CC BY
10УДК 94(479.24)
DEPORTATiON OF AZERBAiJANi TURKS FROM THE ARMENiAN SSR iN 1948-1950: RESiSTANCE OF LAMBELi POPULATiON TO THE RELOCATiON
ASAD QURBANLi
Leading Researcher of the A.A.Bakikhanov institute of History of the NASA doctor of philosophy in history, associate professor
Anotation. This article examines the deportation of ethnic Azerbaijanis from their native lands -the current territory of the Armenian SSR in 1947-1953, reflecting the tragedy experienced by our people through the fault of Soviet and Armenian leaders in Lambali. The resistance of the population against the deportation of Azerbaijanis, the unity of the leadership and the people are analyzed, not voluntary resettlement of the population, but the attempt to forcibly deport people is widely covered. The facts mentioned in the article are based on archival documents.
Keyvord: Deportation, Azerbaijan, Soviet, Armenian, Lambeli, I.V.Stalin
In the 40s and 50s of the 20th century, the policy of deportation of Azerbaijanis from the Armenian SSR became widespread in the USSR, and the policy of deportation was carried out in an organized manner at the state level.
The decision No. 4083 of the Soviet of Ministers of the USSR "On the relocation of collective farmers and other Azerbaijani population from the Armenian SSR to the Kur-Araz lowland of the Azerbaijan SSR" dated December 23, 1947, considered to relocate from the Armenian SSR 100 thousand people in 1948-1950, 10.000 people in 1948, 40.000 people in 1949, and 50.000 people in 1950 [4, sh.3].
On March 10, 1948, second decision No. 754 signed by I.V.Stalin, the Chairman of the USSR Soviet of Ministers, and Y.Chadeyev, head of the Department of Affairs, "On measures related to the relocation of collective farmers and other Azerbaijani population from the Armenian SSR to the Kur-Araz lowland of the Azerbaijan SSR" was adopted [4, sh.21-25].
The decision dated March 10, 1948 mentions specific measures related to the relocation of Azerbaijanis to the Kur-Araz plain, and it was noted that on December 23, 1947, the leadership of the Armenian SSR were charged by the Soviet of Ministers of the USSR to realize this decision [4, sh. 2225 ].
A number of "concessions" were intended for the Azerbaijani population relocated from Armenia, and the decision of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR and the Soviet of People's Commissars of the USSR dated November 17, 1937, "On concessions for relocation in agriculture" was also concerned to the Azerbaijani population relocated to the Kur-Araz lowland. It is interestingly that this decision concerned those who were moved to Siberia, Kazakhstan and the Far East in 1937 [10, p.9].
Since the Kur-Araz lowland of Azerbaijan was defined as the area where the relocated population would be settled, the heavier burden of their relocation and resettlement from the Armenian SSR fell on the government of the Azerbaijan SSR. Azerbaijan C(b)P CC adopted a special decision on March 19, 1948 [4 v. 19-21] in order to solve the tasks arising from the decision No. 754 of March 10, 1948 of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. [4, sh.19-21]
Under the decision of the Central Committee of the Azerbaijan C(b)P from March 19, 1948, a special representation of the Soviet of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR was opened in Iravan for the purpose of a quick and effective solution of matters related to the resettlement during the relocation of collective farmers and other Azerbaijani population from the Armenian SSR to the Kur-Araz lowland [4, sh.19-21]
The decision of the Soviet of Ministers of the USSR "On the relocation of collective farmers and other Azerbaijani population from the Armenian SSR to the Kur-Araz lowland of the Azerbaijan SSR" dated December 23, 1947 stated: "100 thousand collective farmers and other Azerbaijani population had to be relocated to the Kur-Araz lowland of the Azerbaijan SSR on a voluntary basis" [4, sh. 81].
It appears from the archive document that the relocation was forcible, not at their own free will, as stipulated in the decision of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR "On the relocation of collective farmers and other Azerbaijani population from the Armenian SSR to the Kur-Araz lowland of the Azerbaijan SSR" dated December 23, 1947.
The report "Regarding on the mood of the Azerbaijani population of the Armenian SSR on relocation" marked "Top Secret", dated May 3, 1948, addressed to M.J.Bagirov, the First Secretary of the Azerbaijan C(b)P Central Committee, by the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Armenian SSR, Major-General Khoren Grigoryan, stated: "It is characteristic that although the participants unanimously welcomed this decision of the government when the population was informed about the future resettlement and the objectives of this measure were announced at the general meeting of collective farmers, in their one-on-one conversations, most of the population did not support this measure. express their objections" [5, sh. 21].
Azerbaij ani Turks did not want to easily leave their historical lands where they lived for thousands of years. Kh. Grigoryan stated in his letter to the head of Azerbaijan: "We have obtained many facts that Azerbaijanis do not want to move from their places of residence. The fact that they tell bayati (a kind of Azerbaijani poem created by common people) about separation at the graveside when they visit the graves of their relatives, shows that they do not want to move..." [5, sh .20].
The negative attitude towards the well-known decision of the Soviet of Ministers of the USSR on the resettlement of Azerbaijani Turks continued, albeit in a semi-legal form; it was also sharply noticeable among the Azerbaijani population of Noyemberyan region as well, as in Zangibasar, Amasya, Basarkecher, Sisyan, Vedi, Karabaglar, Artashat, Oktomberyan, Qafan, Megri and in other regions [5, sh. 21-28].
Resettlement measures were carried out in Zangibasar, Artashat, Vedi, Karabaglar, Basarkecher, Noyemberyan , Mikoyan, Dilijan, Kirovakan and other areas of Armenia. It covered 22 districts inhabited by Azerbaijanis. Armenian leadership first of all tried to move the Turkish population from the regions where they lived compactly [2, sh. 221-227].
Acquaintance with archival materials related to relocation and following the process of deportation of Azerbaijanis from Armenia also confirms that the process of deportation was carried out on the basis of the historical-ethnic hostility of Armenians against the Turkish population, and was a continuation of the policy of ethnic cleansing in a new form.
First of all, the Armenians wanted to move mixed villages, mainly big Azerbaijani villages where Azerbaijanis and Armenians lived together. One of them was Lambeli village of Noyemberyan district with 245 farms (1179 people), and Mehmandar village of Zangibasar district with 238 farms (1410 people) [4, sh.3]. The resettlement of these villages was considered in the original resettlement plan.
The population of Lambeli village of Noyemberyan district was on the list of villages to be relocated in 1948. The resistance and unity shown by the Azerbaijani population of Lambeli against deportation from their historical land in the years after the Second World War is a vivid example that should be studied.
On September 29, 1948, the Soviet of Ministers of the Armenian SSR adopted a special decision on the establishment of Lambeli olive state farm and a subtropical state farm in the neighboring village of Karkila, and in this regard, according to the decree, the residents of that village should have been
transferred to the Kur-Araz lowland of the Azerbaijan SSR, and their estates and lands should have been given to Armenians. [1, sh.152].
In the letter of the Deputy Chairman of the Soviet of Ministers of the Armenian SSR A.Piruzyan to the Chairman of the Soviet of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR T.Guliyev, dated October 18, 1948, about speeding up the relocation of Lambeli population is discussed in detail. It appears from the text of the letter that the Armenian government had created a subtropical and vegetable state farm in these villages, and it was stated the "necessity" of relocating these villages [1, sh. 52 ].
Although the relocation of Lambeli village was charged by the Armenian leadership to the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Republic A.Grigoryan, they categorically refused to move to the Salyan district of Azerbaijan and openly showed disobedience to the government's decision.
In his letter dated October 20, 1948 addressed to A.S.Piruzyan, the Deputy Chairman of the Soviet of Ministers of the Armenian SSR, T.I.Guliyev, the Chairman of the Soviet of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR wrote: "We are obliged to keep open the issue of relocation of the above-said collective farm in connection with the receipt of complaints to the Central organs of the Azerbaijan C(b)P CC, that they do not want to move to the Salyan district of the Azerbaijan SSR according to the resettlement plan of 1948, which we envisioned on behalf of the residents of Lambeli village, Noyemberyan district of the Armenian SSR.[1, sh. 148].
In his letter dated October 26, 1948 to Teymur Guliyev, the Chairman of the Soviet of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR, A.Gozalov, the head of the Resettlement Department under the Soviet of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR, stated that the people of the village of Lambeli, consisting of245 houses (1192 people), do not want to move to the Salyan district of Azerbaijan [1, sh. 148].
In fact, disobedience to the decision of the dictator I.Stalin during this period was a great courage, and it was the most serious political act of Lambeli people in the country after the terrible mass repression of 1937 in the Soviet empire within the totalitarian system.
It appears from the letter of Seyidov Ali, a resident of Lambeli village, from Sadakhli station of Georgia, to M.J.Bagirov, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Azerbaijan C(b)P, dated October 26, 1948, that what method was used by the leaders of the Armenian SSR and the Armenians in all regions and districts where Azerbaijani Turks live, the same method is also applied in Lambeli village of Noyemberyan district, the Turkish-Muslim population is subjected to violence, national discrimination by Armenians.
The letter also stated that the resettlement of Azerbaijani Turks throughout Armenia is carried out in a violent way despite the fact that it is based on the voluntary principle, and the same method is applied in the village of Lambeli [1, sh. 151].
The district leaders, who could not convince the people of Lambeli to relocate, drew up a fake protocol at the general meeting of the collective farm and got the consent of 25% of the collective farmers under pressure. It was noted in the protocol that 450 people participated at the meeting, but in fact 150 people participated there [1, sh.151].
The Azerbaijani residents who were considered to be relocated refused to move, they made appeals to the Chairman of the USSR Soviet of Ministers I.V.Stalin, the Central Committee of the Azerbaijan C(b)P, the Soviet of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR, the Central Executive Committee, and sent letters of complaints from the Armenian authorities.
Villagers who did not accept this historical injustice demanded that their trampled rights to be guaranteed "based on Stalin's Constitution".
Javahir Nazarova wrote in her letter on behalf of the residents of the Lambeli village of the Noyemberyan district of the Armenian SSR, dated April 11, 1948 to the Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers I.V.Stalin about ensuring the protection of the constitutional rights of the citizens of the
USSR to live on the land of their ancestors: "As the father and leader of our Motherland I appeal to you: The village where I live has existed for 130 years, and we have built houses and a happy life with our clean and painstaking labor for many years. ...Here, my hopes have come to naught. On April 7, 1948, our entire village, Azerbaijanis had to be moved to the territory of the Azerbaijan SSR. None of the residents, including me, want to move. I don't know what this order is based on, I only understand that it is against the laws of the USSR and our constitution [1.a, sh.45-46].
In his letter dated April 11, 1948 addressed to the Chairman of the USSR Soviet of Ministers I.V.Stalin sent on April 12, 1948, the resident of the village Seyidov Ali wrote with pain in his heart: "...This resettlement clearly contradicts our Constitution and all laws. If they order us to work on a collective farm, we will work, if they tell us to work on a state farm or wherever, we are ready for it, but not to move. For us, moving means losing half of our property and people"[1.a, sh.47].
Despite pressures from the district party committee to force the population to move, B.Insanov, the head of the Lambeli collective farm, who relied on the village community, rejected their proposal [8, p. 178].
With the instructions of S.Karapetyan and the help of the militia, the people of Lambeli were loaded into lorries and moved to the villages of Georgia where Azerbaijanis lived. The Georgian authorities, in turn, loaded the population into carriages and sent them to Iravan. [8, p. 178].
J.Valibeyov and B.Insanov visited the Central Committee of the Armenian C(b) Party regarding this situation of the Lambeli people, after which the government allowed the placement of them in Zod and Agkilsa villages of Basarkecher [8, p.178].
Although the Azerbaijani population had to live in these villages for a long time by building underground mud-huts for themselves, they did not stop their struggle to return to the native land even for a moment.
These demand of the Lambeli people was realized after the death of I.V.Stalin, and the residents sent G.M.Malenkov continuous petitions and telegrams demanding the return to their forcibly taken homes[10, p.35].
A special commission under the leadership of the deputy head of the General Resettlement Department of the Ministry of Agriculture of the USSR visited Lambeli. The newly appointed first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Armenia S.Tovmasyan was informed about the inspections conducted by the commission and the discovered facts [1.b,sh.84-82].
The Armenian government made a decision and allowed the people of Lambeli to return to their villages. In the mid-1950s, the Central Committee of the Armenian C(b)P made a decision "On the return of the houses in Lambeli to their former owners and their employment in the state farm" [1.b,sh.84- 82].
When the residents returned their villages, a conflict took place with the Armenians who took possession of their houses, and two Azerbaijani women were killed by the Armenians [8, p.183].
In the report prepared by M.Poladov, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Azerbaijan SSR, while he was in the Armenian SSR, it was shown that the houses of the Lambeli people were distributed among the Armenian families who moved here, the cemetery of the Azerbaijanis was destroyed and the gravestones were used in the construction of new buildings [1.b,sh.84-89] .
Thus, the four-year heroic "epic" of the Lambeli people ends, resulting in the fulfillment of their rightful demands by the Armenian leadership.
However, making generalizations, one can come to such a conclusion; 1) The resistance of the Azerbaijani population to deportation in Lambeli should be regarded as a major political event and uprising during the totalitarian regime. 2) As in the regions where Azerbaijanis lived in Armenia, the deportation process was manifested in the following form here; 3) Opposition to resettlement and refusal to leave their historical lands; 4) implementation of resettlement not on the basis of "voluntary"
principles, but on the principles of coercion and showing open resistance against it; 6) It was accompanied by the local party-farm leader standing at the head of the resistance against relocation.
REFERENCES
1XAAP, f. 411, on 9, g 580
1.a. rAAP, f. 411, on 9, g 601 1.6. rAAP, f. 411, on. 26, g.102
2. rAAP, f. 411. on. 9, g.734
3. AOn^ynAP, f. 1, on. 55, g. 69
4. AOn^ynAP, f. 1, on. 222, g. 48
5. AOn^ynAP, f. 1, on. 221, g. 5
6. AOn^ynAP, f. 1, on. 221,g.78
7. AOn^ynAP, f. 1, on. 206, g. 29
8. Musayev T. Xalqimizin ba§ina gatirilmi§ facialar. Baki: Agridag, 1999, 319 s.
9. Nacafov B. Deportasiya. Baki: Casioglu, 1998, 214 s.
10. Pashayev A. Ko9urulma. Baki: Genclik, 1995, 40 s
