The cooperation between Soviet Russia and Kemalist Turkey on the Armenian issue began in as early as May 1921 at the initiative of Moscow, when the Red Army commander Budyonny was sent to Turkey to meet the “revolutionary” Kemal and offer him military and financial assistance.
The cooperative actions of Turkey and Russia directed against Armenia deepened so much that, for example, in Alexandropol (now Gyumri) in December 1921, the Soviet regime was declared by the commander of the invading Turkish troops Gharabekir (Ղարաբեքիր).
At the same time, he freed the Armenian Bolsheviks from prison in order to “transfer” power to them. But in reality, the control over Shirak Province remained in the hands of the Turks. Thus, the “Sovietization” of Armenia in 1920-1921 was clearly a Russian-Turkish joint conspiracy, and there could be no talk of any “popular revolution” from within.
Historian and ethnographer Hranush Kharatyan, February 13, 2019
