The Russian-Soviet Resettlement Policies and Their Implications for Ethno-Territorial Conflicts in the South Caucasus
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THE RUSSIAN-SOVIET RESETTLEMENT POLICIES AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR ETHNO-TERRITORIAL CONFLICTS IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS By Farid Shafiyev A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2015 Farid Shafiyev Abstract This dissertation investigates the Imperial Russian and Soviet resettlement policies in the South Caucasus with a focus on Azerbaijan, and their implications for the ethno-territorial conflicts in the region. The periods of 1817-1840 as well as from 1878- 1914 during Russian Imperial rule are juxtaposed to the period of 1941-1953 of the Soviet administration in the South Caucasus. The selection of this time frame is based on the most active phases of the resettlement practices carried out by respective empires in the South Caucasian borderland. According to this time period, the most affected ethnic groups involved in the Russian-Soviet resettlement policies were Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Germans and Russians. As a contribution to transhistorical studies, this dissertation seeks to find not only parallels and continuity between the resettlement policies of Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union, but also aims at analyzing the modalities and complexities of empire- building in the borderlands under investigation. Thus, the dissertation will focus on differences in methods and approaches employed by the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union as they had different ideologies in empire- and state-building, which subsequently affected their resettlement practices. The research examines the imperial tools employed for refashioning the population in the borderland, such as Christianization and the “civilizing mission” and their connection to resettlement practices. I argue that one overarching theme of the resettlement policies was consistent throughout the Tsarist and Soviet administrations – the extension of imperial power in the borderland despite declared goals of economic development or religious refashioning of the region. ii This study follows on the approaches of Western scholars of Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union and employs the concepts of Orientalism and colonial governmentality in tackling the empire-building process. In this regard, the context of the Russian encounter with the Muslim world and the regional rivalry with Persia-Iran and Ottoman- Turkey will be also analyzed in the study. Further, the dissertation will focus on the relationship between the Russian-Soviet centers of power (St. Petersburg and Moscow) and local actors, especially the national and religious leadership of Armenians and Azerbaijanis. The study advances a thesis that the Russian and Soviet resettlement policies emanated from similar geopolitical and security considerations in the South Caucasian borderland, and were aimed at changing the demographic composition of the region. In doing so, the Russian-Soviet administrations unevenly treated the ethnic groups involved in the resettlement projects and the local population which had inhabited the region prior to the Russian conquest in the beginning of the 19th century. The result of resettlement policies – coupled with Russian-Soviet rule – was one of the major factors causing the ethno-territorial conflict between Azerbaijanis and Armenians. iii Acknowledgments It is a great pleasure to acknowledge those who made my journey to this PhD dissertation possible. I owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Jeff Sahadeo, my supervisor and instructor of Russian history, whose insightful suggestions, careful reading, wise criticism and constant attention to all my issues during the doctoral study made my research not only a bit easier but also enjoyable. I am also very grateful to the leadership of the Carleton University Department of History; first of all, Dr. Dominique Marshall, Department Chair, and Dr. Jennifer Evans, Graduate Chair, for accommodating my research adventure and ongoing diplomatic service. I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to Ms. Joan White, Graduate Administrator, for the great assistance she rendered to me. During my study I benefited greatly from many professors and instructors: Danielle Kinsey – for her acute vision of imperialism; James Opp and David Dean – for enlightening me about Michel Foucault, Edward Said and many other thinkers; Christoph Zuercher from Ottawa University, whose reflections on the nexus between “histories” and conflicts were important guidance. I found very helpful many comments and suggestions given by other Carleton University faculty members, such as Carter Elwood, Susan Whitney, John Walsh, and Paul Litt. Apart from that, during my previous studies in Baku State University and Harvard University I learned a lot from many excellent instructors, not all necessarily in the field of history but in many adjacent disciplines, such as international relations, conflict iv studies, etc. I would like to highlight Dr. Eldar Ismayilov from Baku State University, who was one of the first instructors in the beginning of the 1990s – when Azerbaijan was still under the Soviets – who had a depth and width of vision on the Soviet imperial legacy in the South Caucasus. I would like to mention American mentors – Joseph Nye, Noam Chomsky, Michael Ignatieff, Todd Pittinsky, John Thomas – whose intellectual contributions broadened my horizons. I should also highlight my high school history teacher Aron Davidovich Vizel, whose passion to the science of history left such a strong imprint in my memory. Throughout my archival research, several people were instrumental in my findings: Mr. Atakhan Pashayev, Head of the Azerbaijani State Archives, Mr. Anar Mamedov, Ms. Farida Aslanova, Mr. Rustam Aleskerov and many others. I am grateful to Ms. Marguerite Marlin for helping me with editing my manuscript. I dedicated this study to the memory of my parents: my mother Kubra Huseynova – who passed away just close to the end of my research, in December 2013 – and father Rauf Shafiyev; they supported me in every endeavor, including academic ones. My intellectual discussions with my brother Kamran Shafiyev were no less important. So were many friends and colleagues around. My wife Ulker Shafiyeva made my life so easy by taking care of everything at home when I spent endless hours in the office or in front of the computer. She is the main encourager of my scientific adventure, while my daughter Selin is my infinite source of inspiration. v To the memory of my mother Kubra Huseynova and father Rauf Shafiyev I pay tribute to the memory of all those who perished during the forced resettlements, deportations and exiles. I also pay personal tribute to the memory of my great- grandfather, Novruz Shafiyev, who was arrested and exiled to Siberia in 1937 and died somewhere in a place unknown to my family. vi Table of Contents Abstract………………………………………………………………………….…...……ii Acknowledgements………………………………………………..……………….……..iv Table of Contents…………………………………………………………...……….…...vii Notes on Transliteration, Names and Dates…………….……………………..……….…ix Abbreviations and Terms…….……………………………………………………………x List of Tables………………………………………………………………...…………...xi List of Illustrations……………………………………………………………………….xii List of Appendices.……………………………………………………………………...xiii Introduction...……………………………………………………………………..……..1 1 Chapter: Russian Conquest of the South Caucasus……………………………...26 1.1. Historiography and Controversy…………………………………………..……..26 1.2. Setting the Stage: Peter the Great’s Vision and Catherine the Great’s Project……………………………………………………………………………29 1.3. The Conquest of the South Caucasus, 1804-1829……………………………….49 2 Chapter: First Imperial Projects: Foreign Settlers – Germans and Armenians….....................................................................................................................56 2.1. Resettlement of Germans, 1817-1821 and Beyond……………………...………59 2.2. Resettlement of Armenians – Disputation among Scholars………………..…….70 2.3. Resettlement of Armenians, 1828-1831………………………………………….77 2.4. Russia and Armenian Settlers, 1850-1914………………………………..…….109 2.5. Demographic Changes and Political Discourse……………………………...…128 3 Chapter: Resettlement of Russians……………………………………...……….142 3.1. Sectarians as Empire-Builders………………………………………………….147 3.2. Russian Peasants as Colonizers………………………………………………...163 4 Chapter: Locals and Settlers: Conflicts under Russian Rule………….…….…184 4.1. Locals and Settlers: An Evolving Relationship…………………….……..……186 vii 4.2. Muslim Resistance to Russian Rule……………………………………….……192 4.3. The Armenian-Azerbaijani Massacres of 1905-1906……………………….….199 5 Chapter: Soviet Population Management and Deportations………………...…221 5.1. Soviet Population Control and Movement…………………………………..….231 5.2. Dealing with Troubled Borderlands…………………………………………….236 5.3. Deportation of Germans, 1941………………………………………………….241 6 Chapter: Soviet Post-war Resettlement Projects in the South Caucasus………250 6.1. The Soviets and the Issue of Nationalities……………………………………...252 6.2. Repatriation of Armenians, 1946-1949………………………………………...263 6.3. The Deportation of Azerbaijanis from Armenia, 1948-1953…………………..282 Conclusion……………………………………………….…………………………….331 Appendices………………………………………………………………………….….348 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………….……..361 viii Notes on Transliteration, Names and Dates As this study deals heavily with Russian sources, I used a phonetic approach to the transliteration of names. The same method was employed to identify historical figures – I used, for example,