Abstract

On the basis of a significant amount of documentary and archival material, the article examines the background and development of the idea of creating a political and state association of the territories inhabited by the Muslim peoples of the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia. It is shown how the idea of cultural and national autonomy of the national outskirts arose in the course of the democratic movement in Russia in 1917, and how after the Bolshevik Coup in Russia, that idea was transformed into plans for the creation of independent political entities in Transcaucasia and the North Caucasus. The leaders of the Azerbaijani faction of the Transcaucasian governments repeatedly raised at various levels the question of the accession of the North Caucasus Muslim state entities to Transcaucasia, but the unstable political and military situation in the Caucasus made the resolution of this issue impossible. Until the middle of 1918, there were two opposing authorities in Azerbaijan – the government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the Baku Commune. The North Caucasus was even more fragmented, both ethnically and politically. At the same time, the anti-Bolshevik forces of the mountainous peoples received almost no material support from outside but competed with the White movement that had emerged in the South of Russia for influence in the region. The fall of the Baku Commune and the seizure of Baku by the Turkish-Azerbaijani troops revived the ideas of the Caucasian Muslim confederation for a short time. However, being disunited, the forces of the North Caucasus “independent” entities were unable to resist the pro-Bolshevik forces in the region. The defeat of Turkey and Germany in the First World War at the end of 1918 made a serious change in the balance of power in the Caucasus region and marked a new stage in the development of the idea of the Caucasian Muslim confederation, associated with the attempts of the government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic to achieve recognition of its sovereignty by the victorious Entente countries at the Paris Peace Conference.

Highlights

  • The idea of the common historical and political fate of the Muslim peoples of the Caucasus has a long history which often influenced the course of events in the crucial years of the development of the Russian state

  • It is shown how the idea of cultural and national autonomy of the national outskirts arose in the course of the democratic movement in Russia in 1917, and how after the Bolshevik Coup in Russia, that idea was transformed into plans for the creation of independent political entities in Transcaucasia and the North Caucasus

  • The leaders of the Azerbaijani faction of the Transcaucasian governments repeatedly raised at various levels the question of the accession of the North Caucasus Muslim state entities to Transcaucasia, but the unstable political and military situation in the Caucasus made the resolution of this issue impossible

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Summary

26 Протокол заседания всех мусульманских Сеймовых фракций и делегации от горцев

Северного Кавказа 25 марта 1918 г. // Государственный архив Азербайджанской республики (далее – ГААР). – Ф. 970. – Оп. 1. – Д. 1. – Л. 3–4. Закавказский сейм заявил о полном отделении Закавказья от России и о создании Закавказской демократической федеративной республики (далее – ЗДФР) в составе трех национальных территорий – Грузии, Армении и Азербайджана. Мусульмане Северного Кавказа отнеслись к созданию ЗДФР сдержанно, и на заседании мусульманских фракций сейма 1 мая был поднят вопрос о политическом союзе Азербайджана и Турции, «вплоть до формы Австро-Венгерской». В кулуарах конференции грузинские представители договорились с германскими о принятии Грузии под покровительство Германии, и 15 мая грузинские члены правительства ЗДФР обратились к правительству Германии с просьбой о военной помощи. Мая состоялись последнее совместное заседание правительства и отдельное заседание мусульманских фракций, принявшее решение об объявлении независимости Азербайджана в случае такого же действия со стороны Грузии. Независимость Азербайджана оказалась более чем условной, и способность нового правительства вести самостоятельную внешнюю политику была поставлена под сомнение, что вызывало определенную негативную реакцию в правительстве АДР, особенно у лидеров либеральной партии «Мусават»45. Буачидзе. 4 марта 1918 г. съезд признал власть Совнаркома РСФСР. 22 мая начал работу Третий съезд, принявший ряд

42 Договор дружбы между императорском Оттоманским правительством и
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