Historical Overview.
Mountainous Karabagh, i.e. Artsakh, Lesser Siunik, is part of historical Armenia. Karabagh has been a powerful spiritual, cultural and political center. The status of Mountainous Karabagh as of 1991 did not correspond to its being a historical and popular administrative-territorial unit of Armenia, but rather was the result of the obstruction of the free right to self-determination of the indigenous Armenian people under the favorable conditions created in 1921 in Transcaucasia for the Turkish-Azerbaijani unification, as well as the arbitrariness of the dictator Stalin.
Attempts at the forced separation of Karabagh began when Western Armenia had been emptied and more than two million Armenians had been subjected to genocide by Turkey. With the aim of destroying the entire Armenian people, in 1918-20 Turkish troops entered Transcaucasia. The attempt by Azerbaijan’s Musavat government to occupy Mountainous Karabagh failed in 1918-20, thanks to the exceptional resistance and indomitable spirit of the people of Karabagh, when Karabagh was then governed by the National or Regional Council, also thwarting Azerbaijan’s aspirations to destroy Armenian statehood. Consequently, the Turkish-Azeri mob, unable to forcibly annex Artsakh to Azerbaijan, resorted to unprecedented barbarities, similar to those of 1905 and 1908, as a result of which 60 villages were destroyed, 40,000 people were left homeless and 25,000 others were put to the sword. They demolished and burned the city of Shushi, looting 90 percent of the factories, economic and cultural wealth.
After all these calamities, in April 1920, the government of the First Republic of Armenia sent its forces to Karabagh, and Artsakh was reunited with Armenia. Unfortunately, later the Armenian forces left Karabagh under the leadership of Dro, and handed the government over to the Soviets, as a result of which Soviet power was established in Karabagh on May 26.
Also in the not-too-distant past, on October 29, 1917, the “Decree on Turkish Armenia,” whose indisputable architect was the incomparable Armenian revolutionary Stepan Shahumian, was adopted by the All-Russian Congress, declaring the following: “The Workers’ and Peasants’ Government defends the right of free self-determination of the Armenians of ‘Turkish Armenia’ occupied by Russia, up to and including independence.” Unfortunately, later, in 1918-23, the Soviet leaders made great mistakes when, through unilateral concessions, they believed Turkey’s false “worker-peasant” promises and its deceptive pledges to support Russia in the “anti-imperialist” struggle in the East.
As a result of Turkish-Soviet “friendship,” Russia handed over the territories of Western Armenia it had conquered to Turkey. However, as was to be expected, Turkey revealed its treacherous nature. In this sense, in a letter addressed to G. Chicherin, S. Kirov wrote the following: “Behind the false promises of ‘friendship’ of the Kemalists towards Soviet Russia are hidden treacherous deeds, their anti-Soviet goals.”
However, the victory of Soviet power in 1920 in both Azerbaijan and Karabagh was a serious countermeasure to halt the Turkish invasion and Azerbaijani aspirations. And the Soviet government of Azerbaijan presented an ultimatum to the Armenians of Karabagh to join Azerbaijan, but the Armenians of Artsakh rejected that ultimatum. And in Armenia, on the day of the establishment of Soviet power, on November 30, 1920, the Azerbaijani Revolutionary Committee declared the following: “AZERBAIJAN RENOUNCES ITS CLAIMS REGARDING KARABAGH, ZANGEZUR AND NAKHICHEVAN.” And in June 1921, the Caucasian Bureau of the Central Committee of Russia adopted a decision that “MOUNTAINOUS KARABAGH IS AN INSEPARABLE PART OF SOVIET ARMENIA.” Unfortunately, on July 5 of the same year, the Caucasian Bureau, under pressure from Stalin and with the complicity of the chairman of the Azerbaijani Revolutionary Committee, N. Narimanov, made the following dangerous declaration: “Proceeding from the necessity of national peace between Armenians and Muslims and the economic connection of upper and lower Karabagh, its permanent connection with Azerbaijan, leave Mountainous Karabagh within the Azerbaijan SSR, granting broad autonomy, with the city of Shushi as its administrative center.”
And since Soviet power was proclaimed in Karabagh one month after the sovietization of Azerbaijan, and there is no decision by the Caucasian Bureau to “leave” it within the “territories belonging” to Azerbaijan, also taking into account the historical events mentioned above, we can affirm that Karabagh has never been part of Azerbaijan.
The so-called “Mountainous Karabagh Autonomous Region” became a reality in 1923 by the decision of Azerbaijan of July 7, by which many territories with Armenian population remained outside Karabagh. The treacherous and racist leaders of Azerbaijan did not even allow Shushi to become the center of the “autonomous region” and spared no provocation or conspiracy to make Shushi a city subordinate to Azerbaijan. From the first day of the formation of the “autonomous region,” the leadership of Azerbaijan has always violated the rights of the Armenian population, dealt a heavy blow to the socio-economic progress of the people, pursued discriminatory policies against Armenians, obstructed the Armenian language and culture, destroyed historical-cultural monuments, etc. Thus all ties with Soviet Armenia were severed. Consequently, due to the difficult conditions created, Armenians began to emigrate from Karabagh. In 1923-1979, the population of Karabagh had decreased by 27,000 people.
Struggle for Rights.-
Over the passing decades, the people of Karabagh have struggled for reunification with Soviet Armenia. In the 1930s, accused of nationalism, hundreds of Armenian sons were subjected to persecution. Numerous workers and laborers of the “region” repeatedly appealed to party and state bodies with the request to unite Soviet Armenia and Karabagh, to restore historical justice. Even in 1965, 45,000 signatures were collected and sent to the Central Committee for the same purpose, in response to which in 1966 the Central Committee of the Soviet Union decided to instruct the Central Committees of Armenia and Azerbaijan to prepare a program for solving the problem of Mountainous Karabagh. Unfortunately, that process was thwarted by M. Suslov. Here, in the name of historical justice, it should also be noted that in the same year, with a bold and just demand, a letter was sent to the Central Committee of the Soviet Union also by the incomparable editor, publicist and party leader of the ADL of those days, Gersam Aharonian. As was to be expected, that letter remained unanswered.
There were numerous proposals on the same issue in 1977, and in 1987, 4 delegates from Karabagh were present in party and state bodies and 80,000 signatures were presented.
Gorbachev’s perestroika and glasnost seemed to bring new hope for the solution of the Karabagh problem. Consequently, a new phase of the popular movement began when thousands of residents from all regions started organizing round-the-clock rallies and solidarity gatherings in Stepanakert. The “Krunk” and “Miatsum” movements were formed, which organized the rallies in a peaceful and democratic manner. However, on February 21, 1988, the leadership of the USSR adopted a hasty and wrong decision based on distorted information, and instead of giving a political solution to the issue, tried to present the problem as a socio-economic one. Naturally, the Armenian people did not accept it, and on the other hand, Azerbaijani nationalist mobs committed the Sumgait crimes. Subsequently, all attempts by the Central government were in vain, which was exploited by the anti-Armenian authorities of Azerbaijan, further tightening the rights of the party and state bodies of the “region.”
And finally, on December 1, 1989, the Supreme Soviet of Soviet Armenia and the Regional Council of Mountainous Karabagh adopted a joint historic declaration on the annexation of Mountainous Karabagh to Armenia. Following this decision, a new wave of barbarities began by the Popular Front of Azerbaijan and internal troops in almost all Armenian-populated regions. Later, in 1990, massacres took place in Baku, as a result of which dozens of Armenians were killed and hundreds wounded. Also, Azeri gangs organized attacks in the Armenian regions of Shahumian, Khanlar and Maragha.
And finally, on December 29, 1991, the people of Karabagh exercised their self-determination through a nationwide referendum, declaring independence and separating from the Republic of Azerbaijan, in accordance with the letter and spirit of the Soviet constitution.
Conclusion.-
It must be emphasized that it is impossible to defeat the Armenian people by force, threats and blockade, and to force them to renounce the just right to reunite the people. And considering the popular, historical and cultural commonality of Mountainous Karabagh with Armenia, the only solution to this problem lies in the reunification of Armenia and Karabagh into one unified state. Understanding that for more than 26 years the peace process and negotiations have not yielded tangible results and the logic of solving the problem proceeds on the principle of the self-determination of nations, nevertheless, free and independent Artsakh is INDEED (De Facto) an established state with its state, political and legal governance components. However, all this must be viewed through the logic of the TACTICAL goal and process of this problem. And the STRATEGIC goal and resolution of the problem is nothing other than THE REUNIFICATION OF ARTSAKH WITH ARMENIA.
Kevork Haleblian
