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Democratic Republic of ArmeniaԴեմոկրատական Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն
1918–1920
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: None
Anthem: Mer Hayrenik ("Our Fatherland")
Map of the Democratic Republic of Armenia from March 1919 to March 1920. Consult the legend for further information.
Capital	Yerevan
Common languages	Armenian
Religion	Armenian Apostolic Christianity
Government	Republic
Prime Minister
Chairman of the Parliament
Historical era	Interwar period
• Independence	28 May 1918
• Soviet invasion	29 November 1920
Area
1920	70,000 km (27,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1918	500,000 (+300,000 Ottoman Armenian)
• 1919	1,300,000 (+300,000 - 350,000 Ottoman Armenian)
Currency	Armenian ruble
ISO 3166 code	AM
Preceded by Succeeded by Cilician Kingdom of Armenia Turkey Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic

The Democratic Republic of Armenia (DRA; Template:Lang-hy; also known as the First Republic of Armenia) was the first modern establishment of an Armenian republic. The republic was established in the former territory of Eastern Armenia in the Russian Empire following the Russian Revolution of 1917. The leaders of the government came from Armenian Revolutionary Federation (also known as the ARF or Dashnaktsutyun) and other Armenian political parties who helped create the new republic. When it was established, it bordered the Democratic Republic of Georgia to the north, the Ottoman Empire to the west, the Persian Empire to the south, and Azerbaijan Democratic Republic to the east.

From the very onset, the DRA was plagued with a variety of domestic and foreign problems. Much of its inhabitants were Armenian refugess who had fled the massacres of the Armenian Genocide in Western Armenia and it almost did not come into existence because of the advances of the armies of the Ottoman Empire, which were intent on eliminating the Armenian people living in the area.

Background

The Russian offensive during the Caucasus Campaign of World War I and subsequent occupation and the creation of a provisional administrative government gave hope for the liberation of Western Armenia from Ottoman Turkish rule. With the help of a several battalions of Armenians recruited from the Russian Empire, the Russian army had made progress on the Caucasus Front, advancing as far as the city of Erzerum in 1916. The Russians continued to make considerable advances even after the toppling of Tsar Nicholas II in February 1917. Things took a turn for the worst, however, in October 1917, when the Bolsheviks seized power from the Provisional Government that was governing Russia and announced that they would be withdrawing troops from both the Western and Caucasus Fronts. The Georgians, Armenians and Muslims of the Caucasus, however, rejected the Bolsheviks' legitimacy.

Towards independence

In November 1917, after the Bolshevik seizure of power, a multinational congress of Transcaucasian representatives met to create a provisional regional executive body. The Commissariat and the Seim were heavily encumbered by the pretense that the South Caucasus formed an integral unit of a nonexistent Russian democracy. The Armenian deputies in the Seim were hopeful that the anti-Bolshevik forces in Russia would prevail in the Russian Civil War, and they "persistently rejected the slightest suggestion of separation from Russia."

In the March 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the Turks were allowed to regain the Western Armenian provinces and even were even allowed to take over Batum and the Russian Armenian provinces of Kars and Ardahan. In addition to these provisions, a secret clause was inserted which obligated the Armenians and Russians to demobilize their forces in both western and eastern Armenia. Having massacred and deported the Armenians of Western Armenia during the Armenian Genocide, the Ottoman Empire now set its sights on eliminating the Armenian population of Eastern Armenia.

Shortly after the signing of Brest-Litovsk, the Turkish army began its advance and took Erzerum in March and Kars in April. In February, the Armenians, Georgians and Muslims had reluctantly joined to form the Transcaucasian Federation but disputes among all the three groups continued as unity began to falter. As the Turks moved towards Batum, the Georgians sought and received protection from Germany, declaring their independence on May 26; the following the day, the Muslim National Council in Tiflis announced the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan; having been abandoned by its regional allies, the Armenian National Council, based in Tiflis and led by Russian Armenian intellectuals that represented Armenian interests in the Caucasus, was forced to declare its independence on May 28. It dispatched Hovhannes Kachaznuni and Alexander Khatisyan, both members of the ARF, to Yerevan to take over power there and issued the following statement on May 30:

In view of the dissolution of the political unity of Transcaucasia and the new situation created by the proclamation of the independence of Georgia and Azerbaijan, the Armenian National Council declares itself to be the supreme and only administration for the Armenian provinces. Because of the certain grave circumstances, the national council, deferring until the near future the formation of an Armenian National government, temporary assumes all governmental functions, in order to take hold the political and administrative helm of the Armenian provinces.

Meanwhile, the Turks had taken Alexandropol and were intent on eliminating the center of Armenian resistance based in Yerevan. The Armenians were able to stave off total defeat and delivered crushing blows to the Turkish army in the battles of Sardarapat, Karakilisa and Abaran. Nevertheless, it was forced to sue for negotiations and after the Ottoman Empire took vast swaths of territory and imposed harsh conditions, the new republic was left with a mere 4,400 square kilometers.

Administration

On May 30, 1918 the Armenian Revolutionary Federation had decided that Armenia should be a republic under a provisional coalition government. The declaration stated that the Republic of Armenia was to be a self-governing state, endowed with a constitution, the supremacy of state authority, independence, sovereignty, and plenipotentiary power. Katchaznouni became the country's first Prime Minister and Aram Manougian was the first minister of Interior.

Armenia established a Ministry of Interior and created a police force. The Armenian parliament passed a law on the police on April 21, 1920, specifying its structure, jurisdiction, and responsibilities. The Interior Ministry was also responsible for communications and telegraph, railroad, and the public school system, in addition to enforcing law and order. The reforms come soon and each of these departments became ministries.

In 1919, the leaders of the Republic had to deal with issues on three fronts: domestic, regional, and international. The Armenian Congress of Eastern Armenians that took control in 1918 fell apart and in June 1919, the first national elections were held. The establishment of law was a problem: Armenians had the most organized structure in their homeland; however, it was undeniable that several other ethnic groups had been settled for many centuries in these lands (Kurds and Azeris were the major ones). During 1920s, which began under the premiership of Kachaznuni, Armenians from the former Russian Empire and United States developed the judicial system. January 1919 was an important milestone as the country's first state university was founded.

Population

Before World War I, in 1914, the Armenian Republic was part of Russian Armenia and among the total Armenian population of 2,800,000, only about 1,500,000 were in the Ottoman Empire, and the remainder were in the Russian Armenia. During 1918, the new Armenian Republic's initial year, Armenia had many migrations (population re-locations). An estimate in 1918, to have 800,000 Armenians and more than 100,000 Muslims which includes mostly Osmanli or Ottoman Turks in Kars, and Azeri Turks and Kurds everywhere else.

The estimate of 1918, of the 800,000 Armenians, about 500,000 were native Russian Armenians and 300,000 were destitute and starving refugees fleeing from the massacres that took place in the Ottoman Empire. Surviving Armenian population in 1919 was 2,500,000 and 2,000,000 were distributed in the Caucasus. Out of these 2,000.000 in the Caucasus, 1,300,000 were to be found within the boundaries of the new Republic of Armenia, which included the plus 300,000 to 350,000 refugees escaped from Ottoman Empire. That is 1,650,000 Armenians in the new Republic. Also added to this Armenian population 350,000 to 400,000 other nationalities, and a total population of about 2,000,000 within the Armenian Republic.

Refugee problem

There was also an Armenian settlement problem that also brought conflict with other ethnic residents. In all, there were over 300,000 embittered and impatient Armenian refugees escaping from the Ottoman Empire which were now the government's responsibility. This proved an insurmountable humanitarian issue for it. Typhus was also a major sickness, because of its effect on children. Conditions in the outlying regions, not necessarily consisting of refugees, weren't any better. The Ottoman governing structure and Russian army had already withdrawn from the region. Armenian government had neither time, nor resources, to rebuild the infrastructure. The 393,700 refugees were under their jurisdiction as follows:

The government of Hovhannes Kachaznuni faced with a most sobering reality in the winter of 1918-19. The newly formed government was responsible for over half a million Armenian refugees in the Caucasus. It was a long and harsh winter. The homeless masses, lacking food, clothing, and medicine had to endure the elements. Many who survived the exposure and famine, succumbed to the ravaging diseases. By the spring of 1919, the typhus epidemic had run its course, the weather improved and the first American Committee for Relief in the Near East shipment of wheat reached Batum. The British army transported the aid to Yerevan. Yet by that time some 150,000 of the refugees had perished. Vratsian, Hanrapetium put this figure at around 180,000. That was nearly 20% of the entire nascent Republic. A report in early 1919 noted that the lives had been claimed of: 65% of the population of Sardarabad, 40% of the population of eight villages near Etchmiadzin, 25% of the population of Ashtarak.

Foreign relations

In 1920, the Republic of Armenia administered an area that covered most of present-day Armenia, Kars, Igdır, Çıldır and Göle districts of Ardahan, while the regions of Nakhchivan, Nagorno-Karabakh, Zangezur (today the Armenian province of Syunik), and Qazakh were disputed and fought over with Azerbaijan. The Oltu region (shortly administered by Georgia in 1920) was also claimed by the DRA. The majority-Armenian area of Lori was disputed with and administered by Georgia. The areas south of Yerevan which were populated by Muslims did not acknowledge Armenian authority and resisted attempts by the Armenian government to assert its control over those regions. Nevertheless, after the signing of the Treaty of Sèvres in 1920, Armenia was granted formal international recognition. The United States, as well as some South American countries, officially opened diplomatic channels with the government. Numerous Armenian missions were also established in Great Britain, Italy, Germany, Serbia, Greece, Iran, Japan and Africa.

Georgian-Armenian war

In December 1918, Armenia and Georgia engaged with Georgian–Armenian War 1918, which was a brief military conflict over the disputed marshlands in the largely Armenian-populated Lori district along with some other neighboring regions. It was claimed by both nations but had been taken by Georgia after the Ottomans' evacuation of the area. The fighting continued with varying success for two weeks. Despite initial success, Armenian offensive under Drastamat Kanayan was finally halted and the war ended through the British mediation, establishing a joint Armeno-Georgian civil administration in the "Lori neutral zone" or the "Shulavera Condominium."

Armenian-Azerbaijan War

A considerable degree of hostility existed between Armenia and its new neighbor to the east, the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, stemming largely from to racial, religious, cultural and societal differences. Although the borders of the two countries were still undefined, Azerbaijan claimed most of the territory Armenia was sitting on, demanding all or most parts of the former Russian provinces of Elizavetpol, Tiflis, Yerevan, Kars and Batum. As diplomacy failed to accomplish compromise, even with the mediation of the commanders of a British expeditionary force that had installed itself in the Caucasus, territorial clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan took place throughout 1919 and 1920, most notably in the regions of Nakhichevan, Karabakh and Syunik (Zangezur). Repeated attempts to bring these provinces under Azerbaijani jurisdiction were met with fierce resistance by their Armenian inhabitants. In May 1920, Kanayan led an expeditionary unit that was successful in establishing Armenian administrative control in Nakhichevan.

South West Caucasian Republic

While problems with Azerbaijan continued, a new state headed by Fakhr al-Din Pirioghlu and centered in Kars, the South West Caucasian Republic was established. It claimed the territory around the regions of Kars and Batum, parts of the Yerevan district and the Akhaltsikhe and Akhalkalaki districts of the Tiflis province. It existed alongside with the British general governorship created during the Entente's intervention in Transcaucasia. It was abolished by British High Commissioner Admiral Somerset Arthur Gough-Calthorpe in April 1919 and the region was assigned to the Armenian Republic.

Treaty of Sèvres

The Treaty of Sèvres was signed between the Allied and Associated Powers and Ottoman Empire at Sèvres, France on August 10, 1920. The treaty had a clause on Armenia. It made all parties signing the treaty to recognize Armenia as a free and independent State. The borders drawn for the republic on the treaty reflected the efforts given by Armenians upon the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the Caucasus Campaign. This treaty was signed by the Ottoman Government, but Sultan Mehmed VI never signed the treaty; hence the treaty had never come into effect. Turkish Revolutionaries began a Turkish National Movement which, in turn, sought to crush the republic.

Turkish-Armenian War and Sovietization

The Turkish Revolutionaries claimed that the Turks inside DRA were being mistreated and oppressed by the Armenians. On September 20, 1920, Turkish General Kazım Karabekir invaded the borders delineated by the United States. In response, the DRA declared war on Turkey on September 24 and the Turkish-Armenian War began. In the regions of Oltu, Sarikamis, Kars, Alexandropol (Gyumri) Armenian forces clashed with those of Turkish Karabekir. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk then sent several delegations to Moscow in search of an alliance. This proved disastrous for the Armenians.

Armenia gave way to communist power in late 1920. In September 1920, the Turkish revolutionaries moved in on the capital. First an armistice was concluded, on November 18, and then a full peace treaty - Treaty of Alexandropol on 2nd and/or 3rd of December 1920.

During that time, the Soviet 11th Red Army invasion started on the 29th of November 1920. The actual transfer of power took place on December 2 in Yerevan. Armenian leadership approved an ultimatum, presented to it by the Soviet plenipotentiary Boris Legran - who was at work as one of major Russian diplomats on Caucasus at that time. Armenia decided to join the Soviet sphere, while the Soviet Russia agreed to protect its remaining territory from the advancing Turkish army. Soviets also pledged to take steps to rebuild the army, protect the Armenians, not to pursue non-communist Armenians, etc.

When on December 4, 1920 the Red Army entered Yerevan, the government of Armenian Republic effectively stopped working. On December 5, the Armenian Revolutionary Committee (Revkom; made up of mostly Armenians from Azerbaijan) also entered the city. Finally, on the following day, December 6, Felix Dzerzhinsky's dreaded secret police, the Cheka, entered Yerevan, thus effectively ending the existence of the Democratic Republic of Armenia. At that point what was left of Armenia was under the control of a communist government. The part occupied by Turkey remained for the most part theirs - by the subsequent Treaty of Kars. Soon, the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed, under the leadership of Alexander Miasnikyan. It was to be included into the newly created Transcaucasian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic.

Footnotes

1. Hewsen, Robert (2001). Armenia: A Historical Atlas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 235. ISBN 0-2263-3228-4.
2. ^ Maintenance of Peace in Armenia. United States Congress. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. USA: Govt. print. off. 1919.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
3. Olivier, Roy (2005). Turkey Today: A European Country?. Anthem Press. p. 167. ISBN 184331172. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help)
4. Balakian, Peter (2003). The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response. New York: HarperCollins. p. 321. ISBN 0-0605-5870-9.
5. Hovannisian, Richard G. (1997). "Armenia's Road to Independence" in The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times, Volume II: Foreign Dominion to Statehood: The Fifteenth Century to the Twentieth Century. Richard G. Hovannisian (ed.) New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 286-289. ISBN 1-4039-6422-X.
6. Hovannisian. "Armenia's Road to Independence", p. 289.
7. Hovannisian. "Armenia's Road to Independence", p. 290.
8. Hovannisian. "Armenia's Road to Independence", pp. 288-289.
9. Balakian. Burning Tigris, pp. 319-323.
10. Hovannisian. "Armenia's Road to Independence", p. 298.
11. Hovannisian. "Armenia's Road to Independence", p. 299.
12. Hovannisian. "Armenia's Road to Independence", pp. 296-301.
13. Maintenance of Peace in Armenia. United States Congress. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. USA: Govt. print. off. 1919.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
14. Hewsen. Armenia, p. 235.
15. Hovannisian. "The Republic of Armenia" in The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times (Volume II), p. 317.
16. Hovannisian. "The Republic of Armenia", pp. 332-333.
17. Hovannisian. "The Republic of Armenia", p. 317.
18. Hovannisian. "The Republic of Armenia", p. 317.
19. Hovannisian. "The Republic of Armenia", p. 318.
20. Hovannisian. "The Republic of Armenia", pp. 318-319.
21. Caucasian Knot (Moscow-based news agency)
22. Hewsen. Armenia, p. 237.

Further reading

• Hovannisian, Richard G. The Republic of Armenia. 4 volumes. Berkley: University of California Press, (1971-1996).
• ___________________. Armenia on the road to independence, 1918. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967.
• Hovannisian, Richard G. (1997). "Armenia's Road To Independence". The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times: Foreign dominion to statehood. Macmillan. ISBN 9780312101688. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Kazemzadeh, Firuz. The Struggle for Transcaucasia, 1917-1921. New York, Oxford: Philosophical Library, 1951.

See also

• Aftermath of World War I
• Armenian Genocide
• Democratic Republic of Georgia
• Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan

External links

• Armenian History; Armenian Highland

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