Today marks 106 years since the liberation of Baku from Bolshevik-Dashnak occupation by the Islamic Caucasus Army.
Oku.Az-a professor of Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University, doctor of philosophy and history, who spoke about this historic event Taleh Jafarov He said that during that period the struggle for Baku intensified:
“On October 25, 1917, the Bolsheviks who seized power in Russia through a coup d’état had many issues to resolve. One of them was to take advantage of the vacuum created in the central government to re-subjugate the peoples who were eager to escape from slavery. Usurping the freedom and independence of the Azerbaijani people was one of the main directions of the Bolshevik government’s activities. Knowing how vital Azerbaijan was to Russia, the Bolsheviks first implemented the October 1917 plan. On November 2, a reactionary Bolshevik regime was established in Baku under the name of “Soviet power.” Baku was not only economically important for Soviet Russia: it prevented the British from advancing north and blocked the Ottoman state’s path to Central Asia. Russia has intensified its diplomatic efforts to keep Baku at bay. One such diplomatic step was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed on March 3, 1918. By signing the treaty, Soviet Russia achieved the following:
1. By withdrawing from the war, it had the opportunity to minimize its military and economic losses.
2. Eliminated the danger of losing more territory.
3. Maintained its power over Eastern Europe and the Caucasus.
4. He tried to ensure that the national minorities who rose up in the struggle for freedom were deprived of outside help. That is why on May 15, 1918, when the Ottoman army captured Gyumri, the People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR, G. Chicher, submitted a note of protest to the Ottoman ambassador in Moscow, G. Kamal Bey, and clearly stated that Soviet Russia had returned to the Ottoman state by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk stating that it would not compromise any other territory.
The scientist noted that the creation of the Azerbaijan People’s Republic was a historical necessity in the context of the events:
“However, the further development of events once again proved that the only way out for the Azerbaijani people, who lost all hope in Russia after the March genocide, was to achieve independence. The attitude of Soviet Russia towards Azerbaijan, which gained its independence on May 28, 1918, became hostile. V.I. Lenin was very worried that the Azerbaijan People’s Republic would establish its power throughout Azerbaijan, especially in Baku, because the Ottoman state, in addition to recognizing the APC, had agreed to provide it with military assistance. Therefore, the head of the Baku SSC, S. Shaumyan, was instructed to enter into negotiations with Georgia and prevent the Ottoman state from helping the APC, since if the Georgian government does not allow Ottoman troops to enter Azerbaijan from its territory, Georgia will gain autonomy after the power of the RSFSR is established throughout the South Caucasus.”
Taleh Jafarov said that Soviet Russia prevented the liberation of Baku through Germany:
“Despite being allied with the Ottoman state, they did not want to break relations with Russia and were jealous of the Ottoman state’s attempts to strengthen itself in the Caucasus. They put pressure on the governments of Germany and Georgia not to let the Ottomans go. However, none of these attempts were able to break the AKP-Ottoman union and prevent the Ottoman army from reaching Azerbaijan. When the Baku SSC opted for the path of open intervention against the AKP, G. Korganov, the Baku SSC commissioner for military and naval affairs, ordered a march on Ganja on June 6. The goal was to capture Ganja before the Ottoman armies met. The National Government, which considered it necessary to consolidate itself, moved to Ganja on June 26. The main task of the National Government was to liberate Baku from the Azerbaijani-Ottoman alliance organized the “Caucasian Islamic Army” in a 4-day battle that lasted from On June 27-July 1 near Goychay, he inflicted a heavy defeat on the 18,000 Soviet troops in Baku, most of whom were Armenians, and forced them to retreat. However, the intervention of Soviet Russia through Germany somewhat delayed the process of liberating Baku. Thus, realizing that it was impossible to control Baku by military means, Soviet Russia wanted to diplomatically put pressure on the Ottoman state by entering into negotiations with Germany. The Bolsheviks believed that the Ottoman state would not dare to continue military operations without the consent of Germany. In telegrams sent by IV Le to Stalin on June 30 and July 7, he stated that if the attack of the Islamic Caucasian Army was prevented, it was possible to give a part of the oil to Germany, and he wanted S. Shaumyan to be informed about this. Soviet Russia, which did not accept the loss of Baku, increased the pressure on the Ottoman state. The People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR, G. Chicherin, met with the Ottoman ambassador in Moscow, G. Kamal Bey, on 8 August 1918, expressed concern about the situation and demanded to stop the attack on Baku. At the same time, the Ottoman ambassador accused Soviet Russia of arming Armenian bandits and claimed that this was against the terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
The scientist claimed that Germany betrayed the Ottoman state for its own benefit:
On August 9, 1918, diplomatic relations between the Ottoman State and Russia were broken off. After the termination of relations with Russia, the Ottoman State took the line of reaching an agreement with Germany on the Baku issue. With this, the Ottoman State On the one hand, it prevented a possible agreement between Germany and Russia, and on the other hand, it wanted to prevent the British from reaching Baku. For this purpose, the military minister of the Ottoman State, Enver Pasha, proposed a joint attack on Baku. Enver Pasha’s proposal was therefore cold. The agreement with Russia, as well as the arrival of the British General Densterville in Baku, prompted the Ottoman State to take a decisive step, as the German-Russian agreement was signed in Berlin on August 27. According to the agreement, the Germans expelled the British from Baku, would return it to Russian rule and force the Ottoman troops to retreat to the demarcation line specified in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. In exchange, Russia would give Germany a quarter of the oil to be extracted from Baku each month. With this agreement, Germany not only violated its alliance obligations, but also betrayed its ally, the Ottoman state.
Taleh Jafarov stressed that the liberation of Baku from the Bolshevik-Dashnak occupation is one of the most magnificent historical examples of Azerbaijani-Turkish brotherhood:
“At a time when events continued in such a confused state, the commander of the Islamic Army of the Caucasus, Nuru Pasha, prepared a decisive plan of attack to liberate Baku. By the beginning of September, the Germans were absolutely convinced that Soviet Russia had almost no connection with In this case, Germany began to cooperate with the Ottoman state and decided to come to the aid of the German army units in the Caucasus. However, the Ottoman state, which was already on the verge of liberating Baku, refused help. Germany As a result, at 4 o’clock in the morning on September 14, the operation to liberate Baku was successfully completed on September 15. General Densterville and Colonel Keyworth fled to Anzali, planning to destroy its mines and even receiving orders from the commander of the British army in Mesopotamia, General Marchand. However, the attack of the Islamic Army of the Caucasus was so rapid that the British were unable to implement this evil intention. On September 16, the personnel of the Islamic Army of the Caucasus paraded through the central street of the city. The city was covered with wedding festivities. The next day, the government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic entered Baku. With this, the people of Azerbaijan regained possession of their capital. Speaking on the occasion of the liberation of Baku, F. Khoyski said: “Neither armored vehicles, nor barbed wire, nor mines, nor technical devices, nor the British and their henchmen could stop the natural course of history.” The struggle for Baku once again proved that the friendship between Azerbaijan and Turkey is tied by unbreakable threads and no force can break this union.
Sohrab Ismail
