Unique Photo From The Surrender Of Kars – Catastrophic Consequences Of The Kars Treaty

Above is a photo depicting the withdrawal of the Kars population after the agreement on the surrender of the city to Turkey was reached. Andranik and Nazarbekov did everything to convince the frightened politicians of the catastrophic consequences of the surrender of the city, but diplomacy was stronger than the warriors.

Andranik’s fighters tried to convince him to disperse the Dashnak government and Georgian diplomats in Tiflis who were looking for peace with the Turks to keep Batumi within Georgia. But here, Andranik himself made a mistake, deciding that the detachment would take up this cause, but only after the defeat of the Turks…

As lieutenant Kolmakov writes about Andranik: “He was sick in body and soul. He was sick of all the intrigues that he, a noble, trusting, and great person was dragged into by small people alien to the sufferings of the nation – people for whom honors and glory obtained even by criminal means were more valuable than the interests of the nation.”

According to eyewitnesses, the fall of Kars psychologically killed Andranik. And one cannot say that this was not his fault. He believed the Bolsheviks and agitated people not to perceive them as enemies. Khatisyan suggested that he deploy a campaign against the Red Army, but Andranik chose to fight exclusively against the Turks.

But had he stayed in Eastern Armenia next to Nzhdeh, history could have turned out very differently. The name of Andranik was much more known to the people than Garegin’s. And such people as Colonel Hovhannes Mazmanyan had to stay in Kars and shoot themselves because they did not know how to survive this tragedy.

By the way, after the surrender of the city, Kars became the center from which the Bolsheviks would send by railway most of the aid to Kemal Atatürk for his struggle against the Greek army.

Grigor Narinyan