The Turkish-Armenian War and the End of the First Republic

43. The Turkish-Armenian War of 1920

In September 1920, Turkish nationalist forces launched a major offensive against the Republic of Armenia.

The campaign was commanded by Kâzım Karabekir.

Armenian forces were weakened by earlier conflicts, shortages of equipment, limited resources, and internal instability.

Turkish nationalist troops captured important positions, including Kars in October 1920.

The Armenian military position deteriorated rapidly.

The war demonstrated the vulnerability of the republic in the absence of reliable international military guarantees.

44. The Treaty of Alexandropol

On December 2–3, 1920, Armenian representatives signed the Treaty of Alexandropol with Turkish nationalist representatives.

The treaty imposed severe conditions on Armenia.

However, its legal status was complicated by the simultaneous transfer of authority to a Soviet Armenian government.

The treaty was not ratified by a functioning independent Armenian government and was superseded by subsequent regional settlements.

It nevertheless reflected the military defeat of the First Republic.

45. The Sovietization of Armenia

In late November 1920, Bolshevik forces and Armenian communists moved to establish Soviet authority in Armenia.

On December 2, 1920, representatives of the Armenian government agreed to transfer power under arrangements involving Soviet Russia.

The process combined political negotiation, military pressure, and the advance of Soviet forces.

The First Republic ceased to exist as an independent state.

The transition was not entirely peaceful.

In February 1921, an anti-Bolshevik uprising briefly displaced Soviet authorities from Yerevan.

The insurgents were eventually defeated, and Soviet control was restored.

46. The February Uprising of 1921

The February Uprising reflected opposition to Bolshevik policies, arrests, repression, and the manner in which Soviet authority had been imposed.

For a short period, anti-Bolshevik forces controlled Yerevan.

Simon Vratsian and other former republican leaders participated in the resistance.

The Red Army eventually retook the capital in April 1921.

Some anti-Soviet forces continued resisting in Zangezur.

Garegin Nzhdeh became particularly associated with the defense of Syunik and efforts to prevent its incorporation into Soviet Azerbaijan.

By mid-1921, Soviet authority had been consolidated over the territory of Soviet Armenia.

47. The Treaties of Moscow and Kars

In March 1921, Soviet Russia and the Turkish nationalist government signed the Treaty of Moscow.

In October 1921, the Treaty of Kars was signed between Turkey and the Soviet republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, with Soviet Russian participation.

These treaties helped establish the Turkish-Soviet frontier.

Kars and Ardahan remained on the Turkish side.

Nakhichevan was placed under Azerbaijani protection or administration under the treaty arrangements, and it later became an autonomous republic within Soviet Azerbaijan.

The resulting territorial framework had long-lasting consequences for the political geography of the South Caucasus.

The loss of the First Republic's independence in 1920 did not eliminate Armenian statehood entirely.

Instead, Armenia entered a new political system as a Soviet republic, with republican institutions but without independent sovereignty.