Latest / The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History / Armenia's Iron Curtain: The First Republic's Struggle for Survival
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about the ancient kingdoms, the genocide, the diaspora. But there's this brief, intense moment right after World War One when Armenia actually had its own independent state — the First Republic. It only lasted from 1918 to 1920, but those two years were packed with drama. Luna: I've heard of it, but I always wondered how they managed to declare independence in the middle of so much chaos. Lucas: Exactly. The background is that in 1918, the Russian Empire had collapsed, and the Ottoman Empire was still fighting. The Armenians in the Russian Caucasus were caught between a retreating Russian army and an advancing Ottoman one. In April 1918, the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic — a short-lived federation of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan — fell apart, and on May 28, the Armenian National Council in Tiflis declared independence. Lucas: But the real story of that declaration is the Battle of Sardarabad, just days before. If the Armenians hadn't won that battle, there would have been no republic to declare. Luna: What happened at Sardarabad? Lucas: In late May 1918, Ottoman forces were pushing toward Yerevan, and they were much better equipped than the Armenian defenders. The Armenians had basically no regular army — just a mix of fedayi fighters, some former tsarist soldiers, and ordinary civilians, including women and children. They gathered at Sardarabad, about 30 kilometers west of Yerevan, and under the command of General Movses Silikyan, they managed to stop the Ottoman advance. It was a desperate, last-ditch effort. Lucas: The battle lasted about a week. The Armenians used what they had — a few cannons, rifles, and incredible determination. They even had a priest named Father Garegin leading prayers on the front lines. When the Ottomans finally retreated, it was an enormous morale boost. Within days, the republic was proclaimed. Luna: So the republic was born out of a military victory. But I imagine the problems didn't end there. Lucas: Not even close. The republic's borders were tiny. The Treaty of Batum, signed in June 1918 with the Ottomans, reduced Armenia to a sliver of land — about 12,000 square kilometers, much smaller than even modern Armenia. Yerevan was the capital, but it was a dusty town of maybe 30,000 people, with no industry, no railways, and a huge influx of refugees from the genocide. Lucas: The refugees alone numbered in the hundreds of thousands. They were starving, sick, and homeless. The republic had almost no food, no medicine, and no money. The first prime minister was Hovhannes Kachaznuni, a Dashnak leader, and he had to somehow govern a country that was essentially a humanitarian disaster zone. Luna: I remember that the Dashnaks were the main political party at the time. But didn't they have trouble with other groups? Lucas: Yes, internal divisions were a huge problem. The Dashnaksutyun — the Armenian Revolutionary Federation — dominated the government, but there were also Social Revolutionaries, Populists, and others. The republic tried to hold elections, but with so much chaos, it was nearly impossible to establish a functioning democracy. There were also conflicts with neighboring Georgia and Azerbaijan over territory. Lucas: One of the most tragic episodes was the war with Georgia over the Lori region and with Azerbaijan over Zangezur and Karabakh. The Allies — Britain and France — had promised the Armenians a much larger state at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, but those promises evaporated as the geopolitical situation shifted. Luna: So the Allies let them down? Lucas: Completely. President Woodrow Wilson had drawn up the so-called Wilsonian Armenia — a huge territory that included Trebizond, Erzurum, Van, and Bitlis — but it was never enforced. The Treaty of Sèvres in 1920 recognized the republic, but it was a dead letter. The Kemalist movement in Turkey was already gaining strength, and they had no intention of giving up any territory. Lucas: In the fall of 1920, war broke out between Armenia and the Turkish Nationalists. The Armenian army was exhausted, undersupplied, and outnumbered. The Turks quickly captured Kars and Alexandropol — now Gyumri. The Treaty of Alexandropol, signed in December 1920, forced Armenia to give up most of its territory and effectively ended the republic. Luna: And then the Soviet Union stepped in. Lucas: Right. The Bolsheviks had been negotiating with the Dashnaks, but they also had their own plans. On November 29, 1920, the Red Army invaded from the east, and within days, the Armenian government surrendered. The country was declared a Soviet republic. Some historians argue that the Dashnaks could have resisted longer, but they were caught between two enemies and chose what they saw as the lesser evil — hoping Soviet rule might at least protect Armenians from annihilation. Lucas: The last prime minister, Simon Vratsian, and other leaders went into exile. The First Republic was over. But its legacy is complicated. On one hand, it failed — it was too weak, too poor, too isolated. On the other hand, it proved that an Armenian state could exist in the modern world. It established symbols like the tricolor flag, the coat of arms, and the national anthem that are still used today. Luna: It's amazing they managed to hold on at all. What happened to the people who led it? Lucas: Many of them were arrested, exiled, or killed by the Soviets. Aram Manukian, the de facto leader during the early months, died of typhus in January 1919, before the republic even collapsed. Kachaznuni was arrested in 1921 but later released; he lived in exile and wrote memoirs. Others, like Dro — Drastamat Kanayan — fled and continued working for Armenian causes abroad. The Dashnak party went into diaspora, becoming a major force in Armenian communities worldwide. Lucas: So the First Republic wasn't just a footnote. It was a brief, shining moment that showed what Armenians could achieve even in the worst circumstances. And it set the stage for the second independence in 1991, when the Soviet Union fell. Luna: I guess the memory of Sardarabad never really faded. Lucas: Exactly. The battle is commemorated every year, and the Sardarabad Memorial, built in 1968, is a symbol of national pride. It's a reminder that even when everything seems lost, a people can still fight and win a moment of freedom. The First Republic may have lasted only two years, but it proved that the idea of an Armenian state was still alive.