The spread of propaganda in Western Europe

With the imminent defeat of the Russian White Guard in the autumn of 1919, Azerbaijan became a source of great interest not only in U.S. political circles but also in Britain, France, and Italy. A Franco-Caucasus Committee headed by Anatole de Monzie held a conference on October 4 that was exclusively for the Caucasus states, including Azerbaijan and Georgia, with the participation of French business groups. The French press did not shy from reporting about the Caucasus. Jeyhun Hajibeyli and Mahammad Maharramov from the Azerbaijani

delegation were interviewed during the conference. In the middle of October, the representative of the French Ministry of Trade and Industry visited Baku accompanied by the French military attaché. During negotiations with Azerbaijani Minister of Foreign Affairs Mahammad Yusif Jafarov, they expressed the French government"s interest in the economic and political situation of Azerbaijan as well as their desire to establish friendly relations with

Azerbaijan. The head of the French diplomatic mission stated that the French community and government were misinformed about the current situation in Azerbaijan. They pledged that they would inform the French government about their observations during their visit to Azerbaijan. Next to come to Azerbaijan was an Italian mission headed by I. Enrico. Soon after, an agreement was signed between the Azerbaijani delegation and the Cosmos Company, one of the largest companies in Britain. The company was tasked to provide for the transport and sale of Azerbaijani raw materials from the ports of the Black Sea to Europe. The telegraph and telephone company of France dispatched a considerable amount of equipment to Azerbaijan and sent its engineers in order to introduce world-class post and telegraph services and to install a radio station in Ganja that would link up with a radio station located at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. In accordance with an agreement with the Azerbaijani delegation in Paris on November of 1919, Ali Mardan Bey Topchubashov transmitted a telegram to the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan from the radio station at the Eiffel Tower to the Ganja radio station. The telegram read, "I congratulate you for the first Azerbaijani radio station, which will play an important role in the economic and cultural development of our dear land." A moment after the signing of an agreement with France regarding post and telegraph related matters,

Topchubashov filed an application for membership with the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union in Bern, Switzerland.

In the autumn of 1919, the delegations from both Azerbaijan and Georgia addressed and submitted appeals on September 17 to the chairman of the peace conference as well as the members of the Supreme Council in the hopes of speeding up matters regarding the Caucasus. A similar appeal was also filed with the representatives of the Entente that participated in the conference on September 20 regarding the creation of a special commission to tackle issues relating to the Caucasus. The request called for an in-depth analysis of the events that occurred in Azerbaijan and Georgia and the Caucasus in general. It stated that the problems of the South Caucasus should each be settled independently, without delay, and not be incorporated into the Russia question. It also pointed out that since the

Caucasus possessed vast raw material resources essential to both European and U.S. markets, the development of post and telegraph services to support commercial activity was urgently needed. The appeal likewise offered to settle all of those issues through the "formation of a special commission on Caucasus issues at the peace conference."

In the autumn of 1919, the Azerbaijani and Georgian delegations discussed issues pertaining to both their countries and the Caucasus, after which they decided to submit a letter addressed to the Supreme Council. After the drafting of the joint letter by the Azerbaijani delegation, it was additionally signed by the representatives of

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Kuban, South Caucasus, and Georgia. Belarus and Armenia rejected the letter. Armenian representative Dr. Hamazasp Ohanjanian stated, "If the matter at hand is the recognition of independence, then the Armenian representative will not sign it because according to the Treaty of Versailles, Armenia

has already been recognized." He added, "If there comes a need to choose between the Turks or Denikin, they will prefer the latter." The representatives of the eight republics signed the letter and submitted it to the chairman of the peace conference, Georges Clemenceau, on October 8. This jointly signed letter was the second to be submitted by the newly established republics after the initial jointly signed letter of protest was submitted in June. The letter emphasized that the newly established republics were in serious need of material and moral-but primarily military-support. For that reason, it was important and imperative that recognition be accorded to them as emerging international entities. The political aims of diferent factions in the Russian opposition were taken up for review, and they came to the conclusion that the Bolsheviks wanted to establish a dictatorship of the proletariat

within the old Russian empire, and the intransigent forces among the Russian White Guard generals wanted to establish a military dictatorship within that same territory and to restore the glory of the former Russia, which for some was considered a prison of peoples. For the newly established republics, the ways of achieving their

causes may have been different, but the aim and premise of these states were in consensus. The letter clearly stated that the forces fighting in Russia were willing to lay down their arms at the first sign that the newly established democratic republics would have a good chance at being recognized. The new republics realized that only the support of the Entente states could save them from the aggression of the Bolsheviks and the forces loyal to old Russia. Yet, in spite of their repeated requests, the Entente had not provided them with any support. On the contrary, this muchcoveted support was provided to Kolchak and Denikin, who did not relent in their assault against the newly established republics although supposedly they were fighting against Bolshevism. Notwithstanding their efforts, the last phase of the war showed that it was impossible to restore Russia within its old boundaries wthout

ignoring the spirit of freedom of the people. The letter stated, "in the interest of peace, humanity, and progress, the international settlement of our states" issues should not be delayed and they should not be settled in conjunction with Russian issues. The need for international recognition is essential. We have been isolated from the international financial community and have been prevented from availing ourselves of credit from financial institutions as well as being participants in the regulation of the economic and financial situations."

The letter was brought to the attention of the peace conference as well as the Supreme Council, which was chaired by French foreign minister Stéphen Pichon and whose members were the foreign ministers of the Entente states. A copy of the letter was published in the French newspaper Le Temps on October 12. It is noteworthy that through such publications, French media attitudes began to change in favor of the new republics that previously bore the brunt of negative publicity generated by the press. Soon after the letter was published, on October 29, matters concerning the South Caucasus region were finally heard at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the basis of an appeal filed by the Azerbaijani and Georgian delegations. The director of the French committee, Paul Bourdarie, wrote in a letter sent to the chairman of the Azerbaijani delegation, "the request of the Azerbaijani and Georgian Republics on the de facto and de jure recognition of the existence of your governments was endorsed at the meeting of the French committee." Taking into consideration the growing economic interest of France in these republics, the committee has asked the Clemenceau government to urgently send diplomatic representation to Azerbaijan and Georgia."

The autumn of 1919 brought changes in the international circumstances in favor of the newly established republics. The Azerbaijani representatives were engaged not only in the political and economic aspects of Azerbaijan but at the same time in widespread dissemination activities as well. In spite of great financial difficulty, the Azerbaijani representatives at Versailles were able to achieve much work with minimal resources. Their selfless work included the publication of a series of books dedicated to Azerbaijan"s history, population, economy, natural

resources, and politics. The books were written, compiled, and published in both English and Azerbaijani and for the first time attained significant media exposure in Europe. This marked a milestone for Azerbaijan on the eve of the recognition of Azerbaijani independence. The Azerbaijani representatives in Versailles lauded the establishment of an Azerbaijani resource center in Switzerland. It was a good proposal considering that the League of Nations would probably be based in Geneva. The Azerbaijani representatives established ties with L"Europe Orientale, a periodical that was published in English and French. L"Europe Orientale agreed to publish articles about Azerbaijan with an initial run of 20,000 copies. Topchubashov wrote to the chairman of the Azerbaijani Council of Ministers about affiliation with L"Europe Orientale, This agency will be very useful for us in the future; in particular, they will

help us establish our center before the League of Nations in Geneva. The matter is not only about our affiliation with this news agency, but our plans to establish this kind of resource center in Geneva and that this center will

eventually protect all the newly established republics in the former Russian territory. It is necessary to provide assistance to this endeavor and establish it in Geneva post haste.

Topchubashov, in a letter to Baku on November 10, 1919, wrote, "For the first time, the press writes more about Azerbaijan than ever before. At least now we have gained sympathy among some members of the press." After experiencing difficulties in the spring and autumn of 1919, journals such as L"Europe Orientale, L"image, and Les Peuples Libres and newspapers such as Le Temps, Revue du Monde Musulman, La Revue Contemporaine, Humanité, Le Dépeche Colonial, Les Dernières Nouvelles, La Croix, and others published in different languages in

Europe featured attention-grabbing articles about Azerbaijan. In order to promote Azerbaijan, Topchubashov agreed with the editor of L"image to devote one special issue to Azerbaijan, and they both agreed that it would come out in November. Topchubashov wrote, "I chose November for Azerbaijan, but looking though the photos, it became

clear that the edition would look faded. The lack of photos of our army makes it difficult for us. We don"t have [General] Mehmandarov"s photo, or others. Other issues are teeming with war photos showing troubled times,

but it is also way to show the military prowess and defensive capabilities of a country."

Taking this into account, Topchubashov decided to move the publication"s release from the month of November to January of the next year (1920) and wrote to Baku asking them urgently to send photographs of the Kura valley, Azerbaijani cotton fields, Besh-Barmag Mountain, Caspian coast, oil wells, Baku landscapes

and cityscapes, and a map of Absheron. It was decided that the photo-collage would appear on the front and back cover of the journal. He likewise asked for photos having historical, political, economic, and cultural significance: of

educational institutions in Baku and Ganja, ancient monuments in Azerbaijani villages, well-known Azerbaijani public, cultural, and military figures such as Samad Bey Mehmandarov, Ali Agha Shikhlinski, and Ibrahim Bey Usubov, the Azerbaijani military parade on the first anniversary of the liberation of Baku, as well as sessions of the parliament.

After the photographs had been gathered, L"image in its January 1920 issue published articles about Azerbaijani history, culture, government, and economy. The issue published most of the photographs sent from Baku. Soon thereafter, journals such as the Journal de Genève published in Geneva and Les Peuples Libres published in Lausanne featured articles about Azerbaijan by French author G. Brocher. The same articles were also translated and published in English. From Azerbaijan"s standpoint, the article published in the Journal de Genève titled "Le Droit d"Auto-Disposition et la Republique de l"Azerbaidjan du Caucase" was very significant.

The article began with U.S. President Wilson"s Fourteen Points, a nation"s right to self-determination, and Wilson"s emphasis of its importance. Every nation is physically, intellectually, morally, and religiously distinctive; each nation has the right to determine its fate; nations should possess the economic, natural, and financial resources to sustain themselves. Nations should be able to defend themselves from military aggression and colonization. Brocher noted the biased nature of some articles, asserting that most of the recognized independent states of Scandinavia, Western Europe, and Latin America shared the same origin, religious beliefs, and language. Their independence was universally recognized. Brocher noted that some nations, despite meeting the five conditions set by Wilson, experienced delays in the recognition of their independence. He went on to say, We see that Azerbaijan possesses all the requirements that are necessary for self-determination. I say this as an observer and a Frenchman who has visited and studied the entire Caucasus. I give voice to the protection of this nation whose right to self-determination until now has been denied and I deeply believe that their demands are fair. Brocher explained to the readers in Europe who were misinformed about Azerbaijan that due attention should be given to Azerbaijan as a country with the potential to contribute its natural resources, geography, and intellect to humanity. He wrote, "It is the central point of trade as it lies between Europe, Iran, and Central Asia. Religiously, although the Russian church oppressed the religious freedom of the Muslims, Azerbaijanis have shown tolerance of other religious faiths. "Brocher likewise addressed the public about their misguided sympathy toward Armenians owing to malicious disinformation published in several issues of journals in English and French. He added, "As a Protestant, I can say that foreign traders who are familiar with the Azerbaijanis" sense of morality place more confidence in them than in Armenians."

In another article, Brocher defended the possibility of Azerbaijan"s independence. He wrote in praise of the Azerbaijani army, with its 50,000 welltrained soldiers and demonstrated heroism in the Russian-German war, and which, under the leadership of its able commanders, was ready to defend its motherland from aggression. Brocher wrote that the Azerbaijani"s desire for freedom and independence should not be taken for granted. He related that no other people bore intense persecution and humiliation as the Azerbaijanis had. He mentioned how the publication of books and newspapers in their mother tongue was banned until 1906 and how numerous rights were curtailed because of the war in 1914. He also compared Azerbaijan with former Russian colonies such as Poland and

Finland, whose independence had been recognized by the peace conference. Brocher wrote that Poland was promised independence by the German Kaiser and even fought against the Allied powers, while Azerbaijani volunteers who fought shoulder to shoulder with the Allies were not given due recognition. According

to him, Poland had never suffered from Russian oppression as had Azerbaijan. Moreover, unlike the Azerbaijani language, Polish was part of the Slavic language group and was similar to Russian. In his article, Brocher came into a conclusion that "every people wishing for their independence has the right to be independent. Azerbaijan has already proven that it wants to be independent and is able to defend its independence, therefore an independent Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan should be given recognition by the peace conference."

On October 23, 1919, in an interview with the newspaper Corriere della Sera, an Italian businessman named Corsi who had visited Azerbaijan and Georgia talked about the struggle of the Republic of Azerbaijan for independence. He said that the independence of both republics should be recognized by the peace conference quickly-that both republics were deserving of recognition. Corsi was the first European to touch upon the sensitive matter of Turkey. He stated that "Azerbaijan"s alliance with Turkey should not be a hindrance to its recognition.

Although these people have the same language and ethnic origin, they should be approached as an individual nation." Corsi recalled politicians in Europe as saying that if it proved impossible to repel General Denikin"s attacks, those republics might enter into an alliance with the Bolsheviks against a common enemy. Europe should be able to gauge the horrible consequences that would ensue if Bolshevism were to triumph in the Caucasus. If Bolshevism were to prevail, the way to Turkey and Iran would be opened.

Apart from the propaganda work in the European media, Azerbaijani representatives in Versailles published an Information Newsletter about Azerbaijan in September for the participants of the Paris Peace Conference and the French, British, and American public as well other countries. These information

newsletters consisted of eight pages of official documents, diplomatic writings and memos, a summary of the media materials in Western countries about the Republic, and chronicles of Azerbaijani political and economic life. The editor of this periodical was well-known French Orientalist and friend of the Azerbaijani people Lucien Bouvier. Four issues of the newsletter were published in 1919, and the remaining seven issues were published until April 1920.