consultations in the aftermath of the March 1920 Shusha massacre—On 9 April negotiations to end the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh and Kazakh–Dilijan began in Tiflis between the Armenian delegation composed of foreign minister Hamo Ohanjanyan, Tigran Bekzadian, Stepan Mamikonian, and Smbat Khachatrian, and the Azerbaijani delegation composed of the Speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan Hasan bey Aghayev, Assistant Minister of Justice Olgher bey Krichinski, and diplomatic representative to Georgia, Faris bey Vekilov. Georgia also participated as moderators through Foreign Minister Evgeni Gegechkori, Grigol Lordkipanidze, and former diplomatic representative to Armenia, Gerasim Makharadze. In light of the approaching 11th Army of Soviet Russia, Aghayev postulated the need for Caucasian unity to resist Soviet penetration into the South Caucasus, and put forward the idea of a Caucasian confederation made up of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia in which none would relinquish any of their sovereignty, but they would all commit to defend one-another to defend their collective independence. Ohanjanyan, in following his government's policy of wanting Russia to reincorporate Azerbaijan, accused Aghayev of sidetracking the negotiations from their original purpose until Aghayev admitted he was awaiting authorisation from his government to sign any agreement on a truce in Karabakh. Hovannisian describes the strategy of Aghayev as trying to 'buy time' for the Azerbaijani army to conclude its military operations against the rebelling Karabakh Armenians before they begin to negotiate for peace in good faith. Prior to this, Aghayev also tried to argue that the warfare in Karabakh was an "internal matter" of Azerbaijan and it was inappropriate to discuss it in an international context. This argument was denounced by Ohanjanyan and the Georgian moderator Gegechkori who accused Aghayev of trying to sabotage the peace talks, and argued that the nature of the 22 August 1919 provisional accord between the Karabakh Council and Azerbaijan underpinned the issue's international nature.

Sovietisation
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Dr. Fuad Sabit, one of Kemal's representatives in Azerbaijan, inquired of Bolshevik leaders about possible support from Soviet Russia, despite the fact that Turkish cultures and economic practises were incompatible with communism. He said that the Bolsheviks had recognised these differences and welcomed Turkish collaboration, emphasising that they could only offer financial assistance for the time being because the roads from central Russia remained closed. Sabit noted that Azerbaijan might also provide financial assistance, but could not do so openly because Usubbeyov still had high aspirations for the English. Such safeguards were obviously insufficient, for by the end of the year, British intelligence sources stated that Azerbaijani operatives had discussed military collaboration with Kemal, and that other agents were attempting to gain the support of the important Kurdish chieftains. Despite Usubbeyov's assertions, the number of Turkish officers in Azerbaijan has increased.

Despite the Azerbaijani government apprising Georgia of their Soviet invasion on 27 April 1920, Georgia did not honour the defensive treaty with Azerbaijan or come to their rescue. The Prime Minister of Georgia, Noe Jordania indicated in a speech on 30 April that Georgia was willing to assist Azerbaijan if the latter's own people resisted to defend their independence, which was not the case, as evidenced by the 11th Army of Soviet Russia advancing 100 km into Azerbaijan during the first 6 hours of the invasion.

Government
After the dissolution of the federation, members of the defunct Seim's Muslim Faction (i.e. Muslim National Council) convened an emergency meeting to discuss the current political situation on 27 May 1918. After a lengthy debate, the Muslim National Council proclaimed itself the Azerbaijani National Council and became the first delegated legislative body in Azerbaijan's history. Mammad Amin Rasulzade (Chairman of the Central Committee of the Musavat Party) was elected as the chairman of the National Council, while Fatali Khan Khoyski (Non-Partisan) was elected the chairman of the Executive Committee of the National Council.

A day later, on 28 May, the National Council convened a meeting chaired by Hasan bey Aghayev in the Great Hall on the second floor of the palace of the former Viceroy of the Russian Emperor in the Caucasus in Tiflis. During the meeting, the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the signing of the 6-item "Declaration of National Independence" were announced. The new republic's first interim government was formed an hour after the announcement.

The political situation in Azerbaijan was characterised by dual power in the summer of 1918, and the struggle for independence took place under these conditions. The eastern part of the country, specifically the strategically important city of Baku, was controlled by the Baku Council of People's Commissars. On June 4, ADR signed a Treaty of Peace and Friendship with the Ottoman Empire, and the Turkish army entered Ganja the next day. Members of the National Council and the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan relocated from Tbilisi to Ganja on 16 June 1918, where the political situation was complicated.

Months before the republic's end, Minister of Industry and Trade Mirza Asadullayev sold a "moderate quantity" of oil below its value to Georgian businessman Akaki Khoshtaria in return for a property. The transaction was revealed to the Azerbaijani parliament and led to the resignation of Khoyski as prime minister, however, he stayed on as foreign minister.

Parliament (WIP)
The Parliament featured various MPs of national minorities in addition to the Muslim Musavatist majority. Armenians, for example, occupied twenty-one of the one hundred and twenty seats. The President of the Parliament held the highest office in the Republic. He was the one who appointed the prime ministers, who then formed their cabinets with Parliament's assent.

Despite its democratic constitution, Azerbaijan was dominated by a coalition of powers, including the Musavat, the enormously wealthy owners of the Baku oil resources, and the feudal landowners of western Azerbaijan.

This unofficial coalition was just as incapable of cooperating. The Azerbaijani Parliament enacted a number of measures, none of which were very noteworthy. Probably the most striking was the extension of suffrage to women, making Azerbaijan the first Muslim country in the world to grant women equal political rights with males. Another significant accomplishment was the establishment of a state university in Baku. Before the revolution, there were a few different institutions in that city; suddenly they were merged into a university, which quickly became the country's primary intellectual centre.

Military
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Paris peace conference (WIP)
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Demographics
Following the Treaty of Batum, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in a territory of 36000 mi2 had a population of 3,095,900 including 2,138,900 Muslims and 653,000 Armenians.

In a memorandum submitted to the Paris Peace Conference, the ADR laid extensive claims to territories in the South Caucasus totalling 113900 km2—the projected population was 4,617,671, of which 3,481,889 were Azerbaijanis, 795,312 were Armenians, 26,585 were Georgians, and 310,885 were other nationalities.

However, the ADR limited its "core" or "indisputable" territories to the Baku gradonachalstvo, the Baku and Elizavetpol governorates, the Zakatal okrug, and the southeastern half of the Erivan Governorate (comprising the Nakhichevan and Sharur-Daralayaz counties). The ADR's claimed territories "whose status was 'open to compromise'" were the western part of Etchmiadzin, the southern part of Erivan, the Surmalu uezd, and portions of the Borchaly and Signakh counties. According to the Address-Calendar of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 1920, the nationalities of the ADR within its "core" territories (97300 km2) was as follows:

Historian Justin McCarthy in supporting the fact that Azerbaijan had a population of 2,862,000, of which approximately 70% was Muslim, also asserts that 8700 km2 on the border with Georgia and 7900 km2 on the border with Armenia were considered by the Azerbaijani government as contested.

In April 1920, the Azerbaijan SSR which succeeded the ADR inherited a territory of 86600 km2 consisting of 1,952,000 residents. The population of the "core" territories of the ADR in the same period was 2,189,250, indicating that 237,250 of this number remained outside outside of the Azerbaijan SSR in neighbouring Armenia within the modern-day territory of the Syunik, Tavush, and eastern Gegarkhunik provinces. According to a Soviet source, the population of Azerbaijan from 1921–1923 was 1.863 million.

In 1921, the Azerbaijan SSR had a population of 1.8 million consisting of 1 million Azeri Turks, 42 thousand Turks from northern Iran, 240 thousand Armenians, 120 thousand Russians, 66 thousand Talysh, 90 thousand Sunni Lezgins, 30 thousand Kurds, and 10 thousand Sunni and Jewish Tats. In the cities the ethnicities were distributed as follows: Azeri Turks – 45%, Turks from northern Iran – 10%, Armenians –14%, and Russians – 10%. In the countryside the ethnicities were distributed as follows: Azeri Turks – 60%, Armenians – 13%, Russians – 3%.

Legacy
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