The historical Azerbaijani
territories of Karabakh, Nakhitchevan and Zengezur under Armenian claims
Dr. Vazeh ASKAROV
Abstract: The Armenian-Azerbaijani Karabakh
conflict was regarded as one of the most terrible conflicts of the twenty-first
century, with the consequences affecting the lives of millions of Azerbaijanis.
The Karabakh conflict over officially began in 1986
with the first refugees expelled from the regions of Gafan and Megri (Armenia).
This issue is well-known around the world because it only surfaced
during the Glasnost era. However, starting to study
the origins of this conflict from the time of perestroika does not seem
justified. The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict has persisted for more than
a century and we need take a look back to have a better understanding of the
situation. Armenian claims to the historical
Azerbaijani territories (Karabakh, Nakhchivan, Zangezur) were resolved by the
Moscow (March 16, 1921) and Kars (October 13, 1921) treaties. The assignment of
the Zangezur region to Armenia in 1921 ended the territorial continuity between
Azerbaijan and Turkiye (Vazeh Asgarov, 2022: 165-172), As a result of this
transfer, Nakhchivan was separated from Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani population
in these regions had decreased from 51% in 1897 to 6% in 1926. Moscow accepted
and proclaimed the Autonomous Soviet Republic of Karabakh in July 1923 and the
Autonomous Soviet Republic of Nakhchivan in March 1924 (Antoine Constant, 2002:
286-296).
1.
Introduction:
Examining the history of
Nagorno-Karabakh during the first stages of Sovietization and referring to the
archival documents on the issue of "Stalin's transfer", according to
the Armenians, we must clarify some questions about the mountainous part of
Karabakh, as well as the issues related to Zangezur and Nakhichevan. It should
be emphasized that, according to the Armenians, on July 5, 1921, the Caucasian
Bureau of the Soviet Communist Party decided to include the Nagorno-Karabakh
province in the administrative territory of Azerbaijan. In this circumstance,
we see how the communist power of the early years of Sovietisation used the
conflict zone to establish itself in other parts of the South Caucasus. N. Narimanov wrote to Lenin that ...the territories that were Azerbaijani under
the Musavat government became contested under the Soviet regime, and the people
saw this and complained. The Azerbaijani
regions of Karabakh, Zangezur, and Nakhchivan were utilized in discussions with
Armenia, as demonstrated by an analysis of the correspondence between
Chicherin, Lenin, Ordzhonikidze and Narimanov. Blocking all relations between Azerbaijan
and Turkiye was
another justification for this approach (Vazeh
Asgarov, 2022: 165).
Boris Legran[1]
sent a coded telegram on September 23, 1920, stating that transferring Zangezur and Nakhchivan to Armenia is not a cause for
alarm. However, these territories were necessary for operations in Turkiye and
Tabriz. Following the establishment of Soviet power in Armenia (November
29, 1920), a declaration was made on December 1, 1920, proclaiming that... from now on, no territorial issue could be
the cause of conflict between the two neighboring nations... However, the
dissemination of this declaration was published differently in the press of
these two countries, Azerbaijan and Armenia. In the Bakinskiy rabochiy and the Kommunist
newspapers, it was stated that the self-determination of Nagorno-Karabakh
within Azerbaijan was acknowledged. In contrast, the Kommunist newspaper of Armenia published recognition of
Nagorno-Karabakh as an integral part of the Socialist Republic of Armenia (Vazeh Asgarov, 2022: 166). However, after the
declaration was made, the regions of Nakhchivan and Karabakh remained within
Azerbaijan.
Nevertheless, in order to implement the treaty between the Soviets and the Kemalist Turkiye (March 16, 1921), Nakhchivan became a very important autonomous region to ensure the security of Turkiye's eastern borders. On July 4, 1921, the Caucasian Bureau (Kavburo) discussed the issue of including Karabakh in Armenia, under the condition of organizing a plebiscite in Nagorno-Karabakh and leaving it within Azerbaijan. On July 5, 1921, Kavburo decided to leave Karabakh within Azerbaijan. These two words, "include" and "leave," would subsequently come into play at the start of this brutal struggle at the end of the 20th century. When the USSR collapsed, Armenians would present themselves favorably to the world as victims of Stalin’s regime, in order to gain sympathy from global opinion. Intellectuals who support Armenian nationalism brought up the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh's autonomy following the July 5 ruling. On July 7, 1923, the Central Executive Committee of Azerbaijan issued a decree on the formation of the Autonomous Region of Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan.
Throughout the 20th century, Armenian
nationalists would raise the Karabakh issue multiple times. At the time,
Armenian nationalist activities were halted. However, the perestroika doctrine
restored nationalist beliefs not only in Azerbaijan, but also across the USSR. But,
none of the former Soviet countries experienced a tragedy as catastrophic as
the one that directly affected two former federated republics.
2.
Context:
A number of Azerbaijani territories were also
annexed to Armenia during the Soviet era. The process began in 1922 with the
transfer of Azerbaijani regions to Armenia such as Dilidjan and Goytche to
Armenia. In 1923, nine districts of Nakhchivan were annexed. In 1929, the
annexation of several villages from the regions of Gazakh, Zengilan, and
Ordubad to Armenia led to the creation of the Meghri region. In 1946, 4,000
hectares of forest, and in 1969, large territories from the regions of Gadabay,
Gazakh, Tovuz, and Sederek were transferred to Armenia, although this was only
completed in 1984. According to the Treaty of Batumi on
June 4, 1918, the size of independent Armenia was 9,000 km² and by 1988, it
had increased to 29,743 km². In addition, in the result of the first Karabakh
war the Armenian army occupied another 20,000 km² from Karabakh and seven Azerbaijani
regions. In contrast, the area of Azerbaijan between 1918 and 1920 was 114,000
km², while the current area of the country is 86,600 km², including the
territories occupied by Armenian forces during the I Karabakh war (Arzumanli,
Mustafa, 1998, 129). The Karabakh Liberation Organization (KLO) published a
brochure in 2009 in three languages about the consequences of the Armenian
aggression. The leaflet gives the chronology of Armenian aggression from 1918
to the most recent Karabakh conflict (Organization of Liberation of Karabakh,
2009).
The first ethnic confromtations in Soviet Azerbaijan
occurred in Baku and Sumgait in 1963, and in Karabakh in 1968. In early 1965,
one of the first events of Armenian propaganda took place in the Soviet Union. That
year, under the influence of the Armenian diaspora, Armenians managed to
organize the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the "Armenian
genocide" in the USSR. A year earlier, all the media and publishing houses
were focused on anti-Turkish propaganda. During this period, the Dashnaktsutyun
Party (Armenian nationalist-socialist party), which had previously been
underground for many years, began to operate openly. Thanks to Anastas Mikoyan’s
tireless efforts, the party simultaneously succeeded commemorate Andranik
Ozanian’s the 100th anniversary at the same time. Even Azerbaijani newspapers
published articles about him, portraying him as a hero of the Armenian people.
At a rally organized on April 23, 1965, in Yerevan, there were posters with the
following slogans: "Western Armenia must belong to Armenia,"
"Nagorno-Karabakh is ours, Nakhchivan is Armenian land,"
"Armenians, the time for revenge for 1915 has come, unite!" Here, we
can easily see that the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict and the Karabakh movement
are not recent, and during the Soviet era, and they settled down
during the Soviet era but continued to function in secret for a long time
(Asadov, 1998).
The Nagorno-Karabakh
war[2], which
was artificially created at the end of 1987, was viewed by the Azerbaijani
people from the start as an attempt to undermine the country's territorial
integrity and a violation of its inhabitants' constitutional rights. On January
12, 1989, the Praesidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a decision
establishing a special regime in the autonomous territory, demonstrating Moscow's
intention to remove Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan's administration.
The first 400 Azerbaijani refugees deported
from Armenia arrived in Sumgait, the country’s third largest city. Following
the anti-Turkish rally held in Yerevan on February 19, 1988, Armenian nationalist’s
actions increased even further. The protests will next take place in Karabakh.
The goal was to demonstrate the world, with the assistance of the Armenian
diaspora, that the Armenians of Karabakh, deprived of their rights, wanted to
be annexed to Armenia. Subsequently, they prepared a scenario for a tragedy in
Sumgait, involving refugees who had settled there two years earlier from
Armenia. Interethnic violence broke out in Sumgait on February 29, 1988, erupted,
killing 32 people (26 Armenians and 6 Azerbaijanis) and several injuries after
three days of conflict. Two facts particularly stood out: one of the
individuals responsible for these events, Pasha Grigoryan, was of Armenian origin,
and the Armenian population of Sumgait had closed their savings accounts 15-20
days before these events (Ismayilov, Hasanov, Qafarov, 1995, 310-318).
According to Ariel Kyrou and Maxime
Mardoukhaïev (1989: 266) in Le
Haut-Karabakh, vu du côté Azerbaïdjan, write: "Three men were
judged in a semi-trial after a mock investigation: two Azerbaijanis and one
Armenian, Grigorian, who allegedly killed five Armenians".
Saying that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began
after the events in Sumgait does not correspond to the truth. According to
Azerbaijanis, the conflict began in the late 1980s, when the
Azerbaijani people was expelled from Armenia and two Azerbaijanis were murdered
in Askeran (Karabakh). However,
neither the Azerbaijani press nor the central press reported anything about it.
Because this period of the conflict's history remains unknown, until the events
of Sumgait, the tactics of Armenian nationalists consisted of threats,
extortion and intimidation. In contrast, during the Sumgait
episodes, the central media exposed the Azerbaijani people's aggression and
inhumanity to the world. 96
people were convicted to death for killing 26 Armenian in Sumgait. However,
public opinion was not informed of the brutal deaths of 317 Azerbaijanis in
Armenia during this period (Asadov, 1998).
In May 1989, historian Ziya Buniyadov,
president of the Academy of Sciences of Baku, provided a highly particular
version of the pogroms. In his article "Why Sumgait?", he concluded
that the Armenians themselves engineered the Sumgait massacre with the aim of
discrediting Azerbaijan and stimulating the Armenian nationalist movement,
stating: "The tragedy of Sumgait was carefully planned by Armenian
nationalists. Armenian photographers and television crews
covertly entered the city a few hours before the event began, anticipating how
it would unfold.
The first crime was conceived by a certain Grigoryan, who presented himself as
an Azerbaijani and who murdered five Armenians in Sumgait" (Vazeh Asgarov,
2014: 2012).
While highlighting
additional details, Ariel Kyrou and Maxime Mardoukhaïev (1989: 266)
add: "Leaders of the National Self-Determination Union of Armenia, such as
Paruyr Hayrikyan, who was exiled to the United States after being expelled from
the USSR, assured me that they had many pieces of evidence showing that the
first murders were not committed, or at least directed, by Azerbaijanis, but by
KGB agents".
In his interview, Victor Ilyukhin[3],
the vice-president of the State Duma’s committee, emphasized that: "The
events of Sumgait were provoked by the Armenians, at the same time as the
expulsion of Azerbaijanis from Armenia. A large number of Azerbaijanis were
expelled, without even being allowed to take documents or essential belongings.
It was extremely cruel". When asked who benefited from the pogrom against
Armenians in Sumgait, he replied: "It was advantageous for Armenia, for an
adventurer like Levon Ter-Petrosyan[4].
They prepared the 'Sumgait card' at a time when the issue of separating
Karabakh from Azerbaijan was at stake... In short, they staged a grand
spectacle of a great tragedy".
From 1988, the process has been driven by
Armenian rather by Azerbaijanis. In March 1988, a special decree on the
socio-economic development of the Nagorno-Karabakh region was adopted in the
USSR. The approach was as follows: a decree from the Presidium of the Supreme
Soviet of the USSR, on January 12, 1989, introduced a special form of governance
to strip Azerbaijan’s authority over the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region
(NKAO), and transferred control to a special administration committee led by a
representative of the Centre (Moscow), which effectively meant the secession of
Nagorno-Karabakh. The Soviet administration made efforts to create the image of
a normalization of the situation in the region, paying special attention to the
issue, while remaining silent about the great tragedy of the Azerbaijani
people. On this issue, the neutral position of the Azerbaijani administration
of this period betrayed its citizens. In February 1988, at a meeting of the
regional Soviet of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region (NKAO), without the
participation of Azerbaijani deputies, a decision was made to separate the NKAO
from Azerbaijan and attach it to Armenia. On December 1, 1989, the Supreme
Soviet of the Armenian SSR adopted a decree on the annexation of
Nagorno-Karabakh. This decree contradicted the constitutions of the USSR and
Azerbaijan, according to which the territory of a Soviet republic could only be
modified by mutual agreement between the interested republics. Moscow's biased
policy towards Azerbaijan caused anger and mass protests. Moscow
decided to use military force to quell the situation. On the night of
January 19–20, 1990, without declaring a state of emergency, the Soviet army
massacred at least 137 people in Baku, and hundreds of injuries,
disappearances, and arrests were reported (Ismayilov, Həsənov, Qafarov, 1995:
304-326).
During the Karabakh war, from 1987-1991, Armenia
undertook a strategy of total expulsion of the Azerbaijani population,
expelling over 200,000 Azerbaijanis. In the early 20th century, Azerbaijanis
represented almost half of the population of the current territory of Armenia,
but today, according to unofficial statistics, there are no Azerbaijanis left
in the country, except for prisoners. However, according to non-official information
the current number of Armenians living in Azerbaijan is more than 20,000 (Vazeh
Asgarov, 2014: 2015).
One of the most horrifying tragedies of this conflict occurred during the night of February 25-26, 1992, the Khojaly massacre. By its population, Khojaly was the second-largest city in the region after Shusha and had the only regional airport. During military operations, the city was surrounded by Armenian soldiers. The residents were forced to leave the city and walk towards Agdam, a neighboring Azerbaijani city. However, most of them were unable to escape an attack launched late at night. That night, the Armenian armed forces, supported by the 366th Russian army regiment, savagely massacred civilians, including the elderly, women, and children. The city was occupied and completely set on fire. Equipped with artillery and more modern weapons than the Azerbaijani fighters, these soldiers carried out the bloodiest massacre in the history of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict (Constant, 2002).
Second Karabakh War, also known as Operation
Iron Fist[5]
began in April 2016[6],
when Armenia again resorted to military provocation by shelling densely
populated areas, including schools, hospitals and places of worship along the
contact line. Populist statements by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who came
to power in Armenia in 2018, such as “Karabakh is Armenia and that’s it” have
undermined the possibility of a peaceful settlement of the conflict. In
response, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, during his speech at the Valdai
International Conference on October 3, 2019, stated “Karabakh is Azerbaijan and
an exclamation mark,” fully clarifying some of the unfounded opinions and
claims expressed by the Armenian leadership that do not reflect historical
realities and the true essence of the conflict. In July 2020, a series of
artillery clashes of varying intensity took place, as a result of which at
least 16 militaries and one civilian were killed. Among the Azerbaijani
military casualties were a major general, a colonel and two majors.
On September 27, 2020, in response to a flagrant
violation of the ceasefire by the Armenian armed forces, the Azerbaijani armed
forces launched operations. The government announced a partial mobilization. The
Azerbaijani army liberated the regions of Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Zangilan, Gubadli
and Shusha in 44 days and the war ended with a ceasefire on November 10, 2020,
which is considered Armenia's surrender to Azerbaijan. After 30 years of
conflict, Azerbaijan ended the occupation of Armenia and restored its
territorial integrity, which had been demanded by the UN since 1993 through
four resolutions (No. 822, 853, 874, 884). According to the agreement, Aghdam
was liberated on November 20, Kelbajar on November 25, and Lachin on December 1
without firing a single bullet and without suffering any loss of life (Vazeh Asgarov, 2022: 173).
Another important event is the full restoration
of the Republic of Azerbaijan’s sovereignty in 2023, after 30 years. On
September 19, 2023, an anti-terrorist operation was launched to restore the Republic
of Azerbaijan’s constitutional order and within just 23 hours, the remnants of
the Armenian armed forces were disarmed and removed from Azerbaijani lands.
3.
Conclusion:
Armenia's historical
claims to the territories of Karabakh, Nakhchivan, and Zangezur are closely
intertwined with geopolitical manoeuvres, national identities, and historical
narratives. This article chronicles the growth of these claims from the early
twentieth century until critical periods such as the Moscow and Kars Treaties,
which had a considerable impact on the South Caucasus' geographical geography.
The transfer of
Zangezur to Armenia, as well as the establishment of autonomous districts such
as Karabakh and Nakhchivan under Soviet administration, drastically altered the
demographic character of these areas, diminishing the Azerbaijani population
and planting the seeds of a war that continues to this day.
Following the events of February 1988, the
militia of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian military forces began operations
to conquer the region. The Soviet military units stationed in the region joined
them. With the strengthening of the National Movement, in March 1992, A.
Mutalibov, the first president of the Republic of Azerbaijan, resigned from his
position. The chaos and disorder of the government further weakened the
Azerbaijani Republic’s defense capabilities. After two years of fighting, the
Armenian army occupied the entire territory of Karabakh and seven additional
districts surrounding it. In February 1992, a mediation process was launched to
resolve the conflict, within the framework of the Conference on Security and
Cooperation in Europe (CSCE, now OSCE). The United Nations (UN) confirmed the
injustice of this war against Azerbaijan, the violation of its territorial
integrity, and the territorial occupation of part of Azerbaijan. The
United Nations urged the immediate, complete, and unconditional evacuation of
all occupying forces from Azerbaijani territory taken as early as 1993, through
four resolutions (Nos. 822, 853, 874, and 884). A ceasefire was signed on May 5, 1994, in
Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan). During the CSCE summit in Budapest, on December 5-6,
1994, it was decided that the heads of state and government of the
participating countries would create a co-chair of the Minsk Conference to
coordinate all mediation actions within this framework. Since that date,
dialogue on the peaceful resolution of the conflict has continued, but with no
conclusive results.
From 1988 to 1994, the South Caucasus region
was the site of a conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over control of
Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory located within Azerbaijan. The war intensified
over the years, culminating in the Khojaly massacre from February 23 to 26,
1992, where 613 people, including 106 women and 83 children, were killed. After
several years of fighting, the war ended in 1994, but tensions remained high. Until
the ceasefire agreement signed on May 12, 1994, due to Armenia’s military
aggression, 20% of Azerbaijani territory – Khankandi, Khojaly, Shusha, Lachin,
Khojavand, Kalbajar, Aghdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Gubadli, Zangilan regions, as
well as 13 villages of Tartar, 7 villages of Gazakh and 1 village of Sadarak
region of Nakhchivan had been occupied by the Armenian armed forces.
More than a million
Azerbaijanis have become refugees or internally displaced people as a result of
Armenia's aggression, while over 20,000 Azerbaijanis have been killed in
military actions and over 50,000 have become crippled. The fate of 3,889
Azerbaijanis who went missing as a result of the fighting, including 71
children, 267 women, and 326 elderly persons, as well as 871 prisoners and
hostages, is unknown.
On November 8, 2020, Ilham Aliyev, Supreme Commander of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, announced the liberation of Shusha, a major strategic city in the conflict. On November 10, 2020, the Azerbaijani president, Armenian prime minister, and Russian president signed a cease-fire agreement, effectively ending military activities in the war zone.
Thus, after 30 years of battle, Azerbaijan was
able to end the occupation of its territories by Armenia and restore its
territorial integrity, in line with UN resolutions (822, 853, 874, 884) adopted
in 1993. According to the agreement, several strategic regions were liberated the
same year without combat, such as Aghdam (November 20,), Kelbajar (November
25), and Lachin (December 1). The treaty also included the construction of new
transport infrastructure to connect the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and the
western regions of Azerbaijan through Armenian territory.
This process of liberation and normalization
forced Armenia to sign the act of capitulation, marking the end of the conflict
and the military victory of Azerbaijan.
1. Constant Antoine
(2002) L'Azerbaïdjan, Karthala
(Méridiens), Paris.
2. Arzumanlı Vaqif, Mustafa Nazim (1998),
Tarixin qara səhifələri, Deportasiya. Soyqırım.
Qaçqınlıq, Bakı,
Qartal.
3. Arzumanliı Vaqif (2001) Azerbaycan Diasporu, Bakı, Qartal.
4. Əliyev Zaur Bilal oğlu. “Zəngəzur dəhlizi: geosiyasi realliqlar və perspektívlər”. Bakı, 2023, 102 s.
5. Асадов Сaбир
(1998), Историческая география Западного Азербайджана, Баку,
Азербайджан.
6. Ismayilov E. Həsənov C. Qafarov T. (1995),
Azərbaycan tarixi, Baki Oyretmen.
7. Asgarov Vazeh (2014) L’immigration des Azerbaïdjanais, L'immigration générale des
Azerbaïdjanais, histoire et perspectives : le cas de la France, Allemagne, PAF, p.425.
8. Asgarov Vazeh (2022) L'immigration
des Azerbaïdjanais en France, Edition Kapaz, Strasbourg, France,
ISBN: 978-2-492157-03-5, p.341.
9. Kyrou Ariel, Mardoukaiev Maxime (1989), Le Haut-Karabakh, vu du côté
Azerbaïdjan, in : HERODOTE, “Les marches de la Russie”, revue de
géographie et de géopolitique, IVe
trimestre 1989, N° 54-55.
10. Гасанли Джамиль (2011), Нагорный Карабах: старые заблуждения в новой интерпретации, Баку, ИА REGNUM, URL: http://www.regnum.ru/news/1429705.html#ixzz1UENToCSQ
[1] Boris
Legran (1884-1936) fut un diplomate soviétique et chef du parti. À
partir de la fin novembre 1920, il fut plénipotentiaire de RSFSR dans le RSS
d’Arménie et mars 1921, il joua le même rôle en République d’Azerbaïdjan et en
Géorgie.
[2] The Nagorno-Karabakh War, also known as the First Karabakh War, was an armed war fought between Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan in the ethnic enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan from February 1988 until May 1994.
[3] Victor Ilyukhin was an assistant to the chief in the
Main Instruction of Management at the Prosecutor's Office of the USSR and took
part in the investigation of military crimes. He headed the special group for
the investigation of events in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region of
Azerbaijan, as well as in Georgia and Armenia. Interview with Victor Ilyukhin
09/09/2010 source: http://www.milaz.info
[4] First president of Armenia from 1991 until his resignation in 1998.
[5] The Second Karabakh War (September 27, 2020 - November 10, 2020), also known as the Patriotic War or Operation Iron Fist, is an ongoing armed battle between the Azerbaijani and Armenian Armed Forces in Nagorno-Karabakh. It is the most severe and longest combat since the 44-day ceasefire that followed Azerbaijan's capitulation of Armenia.
[6] A military conflict broke out between military units of the armed forces of Azerbaijan and the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh Republic of Armenia, starting on the night of April 1-2, 2016. The April fighting was the heaviest in Nagorno-Karabakh since a ceasefire agreement was signed in 1994.
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