Treaty of Kars
Encyclopedia
The Treaty of Kars was a "friendship" treaty signed in Kars
on October 13, 1921 and ratified in Yerevan
on September 11 1922.
Signatories included representatives from the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
, which in 1923 would declare the Republic of Turkey, and also from Soviet Armenia, Soviet Azerbaijan and Soviet Georgia all of which formed part of the Soviet Union
after the December 1922 Union Treaty
with the participation of Bolshevist Russia
. It was a successor treaty to the earlier Treaty of Moscow
of March 1921 and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
marking Russia's exit from World War I
, established contemporary borders between Turkey and the South Caucasus states on the count of Armenian lands.
In May 1918, just two months after the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty was concluded with the Russian SFSR, elements of the Ottoman Third Army
crossed into Eastern Armenia
and attacked Alexandropol (modern-day Gyumri
). The Ottoman Army
intended to crush Armenia
and seize what was left of Transcaucasia. The German
government, the Ottoman Empire
's ally, objected to this attack and refused to help the Ottoman Army in the operation. At this time, only a small area of historical Armenian territory which used to be a part of the Russian Empire remained unconquered by the Ottoman Empire, and into that area hundreds of thousands of Armenian refugees had fled after the Armenian Genocide
. The Ottoman Forces began a three-pronged attack in an attempt to finally overwhelm and conquer the rest of Armenia. When Alexandropol fell, the Ottoman Army moved into the former territory of the Yerevan guberniia
– the heart of Armenia. Civilians, including children, aided in the war effort as well, as "Carts drawn by oxen, water buffalo, and cows jammed the roads bringing food, provisions, ammunition, and volunteers from the vicinity" of Yerevan. On May 21, the Ottomans took Sardarapat
and from there, their forces started advancing towards Yeghegnut
.
Armenian general Movses Silikyan
ordered elements of the 5th Armenian Regiment under Poghos Bek-Pirumyan, a reserve guerrilla unit, and a special cavalry regiment to check the advance of the Ottoman army. An offensive was launched on May 22 and Armenian forces were successful in halting the Ottomans in their tracks and forcing Yakub Shevki Pasha's forces into a general rout
(retreating nearly 15-20 kilometers in a westerly direction). The Ottoman command, however, was able to recuperate from its losses and reorganized its forces near the mountain heights on the north-west bank of the Araks river
. Repeated attempts to cross the river was met with fierce resistance by the 5th Armenian Regiment.
On May 24, several more skirmishes, including the Aparan
and the Vanadzor, took place between the Armenian and Ottoman forces and attempts to dislodge the Ottomans from their well-entrenched positions the following day by Poghos Bek-Pirumyan's and other commanders' forces were met with failure. On May 27, an Armenian force commanded by Colonel Karapet Hasan-Pashayan performed a flanking maneuver and struck the Ottoman positions from the rear while the rest of the Armenian forces pounded the main Ottoman positions. An Ottoman force based in Talin
was sent to alleviate it by attacking the Armenian rear at Sardarapat
. Suffering heavy losses, Ottoman commanders ordered a general retreat as the surviving elements of the Ottoman army were put to flight. The victories here staved off the annihilation of the Armenian nation, and were instrumental in allowing the Armenian National Council to declare the independence of the Democratic Republic of Armenia
on May 30 (retroactive to May 28).
Most of the territories ceded to Turkey in the treaty were acquired by Imperial Russia
from the Ottoman Empire
during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878
. The only exception was the Surmalu region which was annexed by Russia in the Treaty of Turkmenchay
after the last Russo-Persian War with Iran
.
, MP and Commander of Eastern Front Veli Bey, MP Mouhtar Bey, and Ambassador Memdouh Shevket Bey, Russian Ambassador Yakov Ganetsky, Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Askanaz Mravian and Minister of Interior Poghos Makintsian, Azerbaijani Minister of State Control Behboud Shahtahtinsky, and Georgian Minister of Military and Naval Affairs Shalva Eliava
and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Financial Affairs Alexander Svanidze
.
, was ceded by Armenia to Georgian SSR of the Soviet Union. The southern half, with the city of Artvin
, would be annexed by Turkey. It was agreed that the northern half would be granted autonomy within Soviet Georgia. It eventually evolved into the Adjar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (today Adjara
) and Javakheti
. Additionally, Turkey was also guaranteed a "free transit through the port of Batum for commodities and all materials destined for, or originating in, Turkey, without customs duties and charges, and with the right for Turkey to utilize the port of Batum without special charges."
The treaty also created a new boundary between Turkey and Soviet Armenia, defined by the Akhurian
and Aras Rivers. Turkey
obtained from Armenia
most of the former Kars Oblast
of Russian Empire
, including the Surmalu uyezd, with Mount Ararat
and the cities of Iğdır
and Koghb (Tuzluca
), the cities of Kars, Ardahan
, and Oltu
, the ruins of Ani
, and Lake Çıldır
. Most of these areas were already under Turkish military control. The treaty required Turkish troops to withdraw from an area roughly corresponding to the western half of Armenia
's present-day Shirak Province (including Alexandropol (Gyumri
)).
The Treaty of Kars specified the partition of Armenia
and the region of Nakhchivan (a territory comprising the Nakhchivan and Sharur part of Sharur-Daralagez
uyezds of former Yerevan Governorate of Armenia
, Russian Empire
) as an autonomous territory under the protection of Azerbaijan
. In 1924, Nakhchivan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed on this territory as an exclave subordinate to Azerbaijan SSR
, and sharing a 15-km boundary with now Turkish district of Surmalu. It was also agreed that both Turkey and Russia would become guarantors of Nakhchivan's status.
's participation in Kars Treaty was huge in the context of the large area of Democratic Republic of Armenia
's territory which was transferred to Turkey
. As Kazım Karabekir
writes in his note:
Participant from Turkish part Ali Fuat Cebesoy writes:
As he wrote before the conference to Kazım Karabekir
:
, the Soviet Union attempted to annul the Kars treaty and regain its lost territory. On June 7, 1945, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov
told the Turkish ambassador in Moscow that the regions should be returned to the USSR, in the name of both the Georgian and Armenian republics. Turkey found itself in a difficult position: it wanted good relations with the Soviet Union but at the same time they refused to give up the territories. Some British diplomats noted that as early as 1939, Soviet politicians might reopen the question of possibly annulling the Kars treaty. Turkey itself was in no condition to fight a war with the Soviet Union, which had emerged as a superpower after the Second World War. By the autumn of 1945, Soviet troops in the Caucasus were already assembling for a possible invasion of Turkey.
Soviet claims were put forth by the Armenians to the leaders of the Allies of World War II
; however, opposition stemmed from British leader Winston Churchill
who objected to these territorial claims as additional areas where the Soviet government could exert its influence while President
of the United States
Harry S. Truman
, felt that the matter should not concern other parties. Ultimately, the USSR gave up its claims against Turkey.
During the crisis, the USSR also asked Turkey for a military base on the Bosphorus. Turkish politicians worked hard, with the help of the British Government, to secure the help of the United States. During this period, the Turkish ambassador to Washington D.C. died and the United States sent his coffin to Istanbul on board the USS Missouri
. This was the first large scale American military visit to Turkey and also a symbolic gesture. Only after this event did the USSR back down.
When the Constitution was revised in August 1909 the same Article 7 stated:
Only in the year 1923 the Turkish Republic was announced by the Turkish GNA and the Constitution of the Ottoman Empire was changed with a new one in 1921.
There is also an opinion among researchers that as the Soviet Republics were under strict control of Moscow and so the consent and independence of the parties is also questioned.
In addition, the USSR itself was established on December 29, 1922. This inflicts the local Communist governments in the Soviet Republics to be legitimate since the same date.
in 1991, the governments of Turkey
, Georgia
, and Azerbaijan
have accepted the Kars treaty. But in contrast with this the Armenian position is different. As a prove of that can serve the announcements of Armenian Government officials as well as the absence of any such ratifications or decisions. The Armenian MP Levon Mkrtchyan from ARFD said the issue of recognizing or not recognizing the Kars Treaty is not on Armenia's foreign political agenda in Yerevan on February 3, 2005. He notes that the treaty was signed with gross violations of the international law as it was imposed by the Turkish-Russian Moscow Treaty, which stipulated, that all the South Caucasian republics should later sign similar separate treaties with Turkey. Similarly Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan had argued Armenia accepts the Kars Treaty. However Armenian Declaration of Independence and Armenian Constitution call Turkey's eastern provinces Western Armenia
. Armenia does not clearly recognize Turkey's national borders which defined in the Kars Treaty. Additionally, Oskanian noted that Turkey itself does not put a number of articles of the treaty into practice. For instance, the treaty called for Turkey to open a consulate in each of the three Transcaucasian republics. Due to tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh
, Turkey has closed the land border with Armenia and severed diplomatic ties with it, thus allegedly violating this article. Oskanyan states that by this action, Turkey is putting the validity of the treaty into doubt.
Kars
Kars is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. The population of the city is 73,826 as of 2010.-Etymology:As Chorzene, the town appears in Roman historiography as part of ancient Armenia...
on October 13, 1921 and ratified in Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
on September 11 1922.
Signatories included representatives from the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
Grand National Assembly of Turkey
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey , usually referred to simply as the Meclis , is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Constitution. It was founded in Ankara on 23 April 1920 in the midst of the Turkish War of Independence...
, which in 1923 would declare the Republic of Turkey, and also from Soviet Armenia, Soviet Azerbaijan and Soviet Georgia all of which formed part of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
after the December 1922 Union Treaty
Treaty on the Creation of the USSR
The Treaty on the Creation of the USSR is a document that legalized the creation of a union of several Soviet republics in the form of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics...
with the participation of Bolshevist Russia
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
. It was a successor treaty to the earlier Treaty of Moscow
Treaty of Moscow (1921)
The Treaty of Moscow or Treaty of Brotherhood was a friendship treaty between the Grand National Assembly of Turkey under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and Bolshevist Russia under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, signed on 16 March 1921...
of March 1921 and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, mediated by South African Andrik Fuller, at Brest-Litovsk between Russia and the Central Powers, headed by Germany, marking Russia's exit from World War I.While the treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year,...
marking Russia's exit from World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, established contemporary borders between Turkey and the South Caucasus states on the count of Armenian lands.
In May 1918, just two months after the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty was concluded with the Russian SFSR, elements of the Ottoman Third Army
Third Army (Ottoman Empire)
The Ottoman Third Army was originally established in the Balkans and later defended the northern and eastern parts of the Ottoman Empire. Its initial headquarters was at Salonica. With the onset of World War I, it moved to Erzurum Fortress. The headquarters was moved to Susehir after the Battle...
crossed into Eastern Armenia
Eastern Armenia
Eastern Armenia or Caucasian Armenia was the portion of Ottoman Armenia and Persian Armenia that was ceded to the Russian Empire following the Russo-Turkish War, 1828-1829...
and attacked Alexandropol (modern-day Gyumri
Gyumri
Gyumri is the capital and largest city of the Shirak Province in northwest Armenia. It is located about 120 km from the capital Yerevan, and, with a population of 168,918 , is the second-largest city in Armenia.The name of the city has been changed many times in history...
). The Ottoman Army
Military of the Ottoman Empire
The history of military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years between 1300 and 1453 , the classical period covers the years between 1451 and 1606 , the reformation period covers the years between 1606 and 1826 ,...
intended to crush Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
and seize what was left of Transcaucasia. The German
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
government, the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
's ally, objected to this attack and refused to help the Ottoman Army in the operation. At this time, only a small area of historical Armenian territory which used to be a part of the Russian Empire remained unconquered by the Ottoman Empire, and into that area hundreds of thousands of Armenian refugees had fled after the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
. The Ottoman Forces began a three-pronged attack in an attempt to finally overwhelm and conquer the rest of Armenia. When Alexandropol fell, the Ottoman Army moved into the former territory of the Yerevan guberniia
Erivan Governorate
Erivan Governorate was one of the guberniyas of the Russian Empire, with its centre in Erivan . Its area was 27,830 sq. kilometres. It roughly corresponded to what is now most of central Armenia, the Iğdır Province of Turkey, and Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave...
– the heart of Armenia. Civilians, including children, aided in the war effort as well, as "Carts drawn by oxen, water buffalo, and cows jammed the roads bringing food, provisions, ammunition, and volunteers from the vicinity" of Yerevan. On May 21, the Ottomans took Sardarapat
Sardarapat
Sardarapat may refer to:*Armavir, Armenia*Hoktember, Armenia*Sardarapat memorial*Battle of Sardarapat...
and from there, their forces started advancing towards Yeghegnut
Yeghegnut, Armavir
Yeghegnut is a town in the Armavir Province of Armenia.- References :* – World-Gazetteer.com...
.
Armenian general Movses Silikyan
Movses Silikyan
Movses Silikyan , , Movses Silikov) was a famed Armenian general and national hero of World War I, Major General in the Russian army and subsequently in the Armenian army...
ordered elements of the 5th Armenian Regiment under Poghos Bek-Pirumyan, a reserve guerrilla unit, and a special cavalry regiment to check the advance of the Ottoman army. An offensive was launched on May 22 and Armenian forces were successful in halting the Ottomans in their tracks and forcing Yakub Shevki Pasha's forces into a general rout
Rout
A rout is commonly defined as a chaotic and disorderly retreat or withdrawal of troops from a battlefield, resulting in the victory of the opposing party, or following defeat, a collapse of discipline, or poor morale. A routed army often degenerates into a sense of "every man for himself" as the...
(retreating nearly 15-20 kilometers in a westerly direction). The Ottoman command, however, was able to recuperate from its losses and reorganized its forces near the mountain heights on the north-west bank of the Araks river
Araks River
The Aras , is a river located in and along the countries of Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. Its total length is...
. Repeated attempts to cross the river was met with fierce resistance by the 5th Armenian Regiment.
On May 24, several more skirmishes, including the Aparan
Battle of Bash Abaran
The Battle of Bash Abaran was a battle of Caucasus Campaign of World War I that took place in the vicinity of Bash Abaran, in 1918. The Ottoman divisions attacked on May 21, but after three days of fierce combat the Armenians remained firm and the Ottoman regiments retreated in defeat.Armenian...
and the Vanadzor, took place between the Armenian and Ottoman forces and attempts to dislodge the Ottomans from their well-entrenched positions the following day by Poghos Bek-Pirumyan's and other commanders' forces were met with failure. On May 27, an Armenian force commanded by Colonel Karapet Hasan-Pashayan performed a flanking maneuver and struck the Ottoman positions from the rear while the rest of the Armenian forces pounded the main Ottoman positions. An Ottoman force based in Talin
Talin
Talin is a town in the Aragatsotn province of Armenia. It has a population of 5,371. The seventh century Talin Cathedral is located in the town.- History :...
was sent to alleviate it by attacking the Armenian rear at Sardarapat
Sardarapat
Sardarapat may refer to:*Armavir, Armenia*Hoktember, Armenia*Sardarapat memorial*Battle of Sardarapat...
. Suffering heavy losses, Ottoman commanders ordered a general retreat as the surviving elements of the Ottoman army were put to flight. The victories here staved off the annihilation of the Armenian nation, and were instrumental in allowing the Armenian National Council to declare the independence of the Democratic Republic of Armenia
Democratic Republic of Armenia
The Democratic Republic of Armenia was the first modern establishment of an Armenian state...
on May 30 (retroactive to May 28).
Most of the territories ceded to Turkey in the treaty were acquired by Imperial Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
from the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878
Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878
The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 was a conflict between the Ottoman Empire and the Eastern Orthodox coalition led by the Russian Empire and composed of numerous Balkan...
. The only exception was the Surmalu region which was annexed by Russia in the Treaty of Turkmenchay
Treaty of Turkmenchay
The Treaty of Turkmenchay was a treaty negotiated in Turkmenchay by which the Qajar Empire recognized Russian suzerainty over the Erivan khanate, the Nakhchivan khanate, and the remainder of the Talysh khanate, establishing the Aras River as the common boundary between the empires, after its...
after the last Russo-Persian War with Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
.
Signatories
The treaty was signed by Turkish Nationalist Representative General Kazım KarabekirKazim Karabekir
Musa Kâzım Karabekir was a Turkish general and politician. He was commander of the Eastern Army in the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I and served as Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey before his death.-Early years:Karabekir was born in 1882 as the son of an Ottoman General,...
, MP and Commander of Eastern Front Veli Bey, MP Mouhtar Bey, and Ambassador Memdouh Shevket Bey, Russian Ambassador Yakov Ganetsky, Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Askanaz Mravian and Minister of Interior Poghos Makintsian, Azerbaijani Minister of State Control Behboud Shahtahtinsky, and Georgian Minister of Military and Naval Affairs Shalva Eliava
Shalva Eliava
Shalva Eliava was a Georgian Old Bolshevik and Soviet official who contributed to Sovietization of Central Asia and Caucasus but fell victim to Stalin’s Great Purge....
and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Financial Affairs Alexander Svanidze
Alexander Svanidze
Alexander Semyonovich "Alyosha" Svanidze was a Georgian Old Bolshevik and historian. He was a personal friend of Joseph Stalin and a brother of Stalin’s first wife Kato. Nevertheless, Stalin had him arrested during a purge in 1937...
.
The agreement
The treaty provided for the territory of the former Russian Batum District of the Kars Governorate to be divided. The northern half, with the port city of BatumiBatumi
Batumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. Sometimes considered Georgia's second capital, with a population of 121,806 , Batumi serves as an important port and a commercial center. It is situated in a subtropical zone, rich in...
, was ceded by Armenia to Georgian SSR of the Soviet Union. The southern half, with the city of Artvin
Artvin
-History:See Artvin Province for the history of the region.-Places of interest:* Artvin or Livana castle, built in 937There are a number of Ottoman Empire houses and public buildings including:* Salih Bey mosque, built in 1792...
, would be annexed by Turkey. It was agreed that the northern half would be granted autonomy within Soviet Georgia. It eventually evolved into the Adjar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (today Adjara
Adjara
Adjara , officially the Autonomous Republic of Adjara , is an autonomous republic of Georgia.Adjara is located in the southwestern corner of Georgia, bordered by Turkey to the south and the eastern end of the Black Sea...
) and Javakheti
Javakheti
Javakheti is a historical region of the nation of Georgia, in the southeastern part of the country's Samtskhe-Javakheti province. Today it comprises the Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda municipal territories. It was historically bordered in the west with both sides of the Mtkvari river, in the north,...
. Additionally, Turkey was also guaranteed a "free transit through the port of Batum for commodities and all materials destined for, or originating in, Turkey, without customs duties and charges, and with the right for Turkey to utilize the port of Batum without special charges."
The treaty also created a new boundary between Turkey and Soviet Armenia, defined by the Akhurian
Akhurian River
The Akhurian, Akhuriyan, Akhuryan or Akhouryan is a river in the South Caucasus. It originates in Armenia and flows from Lake Tseli south, along the border with Turkey, forming part of the geographic border between the two states, until it flows into the Aras River as a left tributary near Bagaran...
and Aras Rivers. Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
obtained from Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
most of the former Kars Oblast
Kars Oblast
Kars Oblast was one of Transcaucasian governorates of Russian Empire between 1878 and 1917. Its capital was in the city of Kars, presently in the Republic of Turkey. The governorate bordered with the Ottoman Empire, Batum Oblast, Tiflis Governorate, Erivan Governorate, and from 1883 to 1903 with...
of Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, including the Surmalu uyezd, with Mount Ararat
Mount Ararat
Mount Ararat is a snow-capped, dormant volcanic cone in Turkey. It has two peaks: Greater Ararat and Lesser Ararat .The Ararat massif is about in diameter...
and the cities of Iğdır
Igdir
Iğdır is the capital of Iğdır Province in the Eastern Anatolia Region, Turkey, and borders Armenia, Azerbaijan and Iran. The border with Armenia is formed by the Aras River...
and Koghb (Tuzluca
Tuzluca
Tuzlucа is a town and district of Iğdır Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. Part of the district forms the international border between Turkey and Armenia.-Etymology:The town was later renamed Tuzluca, Tuz meaning salt in Turkish...
), the cities of Kars, Ardahan
Ardahan
Ardahan is a city in northeastern Turkey, near the Georgian border.-Ancient and medieval:In Ancient times the region was called Gogarene, which is assumed to derive from the name of Gugars, who were a Proto-Kartvelian tribe...
, and Oltu
Oltu
Oltu is a town and district of Erzurum Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The mayor is İbrahim Ziyrek . The population is 19,969 .-History:...
, the ruins of Ani
Ani
Ani is a ruined and uninhabited medieval Armenian city-site situated in the Turkish province of Kars, near the border with Armenia. It was once the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom that covered much of present day Armenia and eastern Turkey...
, and Lake Çıldır
Lake Çildir
Lake Çıldır , , - Tzovák Hiusisó) is a large freshwater lake in the Ardahan Province, northeastern part of Turkey. It is located at , close to the borders with Georgia and Armenia. Lake Çıldır is located in the elevation of about and surrounded by mountainous region. It has an area of and...
. Most of these areas were already under Turkish military control. The treaty required Turkish troops to withdraw from an area roughly corresponding to the western half of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
's present-day Shirak Province (including Alexandropol (Gyumri
Gyumri
Gyumri is the capital and largest city of the Shirak Province in northwest Armenia. It is located about 120 km from the capital Yerevan, and, with a population of 168,918 , is the second-largest city in Armenia.The name of the city has been changed many times in history...
)).
The Treaty of Kars specified the partition of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
and the region of Nakhchivan (a territory comprising the Nakhchivan and Sharur part of Sharur-Daralagez
Sharur
Sharur is an rayon of Azerbaijan in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.-History:Sharur formed part of the territory of the Nakhichevan Khanate until its abolition in 1828. In the Russian empire it was made a part of the Armenian Oblast. After the oblast was abolished, it became a part of...
uyezds of former Yerevan Governorate of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
) as an autonomous territory under the protection 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...
. In 1924, Nakhchivan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed on this territory as an exclave subordinate to Azerbaijan SSR
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....
, and sharing a 15-km boundary with now Turkish district of Surmalu. It was also agreed that both Turkey and Russia would become guarantors of Nakhchivan's status.
Stalin's role
According to different participants at the Moscow Conference, Joseph StalinJoseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's participation in Kars Treaty was huge in the context of the large area of Democratic Republic of Armenia
Democratic Republic of Armenia
The Democratic Republic of Armenia was the first modern establishment of an Armenian state...
's territory which was transferred to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. As Kazım Karabekir
Kazim Karabekir
Musa Kâzım Karabekir was a Turkish general and politician. He was commander of the Eastern Army in the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I and served as Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey before his death.-Early years:Karabekir was born in 1882 as the son of an Ottoman General,...
writes in his note:
ChicherinGeorgy ChicherinGeorgy Vasilyevich Chicherin was a Marxist revolutionary and a Soviet politician. He served as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs in the Soviet government from March 1918 to 1930.-Childhood and early career:...
and KarakhanLev KarakhanLev Mikhailovich Karakhan Armenian Կարախանյան Լեւոն Միքայելի, Russian Лев Михайлович Карахан was an ethnic Armenian-born Russian revolutionary and a Soviet diplomat...
tried to annul Alexandropol TreatyTreaty of AlexandropolThe Treaty of Alexandropol was a peace treaty between the Democratic Republic of Armenia and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey ending the Turkish-Armenian War, signed on December 2, 1920, before the declaration of the Republic of Turkey. It was the first treaty signed by Turkish...
, they openly stand on Armenian rights. That is why we decided to outwit them: MdivaniPolikarp MdivaniPolikarp "Budu" Mdivani was a veteran Georgian Bolshevik and Soviet government official energetically involved in the Russian Revolutions and the Civil War. In the 1920s, he played an important role in Sovietization of the Caucasus, but later led Georgian Communist opposition to Joseph Stalin's...
offered a new way. That way supposed direct contact with Stalin, who is the closest friend of Lenin. There two people are the most powerful in RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Actually he became the man, who made signing of the Treaty possible. If the issue is solved by ChicherinGeorgy ChicherinGeorgy Vasilyevich Chicherin was a Marxist revolutionary and a Soviet politician. He served as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs in the Soviet government from March 1918 to 1930.-Childhood and early career:...
, who was under influence of Karakhan, supporter of Armenian interests, he would have not done it.
Participant from Turkish part Ali Fuat Cebesoy writes:
... if not the interfering of Stalin ... Moscow conference would probably last much longer; or we wouldn't get the results we reached.
As he wrote before the conference to Kazım Karabekir
Kazim Karabekir
Musa Kâzım Karabekir was a Turkish general and politician. He was commander of the Eastern Army in the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I and served as Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey before his death.-Early years:Karabekir was born in 1882 as the son of an Ottoman General,...
:
...Stalin personally treats Armenians negatively...
Attempted annulment
After World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Soviet Union attempted to annul the Kars treaty and regain its lost territory. On June 7, 1945, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...
told the Turkish ambassador in Moscow that the regions should be returned to the USSR, in the name of both the Georgian and Armenian republics. Turkey found itself in a difficult position: it wanted good relations with the Soviet Union but at the same time they refused to give up the territories. Some British diplomats noted that as early as 1939, Soviet politicians might reopen the question of possibly annulling the Kars treaty. Turkey itself was in no condition to fight a war with the Soviet Union, which had emerged as a superpower after the Second World War. By the autumn of 1945, Soviet troops in the Caucasus were already assembling for a possible invasion of Turkey.
Soviet claims were put forth by the Armenians to the leaders of the Allies of World War II
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
; however, opposition stemmed from British leader Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
who objected to these territorial claims as additional areas where the Soviet government could exert its influence while President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
, felt that the matter should not concern other parties. Ultimately, the USSR gave up its claims against Turkey.
During the crisis, the USSR also asked Turkey for a military base on the Bosphorus. Turkish politicians worked hard, with the help of the British Government, to secure the help of the United States. During this period, the Turkish ambassador to Washington D.C. died and the United States sent his coffin to Istanbul on board the USS Missouri
USS Missouri (BB-63)
|USS Missouri is a United States Navy Iowa-class battleship, and was the fourth ship of the U.S. Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of Missouri...
. This was the first large scale American military visit to Turkey and also a symbolic gesture. Only after this event did the USSR back down.
The questioned validity of the treaty
The validity of the treaty is under question according to some politologists and scholars. In fact the authorities of the sides that have their signatories under the treaty are questioned. The signing by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey only can be claimed a farce, as it was founded in Ankara on 23 April 1920 in the midst of the Turkish War of Independence in the efforts of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk to found a new state out of the remnants of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I and, according to the Constitution of the Ottoman Empire, had no legal authority to sign international treaties. Article 7 of the Constitution of the Ottoman Empire reads:When the Constitution was revised in August 1909 the same Article 7 stated:
Only in the year 1923 the Turkish Republic was announced by the Turkish GNA and the Constitution of the Ottoman Empire was changed with a new one in 1921.
There is also an opinion among researchers that as the Soviet Republics were under strict control of Moscow and so the consent and independence of the parties is also questioned.
In addition, the USSR itself was established on December 29, 1922. This inflicts the local Communist governments in the Soviet Republics to be legitimate since the same date.
Post-Soviet history
Since the dissolution of the Soviet UnionDissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
in 1991, the governments of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, and 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...
have accepted the Kars treaty. But in contrast with this the Armenian position is different. As a prove of that can serve the announcements of Armenian Government officials as well as the absence of any such ratifications or decisions. The Armenian MP Levon Mkrtchyan from ARFD said the issue of recognizing or not recognizing the Kars Treaty is not on Armenia's foreign political agenda in Yerevan on February 3, 2005. He notes that the treaty was signed with gross violations of the international law as it was imposed by the Turkish-Russian Moscow Treaty, which stipulated, that all the South Caucasian republics should later sign similar separate treaties with Turkey. Similarly Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan had argued Armenia accepts the Kars Treaty. However Armenian Declaration of Independence and Armenian Constitution call Turkey's eastern provinces Western Armenia
Western Armenia
Western Armenia is a term, primarily used by Armenians, to refer to Armenian-inhabited areas of the Armenian Highland that were part of the Ottoman Empire and now are part of the Republic of Turkey....
. Armenia does not clearly recognize Turkey's national borders which defined in the Kars Treaty. Additionally, Oskanian noted that Turkey itself does not put a number of articles of the treaty into practice. For instance, the treaty called for Turkey to open a consulate in each of the three Transcaucasian republics. Due to tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of 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...
, Turkey has closed the land border with Armenia and severed diplomatic ties with it, thus allegedly violating this article. Oskanyan states that by this action, Turkey is putting the validity of the treaty into doubt.