28.09.2020 - 13:56 [ Gutenberg.org ]

History of Nagorno-Karabakh: Soviet era, 1921–1991

In 1921, Armenia and Georgia were also taken over by the Bolsheviks who, in order to attract public support, promised they would allot Karabakh to Armenia, along with two other disputable areas with ethnically mixed population – Nakhchivan and Zangezur (Syunik) (both last de facto belonged to Armenia). However, Moscow also had far-reaching plans concerning Turkey—hoping that it would, with a little help from Russia, develop along Communist lines. Needing to appease Turkey, bolsheviks not only have transferred Karabakh to Azerbaijan, but also have transferred it area Nachichevan, per 1919–1920 a part of Republic Armenia. From the areas declared disputable, only the small area Zangezur (a strip separating Nakhichevan from Azerbaijan proper) has been left for Armenia. As a result, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) was established within the Azerbaijan SSR in 1923. Most of the decisions on the transfer of the territories, and the establishment of new autonomous entities, were made under pressure from Joseph Stalin, who is still blamed by both Azerbaijanis and Armenians for arbitrary decisions made against their national interests.