The difficult Road to Independence

The Azerbaijan Republic, which appeared on the stage of world history in 1918, was a secular state, a logical result of the transition from Islamic populism to Turkish nationalism and a historic confirmation of the philosophy of "national awakening," including the desire to be a distinct and unified nation. Not seeing the footprints of their nation among the nations of the world and suffering from this, the leading minds of Azerbaijan seized the first opportunity presented and succeeded in establishing the first Azerbaijan republic on May 28, 1918. This significant event was a great historical achievement for the Azerbaijani nation and their hope for a change in the political map of the world-a world where diplomatic conflicts were being resolved by cannonballs exploding on battlefields and the situation was becoming tenser from day to day.

The Azerbaijan Republic survived for only twenty-three months. This is not a very long period of time, and yet the history created during those months, the steps taken in the sphere of diplomacy, and the political ramifications of important actions and policies introduced during that period changed the path of the nation. The independence announced on May 28, 1918, and the tricolored flag with crescent and

star that was raised to the sky as a symbol of this independence were not only the logical result of a national struggle spanning the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries but served as an ideological guide for the future of a new country, a strategy encompassing national targets and goals.

The Azerbaijan Republic was formed at a time of intense diplomatic struggles that accompanied the end of World War I and attempts by Russia to restore the borders of its empire. This demanded from the young Azerbaijani republic great diplomatic skill and an ability to recognize turning points in world politics. Azerbaijani diplomacy managed to fulfill its duty during the two years of independence, and that duty was characterized by the combination of a love for freedom and a struggle for autonomy. Those who represented Azerbaijan in the international political arena gained acceptance in 1920 at Versailles, but postwar geopolitics prevented the Azerbaijani people from deriving the full benefit of their achievements. The Azerbaijan Republic ceased to exist in April 1920, not due to political processes or territorial conflicts within the country but due to the complicated conflicts taking place in world politics. In truth, the difficulty of integrating the new Caucasus republics, including Azerbaijan, into the international arena was related to the collapse of Russia, which was a member of the Entente, the winning bloc of countries in World War I. The victors did not anticipate the collapse of Russia, and their ruling circles were not ready to recognize the new republics that emerged from the ruins. Russia"s allies viewed Bolshevism as a temporary condition and did not lose hope that the country would restore its old borders. They therefore acted with extreme caution on all issues concerning this former world power.

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World War I brought Russia unforeseen disaster. Along with the overthrow of the tsarist monarchy in Russia, the revolution of February 1917 was a blow to the Russian empire, spawning national liberation movements in that "prison of nations." The overthrow of the monarchy sped up the political processes taking place in the South Caucasus. One of the first steps of the Provisional Government that was formed after the revolution was the creation of a special institution to govern the South Caucasus. On March 9, the Special Transcaucasian Committee (OZAKOM) was created to govern the region. Its members were drawn from the State Duma, and it was chaired by the Russian Constitutional Democrat Vasily Kharlamov. The Committee consisted of the Social Federalist Kita Abashidze succeeded by Menshevik Akaki Chkhenkeli from Georgia, Azerbaijani Constitutional Democrat Mahammad Yusif Jafarov (who later occupied the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs in the fourth cabinet of the government of the Azerbijan Republic), and Armenian Constitutional Democrat Mikayel Papajanov.

The Special Committee was directly subordinate to the Provisional Government. As this institution was created for the management of civil issues, it did not have legislative authority. Due to its limitations, the Committee was overwhelmed by events. The growing trend of the Transcaucasian nations toward autonomy and political freedom, inspired by the February revolution, along with the legalization

of the activity of numerous national parties and organizations as well as increased interest on the part of the international community, seriously complicated matters for the government of the South Caucasus.

On March 27, representatives of Muslim organizations and societies in various localities met in Baku to form the Muslim National Council with a temporary executive committee chaired by Mahammad Hasan Hajinski, who later became the first Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Azerbaijan Republic. The Musavat (Equality) party, founded in Baku in 1911 by Mahammad Emin Rasulzade, had the greatest weight in the Council, and it soon emerged as the all-Azerbaijani party. In the election to the Baku Soviet held in October 1917, the Musavat party collected nearly 40 percent of all the votes cast: 9,617 votes of some

25,000. Despite the fact that the elections were held at a time considered to be favorable for them, the Bolsheviks gathered only 3,823 votes, while the Socialist-Revolutionaries received 6,305, Mensheviks 687, and Dashnaks (Armenian Revolutionary Federation) 528. The October elections demonstrated which party was the strongest. This success was due to the fact that the Muslim masses were being attracted to political processes and to the demands of national organizations to grant Muslims full political rights.

The idea of national and territorial independence was discussed for the first time at the Congress of Caucasian Muslims held in Baku on April 15-20, 1917. The Musavat party and the Turkic Federalist party founded in Ganja (then called Elizavetpol) under the leadership of Nasib bey Usubbeyov (Yusifbeyli) and Hasan bey Aghayev after the February revolution emerged as the dominant political

organizations. After long debates, the congress passed the following resolution on the national issue: "The federal democratic republic is to be recognized as the best structure for securing the interests of Muslim nations within the Russian state system."

The Baku congress stipulated the protection of national schools by the state, the opening of a university in the mother tongue of Azerbaijani citizens, the enlargement of the Special Transcaucasian Committee to include Muslims, a census of the Muslim population, and the marshaling of the military potential of the Muslim population in view of the imminent danger. An argument between Turks

who were in favor of territorial autonomy and Islamists and Socialists who were in favor of national cultural autonomy lasted for 10 days after the conclusion of the congress and continued at the All-Russian Congress of Muslims held in Moscow on May 1, 1917. At the Moscow congress, Socialists justified their objection to territorial autonomy by stating that it would undo the achievements of the revolution

and that within a framework of national cultural autonomy, the Russian central government would act as the guarantor of the protection of the rights of Muslims.

On May 3, Mahammad Emin Rasulzade, in his main address to the congress, explained the importance of demanding territorial autonomy and backed his words with strong arguments. To those who stressed the Islamic factor as the crucial one, he noted that many Turkic nations had already realized that "first of all, they are Turks, and then they are Muslims." Rasulzade stated that the question

must be put in the following way:

"What is a nation? I am sure that such characteristics as unity of language, historical relations, and traditions create a nation. Sometimes, when Turkic Tatars are asked about their nationality, they say they are Muslims. However, this is an incorrect viewpoint. Christians do not exist in one nation; neither

do Muslims. There must be a place for Turks, Persians, and Arabs in the large house of the Muslim faith." Rasulzade, who has been labeled a pan-Turkist in both Soviet and foreign literature, noted in his speech to the congress that the Turkic nations differed greatly from one another. Despite the strong opposition of the proponents of cultural-national autonomy, the idea of territorial autonomy, proposed by Rasulzade, was accepted with 446 votes in favor versus 271 against. After the victory of the idea of territorial autonomy at the Moscow Congress of Russian Muslims, the party of Turkic Federalists and the Musavat party decided to merge due to the similarity of their aims and purposes. After preparations in May-June,

at the first congress held in Baku on June 20, the merger was completed, and a joint central committee was created.

Intellectuals of Azerbaijan who did not join any political party nevertheless considered it important to preserve and protect the achievements of the February revolution. During the revolt led by General Lavr Kornilov against the Provisional Government, leaflets were distributed bearing the signature of Ali Mardan bey Topchubashov and expressing the solidarity of the Muslims of the South Caucasus

with the Russian revolution. Topchubashov was elected chairman of the Muslim National Council in Baku, and Fatali khan Khoyski, who was also a member, was sent on an official trip to Petrograd to participate in a discussion concerning elections to the Constituent Assembly.

When the revolution of October 1917 occurred, it raised the hopes of the nations that had been subjects of the Russian empire. These hopes for independence were for the most part nourished by the declarations made by the Bolsheviks in the early days of their coming to power. A peace decree and a Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia were to provide a guarantee that the nations of the former empire would be free to secede and create independent republics. However, quite soon it became clear that these documents were merely propaganda.

While the October events were under way in Petrograd, the Musavat party convened its first congress, which lasted for 5 days. The congress defined the tactical and strategic direction of the national territorial autonomy of Azerbaijan in view of the existing conditions. Mahammad Emin Rasulzade was elected as the chairman of the central committee of the party.

On November 11, a meeting of political organizations of the South Caucasus was held in Tiflis (today"s Tbilisi). The leader of the Georgian Mensheviks, Noe Jordania, gave a long speech in which he said that, for the last 100 years, the South Caucasus had lived shoulder-to-shoulder with Russia and considered itself "an integral part of the Russian state." Now a catastrophe had occurred. The connection with Russia was lost, and the South Caucasus was on its own. "We need to get up on our feet, either to save ourselves or be destroyed in the whirlpool of anarchy." Jordania proposed the creation of an independent local government to save the South Caucasus from disaster. It was decided that, until the governance issue was resolved by the Constituent Assembly, a South Caucasian Commissariat would be created to govern the region. On November 15, the structure of the newly formed government was announced.

Since autumn 1917, Muslims of South Caucasus started their preparations for elections to the Constituent Assembly. In Ganja congress was held here to elect candidates from the Muslim Committee and the "Musavat" Party. In debates were formed a bloc of the Muslim National Committee and "Musavat" that included Mahammad Yusif Jafarov, Ali Mardan bey Topchibashov, Mahammad Emin Rasulzade, Nasib bey Usubbeyov, Fatali khan Khoyskii, Hasan bey Aghayev, Khosrovpasha bey Sultanov, Gazi Ahmed Mamedbeyov, Mustafa bey Mahmudov, Mir Hidayat Seyidov, Aslan bey Gardashov, Shafi bey Rustambeyov et al. Aside from that, Ali Mardan bey was nominated from Syr Darya province; Mahammad Emin bey from Fergana region; Nasib bey from Amu Darya province. This shows that progressive Azerbaijanians played a leading role in the political life of Russian Muslims.

Two weeks after the commissariat establishment, elections to the Constituent Assembly were held on 26 through 28 November. Vast majority of Muslims voted for candidates from the Ganja list. During the elections to the Constituent Assembly the "Musavat" headed by Rasulzadhe and the Muslim National Committee led by Topchibashov and Khoyskii received 63% of votes of Caucasian Muslims. This great victory showed that national forces of the Caucasus had turned into a strong political organization. Consequently, the national bloc received 10 seats; a bloc of Muslim socialists - 2 seats; ittihadists - 1 seat. Bolsheviks received just 4,4% of votes, i.e. seat which vividly demonstrated that they lacked social base. The elections went to show that most Muslims from Baku, Ganja, Erevan, and Tiflis provinces were supportive of Azerbaijani political figures in their struggle for territorial autonomy. In December 1917, Ali Mardan bey resigned from his post of chairman of the Muslim Committee of South Caucasus, for he was elected to the Constituent Assembly. In the end of 1917, the Baku Committee acted as an inter-party organ. However, for heart disease Ali Mardan bey failed to take part in the work of the Committee and Seim. As is known, an idea of the Constituent Assembly belied, and on January 6, 1918, the government of Bolsheviks issues a decree on its dissolution. Expectations around the national question sank into oblivion. The disbandment of the Constituent Assembly became a crucial moment in separating national outskirts, including South Caucasus, from Russia. On January 22, 1918, all delegates to the Constituent Assembly from South Caucasus gathered in Tiflis. Two days debates ended with a decision to redouble seats at the Constituent Assembly and set up a regional legislative body - Transcaucasian Seim. On February 23, 1918, the 1st session of the Seim was held.

The first issue discussed in Seim after its creation was the start of peace talks with Turkey. The Trabzon discussions were the first time that Azerbaijani representatives to the Seim entered the diplomatic arena. On February 23, Vehib Pasha accepted the offer of the South Caucasian government to start peace talks. On the same day, a joint meeting of the South Caucasian Commissariat and the Seim was held. At the meeting, a letter from Vehib Pasha was read in which he stated that the Ottoman Empire was ready to start peace negotiations in Tiflis or Batum. Many Seim members were against holding the negotiations in those cities. Fatali Khan Khoyski, in his speech on behalf of Azerbaijani representatives, stated that the start of peace talks by the government would demonstrate its desire to be independent and stressed the importance of beginning without delay. In his opinion, the location of the conference was not important. Istanbul and Trabzon were suggested as suitable locations and, at the last moment, the decision was made to hold the talks in Trabzon...