Map Close  
Person info Close  
Information Close  
Source reference Close  
  Svenska
 
Index

Armenia

The Urartu Civilisation

Victory for Independence

Artashisian Dynasty on the Armenian Throne

Armenia caught between Rome and the Arsacids

The Acceptance of Christianity

Defending Christianity

Armenia Under the Bagratouni Dynasty

Cilicia - the New Armenia

Armenia Under Turanian Rule

The Renaissance or the Resurrection of Armenia

The Eastern Question

Russia in the Caucasus

The Armenian Question

Battle on Two Fronts

Tsarist Russia Against the Armenians

The Revolution of the Young Turks and the Armenian People on the Eve of World War I

The First World War

The Resurrection of Armenia

Armenia on the Road to Independence, 1918

- Armenia on the Road to Independence, 1918

Eastern Armenia

Western Armenia

"The Fateful Years" (1914-1917)

"Hopes and Emotions" (March-October, 1917)

The Bolshevik Revolution and Armenia

Transcaucasia Adrift (November, 1917

Dilemmas (March-April, 1918)

War and Independence (April-May, 1918)

The Republics of Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia

The Suppliants (June-October, 1918)

In conclusion

Soviet Armenia

The Second Independent Republic of Armenia

Epilogue

Previous page Page 384 Next page Smaller font Larger font Print friednly version  
The German Offensive and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Trotsky's strange maxim did not impress the German High Command. Within a week the German armies advanced along the entire front. All of European Russia and the North Caucasus were imperilled by the Berlin war machine. The Sovnarkom was unable to wage a "revolutionary war," and, on February 23, the Central Executive Committee received and accepted a German ultimatum dated two days earlier. The Armenians were affected by point 5: "Russia shall do everything in her power to guarantee a speedy and orderly return of the East Anatolian provinces to Turkey." 39

A more conventional diplomat, G. V. Chicherin, replaced the disillusioned Trotsky as Foreign Commissar and scurried to Brest with a new delegation to sign the peace. But where the demands of Enver's delegates had earlier been held to a minimum, the interlude of renewed hostilities now altered the situation. Immediately following Trotsky's "no war, no peace" speech, General von Ludendorff informed the Ottoman Chief of Staff, General Hans von Seeckt, that Germany would welcome a strong Turkish offensive against the Caucasus. 40 Thus when, on February 27, Enver Pasha directed Ismail Hakki, diplomatic envoy to Berlin and delegate at Brest-Litovsk, to demand the provinces of Kars, Ardahan, and Batum in addition to the restoration of the eastern vilayets, Germany yielded to the insistence of her ally. 41 Furthermore, on March 1, von Seeckt informed the German High Command that Russia should be compelled to recognise the existence of a separate Transcaucasian state, to pledge non-intervention in the affairs of that nation, and to guarantee the right of self-determination to the Moslems of Kazan, Orenburg, Turkestan, and Bukhara. The Enver-Talaat regime requested the benevolent support of Berlin in these matters. 42

When Chicherin's delegation arrived at Brest, it waived discussion of details and offered to sign the peace without further ado. Any terms placed before the Soviet delegates would be signed, for this was not a voluntary but dictated settlement. By refusing to review the treaty, the Sovnarkom representatives wished to dramatise the compulsory character of the proceedings. Furthermore, only after reaching Brest-Litovsk did Chicherin learn of the last-minute Turkish demand for part of Transcaucasia. 43 Once again the Soviet delegation bowed before the reality that dictated peace at any price or else death to the newly established order. Nonetheless, when accepting the terms on March 3, 1918, the Russian delegation declared: "In the Caucasus, plainly violating the conditions of the ultimatum of 21 February drawn up by the German Government itself, and ignoring the real wishes of the population of the districts of Ardahan, Kars, and Batum, Germany detaches these areas for the benefit of Turkey, whose armies had never conquered them." 44 With complete absence of pomp, the treaty was signed.