Lachin Kurdish Republic
Encyclopedia
The Lachin Kurdish Republic was proclaimed on May 20, 1992, in Lachin
, just two days after this area of Azerbaijan
had been 'captured and burned' by Armenian forces and largely emptied of its population as part of the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh War
. The idea, essentially a nominal re-institution of the 1920s entity of 'Red Kurdistan', was floated by the Armenians for whom the Lachin Corridor constituted a strategically vital link to Nagorno-Karabakh
. However, the area's small Kurdish
population had already fled along with the ethnic Azeris - most finding refuge in other regions of Azerbaijan
. Thus the Kurdish youths and intellectuals (around seventy people in total) who set up the Republic were specially transported to Lachin from Armenia in buses provided by Yerevan's municipal government. The scene was described as looking more like a wedding celebration than the proclamation a state.
Beyond the republic's declaration by these two busloads of visitors, no real state emerged and rather than populating the area with Kurds, Lachin was partly repopulated over time with Armenians.
had, according to press releases, "worked as a senior KGB officer in Central Asia during the days of the Soviet Union. He had been born into a family that had been exiled to Uzbekistan. His wife was serving as an officer in the Soviet military." Sheref e Eshir was declared Deputy Prime Minister, while other cabinet positions included Karlan e Chachani as declared Minister of Culture and Emerike Serdar as Minister of Information. Five years later Serdar was quoted as saying "We all knew full well that the Armenians were never going to give us that land, and that we were never going to be able to convince the Kurds to come and settle in the land depopulated because of the war. But we went to Lachin to leave a marker for history."
After the failure of the Republic, Mustafa[yev] moved to Krasnodar
and later took refuge in Italy
.
Lachin Rayon
Lachin is a rayon of Azerbaijan. The capital is the city of Lachin. The region has been controlled by the breakway Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, as part of its Qashatagh Province, since the Nagorno-Karabakh War....
, just two days after this area of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
had been 'captured and burned' by Armenian forces and largely emptied of its population as part of the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh War
Nagorno-Karabakh War
The Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the small enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by the Republic of Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan...
. The idea, essentially a nominal re-institution of the 1920s entity of 'Red Kurdistan', was floated by the Armenians for whom the Lachin Corridor constituted a strategically vital link to Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, lying between Lower Karabakh and Zangezur and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains...
. However, the area's small Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
population had already fled along with the ethnic Azeris - most finding refuge in other regions of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
. Thus the Kurdish youths and intellectuals (around seventy people in total) who set up the Republic were specially transported to Lachin from Armenia in buses provided by Yerevan's municipal government. The scene was described as looking more like a wedding celebration than the proclamation a state.
Beyond the republic's declaration by these two busloads of visitors, no real state emerged and rather than populating the area with Kurds, Lachin was partly repopulated over time with Armenians.
Ministers
The republic's "Prime Minister", Wekil Mustafa (Wekîl Mustafayev)Wekîl Mustafayev
Wekîl Mustafayev was the ex-Prime Minister of the proclaimed and short-lived Lachin Kurdish Republic during the Nagorno-Karabakh War, before being exiled to Italy.- References :...
had, according to press releases, "worked as a senior KGB officer in Central Asia during the days of the Soviet Union. He had been born into a family that had been exiled to Uzbekistan. His wife was serving as an officer in the Soviet military." Sheref e Eshir was declared Deputy Prime Minister, while other cabinet positions included Karlan e Chachani as declared Minister of Culture and Emerike Serdar as Minister of Information. Five years later Serdar was quoted as saying "We all knew full well that the Armenians were never going to give us that land, and that we were never going to be able to convince the Kurds to come and settle in the land depopulated because of the war. But we went to Lachin to leave a marker for history."
After the failure of the Republic, Mustafa[yev] moved to Krasnodar
Krasnodar
Krasnodar is a city in Southern Russia, located on the Kuban River about northeast of the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. It is the administrative center of Krasnodar Krai . Population: -Name:...
and later took refuge in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.