Latest / The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History / Armenia's First Republic: 1918-1920 and the Fight for Independence
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about Armenian communities under empire—Ottoman, Persian, Russian—but we've never covered the moment when Armenians actually ran their own state again, after centuries. And I mean a real, sovereign republic, however fragile. Luna: The First Republic? 1918 to 1920? Lucas: Exactly. It only lasted about two and a half years, but those years were packed. And it starts with an almost impossible victory at a place called Sardarabad. Picture this: May 1918, the Ottoman army is pushing deep into the Caucasus. They've already taken Erzurum, Van, and they're heading straight for Yerevan. The Russian army has collapsed after the Bolshevik Revolution, so there's no one to stop them. The Armenian leadership—what's left of it—decides to make a stand. Luna: Who was leading that effort? Lucas: Aram Manukian. He's one of those figures who doesn't get enough attention outside Armenia. He was a Dashnak revolutionary, a key organizer of the defense of Van in 1915, and by 1918 he'd become the de facto leader of the Armenian National Council. He rallied whatever troops were available—irregulars, refugees, even intellectuals—and set up a defensive line near Sardarabad, about 30 kilometers west of Yerevan. The Ottomans had around 10,000 men; the Armenians maybe half that, with almost no artillery. But they had desperation on their side. Luna: And they won? Lucas: They did. The battle on May 22–28, 1918, ended with the Ottomans in retreat. It's often called a miracle, and honestly it kind of was. At the same time, other Armenian units held off the Ottomans at Bash Abaran and Gharakilisa. So within a week, the Armenian National Council felt confident enough to declare independence. On May 28, 1918, the Republic of Armenia was proclaimed in Tiflis, with Hovhannes Kachaznuni as prime minister. Yerevan became the capital. Luna: But they'd just lost most of historic Armenia to genocide and war. What did this republic actually control? Lucas: A tiny fraction. Basically the Yerevan province and parts of what's now eastern Armenia. It was a landlocked rump state, with no real economy, and it was flooded with refugees—maybe 300,000 people who'd survived the deportations and massacres. The entire population was maybe 800,000, so refugees made up over a third. They were living in tents, in abandoned buildings, dying of typhus and starvation. Kachaznuni's government had almost no money, no army to speak of, and it was surrounded by hostile neighbors: the Ottomans, the Azerbaijanis, and later the White Russians and Bolsheviks. Luna: So how did they even function? Lucas: Barely. They tried to build state institutions from scratch. They set up a parliament, a judiciary, and a rudimentary bureaucracy. They passed laws on citizenship, land reform, and education. They opened schools and even a university—Yerevan State University was founded in 1919. But there was constant war. In 1918, they fought a brief war with Georgia over the Lori region, and a longer, more brutal one with Azerbaijan over Karabakh and Zangezur. Andronik Ozanian—the famous fedayee commander—tried to secure those areas but couldn't get recognition from the Allies. Luna: And the Allies? The Paris Peace Conference was happening. Didn't they promise something to Armenia? Lucas: They did. President Woodrow Wilson was sympathetic, and the Treaty of Sevres in August 1920 awarded Armenia a huge chunk of eastern Anatolia—what they called Wilsonian Armenia. But the treaty was never ratified. The Ottoman government signed it, but then Mustafa Kemal's nationalist movement rejected it and started a military campaign. By September 1920, Turkish forces under Karabekir invaded Armenia. The Armenian army, exhausted and undersupplied, collapsed. The Turks took Alexandropol—today's Gyumri—and imposed the Treaty of Alexandropol in December, which reduced Armenia to a tiny territory. Luna: And then the Bolsheviks came. Lucas: Right. The Armenian government had been trying to negotiate with the Soviets for protection, but it was too late. On November 29, 1920, the 11th Red Army crossed into Armenia, and a Soviet Armenian Revolutionary Committee declared a socialist republic. The Dashnak government surrendered on December 2. So in the span of two weeks, Armenia went from independence to Soviet occupation. The First Republic was over. But it wasn't meaningless—it proved that an Armenian state could exist, and it laid the groundwork for the future. Luna: It's almost tragic. They fought so hard for such a short time. Lucas: Yeah, and that's why Sardarabad is such a powerful symbol. It's a reminder that independence wasn't given—it was taken, against all odds. And even though the republic fell, the memory of it fueled the independence movement decades later. It's a story of desperation, courage, and the stubborn refusal to disappear. Luna: Talking about stubborn refusal—it reminds me that this whole show is ad-free, and that's a choice we make because we believe in telling stories like this without interruption. If you've been listening and want to support that, we'd appreciate it if you throw something our way at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It helps keep these conversations going. Lucas: Absolutely, no ads, just history. And speaking of history—there's one more thing about the First Republic I want to mention. One of the lesser-known figures is Tovmas Nazarbekian, the general who actually commanded the troops at Sardarabad. He was a veteran of the Russian Imperial Army, and after the republic fell, he stayed in Soviet Armenia and died in obscurity in 1931. But his tactics that day were critical. Luna: So it wasn't just desperation—there was real military skill. Lucas: Exactly. Nazarbekian used the terrain, set up crossfires, and kept his lines from breaking. And the soldiers were motivated by something deeper: they knew if they lost, there would be no Armenia left. That kind of determination can't be taught. And it's why when you visit Sardarabad today, there's a huge monument, and every year on May 28, Armenians celebrate Republic Day. It's a living memory. Luna: I'm glad we covered this. It's a piece I didn't know much about. Lucas: There's so much more—the diplomacy, the internal politics, the refugee crisis. But that's a good place to pause. Next time, maybe we'll talk about the First Republic's cultural flowering—poetry, art, even a national opera. Because even in crisis, people create. Luna: I'd love that.