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| A New York Times article headline from March 17, 1921 |
The
transference of government and loss of independence had been the choice
between the lesser of two evils. On the west, Armenia had been defeated
by the Turkish nationalist forces that responded to Mustafa Kemal,
which had occupied Alexandropol, and the danger of a new massacre that
would complete the genocide loomed over the country. It was expected
that the new government, while dealing with the Turks with the
sponsorship of Soviet Russia, would also address the myriad of problems
that affected the exhausted population.
This
did not happen. The newcomers, instead, caught in the fever of
revolution and war communism, tried to apply to Armenia the same recipes
that were being practiced in Soviet Russia. Food was requisitioned
from the starving population to be sent to Russia as “help from the
Armenian workers.” Repression against the former government and the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation started. In late December about 1,200
high-ranking officers of the army of independent Armenia were arrested,
including the heroes of the May 1918 battles, like generals Tovmas
Nazarbekian, Movses Silikian, Daniel Bek-Pirumian, and Dro. They were
forced to walk from Yerevan to Alaverdi (about 100 miles), and then
dispatched to prisons in Baku and Russia; Daniel Bek-Pirumian, hero of
the battle of Sardarabad, was shot in the Yerevan prison in February
1921.
Economic
suffering and political violence led to the brewing of a popular
movement to put an end to the situation. In February 1921 many prominent
A.R.F. members, who had also been active in the years of the Republic,
like Levon Shant, Nikol Aghbalian, and Hovhannes Kajaznuni, were
arrested. Some of them were killed in prison by Azeri killers armed with
axes. Others were saved by the rebellion, which started on February 13
amid a group of refugees from Sasun who had settled on the foot of Mount
Aragatz. In the next four days, the rebel forces, now headed by members
of the A.R.F. who had eluded persecution, took Ashtarak, Echmiadzin,
Garni, and Hrazdan. Yerevan was liberated on February 18 and the
Bolshevik-led Military Revolutionary Committee retreated. The rebellion
had been helped by the fact that the troops of the XI Red Army had been
taken out of Armenia to participate in the sovietization of Georgia.
On
February 18 the independence of Armenia was again proclaimed and the
“Committee for the Salvation of the Homeland” took power under the
leadership of the last prime minister of the independent Republic, Simon
Vratzian. It issued an order that stated: “The Bolshevik regime in
Armenia has been eliminated. Until the formation of a government, the
whole authority is in the hands of the Committee for the Salvation of
the Homeland.” A message to the delegation of the Republic of Armenia
and to the leaders of the world powers, sent on the same day, remained
unanswered. A response to a message sent to Georgia was received on
February 21, when the Armenian embassy was reopened in Tiflis. However,
four days later Georgia fell to the Soviet forces, and the rebellion in
Armenia was left alone against the Communist forces. There was no help
from the outside world, because it was obvious that the rebellion would
fail sooner or later; the Soviet forces in Armenia had the support of
Soviet Russia.
Bloody
battles took place between the opposing sides during the short-lived
period of freedom. The Bolsheviks attacked Yerevan on February 27, but
were forced to retreat on March 1. After a two-week stop, they attacked
again and briefly took Ashtarak, but were repelled on March 17. However,
the numerical superiority of the Bolsheviks became crucial. Their great
offensive started on March 24 and nine days later, on April 2, Yerevan
fell.
The
A.R.F. forces retreated without opposing serious resistance to avoid
the destruction of the capital. Thousands of people, both civilians and
soldiers, retreated to Zangezur, where the Republic of Mountainous
Armenia had been formed, and joined the forces of Garegin Nzhdeh. The
resistance ended in July, while the refugees and the leaders of the
rebellion had already crossed the border to Persia.
The
reasons of the revolt were later discussed by the Bolshevik authorities
in Russia and the Military-Revolutionary Committee was replaced in
April 1921 by the Council of People’s Commissars, led by Alexander
Miasnikian until his death in 1925, whose policies ensured a more
tolerant treatment of the population, the end of the rebellion, and the
partial return of some of the refugees from Persia.
