Until 1828, the territory of Azerbaijan was over two hundred and thousand square kilometers. The last independent rulers of the lands on the eve of the Russian expansion were Azerbaijani khans — the hereditary rulers of Turkish possessions. By the end of eighteenth century, the fragmented Iran was united under the reign of Kadjar’s. And In Russia, the ruling house of Romanov’s started their expansion mission to South.
Thus, from 1804 up to 1828 The Russia and Iran (based on the older terminology — Persia) waged war with each other for the power over the khanates of Azerbaijan. And the two unsuccessful wars with Russia ended up for Iran so bad. In 1828 Russia and Iran signed a Turkmenchay treaty , that divided the khanates of Azerbaijan between the two warring parties.
Thus, the territories and people of Azerbaijan were divided, and the Turkish statehood was eliminated.
Over one hundred and fifty thousand Armenians were resettled by the Russian empire from Iran and Turkey to the following lands of Azerbaijan: Karabakh, Erivan, Zangezur, Nakhichevan, Gokca, and Ganja. The tsarist administration even managed to organize an “Armenian region” in Erivan and Nakhichevan for the newly resettled people, but it was liquidated as soon as they realized that the majority of people were still Azerbaijanis. Russia continued the resettlement of Armenians. According to the Russian scholar N.Shavrov, the number of Armenians in nineteen eleven in Transcaucasia was one million three hundred and thousand people. In other words, over eighty years more than one million Armenians were relocated to Azerbaijan by the Russian empire. After a while, they will be presented as “victims of genocide”, although all these Armenians were placed safe and sound on the lands of Azerbaijan.
When the Russian empire collapsed in 1917, the enslaved people got a chance to restore their statehood.
In 1918 on the territories of the northern Azerbaijani khanates that were once conquered by Russia were proclaimed the Republic of Azerbaijan (Caucasian Azerbaijan). The territories of the young state were 114 thousand square kilometers.
It’s worth noting that, Armenians who were resettled on the land of Azerbaijan under the Tsar also achieved the creation of their state. Unfortunately, that happened on the lands of former Erivan khanate. Erivan, whose Armenian population by the beginning of the XX century began to somewhat predominate over the Turkish population, in 1918 became the capital of the newly established Republic of Ararat (Armenia).
But Erivan wasn’t enough for Armenians.
The Republic of Ararat concluded a secret deal with Soviet Russia - with the bolshevik invasion of Azerbaijan, the armed forces of Armenians would attack the western districts of the Republic of Azerbaijan and also incite the population of Karabakh to revolt. In return, Soviet Russia promised Armenians some lands of Azerbaijan as a gift.
At the beginning of 1920 the Kazakh, Zangezur, Sharur-Daralagez districts, as well as Gokcha belonged to Azerbaijan. But in April of 1920, the army of Soviet Russia invaded Azerbaijan, overthrew the government of the young republic of Azerbaijan, and established the soviet power.
In the same year, with the Sovietization of Armenia, a large part of the Zangezur and Sharur-Daralagez districts, a significant part of the Kazakh district and Gokcha were withdrawn from Azerbaijan and given to Armenians. Thus, the Armenian SSR was created at the expense of Azerbaijani lands.
In 1923 according to protocol #3 of the Transcaucasian Central Executive Committee, nine villages that were part of the Nakhchivan Autonomous region of Azerbaijan were transferred to the Armenian SSR. In 1983–1987 2105 hectares of land of the Kazakh district of the Azerbaijan SSR were passed to the Armenian SSR.
Thus, at the time of the secession of the Azerbaijan Republic from the USSR, its territories were already 86,6 thousand square kilometers.
At the beginning of 1920, the territories of Armenia were 11 thousand square kilometers, and at the time of secession from the USSR, this number had reached 29 thousand square kilometers. In short, 18 thousand square kilometers of the current Armenian republic are the lands of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Author: Amir Eyvaz
Translated by: Atilla Turk
