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214USUnr&3nth, HISTORY, ИСТОРИЯ
GENESIS OF AZERBAIJAN-ARTSAKH CONFLICT *
esn- 93/94 DOI: 10.52063/25792652-2023.4.19-29
STEPAN HASAN-JALALYAN
Yerevan State University, Faculty of International Relations
Department of Political Science, Master of Political Science, President of the «Council of Hasan-Jalalyans» historical, cultural, ethnographic non-governmental organization, Yerevan, the Republic of Armenia Hasan-Jalal@yandex.com, ORCID: 0009-0003-2567-7456
The purpose of the article, based on domestic and foreign sources, is to show when, for what reason and under what circumstances the Azerbaijani-Artsakh conflict arose.
in order to achieve the set goal, the following problems were put forward: when was the state called Azerbaijan created, when and under what circumstances did the Azerbaijani-Artsakh conflict arise, what was the status of Artsakh at the time of the conflict arise?
The article is written through a comparison and comparative study of the original sources related to the issue, as well as an examination analysis of the scientific works related to it.
As a result of the joint examination of facts and documents related to the issue, as well as historical and political literature, we came to the conclusion that the Azerbaijani-Artsakh conflict arose in 1918, when the Ottoman Turkish government created a fake "state" called the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus region through the invasion of Transcaucasia by the Turkish army.
103 years ago, Soviet Azerbaijan recognized Nagorno Karabagh as part of Soviet Armenia.
Besides that, 103 years ago, Soviet Azerbaijan recognized the right of the Armenians of Artsakh to self-determination.
Despite that, by an illegal decision of the Caucasus Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Soviet Russia a political body of a third country of July 5, 1921 the territory of Artsakh was forcibly included into Soviet Azerbaijan, without taking into account the will of the people of Artsakh.
Keywords: Artsakh, Congress of the Artsakh Armenians, People's Government of Artsakh, Shushi, Armenian National Council of Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Caucasus Islamic Army, British command.
* Япф4шЬ|] libp^aijmgi[b[ t 03.10.2023р., ф1ш^пиф[' 12.11.2023р., rnqmqpnLpjmL QliiyiLlilbf 30.12.2023р.:
Introduction
There is a certain widespread opinion that the Azerbaijani-Artsakh conflict arose in 1988, which is certainly not a correct approach. Occupant Azerbaijan mainly takes such a view, aiming to mislead the international community and show that the conflict is a consequence of the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is indisputable that it is not possible to resolve any conflict until the reasons, circumstances, etc., that give rise to that conflict are fully disclosed. The clear proof of this is the Azerbaijan-Artsakh conflict, which has not been resolved to this day, because the issue of the origin of the conflict has never been discussed in the negotiations aimed at the settlement of the conflict.
Artsakh is the inseparable part of ancient Greater Armenia (historical Armenia). Greater Armenia, also known as the Kingdom of Armenia or the Kingdom of Great Armenia, was an ancient and early medieval state in the Armenian Highlands that existed from 331 BC to 428 AD (^jng ^rnJnLpjnLÜ 44, 71). In the 8th century BC Artsakh was called Urtekhe or Adakh as part of the Armenian Urartian state (Melikishvili 310). According to Greco-Roman historians, the north-eastern border of historical Armenia was the Kura River (Dio's 93-95). Artsakh, again according to the same historians, was called Orchistene. I BC - I AD the Greek geographer, philosopher and historian Strabo wrote: "There is also Phauene, a province of Armenia, and Comisene, and Orchistene, which last furnishes the most cavalry" (The geography of Strabo 323). According to the 5th century Armenian geographical work "Geography", written by the Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi, Artsakh was the tenth province of Greater Armenia and itself had 12 regions (ЮпрЬЪшд^ 33).
In the 9th-11th centuries Artsakh was part of the Bagratuni Armenian Kingdom, and in the 12th century the Zakaryan princes ruled it. In the 13th and 15th centuries, Artsakh, led by the Hasan-Jalalyan armenian royal-ruling dynasty, withstood the pressures of the newcomers and maintained the viability of the state institutions of the region, was sometimes completely independent (П^ЦшЪ hшJ 4^JoiqpnLpjoiU, щрш| V 15, 84; Миклухо-Маклай 204 Divan of Armenian lithography pp. 15, 84; Miklouho-Maclay p. 204 Миклухо-Маклай) and sometimes relatively independent (ОшЬЪш1|Ьд^ 193-194). From the beginning of the 16th century to the beginning of the 19th century, Artsakh, with its melikdom (princely) regime, again had a completely independent status in some cases (^^ршр^Ъ 141), and in some cases a relatively independent status (Ршфф^ 443444).
At the end of the Russian-Persian war in 1813 According to the Russian-Persian treaty signed in the Gulistan Fortress in the Gulistan province of Artsakh on October 12, 1813, Artsakh was included in the borders of the Russian Empire (Акты, собранные Кавказской археографической комиссией, т. V, док. N 877 с. 734 Acts collected by the Caucasian Archaeographic Commission, vol. 5 doc. N 877, p. 734). On April 10, 1840, Russian Emperor Nicholas I signed the Law on Administrative and Judicial Reform in the Transcaucasia. According to that Law, the Transcaucasia was divided into the Caspian region and Georgian-Imeretia Governorate. Artsakh was included in the Caspian region (Полное собрание законов Российской империи, собрание второе, том 15, с. 237 Complete collection of laws of the Russian Empire, second collection, vol. 15 p. 237).
Russian Emperor Alexander II according to the law signed on December 9, 1867, implemented a new administrative-territorial division in the Caucasus. According to this new division, Transcaucasia was divided into five provinces: Kutaisi, Tbilisi (Georgia), Elizavetpol, Baku and Yerevan. Artsakh was included in the Elizavetpol province.
This situation persisted until the 1917 revolution in Russia. As a result of the revolution, anarchy began in all the settlements that were part of Russia, including Artsakh. A meeting of representatives of all political parties of Artsakh was held on
QbSUMUb УРвУЮ SCIENTIFIC ARTSAKH НАУЧНЫЙ АРЦАХ № 4 (19), 2023
1
December 23, 1917 (Ь2№шЦ|ш1 81) in Shushi, the administrative center of Artsakh. In order to protect the Armenians of Artsakh from possible hostile actions of the Turks, as well as to put an end to the prevailing anarchy, the assembly unanimously decided to create a body of representatives elected by all parties (Ь2№шЦ|ш1 81; ranLd^l 50-51)2.
The next day, December 24, a meeting of representatives elected by all the political parties of Artsakh was convened in Shushi, this new body was called the InterParty Bureau (b2faoiljoil 82; ranLdjail 51-52). Discussing the current situation, the InterParty Bureau, as the body that governs and organizes the people, addressed three main issues: maintaining peace, food, and organizing the self-defense of the Armenians of Artsakh. As a result of the discussion, local government bodies were also established (йпЩшЪ 52).
As we see, the highest body of government of the Artsakh Armenians, the InterParty Bureau, was established in Artsakh in December of 1917. It exercised the powers of both the legislative and executive bodies.
On May 25, 1918, Turkish commander, the younger brother of Enver Pasha, one of the masterminds of the Armenian Genocide, general-lieutenant Nuri Pasha, formed in Gandzak a Caucasian Islamist Army consisting of 5000 Ottoman regular military units, Transcaucasian Turko-Tatar (later called Azerbaijani) irregular troops and a small number of Dagestani fighters.
Meanwhile the Transcaucasian Seim, formed earlier in Tbilisi as a representative body, was dissolved on May 26, 1918, and two days later on May 28 the independence of a Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan was declared in Georgia (Управление делами президента Азербайджанской Республики, https://files.preslib.az, 3 Administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Presidential Library, Constitution https://files.preslib.az p. 3).
On June 4, the Government of the newly established Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan signed a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with the Government of Ottoman Turkey in Batumi, according to which "the Imperial Ottoman Government undertakes, if necessary, military assistance to the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan in ensuring order and security in the country" (Азербайджанская демократическая республика, док. N 2, с. 16 Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (19181920). Army doc. N 2, p. 16). With the participation of additional new representatives of the Inter-Party Bureau and other parties on June 17, 1918 and by the decision of the enlarged meeting held on that date, a new body called "The Council of Commissars of Armenian Revolutionary Parties and Organizations" (Ishkhanyan 155), better known as the Council of Commissars, was created instead of the Inter-Party Bureau as the Supreme Authority of Artsakh. In order to put the life in Artsakh on a normal course, and in a broader sense to control its future destiny, the Armenians of Artsakh on July 22, 1918 convened their First Congress in Shushi in the hall of the Armenian Diocesan School of Artsakh, built by the first diocesan leader of Artsakh, Archbishop Baghdasar Hasan-Jalalyan in 1838.
After hearing the reports of the supreme power bodies of Artsakh, the Inter-Party Bureau and the Council of Commissars that replaced it, the Congress elected a seven-member People's Government of Artsakh, which was to govern the country prior to Artsakh becoming a part of the Republic of Armenia, which declared its independence on
1 Since July 22, 1918 until June 5, 1919 Yeghishe Ishkhanyan was the first chairman of the People's Government of Artsakh (present-day Prime Minister) and at the same time the first head of internal and foreign affairs (present-day the Minister of the Internal and fForeign Affairs).
2 Since July 22, 1918 to June 5, 1919 Harutyun Tumyan was the first head of military affairs (present-day the Minister of Defense) of the People's Government of Artsakh.
May 28, 1918. Among a number of decisions, the Congress decided that Artsakh was a part of the Republic of Armenia and that although due to the existing conditions Artsakh was cut off from the Republic of Armenia, everything was to be done to join it (Ь^ш^ши 172-174, 177). In fact, it can be concluded from the decisions adopted by the Congress that before joining the Republic of Armenia, Artsakh was an independent political unit. This is evidenced by the official statement of the Information Bureau of the Armenian Diplomatic Mission in Georgia. The document states that "Karabakh, not wanting to enter the state borders of Azerbaijan, declared itself independent" (ЯоушитшЪ^ шццофЪ шр^Ц, ф. 200, g. 1, q. 7, p. 98; Нагорный Карабах в 1918-1923гг., док. N 14, с. 21 National Archives of Armenia (hereinafter referred to as NAA), file 200, list 1, case 7, sheet 98; Nagorno Karabakh in 1918-1923: Collection of documents and materials doc. N 14, p. 21). The First Congress of the Artsakh Armenians, which started on July 22, 1918, at the end of its work on July 24, unanimously approved the declaration of the Artsakh People's Government. In the document, the newly elected government, in particular, while expressing its friendly attitude towards other nations, emphasized the need to exercise the right of nations to self-determination.
In the declaration, the Artsakh People's Government also briefly presented the government's action plan, which reflected a number of urgent issues in the life of the Artsakh Armenians. The newly formed government of Artsakh also declared the whole mountainous region of the Gandzak province, its overwhelming majority of the population being Armenians, an inseparable part of Artsakh (fanLUjoiU 114).
Meanwhile in early September of 1918, the Caucasus Islamic Army, under the command of Nuri Pasha, occupied Baku (Ь2^шЦ|ши 205), where it massacred more than 30,000 Armenians (fanLU^U 144; итЬфшЦшЪ, 26-28). After capturing Baku, Nuri Pasha concentrated the Caucasus Islamic Army near the borders of Artsakh (fanLU^U 145). On September 4, the Turkish command sent an ultimatum to the Artsakh People's Government, demanding that it lay down its arms within five days and allow Turkish troops to enter Shushi and recognize the Azerbaijani authorities ^^шЦшЪ 194, 196, 200). "This was the first evidence of Azerbaijan's conquest of Karabakh, the first ultimatum from the Turks" («^nphp^j^U Пшршршф» pbpp, N 253). To respond to the ultimatum, the Second Congress of the Artsakh Armenians was convened on September 8 in the hall of the Realakan College in Shushi, which was attended by 92 deputies elected by all of the people of Artsakh and 9 members of the People's Government, a total of 101 participants (b2faoiUjoiU 197). The Congress, discussing the ultimatum, refused to comply with the demands of the Turks, responding that contemporaneously a conference was being held in Constantinople to decide on the borders of the newly established Transcaucasian republics. Given this circumstance, it was necessary to maintain the current situation and wait for the decision of the conference, which would then be adopted by the Armenians of Artsakh without objection (Ь2^шЦ|ши 200-201). At the Congress, the People's Government of Karabakh submitted its resignation and then a new government was elected consisting of 10 people. The name of the government was also changed. The newly elected government was called the Armenian National Council of Karabakh. The Second Congress of the Armenians of Artsakh ended on September 10 (Ь2№шЦ|ши 202-203). The government of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, that was established in Gandzak, was to move from Gandzak to Baku on September 18, 1918 (fanLU^U IbuipbpQ LbnUoij^U 1шршрш^а 1917-1920pp. 2008 p. 144). Once established in Baku, the government of the newly established Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, based on the military support of the Caucasus Islamic Army under the command of Nuri Pasha, began to make bold demands on Artsakh, claiming that Artsakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan and that the Armenians of Artsakh must recognize the rule of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan. Uponlearning of the decision of the
Second Congress of the Armenians of Artsakh, the Turkish command continued to assert its demands with threats, that is, to lay down its arms without objecttion, to recognize the government of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan and to allow Turkish troops to enter Shushi (Ь2№шЦ|ш1 205; ranLUjшl П-ЬщрЬр! Lh^^^l Пшпшрш^и 1917-1920рр. 152 Ishkhanyan 205; Tumyan H., The events in Nagorno Karabakh in 1917-1920, a historical overview, Yerevan, 2008 p. 152). To respond to the threatening demands of the Turkish command the Third Extraordinary Congress of the Armenians of Artsakh began its work on September 18, 1918 in the hall of the Realakan College in Shushi (Ь^ш^шЪ 211). 700 deputies came to take part in the Congress, all of them armed. However, in order not to escalate tensions in the city, as well as to organize defense more effectively in the regions, they sent 400 deputies back to the regions (га^ЩшЬ П-ЬщрЬп| Lh^^^l 1шпшрш^а 1917-1920рр., 2008 p. 158).
"During and after the Conference, the Karabakh people successfully repulsed numerous attacks by the Turkish regular troops and Azeri mob, which convinced the Turkish command that the war with Karabakh could be fraught with the worst consequences" («Юnпhп|ШJ^l 1шпшршф>, N 255).
After discussing the demands of the Turks for several days, the Congress decided on September 21 to categorically reject the demand of the Turkish command to recognize the rule of the Azerbaijani government (га^ЩшЬ П-ЬщрЬп| Lh^^^l Пшпшрш^и 1917-1920рр., 2008, 156, 159). On October 30, 1918, a ceasefire agreement was signed between the representatives of the Entente and Ottoman Turkey in the Greek port of Mudros. According to the treaty, Turkey, which recognized its defeat in the First World War, undertook to withdraw its troops to the prior Russian-Turkish border that existed in 1914. Under the agreement, Turkish troops were withdrawn from Transcaucasia. The Islamic Army of the Caucasus was disbanded. After the withdrawal of Turkish troops from the Transcaucasia, they were replaced by British troops. The British command headed by Lieutenant General Thomson arrived in Baku on November 17. 1918. Nuri Pasha, under pressure from English General Thomson, was forced to leave the Caucasus. After the withdrawal of the Turkish troops, most of the irregular Turko-Tatar units in the Caucasus joined the army of the newly established Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan. The issue of the conflict settlement was again moved to the negotiating table. The mediation function was taken over by the British command established in Baku. However, in reality, the British mission, in cooperation with the newly established Azerbaijani government, was carrying out anti-Armenian activities, trying to subjugate Artsakh to Azerbaijan through repression.
Fortunately, they fail to do so. During the 23 months of the existence of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, that is from May 28, 1918 to April 28, 1920 Artsakh was not part of the internationally unrecognized Azerbaijan, neither de facto nor specifically de jure. There is no historical fact or legal document that would prove that Artsakh was part of the internationally unrecognized Azerbaijan Democratic Republic during this period.
During the mentioned period, according to the decisions of the nine Congresses of the Armenians of Artsakh based on the right of nations to self-determination, Artsakh became an independent political unit, and according to the decisions of the first and ninth Congresses, Artsakh declared itself an inseparable part of the Republic of Armenia.
Now let's see what happened to Artsakh after the establishment of Soviet rule. On April 28, 1920, the 11th Red Army of Soviet Russia entered Baku without resistance and established Soviet rule in Azerbaijan. The internationally unrecognized Azerbaijan, which was created by the Ottoman Turkish invasion of Transcaucasia and which had appropriated the name of the province of Azerbaijan in northeastern Iran as a name for its own state, with the establishment of the Soviet regime, did not stop its illegal ambitions towards Artsakh.
On November 29, 1920, Soviet rule was established in the Republic of Armenia. Due to the establishment of the Soviet rule in Armenia, Nariman Narimanov, the Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of Soviet Azerbaijan, sent a congratulatory message, sta-ting that on November 30, the Revolutionary Committee of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan adopted a decision that "Nagorno Karabakh, Zangezur and Nakhichevan are considered a part of the Socialist Republic of Armenia" (Нагорный Карабах в 1918-1923гг., док. N 420, 601-602). So, as we can see, 103 years ago, Soviet Azerbaijan recognized Nagorno Karabagh as part of Soviet Armenia. On the occasion of the establishment of the Soviet rule in Armenia on December 1, 1920 Nariman Narimanov, the Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of Soviet Azerbaijan, issued a declaration in which he had edited the previous decision on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict adopted just one day before by the Revolutionary Committee of Azerbaijan. That decision was made on November 30.
In the declaration, the Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of Soviet Azerbaijan, in particular, stated that "...Zangezur and Nakhichevan provinces are an integral part of Soviet Armenia and that the working peasantry of Nagorno Karabakh is given full right to self-determination." (Нагорный Карабах в 1918-1923гг., док. N 423, 604-605).
Thus, 103 years ago, Soviet Azerbaijan recognized the right of the Armenians of Artsakh to self-determination. Despite the fact that the Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of Soviet Azerbaijan adopted the November 30, 1920 decision of the Revolutionary Committee of Soviet Azerbaijan to recognize Nagorno Karabakh as a part of Soviet Armenia, he then took a step back and by his declaration of December 1, 1920, only recognized the right of the people of Artsakh to self-determination. Based on the December 1, 1920 resolution of the Revolutionary Committee of Soviet Azerbaijan Alexander Myasnikyan, the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of Soviet Armenia, on June 12, 1921 signed a decree stating that Nagorno Karabakh was now an integral part of Soviet Armenia. "Based on the Declaration of the Revolutionary Committee of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan and the agreement reached between the governments of Armenia and the Socialist Soviet Republics of Azerbaijan, it is declared that Nagorno Karabakh is now an integral part of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Armenia" (Нагорный Карабах в 1918-1923гг., док. N 441, 636). The decree was published in the June 19, 1921 issue of the "Soviet Armenia" newspaper in Yerevan. On June 22 of the same year, the decree was published in the Baku-based Russian-language newspaper "Bakinsky Rabochiy" ["The Baku Worker" Eng.]. On June 27, 1921 at its session the Chair of the Caucasus Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Soviet Russia decided to convene an extraordinary plenum on the borders of the Transcaucasian republics (Нагорный Карабах в 1918-1923гг., док. N 448, 648).
On July 4, 1921, there convened a plenum of the Caucasus Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist (Bolshevik) Party of Soviet Russia in Tbilisi, where, in addition to its eight members, Joseph Stalin, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Soviet Russia, was also present.
During the discussion on the issue of Artsakh, there appeared two solutions:
1. To leave Karabakh within the borders of Azerbaijan and to hold a referendum throughout Karabakh with the participation of the entire population, both Armenians and Muslims.
2. To include the mountainous part of Karabakh into Armenia, to hold a referendum only in Nagorno Karabakh, that is, among the Armenians.
As a result of voting from the above-mentioned two options, the second option was adopted, that is, to include Nagorno Karabakh into Soviet Armenia, to hold a referendum only in Nagorno Karabakh, that is, among the Armenians.
Immediately after the decision was made, Nariman Narimanov, the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of Soviet Azerbaijan, made the following statement: "Considering the importance of the Karabakh issue for Azerbaijan, I consider it necessary to transfer it to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Russia for its final decision" (Нагорный Карабах в 1918-1923гг., док. N 450, 649-650).
Based on Narimanov's statement, the following was decided. "Taking into account that the issue of Karabakh has caused a serious disagreement, the Caucasus Bureau of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party considers it necessary to transfer it to the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party for its final decision" (Нагорный Карабах в 1918-1923гг., 650).
However, the next day, on July 5, members of the Caucasus Bureau Ordzhonikidze and Nazaretsyan, raised the issue of reconsidering the decision of the Bureau on Karabakh made at the previous day's session.
Judging from the minutes of the July 5 plenum of the Caucasus Bureau, one may in-sist that there was no discussion on the issue and then no vote as such. Without discussing the issue or putting it to a vote, the following was decided:
"1. Due to the need for national peace between the Muslims and the Armenians, the economic connections between Lower and Upper Karabakh, and its permanent connection with Azerbaijan, to leave Nagorno Karabakh within the borders of the Azerbaijani SSR, giving it broad regional autonomy with Shushi as its administrative center, which is part of the autonomous region.
2. To assign to the Central Committee of Azerbaijan the determination of the boundaries of the Autonomous Region and to submit for the approval of the Caucasus Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Russia..." (Нагорный Карабах в 1918-1923гг., док. N 451, 650). In fact, despite the fact that at the July 4 session of the Caucasus Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, it was decided to include Nagorno Karabakh in So-viet Armenia, and then, based on Narimanov's statement, it was decided to move the issue to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Soviet Russia. On July 5, it was decided to bring Nagorno Karabakh within the borders of Soviet Azerbaijan without further discussion or voting on the issue.
It is necessary to note that the Artsakh issue was not transferred to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Soviet Russia for a final settlement, as decided at the July 4 session of the Caucasus Bureau.
Thus, in spite of the decision of the Revolutionary Committee of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan of November 30, 1920, considering Nagorno Karabagh as a part of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia and in spite of the decree of the Council of the People's Commissars of Soviet Armenia adopted on June 12, 1921 that Nagorno Karabakh was an integral part of Soviet Armenia, the Caucasian Bureau of the Communist Party of Soviet Russia, a political body of a third country, that had no right to resolve territorial issues in this case (Манасян 9), without any further discussions or votes, in fact, illegally adopted a resolution that included Nagorno Karabakh within the borders of Soviet Azerbaijan. Considering the above, we can claim that by an illegal decision of the Caucasus Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Soviet Russia of July 5, 1921 the territory of Artsakh was forcibly included into Soviet Azerbaijan, without taking into account the will of the people of Artsakh.
After delaying the formation of the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region for two years, the Central Executive Committee of Azerbaijan on July 7, 1923 adopted a decree
deciding to establish an autonomous region from the Armenian part of Nagorno Karabakh as an integral part of the AzSSR (Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan).
The Soviet Azerbaijani authority, violating the illegal decision of the Caucasus Bureau, which was not discussed and adopted by a vote during the July 5, 1921 session, formed the autonomous region in only one part of the mountainous region, deliberately leaving the following geographical and historical territories belonging to Nagorno Karabakh outside the borders of the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region: Shahumyan (currently occupied as part of the Goranboy region of Azerbaijan), the Shahumyan region of the present-day Artsakh Republic (the Qarvachar region of the former Azerbaijani SSR, currently occupied by Azerbaijan), the Qashatagh region of the current Artsakh Republic (the Lachin region of the former Azerbaijani SSR, currently occupied by Azerbaijan), Kovsakan (Манасян 10), now part of the Qashatagh region of the Artsakh Republic (the Zangelan region of the former Azerbaijani SSR, currently occupied by Azerbaijan), Akna, now part of the Askeran region of the Artsakh Republic (the Aghdam region of the former Azerbaijani SSR, currently occu-pied by Azerbaijan), Qashuniq (now the Kubatlu region of the former Azerbaijani SSR, currently occupied by Azerbaijan), Jrakan, now part of the Hadrut region of the Artsakh Republic (the Jabrayil region of the former Azerbaijani SSR, currently occupied by Azerbaijan), Varanda, which is now part of the Hadrut region of the Artsakh Republic (the Fizuli region of the former Azerbaijani SSR, is currently occupied by Azerbaijan), etc. The aforementioned territories, which are occupied by Azerbaijan today, are de jure an integral part of the territory of the Artsakh Republic. Those territories were to enter into the administrative borders of the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region by the illegal decision that was not discussed or voted on at the July 5 session of the Caucasus Bureau in 1921. The government of Soviet Azerbaijan designed the map of the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region in such a way that Artsakh had no land connection with Soviet Arme-nia. For this purpose, the Central Executive Committee of Azerbaijan on July 16, 1923 estab-lished a Kurdish province called Red Kurdistan between the territories of Soviet Armenia and the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region. And after the dissolution of Red Kurdistan on April 8, 1929 the regions of Qarvachar, Lachin and Kubatlu were directly entered into Soviet Azerbaijan as its integral part.
In fact, the government of Soviet Azerbaijan without taking into account the opinion of the people of Artsakh by the decree of July 7, 1923 annexed most of the northern, southern, eastern and western parts of the territory of Artsakh as the territory of Soviet Azerbaijan. As a result of the Azeri-Artsakh war of 1991-1994, the Artsakh Republic Defense Army recaptured only a part of the territories legally belonging to the Artsakh Republic after more than 65 years of Azerbaijani occupation. After the signing of the trilateral ceasefire agreement (Artsakh, Armenia, Azerbaijan) on May 12, 1994 some territories of the eastern parts of the Martakert and Martuni regions, the former Shahumyan region of the Artsakh Republic with a total area of 1041km2 (Official website of the President of the Artsakh Republic, http://www.president.nkr.am/en/nkr/ generalInformation/), which was about 9% of the constitutionally enshrined territory of the Artsakh Republic, remained under Azerbaijani occupation. Grossly violating the principles of the Helsinki Final Act on August 1, 1975 on non-use of force or threat of force and on peaceful settlement of disputes, as a result of the second aggression unleashed by mercenary terrorists against the Artsakh Republic on September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan occupied (violently seized) approximately 75% of the constitutionally enshrined territory of the Artsakh Republic, subjecting to genocide a part of the Armenians of the specified territory, and most of them — more than 45,000 people, fortunately, barely escaped from the genocide, being expelled from their cradle, where they lived for about three millennia in a row.
On September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan, grossly violating the declaration of a complete ceasefire and the end of all military operations in Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone signed between Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan on November 9, 2020 (^wjuiumwl^ ^uilpw^bmnLpjwl 4wp^ui^bm^, U^ppb2wl^ ^wlpui^bmnLpjwl Iwfawquih^ L. H-nLuwurnwli^ 1-w2UnLpjwU Iwfawquih^ huijmwpuipnLpjnLlQ,
https ://www. pri m e m i n iste r._am/hy/press-release/item/2020/11/10/Announcement/),
resorting to aggression for the fourth time, occupied the rest of the constitutionally stated territory of the Artsakh Republic during the two-day war, subjecting to genocide a part of the Artsakh Armenians, and most of them — more than 100.000 people pwjuiumwl^
^uilpw^brnnLpjwl 4wRw4w-pnLpjwl ^W2sinlui4wl ^Imbplbrnwj^l ^WJE,
https://www.gov.am/am/news/item/ 15666/), fortunately, barely escaped from the genocide, being expelled from their cradle, where they lived for about three millennia in a row.
Thus, summarizing the above, we can say that as a result of the three aggression wars (1991-1994, 2016, 2020) unleashed against the Artsakh Republic, Azerbaijan has occupied approximately 84% of the constitutionnally enshrined territory of the Artsakh Republic, and as a result of the fourth war of aggression (2023), the entire territory of the Artsakh Republic, subjecting to genocide more than 150.000 indigenous Armenians of the Nagorno-Karabakh1.
Conclusion
Thus, based on the referenced facts and documents, as well as the performed analysis, we can claim that the Azerbaijan-Artsakh conflict arose in 1918, when a fake "state" called the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan was created in the Transcaucasia region by the Ottoman Turkish government through the invasion of Transcaucasia by the Turkish army. 103 years ago, Soviet Azerbaijan recognized Nagorno Karabagh as part of Soviet Armenia. Besides that, 103 years ago, Soviet Azerbaijan recognized the right of the Armenians of Artsakh to self-determination. Despite that, by an illegal decision of the Caucasus Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Soviet Russia a political body of a third country of July 5, 1921 the territory of Artsakh was forcibly included into Soviet Azerbaijan, without taking into account the will of the people of Artsakh.
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1 According to the data of the census conducted in Artsakh on December 1-9, 2015, in December 2015 the population of the Artsakh Republic was 150.932 people, (https://artsakhpress.am/arm/news/41371/, 30.03.2016, (in Armenian)).
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9. ^ШJng щшmUnLрJnLU, hUшqnL|U ¿шишЬшЦЬЬррд фЬ±и Uhp орЬрр, ^иршфр* U|nTnUjuiU Ярш^, Ь^Я hршm., Ьр^ши, 2012:
10. Яш]шитши| шqqшJ|U шр^|Ц, ф. 200, g. 1, q. 7:
11. Яш]шитши| ЯшUршu|bmnLpJшU 4шnшЦшрnLpJшU щи^тпиш^ши |итЬриЬтш]|и ^wjp, https://www.gov.am/am/news/item/15666/:
12. Яш]шитши| Яширш^^^р^и ЦШР^ШЩЬШ!, Uqрpb2шU| Яширш^^^р^и U. ПnLишиmшU| '^■ш2UnLpJшU Uш^lшqшh| hшJmшршрnLpJnLUQ, https://www.primeminister.am/hy/press-release/item/2020/11/10/Announcement/:
13. и^^фшиши, Q■Lnрq. Яш^р| qmnLUUbр| U. gbqшищшUшl|шU рш^шрш1|ши^р|ши |ршqnр&JшU фnLlbрU Ур^уши U^^^^^Ld (XI-XXqq.) (О-иши| 2шрп1Ьш^р]П1Ь). О-ртшЦшЬ Ырдш^, «Урдш^» hршm., N 2, Ьр^ши, 2022:
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ГЕНЕЗИС АЗЕРБАЙДЖАНО-АРЦАХСКОГО КОНФЛИКТА
СТЕПАН АСАН-ДЖАЛАЛЯН
магистр политологии кафедры политологии
факультета международных отношений Ереванского государственного университета, Председатель историко-культурной, этнографической общественной организации «Совет Асан-Джалалянов», г.Ереван, Республика Армения
Цель статьи - на основе отечественных и зарубежных источников показать, когда, на каком основании и при каких обстоятельствах возник азербайджано-арцахский конфликт.
Для достижения поставленной цели были сформулированы следующие вопросы: когда было создано государство под названием Азербайджан, когда и при каких обстоятельствах возник азербайджано-арцахский конфликт, каков был статус Арцаха на момент конфликта?
Статья написана с применением методов сопоставления и сравнительного изучения первоисточников, относящихся к проблеме, а также экспертного анализа научных работ, связанных с ней.
В результате параллельного изучения фактов и документов, связанных с данным вопросом, а также исторической и политологической литературы, мы пришли к выводу о том, что азербайджано-арцахский конфликт возник в 1918 году, когда турецкое османское правительство путем вторжения турецкой армии в Закавказье создало в регионе Южного Кавказа фальшивое «государство» под названием Азербайджанская Демократическая Республика. 103 года назад Советский Азербайджан признал Нагорный Карабах частью Советской Армении.
Кроме того, Советский Азербайджан 103 года назад признал право на самоопределение арцахских армян. Несмотря на это, незаконным решением Кавказского бюро Центрального Комитета коммунистической партии Советской России - партийным органом третьей страны, не имеющей права решать территориальные вопросы, от 5 июля 1921г., территория Арцаха была аннексирована в пользу Советского Азербайджана без учета воли народа Арцаха.
Ключевые слова: Арцах, съезд армян Арцаха, Народное правительство Арцаха, Шуши, Армянский Национальный Совет Карабаха, Азербайджан, Кавказская исламская армия, британское командование.
