Democratic Republic of Armenia

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Հայաստանի Հանրապետութիւն

Democratakan Hayastani Hanrapetowt'iwn
Democratic Republic of Armenia
1918-1920
Flag of Armenia # history
Arms of Armenia
flag coat of arms
Official language Armenian
Capital Yerevan
Head of government Howhannes Katschasnuni (1918–1919)
Alexander Chatissjan (1919–1920)
Hamo Ohandschanjan (1920)
Simon Wratzjan (1920/1922)
currency Armenian ruble
independence May 28, 1918
Time zone UTC + 4
The First Armenian Republic 1918-1920.gif

The Democratic Republic of Armenia ( Armenian Դեմոկրատական ​​Հայաստանի Հանրապետութիւն , in scientific transliteration Demokratieakan Hayastani Hanrapetowt'iwn) was the first Armenian republic and existed from 1918 to 1920/1922.

Prehistory and origin

As a result of the First World War , a number of independent states emerged in areas that had previously belonged to the German Empire , Austria-Hungary , the Ottoman and the Russian Empire . On the periphery of the Russian Socialist Soviet Republic proclaimed on November 7, 1917 , the new states Finland , Estonia , Latvia , Lithuania , Poland , Belarus , Ukraine , the Southwest Caucasian Republic , Georgia , Armenia , Azerbaijan (including the Central Aspian dictatorship ) emerged. , the People's Republic of Bukhara and Khiva (the latter are in present-day Uzbekistan ).

development

Members of the first cabinet of the Armenian government

The countries of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan united in February 1918 to form the Transcaucasian Democratic-Federal Republic . But the Federation fell apart in just a few months. Thus, on May 28, 1918, the Democratic Republic of Armenia was proclaimed. Initially, the republic was ruled by Dashnaks , members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation , who were comparable to the Mensheviks in Russia. The first Prime Minister was Howhannes Katschasnuni (May 30, 1918 - May 28, 1919). His successor was Alexander Khatissyan (May 28, 1919 - May 5, 1920), followed by Hamo Ohandschanjan (May 5 - November 25, 1920) and Simon Wratzjan .

The Democratic Republic of Armenia has faced constant threats. Firstly, it was threatened by the troops of the new Turkish counter-government under Mustafa Kemal , who were advancing from the west to the capital Yerevan, and secondly, there were conflicts over predominantly Armenian-populated areas: with the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan around Nagorno-Karabakh (still disputed today) and Sangesur (today part Armenia), also with the Democratic Republic of Georgia around Lori (now part of Armenia) and Javakhetia (now part of Georgia).

There was a massive refugee problem. Hundreds of thousands of people fled the genocide of the Armenians in Turkey to the young republic. The armed conflicts with three of theoretically four neighbors - the border with Iran only existed on paper because of the conflict over Sangesur -, intensified by the refugee problem, led to an economic crisis with hyperinflation . The government was not up to the severity of the problems.

resolution

The Bolsheviks coming to power

On November 29, 1920, Armenian Bolsheviks came to power in a bloodless coup and on December 2, 1920 proclaimed the Armenian SSR. Wratzjan then had to give up his office. On December 6, 1920, in support of the new government, the 11th Division of the Red Army marched in and the Armenian SSR was proclaimed. At that time it was a formally independent state that had bilateral relations with the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic , which was internationally isolated. The RSFSR concluded an alliance agreement with the Armenian SSR on September 30, 1921, which further restricted the sovereignty of the Armenian SSR. On March 12, 1922, the Armenian SSR became a part of the newly formed Transcaucasian Federal Socialist Soviet Republic, which also included the Georgian SSR and the Azerbaijani SSR . The European states, however, no longer regarded formal independence as real.

With the establishment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union) on December 30, 1922, sovereignty finally ended.

See also