ABSTRACT Title of Document: WITHOUT A COUNTRY: STATELESS ARMENIAN REFUGEES IN THE U.S.S.R AND RUSSIA, 1987-2003 Sudaba Lezgiyeva, Master of Historical Studies, 2018 Directed By: Dr. Kate Brown, History Department The focus of this thesis is the inter-ethnic conflict in Azerbaijan that led to the exile of Armenian refugees and subsequently their struggle to gain citizenship rights in the newly formed Russian Federation. The political tensions in the Nagorno-Karabakh region were relatively calm until they exploded in late February 1988, leading to an inter-ethnic conflict in Sumgait, Azerbaijan. Almost seven months later, in November 1988, the vigorous unrest intensified in the town of Kirovabad, leading again to the massacre of Armenian minorities. As a result, the pogroms coincided with increased anti-Armenian feelings in the capitol of Azerbaijan, Baku. On January 20th, 1990, pogroms broke out in Baku and continued for seven days, during which the majority of the ethnic Armenian population in Azerbaijan was beaten, tortured, or murdered. Some Armenians managed to flee before the pogroms took place, but many were trapped in the city until Soviet authorities evacuated them. Seeking refuge, many Armenians fled to the capitol of the Soviet Union, Moscow, where they remained in temporary accommodations in hotels and dormitories. In 1991, when the Soviet Union, as an internationalist state, suddenly broke up into smaller national formations, the legal status of internal refugees like the Armenians was left in doubt. The research looks at a significant trend of refugees who fled directly to the capital of the Soviet Union, Moscow as a means for understanding why, while trapped in social and economic circumstances, they were deemed ineligible for citizenship of the newly formed Russian Republic. Armenian refugees in Moscow fell into a legal gap and became effectively stateless, hence, they were not recognized as citizens of any country. The intent of this thesis is to emphasize the fact that deprived of citizenship and human dignity, Armenia refugees in Moscow were persecuted because of a growing nationalism, xenophobia and racism in Russia. While focusing on ethnicity policy during the Soviet era and the Russian Federation, I will emphasize the fact that the Soviet government used citizenship to maintain power, whereas officials of the new Russia privileged ethnicity in a new way. In the new Russia, ethnicity was essentialized and became the defining factor for citizenship. WITHOUT A COUNTRY: STATELESS ARMENIAN REFUGEES IN THE U.S.S.R AND RUSSIA, 1987-2003 By Sudaba Lezgiyeva Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, Baltimore Country, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts 2018 ©Copyright by Sudaba Lezgiyeva 2018 DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my mother and sister Margarita and Aygyun Lezgiyeva, whose passion for history helped me to complete this research. And to the many individuals who supported me during the difficult times. A special dedication is to my sweet and loving child, Aylar Damavandi who was always next to me. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my thesis advisor Dr. Kate Brown of the History Department at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Dr. Brown inspired me to write about a historical event, that has a personal connection to me. She consistently worked with me and was available to my quick chats about the process of my research. I would like to thank also Dr. Nolan and Dr. Boehling to being my supplemental readers. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication ii Acknowledgement iii Table of Contents iv Introduction 1 Azerbaijan and Armenia Before and During the Soviet Era 4 Literature Review 6 Methodology 12 Chapter 1: The Anti-Armenian Pogroms in Sumgait, Ganja and Baku 18 Chapter 2: The Soviet Paradox: Playing the National and Ethnic Cards 43 Chapter 3: Moscow Free From Refugees 61 Chapter 4: Welcomed 78 Conclusion: 93 Bibliography 99 iv INTRODUCTION The focus of this thesis is the inter-ethnic conflict in Azerbaijan that led to the exile of Armenian refugees and subsequently their struggle to gain citizenship rights in the newly formed Russian Federation. Between 1987 and 1990 approximately 44,433 ethnic Armenians were 1 registered in Russia as refugees. In 1987 Armenian leaders began sending a series of petitions to Moscow protesting the Azerbaijani restrictions on the Karabakh Armenian cultural and economic influence the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The political tensions in the region, located in the southeastern part of Caucasus Minor, were relatively calm until they exploded in late February 1988. At that time, an inter-ethnic conflict took place in Sumgait, Azerbaijan, a Soviet Republic until August, 1991. During the conflict, Azerbaijanis singled out, attacked and murdered a segment of the Armenian population. Almost seven months later, in November 1988, the vigorous unrest intensified in the town of Kirovabad, leading to the massacre of Armenian minorities. As a result, the pogroms coincided with increased anti-Armenian feelings in the capitol of Azerbaijan, Baku. On January 20th, 1990, pogroms broke out in Baku and continued for seven days, during which the majority of the ethnic Armenian population in Azerbaijan was beaten, tortured, or murdered. Some Armenians managed to flee before the pogroms took place, but many were trapped in the city until Soviet authorities evacuated them. Seeking refuge, many Armenians fled to the capitol of the Soviet Union, Moscow, where they remained in temporary accommodations in hotels and dormitories. 1 Bill Frelick, “Faultlines of Nationality Conflict: Refugees and Displaced Persons from Armenia and Azerbaijan,” U.S. Committee For Refugees, March 1994, 32. 1 A year later in 1991, when the U.S.S.R., as an internationalist state, suddenly broke up into smaller national formations, the legal status of internal refugees like the Armenians was left in doubt. A significant trend of refugees fled directly to the capital of the U.S.S.R. The reasons they sought refuge in Moscow were various. The first reason was that the International Committee of the Red Cross was only located in Moscow. The Red Cross granted people refugee status. Second, the majority of ethnic Armenians spoke only Russian, therefore, it was difficult for them to integrate into Armenian society. Due to a devastating earthquake in 1988 and socio-economic instability, Armenia could not adequately accommodate refugees from Azerbaijan. The third and the most significant reason was that there were many mixed marriages among the refugees. Thus, Azerbaijanis would be discriminated in Armenia. Trapped in social and economic circumstances, refugees were stranded in Moscow at the collapse of the U.S.S.R. As a result of the absence of refugee legislation, in 1991 the Moscow Committee of Labor and Employment began to register and provide refugees with temporary registrations, which indicated that they were forcibly displaced individuals from Azerbaijan. The registrations clearly stated that it was a refugee ID card and required an annual renewal with the presence of a Soviet passport. According to article 13 of the 1991 citizenship law, all former Soviet citizens should be recognized as Russian citizens. Russian authorities did not apply the law to the Armenian refugees because they were deemed ineligible for citizenship of the newly formed Russian Republic. Armenians in Moscow fell into a legal gap and became effectively stateless. Hence, they were not recognized as citizens of any country. Most Armenian refugees in Moscow were stateless for over one decade. In 1993, the mayor of Moscow institutionalized their refugee status when he implemented the propiska system, a formal registration system necessary to live and work in the city. The propiska was instigated for 2 economic and law enforcement purposes. Without this document, refugees and other residents could not work legally in Moscow or receive social assistance. The evidence that will be presented in my thesis will show the reasons for Armenian refugees in Moscow being stateless for almost fifteen years and help readers to understand the ethnic limits of citizenship in the late U.S.S.R/Russian Federation. In this thesis, I argue that deprived of citizenship and human dignity, Armenian refugees in Moscow were persecuted because of a growing nationalism, xenophobia and racism in Russia. While focusing on ethnicity policy during the Soviet era and the Russian Federation, I will emphasize the fact that the Soviet government used citizenship to maintain power, whereas officials of the new Russia privileged ethnicity in a new way. In the new Russia, ethnicity was essentialized and became the defining factor for citizenship. For this project, I will investigate questions related to the resentment between Azerbaijanis and Armenians: Were the pogroms carefully planned or impulsively undertaken by the Azerbaijani radical nationalists? While analyzing the anti-Armenian pogroms, it is important to analyze and understand why Community Party leaders failed to prevent the bloodshed and protect Armenians in Sumgait, Kirovobad, and Baku. How did the Soviet nationality and ethnicity policies affect the rights of Armenian refugees if they were Soviet citizens? Importantly for understanding the attitudes of the Muscovite citizens toward non-Slavic citizens, I will focus on how xenophobic practices and ethnic prejudices continued to shape nationality policy in the newly formed Russian Federation.