Chapter Four. State Building In The North Caucasus After The Russian Revolution

Abstract

The Russian Revolution created unprecedented possibilities for the peoples in the South Caucasus. For the first time they were united in the (con)federation of the Transcaucasus. This (con)federation did not last long, and was soon replaced by the three independent states of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. The state building process in the three republics was difficult, due to the devastation from the fighting during the last months of the war. The first priorities for the new government were to improve the infrastructure, create democratic structures such as elections and strengthen the power of the governments. Between 1920 and the beginning of 1921 Russia (re)conquered the republics, which first became SSRs in the RSFSR, then joined in a TSFSR in the Soviet Union, and from 1936 onwards were separate SSRs in the Soviet Union. In this period one recognizes the roots of the territorial conflicts that arose after 1991.Keywords: Armenia; Azerbaijan; Georgia; Russian Revolution; South Caucasus; state building