Turning from the problems of all Russia to the issues particular to Transcaucasia, the majority of the delegates favoured the program presented by Dashnaktsoutiun, which proposed
- to recognise without delay the democratic Armenian elements;
- to foster harmonious relations with the Georgian and Moslem workers, for regional progress and peace depended on international cooperation;
- to revise the administrative boundaries of Transcaucasia according to geographic, ethnic, and economic factors and then to adopt the zemstvo;
- to create within Armenian life a representative national body with membership from all political-social currents but in proportion to the popular support enjoyed by each. 104
There was little to dispute in the first three points, but the fourth was the subject of much oratory and private negotiation.
Records of the Congress indicate that the Ozakom was the primary topic of at least three sessions. All agreed that Transcaucasia had been given "rulers" but not "rule". Hambartsoum Arakelian, a Populist, proposed that the Ozakom be reorganised into a seven-man Kadet-socialist coalition with four members appointed by the central government and one each by the Georgians, Armenians, and Moslems of Transcaucasia. Nikol Aghbalian, a theoretician of Dashnaktsoutiun, accepted the suggestion but insisted that the Armenian representative should express the will of the people. The barb was aimed at the Kadet Papadjanian, the current member. Aghbalian regretted that the Ozakom had become the arena for the intensification of Transcaucasian rivalries and jealousies. He accused the Georgian Mensheviks of pursuing nationalistic aims under the guise of socialism, as was apparent when, during discussions on revamping the Ozakom, Zhordania and his fellows, asserting that Dashnaktsoutiun was not a true socialist society, attempted to exclude it from membership. If the Mensheviks had their way, the Armenian people would be deprived of legitimate representation. According to Aghbalian, the Armenians were not above reproach, for the reawakening of their national consciousness lagged behind that of their neighbours. The historic causes for that shortcoming could be summarised as follows:
- The Armenian people were not a compact element in their native lands but lived in the midst of other peoples, each with distinct aspirations. Constant friction with those neighbours had hindered Armenian progress.
- The Armenian tradition of government had been severed in the eleventh century, after which no social class coveting political domination existed. Conversely, the Georgians and Tatars had aristocratic elements which, down to the present, were accustomed to rule and received the patronage of the Russian government.
- Living for centuries under foreign lords, each more abhorrent than the other, the Armenians had come to associate government with evil. Even when presented the opportunity to rule, they shunned the responsibility and suspected any of their own people who attempted to rise in the administrative hierarchy. The psychology of the Armenians, in sharp contrast with that of the Georgians and Tatars, was that of a subject people.
- The Armenian intellectuals had not been concerned with Transcaucasian affairs, for they had concentrated all their attention on the problem of Western (Turkish) Armenia. Moreover, imbued with strong nationalistic tendencies, they had not produced individuals of all-Russian and international significance. Again, the Georgian Mensheviks stood in contrast.
- The recent massacres and flight of the Ottoman Armenians detracted further from interest in Russian administrative and revolutionary activity, and the struggle for physical self-preservation hampered the development of national consciousness and unity. 105
The Congress mirrored the anarchy that had engulfed all Russia when the Mensheviks, Simeon Pirumian, in his condemnation of the Ozakom, also vilified Dashnaktsoutiun and its "bandit chiefs." The commotion in the Artistic Theatre nearly disrupted the National Congress, but the situation was saved when Aramayis Erzinkian apologised for the unkind epithets of his Menshevik comrade and conceded that the Armenian representation on the Ozakom properly belonged to Dashnaktsoutiun. Papadjanian took the podium to defend his activities and to attribute the deficiencies of the Ozakom to the lack of cooperation from the local revolutionary societies. Nonetheless, he agreed that the new Ozakom should be a socialist body, for conditions has so deteriorated that only the socialists could possibly induce the masses of Transcaucasia to respect law and order. 106
During its final session, the Congress selected a thirty-five-member National Assembly to ac t as the legislative body for the Armenians of Russia, and a smaller body of fifteen members, the National Council, to assume the executive functions. 107 Distribution of places on the Council according to political affiliation caused considerable discord until a compromise allotted six seats to Dashnakists, two each to SR's and SD's, and Populists, and three to non-partisans. Ascribing great importance to the Council, the Armenian political parties selected their elite to serve: 108
| Dashnaktsoutiun |
Avetis Aharonian (Chairman)
Aram Manoukian
Nikol Aghbalian
Ruben Ter Minasian
Khatchatour Karjikian
Artashes Babalian |
| Populist |
Samson Haroutounian
Mikael Papadjanian |
| Social Democrat |
Misha (Mikael Gharabekian
Ghazar Ter Ghazarian |
| Social Revolutionary |
Haik Ter Ohanian
Anoushavan Stambolian |
| Non-partisan |
Stepan Mamikonian
Tigran Bekzadian
Petros Zakarian |
As the Russian political crisis deepened, the role of the National Council increased. Assuming the functions of an unofficial Armenian government through the turbulent months from November, 1917, to May, 1918, this was the body destined to proclaim the independence of Armenia.
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