Transcaucasian Democratic-Federal Republic

	ამიერკავკასიის დემოკრატიული ფედერაციული რესპუბლიკა (Georgian) ; Zaqafqaziya Demokratik Federativ Respublikası (aserbaidschanisch) ; Անդրկովկասյան Դեմոկրատական Ֆեդերատիվ Հանրապետություն (Armenian)
	Transcaucasian Democratic-Federal Republic
	1918
Official language	Georgian , Armenian , Azerbaijani
Capital	Tbilisi
Form of government	Federal Republic
Head of state , also head of government	President of Parliament Nikolos Tschcheidze
currency	Transcaucasian ruble
independence	April 22, 1918
Time zone	UTC + 4

The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic ( Georgian ამიერკავკასიის დემოკრატიული ფედერაციული რესპუბლიკა , Azerbaijani Zaqafqaziya Demokratik Federativ Respublikası , Armenian Անդրկովկասյան Դեմոկրատական Ֆեդերատիվ Հանրապետություն ; also briefly Transcaucasian Federation ) was a very short-lived state in the Caucasus . It existed from April 22 to May 28, 1918. The federation comprised the territory of the later successor states Georgia , Azerbaijan and Armenia .

Establishment

After the February Revolution in 1917 and the collapse of the Tsarist regime in Transcaucasia , the Provisional Russian Government set up a Special Transcaucasian Committee ( Russian Особый Закавказский Комитет (ОЗАКОМ), Osoby Sakavkasski Comitet, to the administration of the Southern Caucasus (OSAKOM). It was based on the councils , modeled on the Petrograd Council of Revolutionary Democrats in Georgia , which was firmly in the hands of the moderate Mensheviks .

development

President of Parliament Nikolos Tschcheidze

The October Bolshevik Revolution fundamentally changed the situation. The Caucasian Soviets refused to recognize Lenin's regime . The threat of a growing number of soldiers from the former Russian Caucasus Front defending against the Bolsheviks , ethnic clashes and anarchy in the regions forced the Georgian, Armenian and Azerbaijani politicians to form a unified regional government on November 14, 1917, the Transcaucasian Commissariat .

On January 23, 1918, a regional parliament, the Sejm, was established. The Transcaucasian Parliament (Sejm) met for the first time on February 10th. The Georgian Menshevik Nikolos Cheidze chaired the meeting . On April 22nd, he proclaimed the independence of Transcaucasia and the establishment of the Transcaucasian Federation. The capital became Tbilisi . The currency became the Transcaucasian ruble. The official languages were Georgian , Armenian and Azerbaijani .

collapse

The Transcaucasian Republic had only a short life. It was undermined by growing internal tensions and the pressure of the Ottoman Empire . In order to save Georgia from a Turkish conquest, the Georgian National Assembly (Georgian Dampudsnebeli Kreba ) started negotiations with Germany , which was ready to protect an independent Georgia from the attack of the Ottoman Empire, allied with Germany . In return, Berlin demanded privileges in the exploitation of manganese and copper as well as the oil transfer from the Caspian Sea . The German military command had already stationed 3,000 German soldiers in Georgia to ensure that German heavy industry was supplied with raw materials. On May 26, Georgia proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Georgia and withdrew from the Federation. Armenia and Azerbaijan (including the Central Aspic dictatorship ) followed this step on May 28th.

consequences

The successor states Democratic Republic of Georgia , Democratic Republic of Armenia and Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan were occupied by the Red Army in 1920 and merged into the Transcaucasian SFSR in December 1922 , which became part of the newly established Soviet Union on December 30, 1922 and was dissolved in 1936.