The Collapse of the Russian Empire and the Birth of the First Republic

27. The Russian Revolutions of 1917

The Russian Revolution of February 1917 overthrew Tsar Nicholas II and brought an end to the Romanov monarchy.

The Russian Provisional Government initially attempted to maintain Russia's participation in the First World War.

However, military exhaustion, economic breakdown, political conflict, and growing revolutionary activity severely weakened Russian authority.

In the South Caucasus, the collapse of imperial institutions created uncertainty over the future of Armenian, Georgian, and Azerbaijani territories.

The Bolshevik Revolution of October 1917 further transformed the situation.

The new Bolshevik government sought to withdraw Russia from the war.

Russian military units began abandoning positions along the Caucasus front, leaving Armenian communities exposed to renewed Ottoman military advances.

Armenian volunteer formations and locally organized military units attempted to defend remaining positions.

The disappearance of Russian imperial military protection was one of the immediate causes of the crisis that led to Armenian independence.

28. The Transcaucasian Commissariat and Regional Government

In November 1917, representatives of major political forces in the South Caucasus established the Transcaucasian Commissariat in Tiflis.

This administration attempted to govern the region independently of the Bolshevik government in Petrograd.

Armenian, Georgian, and Azerbaijani political leaders participated, but they possessed sharply different strategic priorities.

Armenian representatives were concerned with the survival of Armenian populations and the defense of Armenian-inhabited territories.

Georgian leaders increasingly sought security through separate political arrangements.

Azerbaijani political leaders faced different questions involving Ottoman relations, regional authority, and national aspirations.

These competing interests made a stable federation difficult to maintain.

29. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

On March 3, 1918, Soviet Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Central Powers.

The treaty ended Russia's participation in the First World War.

It also required Russia to relinquish control over Kars, Ardahan, and Batum, territories of major strategic importance in the South Caucasus.

The treaty was negotiated without effective participation by the Armenian political leadership in Transcaucasia.

Ottoman forces continued advancing into territories where Armenian refugees and local communities faced grave danger.

The military crisis made Armenian self-defense increasingly urgent.

30. The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic

On April 22, 1918, the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic was proclaimed.

It attempted to unite Armenian, Georgian, and Azerbaijani territories in a single independent political structure.

The federation survived only a little more than a month.

Differences over war, diplomacy, territorial control, and relations with the Ottoman Empire proved irreconcilable.

On May 26, Georgia declared independence.

The dissolution of the federation left Armenian political leaders facing a critical decision.

They had to establish their own governing authority while Ottoman armies advanced toward the heart of eastern Armenia.