Red Army invasion of Azerbaijan
Encyclopedia
The Red Army invasion of Azerbaijan, also known as the Sovietization or Soviet occupation of Azerbaijan, was a military campaign carried out by the 11th Army of Soviet Russia
on April 27 - May 11, 1920 to overthrow the government of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
and to install a Bolshevik regime in Azerbaijan
. The invasion coincided with the anti-government insurrection staged by the local Azerbaijani Bolsheviks in the capital Baku
.
desperately needed oil supplies from Baku
. On March 17, 1920, Lenin sent the following telegraph to the Revolutionary Military Council
on the Caucasus Front
:
In January 1920, Mikhail Tukhachevsky
, who arrived to Petrovsk-Port (present-day Makhachkala
) along with the member of the Revolutionary Military Council, Sergo Ordjonikidze, was appointed as the commander Red Army's Caucasus district. On April 21, 1920, Tukhachevsky issued the following directive for the 11th Red Army and the Volga-Caspian military flotilla to initiative an offensive towards Baku:
. But a day before, the 11th Red Army, including the 26th, 28th and 32nd rifle divisions and 2nd mounted corps (over 30,000 soldiers), already invaded the territory of Azerbaijan. .
Soviet Russia
Soviet Russia usually refers to the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, one of the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union. It may also denote:* Soviet Russia , magazine of the Friends of Soviet Russia in the United States...
on April 27 - May 11, 1920 to overthrow the government of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was the first successful attempt to establish a democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world . The ADR was founded on May 28, 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917 by Azerbaijani National Council in...
and to install a Bolshevik regime in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan SSR
The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Azerbaijan SSR for short, was one of the republics that made up the former Soviet Union....
. The invasion coincided with the anti-government insurrection staged by the local Azerbaijani Bolsheviks in the capital Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
.
Background
By early 1920, Soviet RussiaSoviet Russia
Soviet Russia usually refers to the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, one of the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union. It may also denote:* Soviet Russia , magazine of the Friends of Soviet Russia in the United States...
desperately needed oil supplies from Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
. On March 17, 1920, Lenin sent the following telegraph to the Revolutionary Military Council
Revolutionary Military Council
Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic or Revvoyensoviet Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic or Revvoyensoviet Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic or Revvoyensoviet (Революционный Военный Совет, Revolyutsionny Voyenny Sovyet; Реввоенсовет, Revvoyensovyet; also...
on the Caucasus Front
Transcaucasian Military District
The Transcaucasian Military District, a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, traces its history to May 1921 and the incorporation of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia into the USSR...
:
In January 1920, Mikhail Tukhachevsky
Mikhail Tukhachevsky
Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky was a Marshal of the Soviet Union, commander in chief of the Red Army , and one of the most prominent victims of Joseph Stalin's Great Purge.-Early life:...
, who arrived to Petrovsk-Port (present-day Makhachkala
Makhachkala
-Twin towns/sister cities:Makhachkala is twinned with: Sfax, Tunisia Siping, China Spokane, United States Vladikavkaz, Russia Yalova, Turkey Ndola, Zambia-See also:*...
) along with the member of the Revolutionary Military Council, Sergo Ordjonikidze, was appointed as the commander Red Army's Caucasus district. On April 21, 1920, Tukhachevsky issued the following directive for the 11th Red Army and the Volga-Caspian military flotilla to initiative an offensive towards Baku:
Military operation
According to the Russian historian A.B. Shirokorad, the Soviet invasion of Azerbaijan was carried out using a standard Bolshevik template: a local revolutionary committee starts real or "virtual" worker riots and requests support from the Red Army. This scheme was used also decades later, during the Soviet invasions in Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968). On April 28, 1920, the Baku Revolutionary Committee filed a formal request for help with the Soviet Russian GovernmentGovernment of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Government of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic was known officially as the Council of People's Commissars , Council of Ministers and Council of Ministers – Government -Council of People's Commissars:...
. But a day before, the 11th Red Army, including the 26th, 28th and 32nd rifle divisions and 2nd mounted corps (over 30,000 soldiers), already invaded the territory of Azerbaijan. .
See also
- Red Army invasion of GeorgiaRed Army invasion of GeorgiaThe Red Army invasion of Georgia also known as the Soviet–Georgian War or the Soviet invasion of Georgia was a military campaign by the Soviet Russian Red Army against the Democratic Republic of Georgia aimed at overthrowing the Social-Democratic government and installing the Bolshevik regime...
- Azerbaijan Democratic RepublicAzerbaijan Democratic RepublicThe Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was the first successful attempt to establish a democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world . The ADR was founded on May 28, 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917 by Azerbaijani National Council in...