The Ismailiyya building in the centre of Baku now belongs to the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences. In March 1918 this building, then the seat of the Muslim Charitable Society, was set on fire. Every year on 31 March people in Azerbaijan remember the victims of those days. What happened in Baku and in the districts in the spring of 1918, and why are these events called a genocide?
Baku in early 1918: the balance of forces
After the October coup power in Baku was increasingly concentrated in the hands of the Baku Soviet. It was led by S. Shaumyan, whom Lenin had appointed Extraordinary Commissar for Caucasian Affairs. The Bolsheviks’ main aim was to keep Baku and its oil for Soviet Russia. For this they allied with the armed units of the Dashnaks, which had been joined by Armenian soldiers returning from the front.
The political organisations of the Azerbaijanis — Musavat and the Muslim National Council — represented a large part of Baku’s population but had no serious armed force in the city. National military units were being formed in Ganja, and the Muslim faction of the Seim was growing stronger in Tiflis (see «The 1917 revolutions and Northern Azerbaijan: Ozakom, the Commissariat, the Seim»). The Baku Soviet regarded the Azerbaijani national forces as its main rival and was preparing to neutralise them by force.
The March days: pretext and massacre
The pretext was the Evelina steamship incident. At the end of March, Azerbaijani soldiers of the «Savage Division» who had boarded this ship to return to Lankaran were disarmed on the orders of the Baku Soviet. When the Azerbaijanis demanded that the weapons be returned, the Baku Soviet presented this as a «Musavatist revolt». On 30 March 1918 shooting began in the city, and the Bolshevik and Dashnak units attacked the Azerbaijani quarters; artillery and warships were also used.
Over 30 March – 2 April thousands of peaceful Azerbaijanis in Baku were killed solely because of their nationality; women, children and the elderly were not spared. Homes were looted and burned; mosques, the Ismailiyya building and the offices of national newspapers were destroyed. The Muslim organisations were forced to accept the Baku Soviet’s ultimatum, but looting and violence went on afterwards; many people fled the city.
The March genocideDefinition
The mass killings of the peaceful Azerbaijani population, because of their nationality, carried out by the Bolshevik and Dashnak armed units of the Baku Soviet in Baku and in the districts of Azerbaijan in March–April 1918 and the following months.
Massacres in the districts
The tragedy did not end in Baku. In the spring and summer of 1918 the armed units of the Baku Soviet massacred the peaceful Azerbaijani population and burned villages in the Shamakhi, Guba and Lankaran districts and in Karabakh, Zangezur, Nakhchivan and other areas. The town of Shamakhi was largely destroyed. In Guba a mass grave of the victims of 1918 was discovered in 2007; the Guba Genocide Memorial Complex now stands there. Besides Azerbaijanis, the victims also included Lezgins, Jews and members of other peoples.
The Baku Council of People’s Commissars
After the March events power in Baku passed entirely to the Bolsheviks. On 25 April 1918 the Baku Council of People’s Commissars (the Baku Sovnarkom, the «Baku Commune») was formed under Shaumyan. It nationalised the oil industry and tried to send Baku oil to Soviet Russia. In June 1918 the Baku Sovnarkom’s troops marched west to overthrow the Azerbaijani government in Ganja, but were defeated near Goychay by the Caucasian Islamic Army and Azerbaijani units. On 31 July 1918 the Baku Sovnarkom resigned, and power in the city passed to the «Centro-Caspian Dictatorship» (see «For territorial integrity: the liberation of Baku and the Karabakh and Nakhchivan governor-generalships»).
Assessment and remembrance
In July 1918 the government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic set up the Extraordinary Investigation Commission headed by Alakbar bey Khasmammadov; it collected witness statements and documents on the March massacres. In 1919 and 1920 the ADR marked 31 March as a day of national mourning. In Soviet times these events were long presented as «the suppression of a Musavat revolt»; the historiography and textbooks of independent Azerbaijan, relying on the documents, assess them as a genocide of Azerbaijanis. By national leader Heydar Aliyev’s decree «On the genocide of Azerbaijanis» of 26 March 1998, 31 March was declared the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis.
The March tragedy showed Azerbaijani politicians that Baku could not be freed by their own forces alone. After proclaiming independence, the National Council decided to ask the Ottoman state for military aid (see «The founding of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the Declaration of Independence»).
- December 1917
Shaumyan is appointed Extraordinary Commissar for Caucasian Affairs
- March 1918
Mass killings of Azerbaijanis
30 March – 2 April: the March genocide in Baku; the pretext was the Evelina incident.
- 25 April 1918
The Baku Council of People’s Commissars is formed
- May 1918
Massacres in the Guba district
- June 1918
The Baku Sovnarkom marches on Ganja; the battles of Goychay
- July 1918
The ADR’s Extraordinary Investigation Commission
- 31 July 1918
The Baku Sovnarkom resigns
- 31 March 1919
The ADR marks 31 March as a day of national mourning
- 26 March 1998
Decree «On the genocide of Azerbaijanis»
31 March — the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis.
- 2007
A mass grave is found in Guba
Interactive
| Person | Role | Date |
|---|---|---|
| S. Shaumyan | leader of the Baku Soviet, chairman of the Baku Sovnarkom | 1917–1918 |
| F. Khoyski | head of the ADR government that set up the commission | 1918 |
| Alakbar bey Khasmammadov | chairman of the Extraordinary Investigation Commission | 1918 |
| Heydar Aliyev | decree «On the genocide of Azerbaijanis» | 26.03.1998 |
| Cause | Result |
|---|---|
| The Bolsheviks want to keep Baku and its oil; alliance with the Dashnaks | a plan to strike the Azerbaijani national forces |
| Soldiers disarmed on the Evelina | fighting and massacre begin in Baku on 30 March |
| The ultimatum is accepted | all power in Baku passes to the Soviet; 25 April — the Baku Sovnarkom |
| The Baku Sovnarkom marches on Ganja | defeat near Goychay; resignation on 31 July |
| The March tragedy, the loss of Baku | a request for Ottoman military aid; the Extraordinary Investigation Commission |
| Feature | 1905–1906 | March 1918 |
|---|---|---|
| Authority | tsarist rule; officials stirred up ethnic hatred | the Bolshevik-led Baku Soviet (Shaumyan) |
| Azerbaijani response | self-defence, the Difai party | National Council, independence, Ottoman aid; the investigation commission |
| In common | Dashnak armed units took part; Baku and the districts; civilians were the target | Dashnak armed units took part; Baku and the districts; civilians were the target |
In March 1918, under the slogan of «fighting counter-revolutionary elements», the Baku Commune began to carry out a plan to destroy the Azerbaijanis of the Baku governorate. In those days thousands of peaceful people were killed only because they were Azerbaijanis, homes were burned, and mosques and cultural monuments were destroyed. The massacres went on in Shamakhi, Guba, Karabakh, Zangezur, Nakhchivan, Lankaran and other areas as well.
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic set up an Extraordinary Investigation Commission to look into this tragedy and twice — in 1919 and 1920 — marked 31 March as a day of national mourning. But the fall of the Republic left this work unfinished.
Source tasks
Problem
1. Which event is the text about? Who led the «Baku Commune»?
2. Explain one political and one military condition that made the tragedy possible.
3. Give two results not stated in the text.
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Solution
2. Political: the Bolsheviks wanted to keep Baku and its oil for Soviet Russia and to weaken the Azerbaijani national forces (Musavat, the National Council), and had allied with the Dashnaks. Military: armed force in the city was in the hands of the Bolshevik and Dashnak units, while the Azerbaijanis had no serious military unit in Baku; the Evelina incident served as the pretext. Marks: two conditions — 1; one — ½.
3. For example: a) on 25 April 1918 the Baku Sovnarkom was formed and power passed entirely to the Bolsheviks; b) the Azerbaijani government settled in Ganja and asked the Ottoman state for help to free Baku; c) by the 1998 decree 31 March was declared the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis. Marks: two well-founded results — 1; one — ½; repeating the text — 0.
1. Combination
Problem
Statements about the March 1918 genocide:
1. the pretext was the disarming of soldiers on the Evelina
2. the massacres were limited to the city of Baku
3. the Bolshevik and Dashnak units of the Baku Soviet took part
4. the events were ordered by the tsar’s viceroy
5. since 1998, 31 March has been the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis
A) 1, 2, 4 B) 1, 3, 5 C) 2, 3 D) 3, 4, 5 E) 1, 4
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Solution
2) 4 is wrong — there was no tsarist power in 1918; the viceroyalty had been abolished in 1917 → D and E are out.
3) 1, 3, 5 remain.
Answer: B (1, 3, 5).
2. Cause → result matching
Problem
1. the Evelina incident 2. acceptance of the ultimatum 3. the Baku Sovnarkom’s march on Ganja
a. defeat near Goychay
b. fighting begins in Baku on 30 March
c. all power in Baku passes to the Baku Soviet
d. the TDFR is proclaimed
A) 1-b, 2-d, 3-a B) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a C) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c D) 1-d, 2-c, 3-a E) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
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Solution
2) The proclamation of the TDFR (d) was the Seim’s decision, not a result of the March events → A is out.
3) The march ended in defeat at Goychay (3-a) → C is out.
Answer: E (1-b, 2-c, 3-a).
3. Chronology
Problem
1. the Baku Sovnarkom resigns
2. the ADR first marks 31 March as a day of mourning
3. the Baku Sovnarkom is formed
4. the March massacre in Baku begins
A) 4, 3, 1, 2 B) 3, 4, 1, 2 C) 4, 1, 3, 2 D) 4, 3, 2, 1 E) 3, 4, 2, 1
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Solution
2) The Baku Sovnarkom was formed after the March events → B and E are out.
3) The day of mourning was first marked in 1919, so it is last → C and D are out.
Answer: A (4, 3, 1, 2).
Remember
- The Baku Soviet was led by S. Shaumyan; to keep Baku and its oil the Bolsheviks allied with the Dashnak armed units.
- The Evelina incident was the pretext; on 30 March – 2 April 1918 thousands of peaceful Azerbaijanis in Baku were killed because of their nationality.
- Massacres were also committed in the Shamakhi, Guba and Lankaran districts and in Karabakh, Zangezur and Nakhchivan; a mass grave was found in Guba in 2007.
- The Baku Sovnarkom (25 April 1918, Shaumyan) nationalised the oil industry, marched on Ganja, was defeated near Goychay and resigned on 31 July.
- The ADR set up the Extraordinary Investigation Commission and marked 31 March as a day of mourning; the decree of 26 March 1998 declared 31 March the Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis.