Conventional Long Name: | Karabakh Governorate General |
Native Name: | Qarabağ general-qubernatorluğu |
Capital: | Shusha (January 15, 1919–April 29, 1920) |
Religion: | |
Government Type: | Governor- generalship |
Leader Title1: | Governor-general |
Leader Name1: | Khosrov bey Sultanov |
Leader Title2: | Deputy Governor General |
Leader Name2: | Guda Gudiyev |
Common Languages: | Azerbaijani Turkish |
Date Start: | 15 January 1919 |
Event End: | Sovietization |
Date End: | 29 April 1920 |
Stat Year1: | 1919 |
Stat Pop1: | 121.216[1] |
P1: | Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic |
S1: | Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast |
Today: | Azerbaijan |
Era: | Interwar period |
Karabakh governorate-general was a temporary administrative regime established in Karabakh due to new territorial claims of Armenians against Azerbaijan during the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.
Due to the events in Karabakh, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Azerbaijan People's Republic proposed the creation of a temporary governor general based on the uezds of Shusha, Jevanshir, Jebrail and Zangezur in early January 1919. The government accepted this proposal and on January 13, 1919, issued a decision to establish a temporary governor general in those provinces. Khosrov bey Sultanov was appointed to this position on January 29. Concerned about the steps of the Azerbaijani Government, Armenia made an open claim to Nagorno-Karabakh under such circumstances. In its response note on January 31, the Government of Azerbaijan stated that Karabakh is historically an integral part of Azerbaijan and assessed Armenia's objection to the establishment of the Karabakh governorate as an attack on Azerbaijan's sovereignty and an attempt to interfere in its internal affairs.
On February 1, 1919, Rotmistr Guda Gudiyev was appointed deputy of the governor-general of Karabagh, Khosrov Bey Sultanov.
At the end of 1919, the Armenian government allocated 19 million manats for the "liberation" of Nagorno-Karabakh. As a result of all this, Armenian separatists became more active in March 1920. On March 22–23, demonstrations against Azerbaijan took place in Nagorno-Karabakh with the direct participation of Armenia and by order of Moscow. As a result of military and diplomatic measures of the Government of Azerbaijan, hostile activities of Armenians in Karabakh were prevented in late March–April. In the development of the events in Karabakh in this direction, the acts of disruption and sabotage carried out by Soviet Russia and the Bolsheviks within the country, who were preparing to implement their plans of aggression against the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, played an important role. After the April occupation (1920) and the fall of the Azerbaijan People's Republic, the activities of the Karabakh Governorate were terminated.[2]