The resistance of the Armenians in Baku is described by Victor Berard in his book: "The attacks against the Armenians in Baku started on February 19, 1905 and turned into downright massacre during February 20-21. The Armenians requested the support of the Russian government, but the local government, which was in collaboration with the Tatars, refused to intervene. So the Armenians of Baku were forced to defend their own destiny. On February 21, the Armenian young men, armed with grenades and rifles which they had hastilygathered, marched towards the streets and quarters which were controlled by armed Tatar bands. The Russian forces, which until that moment refused to intervene and were only spectators of the events, now tried to disarm the Armenians who were thereby forced to fight on two fronts, in other words, to escape being arrested and simultaneously fight the aggressors. Despite this difficult situation, they managed to launch an offensive. At the end of the day, the Tatars were driven away from all the streets around the Armenian church and the city railway station. The following day, the Armenians continued to the other quarters in the city and dispersed all Tatar bands on their way. The acts of vengeance were bloody and Tatar corpses in the streets were increasing in number for each hour that passed. Thus the Tatar leaders turned to the ruler of the city and begged him to put an end to the fighting." 54
The Russian police and the military maintained their stance as neutral spectators of the battles when the Tatars appeared to be winning, in accordance with a directive which followed the Russian tsarist plan 55, but suddenly changed their position and intervened in the counterattack of the Armenians and agreed to reinstate order.
The Dashnak party took revenge by assassinating Nakashidze, the ruler of Baku who showed himself to be a mere puppet of St Petersburg in their ominous plan.
In Tbilisi, which was regarded as the capital of Transcaucasia, the Armenian defence ended in outright victory under the leadership of Armen Garo Pasdermadjian. During the seven day-long battle, 500 Armenian fedayis forced 1 500 armed Tatars to retreat and inflicted heavy casualties on them. The Tatar bands had come from neighbouring areas and were protected by the Russian government, even bringing large bags to collect loot in. They were forced to return empty-handed in scattered and wounded groups. 56
This was the story of the massacres of 1905. These massacres ended in resounding defeat for the Russian reactionary groups, damaging their prestige, not only in front of the Armenians, but also in the eyes of their countrymen and the European community. These massacres were the last desperate measure of a policy which could survive no longer.
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