"World War I and the fall of Tsarist Russia brought brief independence to Azerbaijan, but by 1920 the Bolshevik revolution pushed south with the twofold purpose of accessing the oil-rich fields near Baku on the Caspian Sea and spreading communism into the Caucasus. Azerbaijan, the richest and earliest significant source of oil in the world, was the first republic in the South Caucasus occupied by the Red Army, which then advanced into neighboring Armenia and Georgia. Pulling from confidential, newly accessed archives, Hasanli describes Soviet Russia's aggressive policy toward the three South Caucasian nations, which led to their absorption into the USSR by the end of 1922. The book highlights the Caucasian peoples' struggle to retain political independence against Soviet Russia and an international cast that included European powers wanting to retain petroleum concessions; Kemalist Turkey, which claimed special ties to the Turkic Azeris; and Iran, which controlled South Azerbaijan and was thus a possible route of expansion eastward for Bolshevik movement. The author also considers the impact on Azerbaijani-Armenian relations of the first two years of sovietization and explains how Azerbaijan provided space for Bolshevik experiments. Throughout his book, Hasanli illuminates the tragedy of the complex, confused period of sovietization of the South Caucasus"--Provided by publisher

Cämil Häsänli

Jamil Hasanli

Utah State Historical Society

Utah series in Middle East studies, Salt Lake City, 2017

United States, United States of America

Salt Lake City, 2018

The Political Situation In Azerbaijan In The Early Twentieth Century -- The Domestic And International Position Of Azerbaijan After The Bolshevik Occupation -- The Eastern Policy Of Soviet Russia And Iran -- The Sovietization Of Armenia : Moscow's Secret Plans For Karabagh -- Collaboration After Occupation : Drawing South Caucasus Borders After Sovietization -- The Russian-turkish Conference In Moscow And Azerbaijan -- From Moscow To Kars -- The Struggle For Baku Oil And The Formation Of The Soviet Union

2025-02-15