The Kutaisi or Kutais Governorate was a province ( guberniya ) of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire . It roughly corresponded to most of western Georgia throughout most of its existence, and most of the Artvin Province (except the Hopa and Yusufeli districts) of Turkey between 1878 and 1903. Created out of part of the former Georgia-Imeretia Governorate in 1846, the governorate also included Akhaltsikhe uezd before its cession to the Tiflis Governorate in 1867. The Kutaisi Governorate bordered the Sukhumi Okrug to the northwest, the Kuban Oblast to the north, the Terek Oblast to the northeast, the Tiflis Governorate to the southeast, the Batum Oblast to the southwest, and the Black Sea to the west. The governorate was eponymously named for its administrative center, Kutais (present-day Kutaisi ).
73-788: The Transcaucasian Seim was a representative and legislative body of state power in the Transcaucasus , convened by the Transcaucasian Commissariat in Tiflis on 23 February 1918. Its members consisted of Russian Constituent Assembly deputies elected in Transcaucasia, as well as representatives of the various political parties of Transcaucasia. Its chairman was Nikolay Chkheidze of the Social Democratic Party of Georgia . On 26 March 1918,
146-753: A Greek historian who is known as 'the Father of History' and Strabo , a Greek geographer, philosopher, and historian, spoke about autochthonous peoples of the Caucasus in their books. In the Middle Ages, various people, including Scythians , Alani , Huns , Khazars , Arabs , Seljuq Turks , and Mongols settled in Caucasia. These invasions influenced on the culture of the peoples of the South Caucasus. In parallel Middle Eastern influence disseminated
219-463: A Turkish orientation, calls itself Turkish soldiers and terrorizes the entire Christian population with its anarchic manifestations". The meeting of the national councils of Armenians and Muslims held in Tiflis did not produce meaningful results; tension continued to grow. The government was helpless in the face of the growing violence and anarchy, as well as in the face of external threat in the face of
292-736: A governorate or oblast. Following the Russian Revolution , in 1918 the Kutaisi Governorate became part of the short-lived Georgian Democratic Republic . The counties ( uezds ) of the Kutaisi Governorate in 1917 were as follows: ( Zugdidi ) ( Kutaisi ) ( Tsageri ) ( Ozurgeti ) ( Zestafoni ) According to the Russian Empire Census , the Kutaisi Governorate had a population of 1,058,241 on 28 January [ O.S. 15 January] 1897, including 549,504 men and 508,737 women. The majority of
365-575: A meeting of the Transcaucasian Seim, after a stormy debate, despite the opposition of the Armenian delegation, it was decided to satisfy the demands of Turkey and proclaim the Transcaucasia " an independent, democratic and federal republic ". At the same meeting, the resignation of the government of Yevgeny Gegechkori was accepted. The new government of Transcaucasia was instructed to form Akaki Chkhenkeli . On 28 April, Turkey recognized
438-867: A number of districts of the Baku Province: on 18 April – in Shemakha, on 21 April – in Salyany, on 23 April – in Cuba, on 1 May – in Lenkoran. The new government sent an order to conclude an armistice to the Armenian troops occupying positions in the Kars Region. The Commander of the Armenian Corps , General Foma Nazarbekov , ordered the Commander of the 2nd Division, Colonel Movses Silikov , and
511-926: A representative of the Menshevik faction, became the Chairman of the convened Seimas, and the former Head of the Transcaucasian Commissariat, Yevgeny Gegechkori , was elected head of the government. On 23 February 1918, the first meeting of the Seim was held in Tiflis , but almost all representatives of Musavat were absent, as they were carrying out preparatory work to annex the Elizavetpol Governorate to Turkey. Journalist Solomon Kheifetz noted: The Musavat Party consisted of large Muslim landowners, khans, beks, mullahs, prominent doctors and nationalist lawyers. This party wanted to use
584-490: A series of consultations with the national councils, the Transcaucasian Commissariat decided to convene the Transcaucasian Seim as the legislative body of the Transcaucasia. The Transcaucasian Seim included deputies elected to the Constituent Assembly from Transcaucasia. The convocation of the Seim was the first step towards the separation of Transcaucasia from Soviet Russia. The Seim consisted of 125 delegates:
657-620: A telegram to Trebizond to recall the delegation "in view of the fact that a peace agreement on the border of Transcaucasia between Turkey and Transcaucasia has not been reached". The Seim thus officially entered the war with Turkey. At the same time, representatives of the Azerbaijani faction in the Seim openly stated that they would not participate in the creation of a common union of the Transcaucasian peoples against Turkey, given their "special religious ties with Turkey". On 5 April,
730-680: The 1877-78 Russo-Turkish War , Russia annexed Kars , Ardahan , Agri and Batumi from the Ottomans , joined to this unit, and established the province of Kars Oblast as its most south-westerly territory in the South Caucasus. After the fall of the Russian Empire in 1918, the South Caucasus region was unified into a single political entity twice, as the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic from 9 April 1918 to 26 May 1918, and as
803-600: The Achaemenid Empire , the Parthian Empire , and the Sassanid Empire , during which Zoroastrianism became the dominant religion in the region. However, after the rise of Christianity and conversion of Caucasian kingdoms to the new religion , Zoroastrianism lost its prevalence and only survived because of Persian power and influence still lingering in the region. Thus, the South Caucasus became
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#1732772805468876-591: The Armenian and Georgian National Councils and the Muslim National Committee. As noted by the Georgian historian Zurab Avalov , an eyewitness to the events taking place in the region, the loss of Batum dealt a blow to the economy of Georgia and Transcaucasia, while the loss of Kars threatened Armenia with complete destruction. The Azerbaijanis were in a completely different situation, who saw
949-701: The Arsacid dynasty of Iberia , and the Arsacid dynasty of Caucasian Albania . In the middle of the 8th century, with the capture of Derbend by the Umayyad armies during the Arab–Khazar wars , most of the South Caucasus became part of the Caliphate and Islam spread throughout the region. Later, the Orthodox Christian Kingdom of Georgia dominated most of the South Caucasus. The region
1022-578: The December 1917 Armistice , launched a large–scale offensive in the Erzurum, Van and Primorsky (Black Sea littoral) directions. Almost immediately, on 13 February, the Turks occupied Erzincan , and on 24 February – Trebizond . Under the onslaught of superior enemy forces, the scattered Armenian units retreated, covering the crowds of Western Armenian refugees leaving with them. At the very first meeting of
1095-472: The European Parliament passed a resolution confirming Armenia meets Maastricht Treaty Article 49 requirements and that the country may apply for EU membership. The South Caucasus, in particular where modern-day Turkey , Georgia , Armenia and Iran are located, is one of the native areas of the wine-producing vine Vitis vinifera . Some experts speculate that the South Caucasus may be
1168-605: The European Political Community , and participate in the EU's Eastern Partnership and Euronest Parliamentary Assembly . On 8 November 2023, the European Commission issued an official recommendation to grant EU candidate status to Georgia, which was confirmed on 14 December 2023. Georgia, thus becoming, the first country in the South Caucasus to receive EU candidate status. On 12 March 2024,
1241-794: The Georgian Mensheviks numbered 32 deputies, representatives of Musavat with a non–partisan Muslim group that joined it – 30 deputies, the Armenian Dashnaktsutyun Party – 27 people, the Muslim Socialist Bloc – 7 seats, Ittihad ("Islam in Russia") – 3, Muslim Social Democratic Party – 4, and there were also Socialist Revolutionaries , national democrats and representatives of the Armenian Party of People's Freedom. Nikolay Chkheidze ,
1314-827: The Greater Caucasus mountain range, the entire Lesser Caucasus mountain range, the Colchis Lowlands , the Kura-Aras Lowlands , Qaradagh , the Talysh Mountains , the Lankaran Lowland , Javakheti and the eastern portion of the Armenian Highland . All of present-day Armenia is in the South Caucasus; the majority of present-day Georgia and Azerbaijan , including the exclave of Nakhchivan , also fall within
1387-630: The Transcaucasian Commissariat was created in Tiflis . The declaration of the Transcaucasian Commissariat indicated that it would act "only until the convocation of the Russian Constituent Assembly , and if it is impossible to convene it ... until the congress of members of the Constituent Assembly from Transcaucasia and the Caucasian Front ". On 18 January 1918, the Constituent Assembly began its work in Petrograd,
1460-635: The Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic from 12 March 1922 to 5 December 1936. Both times these Transcaucasian entities dissolved, although the region would remain politically bound together in the Soviet Union in the form of the three separate Soviet Socialist Republics of Armenia , Azerbaijan and Georgia . All three regained independence in 1991 when the Soviet Union dissolved . The Russo-Georgian War took place in 2008 across
1533-695: The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Soviet Russia. According to Article IV of the Brest Peace Treaty and the Russian–Turkish Supplementary Treaty, Turkey was transferred not only the territories of Western Armenia, but also the regions of Batum , Kars and Ardagan , which had been annexed by Russia as a result of the Russian–Turkish War of 1877–1878 . The Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic pledged not to interfere "in
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#17327728054681606-537: The Treaty of Gulistan that followed after the 1804-1813 war, Iran was forced to cede modern-day Dagestan , Eastern Georgia , and most of the Azerbaijan Republic to Russia. By the Treaty of Turkmenchay that followed after the 1826-1828 war, Iran lost all of what is modern-day Armenia and the remainder of the contemporary Azerbaijani Republic that remained in Iranian hands. After the 1828-1829 war,
1679-729: The "Law on the Determination of the Rate of Land Left to the Owners, and on Measures for the Implementation of Land Reform", adopted in the spring of 1918, did not work. The lack of mechanisms for regulating land relations led to an increase in agrarian unrest. The peasants' dissatisfaction with the unresolved land issue later led to armed uprisings in various districts of the Kutais and Tiflis Governorates . In April 1918, Soviet power
1752-467: The Armenian division, under their onslaught, retreated to Alexandropol . In connection with the continuing offensive of the Turkish army in the direction of the cities of Kutais , Alexandropol and Julfa , Germany, concerned about a possible weakening of its influence in the Transcaucasia, demanded that the Turkish command stop further advance. On 27 April, Germany and Turkey signed a secret agreement on
1825-519: The Chief of the Kars Fortress, General Deyev, to stop hostilities and begin negotiations with the Turks on the establishment of a demarcation line. The commander of the Turkish troops, at the request of the Armenian side for a ceasefire, demanded before the start of negotiations to withdraw the Armenian troops to a significant distance from the fortress and to allow the Turkish troops to freely enter
1898-678: The Iranian languages and Islamic religion in Caucasus. Located on the peripheries of Iran , Russia and Turkey , the region has been an arena for political, military, religious, and cultural rivalries and expansionism for centuries. Throughout its history, the region has come under control of various empires, including the Achaemenid , Neo-Assyrian Empire , Parthian , Roman , Sassanian , Byzantine , Umayyad , Abbassid , Mongol , Ottoman , successive Iranian ( Safavid , Afsharid , Qajar ), and Russian Empires , all of which introduced their faiths and cultures. Throughout history, most of
1971-525: The Musavat Party proposed to the Turkish side to annex the Muslim part of the South Caucasus to Turkey, but the proposal was rejected, since Turkey's big policy in the region required the preservation of a certain independence of Azerbaijan in the confederation peoples of the South Caucasus. The letter of the Azerbaijani delegation to Enver Pasha notes: Despite our request for the complete annexation of
2044-518: The Musavatists were interested in this in order to attract Turkish troops to the region under the guise of protecting the Muslim population, and the Dashnak leaders did not interfere with the reprisals of Armenian units against local Muslims, justifying themselves by the fact that the latter were blocking the movement of military echelons and the Armenian units had to fight their way through. From
2117-447: The Muslim part of Transcaucasia to Turkey, we were motivated to explain that the big politics of Turkey requires that we be independent and strong for the time being... We have accepted these instructions, knowingly agreeing with them. On 26 May 1918, the Transcaucasian Seim announced its self-dissolution. The decision of the Seim stated: In view of the fact that, on the issue of war and peace, fundamental differences were revealed between
2190-536: The Ottomans ceded Western Georgia (except Adjaria , which was known as Sanjak of Batum), to the Russians, who populated this new southern boundary mostly with undesirable citizens and tolerated heretics ( sektanty ). In 1844, what comprises present-day Georgia , Armenia , and Azerbaijan were combined into a single czarist government-general, which was termed a vice-royalty in 1844-1881 and 1905–1917. Following
2263-598: The Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic "On Turkish Armenia", which spoke of the right of Western Armenia to complete self–determination. Turkey, which had just signed a peace treaty with Russia on the most favorable terms and had actually returned to the borders of 1914, demanded that the Transcaucasian delegation recognize the terms of the Brest Peace. The Transcaucasian delegation, claiming independence and rejecting
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2336-730: The Seim accepted the resignation of the Transcaucasian Commissariat and formed the Provisional Transcaucasian Government, on 22 April proclaimed the creation of the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic , which at the end of May split into independent republics – Armenia , Azerbaijan and Georgia . After the overthrow of the Provisional Government as a result of the October Armed Uprising of 1917, on 24 November 1917, an "Independent Government of Transcaucasia" –
2409-647: The South Caucasus was usually under the direct rule of the various in-Iran based empires and part of the Iranian world . In the course of the 19th century, Qajar Iran had to irrevocably cede the region (alongside its territories in Dagestan , North Caucasus ) as a result of the two Russo-Persian Wars of that century to Imperial Russia. Ancient kingdoms of the region included Colchis , Urartu , Iberia , Armenia and Albania , among others. These kingdoms were later incorporated into various Iranian empires, including
2482-525: The South Caucasus, contributing to further instability in the region, which is as intricate as the Middle East, due to the complex mix of religions (mainly Muslim and Orthodox Christian) and ethno-linguistic groups. Since their independence, the three countries have had varying degrees of success in their relations with Russia and other countries. In Georgia, after the Rose Revolution in 2004,
2555-526: The Transcaucasian Seim, a heated discussion unfolded on the independence of the Transcaucasia and relations with Turkey in view of the unfolding Turkish offensive. The Dashnak faction proposed leaving Transcaucasia as part of Russia on the rights of autonomy, divided into national cantons, and in relations with Turkey – to insist on self–determination of Western Armenia . The Azerbaijani delegation, for its part, stated that Transcaucasia should decide its fate independently of Russia, concluding peace with Turkey on
2628-624: The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and proclaim the independence of Transcaucasia. The consent of the Transcaucasian delegation to the initial demands of Turkey did not satisfy the Turkish government, which, inspired by military victories, now intended to cross the Russian–Turkish border of 1877–78 and move military operations deep into the Caucasus. On 10 April, the Chairman of the Transcaucasian Government Gegechkori sent
2701-432: The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, hoped to conclude a separate peace with Turkey on more favorable terms – the restoration of the state borders of 1914 and self–determination for Eastern Anatolia within the framework of Turkish statehood. Based on military superiority, the Turkish side refused to even discuss these demands. Already at this stage, serious disagreements were revealed between the national parties of Transcaucasia on
2774-422: The Turks as a kindred people capable of helping them achieve their goals. At the negotiations, Turkey presented even more difficult conditions than the Treaty of Brest–Litovsk envisaged – Transcaucasia was to cede two–thirds of the territory of the Erivan Governorate to Turkey, the Akhaltsikh and Akhalkalaki Districts of the Tiflis Governorate , as well as control over the Transcaucasus Railway . Thus, Georgia
2847-453: The Turks occupied Sarıkamış in the Kars and Ardagan directions in the Batum Direction. At that time, about 14 thousand soldiers and 100 guns were in the Mikhailovskaya Fortress of the city of Batum. Despite such significant forces, on 14 April, the Batum City Duma dissolved the Revolutionary Defense Committee created by the Bolsheviks, after which it elected a delegation "from representatives of all nationalities to receive Turkish units entering
2920-420: The area of not only military, but also religious convergence, which often led to bitter conflicts with successive Persian empires (and later Muslim-ruled empires) on the one side and the Roman Empire (and later the Byzantine Empire and Russian Empire ) on the other side. The Iranian Parthians established and installed several eponymous branches in the South Caucasus, namely the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia ,
2993-435: The assistance of the Turkish military in the creation of the armed forces of the future of Azerbaijan, their financing, assistance to the Turkish troops from the local Turkic population. The Musavat Party was preparing to announce the accession of Azerbaijan to Turkey and was campaigning. A contemporary Solomon Heifetz noted: The agitation for joining Turkey was widespread. The Muslim clergy worked at full capacity. The movement
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3066-418: The basis of refusal to interfere in its internal affairs. The Georgian side basically supported the Azerbaijanis in the issue of proclaiming the independence of Transcaucasia and concluding an independent treaty with Turkey, since the Transcaucasia simply did not have the strength for a military confrontation with Turkey. Due to the stubborn position of the Armenian faction, the issue of proclaiming independence
3139-439: The beginning of January 1918, clashes between Armenians and Azerbaijanis began to occur throughout the region, the first arsons of Azerbaijani and Armenian villages were recorded. Turkey, whose agents actively campaigned among the Muslim population, played a negative role in whipping up tensions in the Transcaucasia. One of the leaders of the Georgian Mensheviks, Akaki Chkhenkeli , noted that "the armed Muslim population, adhering to
3212-432: The birthplace of wine production. Archaeological excavations and carbon dating of grape seeds from the area have dated back to 8000–5000 BC. Wine found in Iran has been dated to c. 7400 BC and c. 5000 BC, while wine found in Georgia has been dated to c. 8000 BC. The earliest winery , dated to c. 4000 BC, was found in Armenia. Kutais Governorate The Kutaisi Governorate
3285-474: The city fled, leaving behind large supplies of food and weapons. With the fall of Erzurum, the Turks actually regained control over all of Western Armenia . In connection with the deteriorating state of affairs at the front, the Transcaucasian Seim proposed to Turkey to hold peace talks in Trebizond. The delegation of the Transcaucasian Seim in Trebizond was headed by Akaki Chkhenkeli . The peace conference began on 14 March. A few days earlier, Turkey signed
3358-402: The city". An important port on the Black Sea was surrendered without a fight. It became known that the Muslims of Adjaria and Akhaltsikh joined the advancing Turkish troops. The Georgian units were forced to retreat under the onslaught of the regular Turkish army, even when the Turks occupied Georgian territories – Guria and Ozurgeti – and reached the approaches to Kars . On 22 April, at
3431-434: The city. From Tiflis, the Armenian troops received an order to immediately cease hostilities and accept the conditions of the Turkish side. On 25 April, Armenian troops left Kars along with the city's 20,000 population. At 9 o'clock in the evening, the 11th Turkish Division entered Kars. Despite the fact that the Transcaucasian Government fulfilled all the requirements of the Turkish side, the Turks continued their offensive, and
3504-414: The country, like the Baltic states , began integrating into wider European society by opening up relations with NATO and the European Union . Armenia continues to foster relations with Russia , while also developing ties with the EU . Azerbaijan relies less on Russia, strategically partnering with Turkey and other NATO states. All three South Caucasus countries are members of the Council of Europe ,
3577-535: The county of Surmalu uezd (present-day Iğdır Province ) were also incorporated into the South Caucasus. Nowadays, the region is referred to as the South Caucasus or Southern Caucasia ( Armenian : Հարավային Կովկաս , romanized : Haravayin Kovkas ; Azerbaijani : Cənubi Qafqaz ; Abkhaz : Агырҭ Кавказ , romanized: Agyrt Kavkaz ; Georgian : სამხრეთ კავკასია , romanized : samkhret k'avk'asia ; Russian : Южный Кавказ , romanized : Yuzhnyy Kavkaz ). The former name of
3650-625: The division of spheres of influence in the Transcaucasia: the territories already occupied by it and part of Armenia to the Kars–Alexandropol–Karaklis Railway went to Turkey, and the rest of the Transcaucasia to Germany. Despite the sharp protests of the Armenian National Council and the resignation of Armenian representatives in the Chkhenkeli government in connection with the surrender of Kars, Chkhenkeli remained at his post and began to prepare for new negotiations with Turkey. The peace conference opened in Batum on 11 May. The talks, which lasted two weeks, exposed sharp foreign policy differences between
3723-441: The government, however, there was no agreement between the parties. Disputes between the factions arose on a variety of issues, which, in turn, could not but affect the efficiency of the Seim. By the time the Transcaucasian Seim was formed, the most acute in the region were two issues that required immediate government intervention – national and agrarian. However, the decisions taken by the Seim did not give any positive results. So,
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#17327728054683796-405: The impending invasion of the Turks. By the beginning of 1918, the Russian troops had actually left the Caucasian Front , and their positions were occupied by the Armenian Corps , the formation of which had not yet been completed. On 12 February, two weeks before the convocation of the Transcaucasian Seim, Turkish troops, taking advantage of the collapse of the front and violating the conditions of
3869-406: The increasing interethnic clashes. The visiting commissions, created from representatives of various factions, had practically no effect on the situation in the region. According to the Russian researcher Vadim Mukhanov, this was strongly influenced by the fact that the representatives of the large parties of Transcaucasia themselves, directly or indirectly, fueled the situation. According to Mukhanov,
3942-439: The independent Transcaucasian Federation and suspended hostilities. The Soviet government, on the contrary, protested against the de facto separation of Transcaucasia from Soviet Russia. An uprising broke out in Abkhazia in support of Soviet power. The rebels seized power in Sukhum, declaring their complete solidarity with Soviet Russia. Soviet power lasted 42 days in Abkhazia. The Baku Commune managed to establish Soviet power in
4015-456: The majority of which were representatives of the Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries . Most of the deputies refused to recognize Soviet power and the decrees of the Second All–Russian Congress of Soviets . In response, the Bolsheviks dispersed the Constituent Assembly. The Transcaucasian Commissariat, which supported the Constituent Assembly, took an openly hostile position towards the Bolsheviks and also did not recognize Soviet power. After
4088-430: The new organization of state–legal and international legal relations of these districts", to restore the border "in the form it existed before the Russian–Turkish War of 1877–78" and to dissolve on its territory and in the "occupied Turkish provinces" (that is, in Western Armenia) all the Armenian volunteer squads. The signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk actually canceled the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of
4161-450: The peoples who created the Transcaucasian Independent Republic, and therefore it became impossible for one authoritative government to speak on behalf of the Transcaucasia, the Seim states the fact of the disintegration of Transcaucasia and resigns its powers. South Caucasus The South Caucasus , also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus , is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia , straddling
4234-464: The populated indicated a Kartvelian language to be their mother tongue, principally comprising Georgian , Imeretian and Mingrelian . According to the 1917 publication of Kavkazskiy kalendar , the Kutaisi Governorate had a population of 1,034,468 on 14 January [ O.S. 1 January] 1916, including 546,957 men and 487,511 women, 990,297 of whom were the permanent population, and 44,171 were temporary residents. The population total of
4307-494: The principle of restoring the Russian–Turkish borders of 1914, which existed at the time of the outbreak of the war. 4. The delegation should try to acquire for the peoples of Eastern Anatolia the right to self–determination, in particular – to autonomy for the Armenians within Turkey. While the positions were being coordinated in the Seim, on 6 March the Turks captured Ardagan. On 12 March, the 25,000–strong Turkish army of Wehib Pasha entered Erzurum . The Armenian units defending
4380-412: The question of what territories Transcaucasia could cede to Turkey. When the head of the Transcaucasian delegation, Akaki Chkhenkeli, on 5 April, taking into account the ongoing offensive of the Turkish troops, expressed his readiness to compromise both on the territorial issue and on the fate of the Turkish Armenians, the Turkish delegation presented two ultimatums one after the other demanding to recognize
4453-431: The region, Transcaucasia, is a Latin rendering of the Russian-language word Zakavkazye ( Закавказье ), meaning "[the area] beyond the Caucasus". This implies a Russian vantage point, and is analogous to similar terms such as Transnistria and Transleithania . Other, rarer forms of this word include Trans-Caucasus and Transcaucasus ( Russian : Транскавказ , romanized : Transkavkaz ). Herodotus ,
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#17327728054684526-424: The region. Parts of Iran and Turkey are also included within the region of the South Caucasus. Goods produced in the region include oil , manganese ore , tea , citrus fruits , and wine . It remains one of the most politically tense regions in the post- Soviet area, and contains two heavily disputed areas: Abkhazia and South Ossetia . Between 1878 and 1917, the Russian-controlled province of Kars Oblast and
4599-471: The situation in order to annex the Elizavetpol Province to Turkey. The moment was right. The situation in Turkey, where Enver Pasha reigned, seemed to be stable thanks to the alliance with the Germans, and the political system of Turkey guaranteed the khans and beks the safety of their estates. By the time of the opening of the Seim, the Musavat deputies were busy on the ground with work on preparing Azerbaijan's accession to Turkey and could not come to Tiflis. In
4672-445: The southern Caucasus Mountains . The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia , Georgia , and Azerbaijan , which are sometimes collectively known as the Caucasian States . The total area of these countries measures about 186,100 square kilometres (71,850 square miles). The South Caucasus and the North Caucasus together comprise the larger Caucasus geographical region that divides Eurasia . The South Caucasus spans
4745-407: The southern portion of the Caucasus Mountains and their lowlands, straddling the border between the continents of Europe and Asia , and extending southwards from the southern part of the Main Caucasian Range of southwestern Russia to the Turkish and Armenian borders, and from the Black Sea in the west to the Caspian Sea coast of Iran in the east. The area includes the southern part of
4818-441: The terms of a secret agreement signed in April on the division of spheres of influence in the Transcaucasia, Georgia was already in Germany's sphere of influence. German representatives advised Georgia to immediately declare independence and officially ask Germany for patronage in order to avoid Turkish invasion and destruction. On 24–25 May, 1918, at a meeting of the executive committee of the Georgian National Council, this proposal
4891-472: Was accepted. There it was also decided to henceforth refer to the Georgian National Council as the Parliament of Georgia. On 25 May, German troops landed in Georgia. Even before the collapse of the Transcaucasian Federation, representatives of the Azerbaijani parties visited Istanbul on a secret mission in search of the assistance of the Young Turkish government in the proclamation of a "second Turkish state". The parties agreed on cooperation – in particular, on
4964-415: Was established in Sukhum , and then throughout the Sukhum Okrug , with the exception of the Kodori Gorge , where the uprising was suppressed by the troops of the Transcaucasian Commissariat and the Georgian National Guard. In March, peasant unrest broke out and was also suppressed in the Sachkhere and Chiatury Districts. In matters of national policy, the Seim also failed. The government was unable to stop
5037-412: Was formed in 1846 as a result of the division of the Georgia-Imeretia Governorate . In 1883, the governorate included the Sukhumi Okrug and two districts (Artvin and Batum) of the then abolished Batum Oblast. In 1903, the Artvin and Batum districts were detached and re-formed into the Batum Oblast. In 1905, the Sukhumi Okrug also received the status of a special district of the Russian Empire, tantamount to
5110-492: Was headed by the same Musavatists who were members of the Transcaucasian Seim. Member of the Seimas Doctor Sultanov in a Turkish officer's uniform openly traveled and campaigned in favor of the annexation of Azerbaijan. Representatives of the Musavat in Tiflis, in the palace itself, a stone's throw from the meeting room of the Seim, in their factional room received disguised Turkish emissaries. During negotiations in Trebizond ( Trebizond Conference ) and in Batum ( Batum Conference ),
5183-496: Was losing areas closely connected with the former Tiflis Governorate, and for Armenia the new border meant almost complete physical destruction. As Zurab Avalov notes, the adoption of these requirements dealt a blow to Transcaucasia as a union of three peoples, since after such a disengagement from Armenia there was nothing left. In this situation, the Georgian National Council turned to Germany for help and patronage. The German command eagerly responded to this appeal, because under
5256-427: Was temporarily postponed. As for the position of Transcaucasia in future negotiations with Turkey on a separate peace, after a long discussion, the Seim adopted the following resolution: 1. Under these conditions, the Seim considers itself authorized to conclude an agreement with Turkey. 2. Starting negotiations with Turkey, the Seim pursues the goal of concluding a final truce. 3. The peace treaty should be based on
5329-740: Was then conquered by the Seljuk , Mongol , Turkic , Safavid , Ottoman , Afsharid and Qajar dynasties. After two wars in the first half of the 19th century, namely the Russo-Persian War (1804-1813) and the Russo-Persian War (1826-1828) , the Russian Empire conquered most of the South Caucasus (and Dagestan in the North Caucasus ) from the Iranian Qajar dynasty , severing historic regional ties with Iran. By
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