STATEMENT ON THE DIFFERING ATTITUDES OF ARMENIANS AND TATARS TOWARD THE ANNEXATION OF KARABAKH TO RUSSIA

History

STATEMENT ON THE DIFFERING ATTITUDES OF ARMENIANS AND TATARS TOWARD THE ANNEXATION OF KARABAKH TO RUSSIA (from the Resolution of the Commission for Reviewing the Claims of Residents Devastated by War) May 6, 1830

“…The Tatars, having participated in the calamities of the people as part of the enemy’s side—similarly to the Tatars of the Sheki, Shirvan, and Karabakh provinces—are not requesting any compensation from the government. Consequently, those Tatars who have filed claims should also be denied compensation, as showing exceptional mercy to them alone would provoke discontent among the populations of other provinces.

Moreover, judging by their past acts of treachery, repeatedly noted in earlier times, they will neither be grateful for the government’s benevolence nor become more loyal if assistance is granted.

In contrast, the conduct and zeal of the Armenians during the Persian War is beyond any doubt. The various services they rendered to our troops, as well as the devastation they suffered at the hands of Persians and rebels as a result, merit respect and compensation for their losses. However, since it is difficult and even impossible to compensate each claimant individually, it would be beneficial to provide a collective form of relief, such as exemption from arrears and tax concessions.

While compensation for losses might have significantly aided the impoverished in the immediate aftermath of their looting, the passage of several years has allowed them, through various means, to somewhat improve their situation, and they are now less in need of assistance. Following procedural rules to assess each Armenian claimant’s petition may further delay their relief, especially since, in addition to the aforementioned difficulties, the absence or death of claimants required to provide evidence would make swift resolution by the commission impossible. To avoid such inconveniences, it is necessary to grant Armenians aid without inquiries—similar to the approach taken in the Bamba Province, where the population also suffered widespread devastation.”

[…]

  1. The claims of the Tatars from the Sheki, Shirvan, and Karabakh provinces, who did not support the Russian government during the Persian War, are to be dismissed and deemed not subject to satisfaction. They are to be informed of this in due course.
  2. Those Tatar claims subject to special instructions from the Commander-in-Chief in Georgia are to be excluded and reviewed in accordance with general procedures.
  3. The Armenian claims are to be accepted as valid without investigation; however, due to the impossibility of determining the legitimacy of each individual case, entire communities are to be released from their tax arrears in proportion to the destruction they endured, and tax concessions are to be granted to every individual listed in the registers submitted by commandants, or who has submitted a petition. The duration of this relief should be determined based on the severity of the devastation suffered. A separate resolution on this matter is to be drawn up after receiving the necessary information from local authorities.”
  4. MEMORANDUM BY AN UNKNOWN AUTHOR ON THE MASS MORTALITY OF ARMENIANS AND GREEKS RETURNING FROM PERSIA TO KARABAKH (1829–1831)
  5. 10. In early 1828, by separate orders of the Commander-in-Chief, 750 families of Armenians and Greeks arrived in the Karabakh Province, having departed Persia based on the treaty signed at Turkmenchay. Prince Abkhasov decided to settle these people on the ruins of the ancient capital of Armenia, known in chronicles as Bardha. Instead of proper wheat, he ordered that the settlers be provisioned with spoiled rye flour from the Akhogan supply stocks—flour so unfit that even the military had categorically refused to accept it.
  6. A pestilential or otherwise mysterious illness soon broke out among the settlers, claiming lives in the most dreadful manner. No doctors were dispatched, not even to examine or identify the disease, and the mass death was not reported to higher authorities as an extraordinary event. Of these unfortunate settlers, fewer than 100 families survive today.
  7. Nonetheless, it is well known that since September 1828, Major Kalachevsky reported the full original number of settlers—without any loss—and that wheat from Karabakh and large monetary allowances were officially issued to them. The bodies of the deceased were buried twenty or more to a pit. If, contrary to expectation, the plague was among them, and as the bodies were interred without lime, the infection could soon resurface and spread throughout the region.
  8. 11. The settlers’ wheat, as well as reserves accumulated under various circumstances, was sold to the public by Djavat-bek Avsharov, a member of the provincial court of Karabakh.
  9. FROM A SECRET MEMORANDUM BY COLLEGIATE COUNCILOR NEFEDYEV, A MEMBER OF THE COMMISSION FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF THE TRANSCAUCASIAN REGION, Not earlier than December 19, 1837
  10. Widespread abuses and disorders that gravely burden the population and damage the government in the Karabakh Province stem from three main sources:
  11. The existing administrative structure and arbitrary rule;
  12. The influence—or more accurately, the dominance—of khans and beks;
  13. The imposition upon the inhabitants, in addition to taxes and levies, of heavy compulsory labor decreed by the commandant without any oversight.
  14. The residents of Karabakh, especially those in Shushi, express astonishment at the rapid rise of the beks, who have acquired estates and transformed into landlords—despite having betrayed the government during the last war at the very first appearance of the Persians. Many of their brothers and relatives still serve the Shah of Persia. The people of Shushi still point to specific beks who, to demonstrate their loyalty to Abbas-Mirza, tested their swords on the heads of Russian prisoners—and who now, showered with honors and enriched, oppress the populace, awaiting their next opportunity for treachery.
  15. Meanwhile, the Armenian inhabitants of Shushi express deep despair, remarking that their loyalty to the Russian government has gone unnoticed, as it was never reported to the monarch. Yet it is well known that when Shushi was besieged in 1826 by massive Persian forces, the residents heroically endured a 50-day blockade. Supporting a feeble garrison consisting of a single battalion, they gave up all their livestock and grain for its sustenance and personally joined in the labor and danger on the fortress walls day and night. Their wives and children brought them food and prepared weapons and bullets for the defenders in their homes.
  16. Neither enemy threats nor cunning promises shook the unyielding, heroic devotion of the people of Shushi—and despite all this, they received no compensation, not even a gracious word from the Tsar. Such a word would have been most precious to them, honoring the bravery of the fathers and inspiring imitation in the hearts of their children.
  17. This circumstance is significant: based on all that has been stated, should similar conditions arise in the future, it is doubtful that such fervent zeal could again be expected from the impoverished inhabitants, whose extraordinary devotion in a critical moment was ignored—and whose loyalty is now mocked by the cunning beks. 217
Image source^ wikipedia.org

Yuri Barsegov “Nagorno-Karabakh in International Law and Global Politics”

Artatsolum

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