In April 1917 Muslim delegates from all over the Caucasus gathered in Baku. People who a few months earlier had mentioned the tsar’s name only with caution now openly demanded that Russia become a federal republic and that Azerbaijan receive autonomy. Within a year the empire had fallen apart; in Tiflis first a Transcaucasian government and then a parliament appeared, and in May 1918 the Azerbaijani National Council emerged. Why did events change so fast?
The February Revolution: Ozakom and dual power in Baku
In February 1917 the revolution won in Petrograd, Nicholas II abdicated and power passed to the Provisional Government. The Caucasus viceroyalty was abolished; in March 1917 the Provisional Government set up the Special Transcaucasian Committee (Ozakom) in Tiflis to govern Transcaucasia. It was headed by the Duma deputy V. Kharlamov, and its members included the Azerbaijani Mammad Yusif Jafarov.
Two centres of power arose in Baku: the Executive Committee of Public Organisations, subordinate to the Provisional Government, and the Baku Soviet of Workers’ Deputies, in which the influence of the Bolsheviks led by S. Shaumyan kept growing. Azerbaijanis built their own organisations: in Baku the Provisional Executive Committee of Muslim Public Organisations, chaired by A. Topchubashov; Muslim national councils in Ganja and other towns; and N. Narimanov revived Hummat.
The demand for autonomy: congresses and parties
On 15–20 April 1917 the Congress of Caucasian Muslims met in Baku. On the basis of M. A. Rasulzade’s report it demanded that Russia become a democratic federal republic and that Azerbaijan receive territorial autonomy. At the All-Russian Muslim Congress in Moscow in May 1917 the federal idea defended by Rasulzade also won the support of the majority.
In June 1917 Musavat merged with the Turkic Federalist Party (Türk Adem-i Merkeziyet), founded in Ganja by Nasib bey Yusifbeyli; the united party was called the Turkic Federalist Party «Musavat». Its first congress, held in Baku in October 1917, elected Rasulzade chairman and wrote Azerbaijan’s autonomy within a federation into the programme. Musavat became the most influential national party.
The October coup and the Transcaucasian Commissariat
On 25 October 1917 the Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd. In November 1917 the Baku Soviet declared that power in the city had passed to the Soviet; Lenin appointed Shaumyan Extraordinary Commissar for Caucasian Affairs. The main parties of Transcaucasia — the Georgian Mensheviks, Musavat and the Dashnaks — did not recognise the Bolshevik government.
On 15 November 1917 in Tiflis they set up the Transcaucasian Commissariat, to work until the All-Russian Constituent Assembly met. It was headed by the Georgian Menshevik Ye. Gegechkori; its members included F. Khoyski (education), M. Y. Jafarov (trade and industry), Kh. Melik-Aslanov (communications) and Kh. Khasmammadov (state control). In the elections to the Constituent Assembly most Muslims of Transcaucasia voted for Musavat. After the Bolsheviks dispersed the Constituent Assembly in January 1918, the deputies elected from Transcaucasia decided to form their own parliament.
The Transcaucasian Seim, the federation and its break-up
Transcaucasian SeimDefinition
The legislature that worked in Tiflis from February to May 1918; it consisted mainly of the deputies elected from Transcaucasia to the Constituent Assembly. Its chairman was N. Chkheidze.
In the Seim, which opened in February 1918, there were three large forces: the Georgian Mensheviks, the Muslim (Azerbaijani) faction led by Musavat, and the Dashnaks. By the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk of 3 March 1918 Soviet Russia gave up Kars, Ardahan and Batum in favour of the Ottoman Empire. The Seim did not recognise this, talks with the Ottomans at Trabzon failed and the Ottoman army began to advance. In these conditions, on 22 April 1918, the Seim proclaimed Transcaucasia, separate from Russia, the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (TDFR). Its government was headed by A. Chkhenkeli and included F. Khoyski (justice) and N. Yusifbeyli (education).
The federation lived just one month. The factions had different aims: relations with the Ottoman state, the question of Baku and the borders divided them. In Baku, meanwhile, the Baku Soviet had carried out mass killings of Azerbaijanis in March, and the Seim had been unable to protect them (see «The Baku Soviet’s genocide policy: the March 1918 genocide»). During new talks with the Ottomans at Batum, Georgia, relying on German protection, declared independence on 26 May 1918, and the Seim dissolved itself. On 27 May the Muslim faction proclaimed itself the Azerbaijani National Council and elected Rasulzade its chairman; the next day the Declaration of Independence was adopted (see «The founding of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the Declaration of Independence»).
- February 1917
February Revolution; fall of the monarchy
- March 1917
Ozakom is created; a Muslim executive committee in Baku
- April 1917
Congress of Caucasian Muslims
Baku: the demand for a federal republic and autonomy for Azerbaijan.
- May 1917
All-Russian Muslim Congress in Moscow
- June 1917
Musavat merges with the Turkic Federalist Party
- 25 October 1917
The Bolsheviks seize power in Petrograd
- 15 November 1917
The Transcaucasian Commissariat is formed
- January 1918
The Constituent Assembly is dispersed
- February 1918
The Transcaucasian Seim opens
- 3 March 1918
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
- 22 April 1918
Transcaucasian federation proclaimed
- 26–27 May 1918
Federation dissolves; National Council formed
- 28 May 1918
Declaration of Independence
Interactive
| Person | Office and role |
|---|---|
| M. A. Rasulzade | report to the congress (April 1917); chairman of Musavat; chairman of the National Council (27 May 1918) |
| A. Topchubashov | chairman of the Provisional Executive Committee of Muslim Public Organisations in Baku |
| M. Y. Jafarov | member of Ozakom; trade and industry in the Commissariat |
| F. Khoyski | education in the Commissariat; TDFR minister of justice |
| N. Yusifbeyli | founder of the Turkic Federalist Party; TDFR minister of education |
| S. Shaumyan | leader of the Baku Bolsheviks; Extraordinary Commissar for Caucasian Affairs |
| Feature | Ozakom | Transcaucasian Commissariat | Transcaucasian Seim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Created | March 1917 | 15 November 1917 | February 1918 |
| Created by | the Provisional Government | Transcaucasian parties that rejected the Bolsheviks | deputies elected to the Constituent Assembly |
| Type | executive body | government (executive) | legislature |
| Head | V. Kharlamov | Ye. Gegechkori | N. Chkheidze |
| Azerbaijanis | M. Y. Jafarov | Khoyski, Jafarov, Melik-Aslanov, Khasmammadov | the Muslim faction (led by Musavat) |
| Cause | Result |
|---|---|
| February Revolution, abolition of the viceroyalty | Ozakom is created |
| Political freedoms, national activity | national councils; the congress demands autonomy |
| The Bolshevik government is not recognised | the Transcaucasian Commissariat |
| The Constituent Assembly is dispersed | the Transcaucasian Seim |
| Brest, the Ottoman advance | the TDFR is proclaimed (22 April 1918) |
| Clashing factions, Georgian independence | the federation breaks up; the National Council (27 May) |
The congress holds that the order which best secures the freedom of peoples in Russia is a democratic federal republic built on national-territorial autonomy. In the lands where the Turkic-Muslim population lives compactly, the people must run their own internal affairs — schools, courts, the land question — themselves.
The final decision of this question belongs to the Constituent Assembly, to be elected by universal vote. Until then Muslims must unite around the national councils, open schools in the mother tongue, expand the press and prepare for the elections.
Source tasks
Problem
1. Which congress do the resolutions belong to? Where and when did it meet, and who gave the main report?
2. Explain one political and one national condition for making such demands precisely in the spring of 1917.
3. Give two results not stated in the text.
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Solution
2. Political: the February Revolution overthrew the monarchy, political freedoms appeared and elections to the Constituent Assembly were expected. National: the national movement had gained parties, a press and Duma experience, and Azerbaijanis wanted an equal share in government. Marks: two conditions — 1; one — ½.
3. For example: a) in May 1917 the All-Russian Muslim Congress in Moscow supported federalism; b) Musavat put autonomy into its programme in October 1917; c) after the Constituent Assembly was dispersed, the idea of autonomy turned into the idea of independence in May 1918. Marks: two well-founded results — 1; one — ½; repeating the text — 0.
1. Chronology
Problem
Find the order:
1. the TDFR is proclaimed
2. the Congress of Caucasian Muslims
3. the Transcaucasian Seim opens
4. the Transcaucasian Commissariat is formed
A) 2, 3, 4, 1 B) 2, 4, 3, 1 C) 4, 2, 3, 1 D) 2, 4, 1, 3 E) 4, 3, 2, 1
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Solution
2) There are two «Aprils»: the congress is April 1917, the TDFR April 1918 → 2 first, 1 last → C, D and E are out.
3) The Commissariat comes before the Seim (government → parliament) → A is out.
Answer: B (2, 4, 3, 1).
2. «Unlike X»
Problem
Unlike the Transcaucasian Commissariat, Ozakom:
1. was created by the Provisional Government
2. sat in Tiflis
3. included M. Y. Jafarov
4. was chaired by V. Kharlamov
5. was created by parties that rejected the Bolshevik government
A) 2, 3 B) 1, 4 C) 3, 5 D) 1, 2, 3 E) 4, 5
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Solution
2) Remove what belongs only to the Commissariat: 5 → E is out.
3) What is Ozakom’s alone remains: 1 and 4.
Answer: B (1, 4).
3. Matching: body and head
Problem
1. Ozakom 2. Transcaucasian Commissariat 3. Transcaucasian Seim
a. N. Chkheidze b. V. Kharlamov c. Ye. Gegechkori d. A. Chkhenkeli
A) 1-b, 2-d, 3-a B) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a C) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a D) 1-b, 2-c, 3-d E) 1-d, 2-c, 3-a
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Solution
2) The Commissariat — Gegechkori (2-c) → A is out.
3) The Seim was chaired by Chkheidze; Chkhenkeli headed the TDFR government → D is out.
Answer: C (1-b, 2-c, 3-a).
Remember
- After the February Revolution the Provisional Government set up Ozakom in Tiflis (March 1917, chairman V. Kharlamov, member M. Y. Jafarov); dual power arose in Baku.
- The Congress of Caucasian Muslims (Baku, 15–20 April 1917) demanded a federal republic and territorial autonomy for Azerbaijan; in June Musavat merged with the Turkic Federalist Party.
- The parties that rejected the Bolshevik coup formed the Transcaucasian Commissariat (Gegechkori) on 15 November 1917; in Baku power passed to the Baku Soviet led by Shaumyan.
- The Transcaucasian Seim (February 1918, chairman N. Chkheidze) proclaimed the TDFR on 22 April 1918 (head of government A. Chkhenkeli); the federation broke up on 26 May.
- On 27 May 1918 the Muslim faction of the Seim formed the Azerbaijani National Council (chairman M. A. Rasulzade); the Declaration of Independence followed on 28 May.