Latest / The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History / The First Armenian Republic: Independence Amid Chaos
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about the genocide and the centuries of Ottoman rule, but one thing we haven't touched on is what happened right after World War I. With both the Ottoman and Russian empires collapsing, Armenians had a brief, chaotic window to try and build their own state. Luna: Wait, you mean before the Soviet Union took over? Lucas: Exactly. There was a First Republic of Armenia that lasted from May 1918 to December 1920. Just two and a half years, but it's hugely important for Armenian identity. It was born in a desperate fight for survival. In spring 1918, Ottoman forces were advancing into the Caucasus, aiming to seize Baku's oil fields. The Armenians in the eastern provinces were basically on their own. Lucas: The Russian army had disintegrated after the Bolshevik Revolution, so a small Armenian volunteer force—maybe 10,000 men—had to stop the Ottoman advance. They did it at the Battle of Sardarabad, fought near the modern Armenian-Iranian border. It's often called the 'Armenian Thermopylae' because a defeat there would have meant total annihilation. Luna: And they actually won? Lucas: They did. Against the odds, Armenian forces under General Tovmas Nazarbekian and the civilian leader Aram Manukian halted the Ottomans at Sardarabad. The battle happened on May 21–29, 1918. The victory allowed the Armenian National Council in Yerevan to declare independence on May 28. That date is still celebrated as Republic Day in Armenia. Lucas: But the victory came at a huge cost. The Ottomans were still advancing on other fronts, and Armenia was forced to sign the Treaty of Batum in June 1918, which gave away about half of the territory they claimed—including Kars and Ardahan. It was a bitter pill, but it bought time. Luna: So the republic started out already crippled. Lucas: Absolutely. The new state had maybe 700,000 refugees alone—survivors of the genocide who had fled into the Caucasus. Yerevan was a small, dusty town of about 30,000 people. There was famine, typhus, and no infrastructure. The government was run by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, the Dashnaks, under Prime Minister Hovhannes Kachaznuni. Lucas: Remarkably, they tried to build a functioning state. They established a currency, the Armenian ruble, and founded Yerevan State University in 1919, which became a cornerstone of Armenian intellectual life. But they were constantly squeezed between the Ottoman Empire, the British, who had occupied parts of the Caucasus, and the rising Bolsheviks. Luna: What about the neighbors—Georgia and Azerbaijan? Lucas: Complicated. All three declared independence around the same time, but they had territorial disputes. Armenia and Georgia fought over the Lori region, and Armenia and Azerbaijan fought over Zangezur and Karabakh. There was even a brief war between Armenia and Georgia in December 1918. The Allies tried to mediate, but it was messy. Lucas: One of the biggest hopes for Armenia was the Treaty of Sèvres in August 1920, which was supposed to award them a large territory including Trabzon and Van. But the treaty was never ratified. The Ottoman Empire was replaced by Mustafa Kemal's Turkish nationalist movement, which was far more resolute. Luna: So the treaty was a dead letter. Lucas: Exactly. By September 1920, Kemalist forces attacked Armenia, starting the Turkish-Armenian War. Armenia was exhausted and alone. The war ended with the Treaty of Alexandropol in December 1920, where Armenia renounced the Treaty of Sèvres and ceded huge territories. It was essentially a surrender. Lucas: At the same time, the Bolsheviks were advancing from the north. The Armenian government, in a desperate move, actually invited the Red Army into the country on November 29, 1920, hoping to get protection from the Turks. It backfired. Within a week, the republic was replaced by the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. Luna: So the First Republic was crushed between two powers. Lucas: Crushed is the word. It lasted just 30 months. But its legacy is huge. It proved that Armenians could govern themselves, even under impossible conditions. The national symbols—the tricolor flag, the coat of arms, the anthem—all date from this period. And the independence movement it sparked never really died, even under Soviet rule. Luna: And the leaders—what happened to them? Lucas: Many went into exile. Aram Manukian died of typhus in 1919, before the end. Kachaznuni was arrested by the Soviets but later released, and he died in the Soviet Union in the 1930s, likely executed in the purges. Others, like the last prime minister, Simon Vratsian, fled abroad and continued the political struggle in the diaspora. Lucas: So the First Republic is a story of a brief, bright flame against overwhelming odds. It's a key part of understanding modern Armenia, and why the genocide is not just a tragedy but also a prelude to a struggle for statehood that continues today.