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Chapter I (notes)
BORDERS IN THE
Ethnic Conflicts in the Caucasus 1988-1994
The 1921 Treaty of Moscow (among other districts) provided
for the cession of Kars, regarded by the Armenians as another of
their historic provinces, to Turkey; the 1921 Treaty of Kars
stipulated the creation of the Nakhichevan ASSR as part of
Azerbaijan (Nakhichevan, whose population in 1897 was 37 per cent
Armenian, had been part of the Erivan Gubernia in Tsarist Russia
- Erivan being then the name of Yerevan); and the 1923 Treaty of
Lausanne finally closed the issue of Turkish Armenia. The latter
treaty was also instrumental in dividing the Kurdish population
of the former Ottoman Empire among Turkey, Iraq and Syria.
Urartu (Yerevan), 1993, No. 27, October 1993, p. 7.
See John Chipman, 'Managing the Politics of Parochialism',
Survival, London, Vol. 35, No. 1, Spring 1993, p. 149.
See V. Simonov, 'Kavkaz: krov', slyozy i den'gi',
Sovershenno sekretno, Moscow, No. 8, 1994, p. 3.
V. B. Arutiunian, Sobytiya v Nagornom Karabakhe, Yerevan,
1988, p. 14. The Azrevkom declaration of 30 November 1920, and
other documents and portions of documents of the period dealing
with the cession of various territories by Azerbaijan to
Armenia, were omitted from Azerbaijani collections of materials
relating to the Karabakh issue. Cf., on the one hand, Nagorny
Karabakh. Istoricheskaya spravka, Yerevan, 1988, p.85; Kh.
Barseghian, Istina dorozhe... K probleme Nagornogo Karabakha,
Yerevan, 1989, p. 14, and, on the other, K Istorii obrazovaniya
Nagorno-Karabakhskoy avtonomnoy oblasti Azerbaijanskoi SSR,
Baku, 1989, p. 65.
A. Karsetsi, Konflikty mezhdu narodami i puti ikh
preodoleniya. K probleme Nagornogo Karabakha, Yerevan, 1990, p.
31. See also A. D. Sakharov, 'Neizbezhnost' perestroiki', in:
Inogo ne dano, Moscow, 1988, p. 131.
Cf. an article by A. Skachko in a press organ of Stalin's
Narkomnats in March 1921: "Armenia will doubtless have to let
itself be guided by the Leninist principle of the greatest
national sacrifices. It will have to renounce not only the
imperialist Dashnak designs for a 'Greater Armenia', but possibly
also a more modest desire to unify those lands which had always
been considered Armenian" Zhizn' natsional'nostey, 4 March 1921.
Quoted from: Pro-Armenia, No. 6, 1992, p. 44.
I. Babanov, K. Voevodsky. Karabakhski krizis. St.
Petersburg, 1992, pp. 3-5. For the history of the Armenian
struggle for Karabakh prior to 1988, see also: H. R. Huttenbach,
'In Support of Nagorno-Karabakh: Social Components of the
Armenian National Movement', Nationalities Papers, Vol. 18, No.
2, 1990, pp. 5-14.
Cf. I. Aliyev, Nagorny Karabakh: istoriya, fakty, sobytiya,
K. Voevodsky, 'Perestroika v karabakhskom zerkale',
Pro-Armenia, 1993, No. 1, p. 3.
S. Bruk. Naselenie mira, Moscow, 1986, p. 785.
See Sumgait... Genotsid... Glasnost? Yerevan, 1989.
See the transcript of the Politburo session in the wake of
Sumgait in: Rodina, Moscow, No. 4, 1993, p. 85.
See A. Sakharov, op. cit., p. 132; V. Sheinis, 'Uroki
karabakhskogo krizisa', Vek XX i mir, No. 10, Moscow, 1988. G.
Starovoytova, 'Gosudarstvo, obschestvo, natsiya', Cherez ternii,
Moscow, 1990, p. 366; 'Samoopredelenie narodov i pozitsiya
Rossii', Pro-Armenia, No. 4-5, 1992, pp. 5-7.
Cf. Izvestia, 17 July 1988.
D. Furman, 'Nesostoyavshayasya revolutsia. Politicheskaya
bor'ba v Azerbaidzhane (1988-1993 gody)', Druzhba narodov, 1994,
No. 4, pp. 155-156.
K. Mikhailov, 'Trevozhnye dni Apsherona', Sobesednik, No. 3,
Population figures cited by A. Mutalibov in: Soyuz, No. 39,
1990. See also Undeclared War, Baku, 1991, no pagination.
A. Volsky, 'Mir zemle Karabakha', Pravda, 15 January 1989.
Cf. the remarks made by CC AzCP Secretary (soon to be
premier under Mutalibov) Gasan Gasanov in the wake of the
Committee's disbandment on 8 January 1990, in: Vestnik Ganji, 20
January 1990. Quoted from: Cherny yanvar', Baku, 1990, pp. 51-59.
Furman, op. cit., p. 157
Bakinskii rabochii, 17 January 1990. Quoted from: Cherny
yanvar', op. cit., pp. 70-74.
See I. Mosesova, A. Ovnanian, Vandalizm v Baku, Yerevan,
Izvestia (19 January 1990) reported 66 killed, 220 wounded
and 210 cases of burglary and arson during the Baku pogroms in
January 1990. 30,000 were evacuated from Baku to Krasnovodsk.
Azadlyg, 18 January 1990. Quoted from: Cherny yanvar', op.
cit., pp. 78-80.
The Shield Union report is quoted from: Moskovskie novosti,
12 August, 1990.
Quoted in: A. Altstadt, The Azerbaijani Turks, Stanford,
1992, p. 217.
Furman, op. cit., p. 159.
Babanov, Voevodsky, op. cit., p. 40.
See R. Papayan. Maski terrora, Yerevan, 1992. G. Grigorian,
'Yest' li doroga iz ada?', Pro-Armenia, Nos. 7 and 8, 1992 (G.
Grigorian was a doctor in Ghetashen). The figures are from:
Babanov, Voevodsky, op. cit., p. 49.
Vremya (Yerevan), 12 June 1993. Quoted in: A. Khalatian,
Armeniya v iyune 1993. Politicheskii monitoring, Moscow, IGPI,
No. 6, 1993.
As admitted by NKR State Defence Committee Chairman, Robert
Kocharian, in an interview with Andrei Karaulov, anchorman of the
"Moment of Truth" broadcast on Russian TV, 10 January 1994.
Newsweek, 8 August 1994.
E. Fuller, 'The Transcaucasus: War, Turmoil, Economic
Collapse', RFE/RL Research Report, Vol. 3, No. 1, 7 January 1994,
Izvestia, 22 April 1994.
Furman, op. cit., p. 159.
See Azerbaijan (Baku), 7 August 1993, for the findings of
the Azerbaijani parliament's commission of enquiry into the
Khojaly massacre. Memorial's findings were contained in a report
published in May 1992 (copy in possession of the author).
See Mutalibov's interview with Nezavisimaya gazeta, 2 April
Furman, op. cit., p. 163.
Colonel Aliakram Gumbatov, politically a supporter of
Mutalibov and friend of Suret Guseinov, proclaimed Talysh
autonomy (the Talysh-Mugan Republic, from the names of the Talysh
nationality and Mugan province) in June 1993. The attempt failed,
and Gumbatov was arrested. In the Azeri press, the episode was
linked to Mutalibov's (and Moscow's) intrigues to bring
Azerbaijan into the orbit of Moscow and Mutalibov back to power.
A. Kasatov, 'Sama ne svoya. Rossiiskaya armiya za rubezhom',
Stolitsa, No. 48, 1992, pp. 1-4.
Nezavisimaya gazeta, 22 and 23 May 1993.
A. Khalatian, 'Armeniya v sentyabre 1993', Politicheskii
monitoring, Moscow, IGPI, No. 10, 1993.
Moskovskie novosti, No. 38, 19 September 1993.
See interview with Vasilian in: Kommersant, No. 22, 4-11
June 1990, p. 11.
We/My (Moscow), June 1992
Kasatov, op. cit. (note 38).
Moskovskie novosti, No. 23, 6 June 1993.
According to one estimate, Azerbaijan received a total of
11,000 carloads of munitions. Given that the Azerbaijani army
needs 1,000 carloads to wage intensive warfare for a year, the
total number of weapons received is enough for 9 or 10 years.
Soviet army dumps on Armenian territory were the equivalent of
500 carloads - 160 of these were destroyed in a blast at
Balaovit, Armenia, in 1992, though partly compensated for since.
See Novaya yezhednevnaya gazeta, 10 November 1993. Of course,
part of the Azerbaijani quota was "appropriated" by the NKR Army.
Kocharian (op. cit.) estimated the odds in favour of Azerbaijan
as opposed to Armenia at 3 to 1.
Nezavisimaya gazeta, 26 October 1994.
Furman, op. cit., p. 167.
The Abkhazian population statistics are quoted from:
Yezhegodnik Bol'shoy Sovetskoy Entsiklopedii, 1990. Moscow, 1990,
p. 118 (hereinafter cited as BSE Yearbook); the percentages of
various nationalities in Abkhazia in 1989 are mentioned in: O.
Vasilyeva, Gruziya kak model' postkommunisticheskoi
transformatsii. Moscow, 1993, p. 31.
Stolitsa (Moscow), No. 22, 1994, pp. 10-11.
The Abkhaz political claims of the Gorbachev era were first
made in the so-called "Abkhaz Letter" sent by a number of CP
figures to the Presidium of the 19th Party Conference in Moscow
on 17 June 1988. The letter was completely disproved afterwards
by a team of Georgian scholars. See Po povodu iskazheniya
gruzino-abkhazskikh vzaimootnosheniy (otvet avtoram "abkhazskogo
pis'ma"), Tbilisi, 1991.
BSE Yearbook 1990, p. 119 and O. Vasilyeva, op. cit., p. 37.
See Torez Kulumbegov's interview with Moskovskie novosti, 28
June 1992, p.11.
Demograficheskii entsiklopedicheskii slovar', Moscow, 1985,
See Iz istorii vzaimootnoshenii gruzinskogo i osetinskogo
narodov, Tbilisi, 1991.
Cf. Yuzhnaya Osetiya: i krov', i pepel, Vladikavkaz, 1991,
See debates at the 1st Congress of USSR People's Deputies
in: Pervyi s'ezd narodnykh deputatov SSSR. Stenograficheskii
otchet, Moscow, 1989, Vol. I, pp. 517-549 (speeches by the
Georgian deputies: Academician Tamaz Gamkrelidze and former
Georgian CP chief Jumber Patiashvili, as well as denials by
General Igor Rodionov who had commanded the troops on 9 April
Cf. A. Sobchak, Khozhdenie vo vlast', Moscow, 1991, pp.
77-104. See also another book by the same author: Tbilisskii
izlom, Moscow, 1993.
See Sakharov's comments in: Ogonyok, No. 31, 1989.
Zarya Vostoka (Tbilisi), 22 August 1990.
For a more detailed treatment of the Abkhazian election
issue, see: E. Fuller, 'Abkhazia on the Brink of Civil War?',
RFE/RL Research Report, 1992, Vol. 1, No. 35, pp. 1-5.
Vestnik Gruzii, 12 March 1991 and Sovetskaya kultura, 30
TASS, 21 March 1991 quoted by Fuller, op. cit., p. 2.
A. Mikadze, M. Shevelev, 'Vykhodets iz "Soyuza"', Moskovskie
novosti, 1 August 1993.
The Ossetian scholar V. Abaev wrote that "Samachablo" was a
term from the feudal past and not a synonym of "South Ossetia";
"Shida Kartli" meant the central part of Georgia and was a
misnomer in relation to South Ossetia, while the name South
Ossetia ("Samkhret Oseti") had in fact been used in earlier
Georgian literature. See Nezavisimaya gazeta, 22 January 1992.
Gudok (Moscow), 25 April 1991. Also cited without mentioning
Tsagolov in: Komsomolskaya pravda, 31 January 1991.
Georgian newspaper Kino quoted without date in: Yuzhnaya
Osetia..., p. 53.
This was the explanation for Soviet actions given by the
Adamon Nykhas leader Alan Chochiev in: Moskovskie novosti, 18
Zarya Vostoka, 22 September 1990.
See Chanturia's interview with Express-Khronika (Moscow), 25
Izvestia, 8 and 9 January 1991.
Yuzhnaya Osetiya, p. 30.
Nezavisimaya gazeta, 21 January 1992.
See Nezavisimaya gazeta, 23 January 1992.
Nezavisimaya gazeta, 17 April 1992.
Nezavisimaya gazeta, 15 and 22 May 1992.
Nezavisimaya gazeta, 16 June 1992
Nezavisimaya gazeta, 23 June 1992.
Cf. A. Popov's remarks in: God posle avgusta. Gorech' i
vybor, Moscow, 1992,pp. 157-159.
O. Vasilyeva, op. cit., p. 39.
Rossiiskaya gazeta, 10 March 1993.
Segodnia, 20 December 1994, p. 9.
Nezavisimaya gazeta, 4 October 1994; 20 October 1994.
S. Chervonnaya, Abkhazia-1992: postkommunisticheskaya Van
deya, Moscow, 1993, pp. 121-122.
Nezavisimaya gazeta, 25 and 28 July 1992.
Belaya kniga Abkhazii. 1992-1993, Moscow, 1993, pp. 143-147.
Express-khronika, 8 March 1993. Also Literaturnaya gazeta,
17 March 1993.
The New York Times, 25 August 1992, referred to in: Fuller,
op. cit., p. 5.
Shevardnadze quoted in: O. Vasilyeva, op. cit., p. 35.
Krasnaya zvezda, 24 November 1992.
See Simonov, op. cit.
Vektory (Moscow), 4-17 March 1993, pp. 10-11.
The dilemma described by military expert Dmitri Trenin. See:
Novoe vremya, No. 34, 1993, p. 14.
A. Kortunov, 'Relations between Former Soviet Republics',
Society, Vol. 30, No. 3, 1993, p. 45.
Nezavisimaya gazeta, 4 September 1992.
Vektory, 1-7 April 1993, p. 1.
In 1991-92, there were 600 armed raids on Russian military
installations in Georgia; 71 military personnel or members of
their families were killed. In nine months of 1993 alone, there
were 82 raids, 267 items of armaments and 54 items of hardware
were stolen, and more than 10 people were killed and 20 wounded
(Vektory, 22 October 1993).
Moskovskie novosti, 18 July 1993.
Nezavisimaya gazeta, 25 March 1993
Nezavisimaya gazeta, 10 June 1993.
Krasnaya zvezda, 10 September 1993.
Data from the Georgian Chronicle (Tbilisi), September 1993.
Segodnia, 21 September 1993.
Diplomaticheskii vestnik, No. 1-2, January 1994, p. 38.
The Georgian Chronicle, February-March 1994.
M. Razorenova, 'Gruziya v fevrale 1994', Politicheskii
monitoring, Moscow, IGPI, 1994, No. 2, p. 2.
The Georgian Chronicle, February-March 1994.
Diplomaticheskii vestnik, No. 9-10, May 1994, pp. 55-57.
Ibid., p. 54.
Nezavisimaya gazeta, 1 April 1994; 5 April 1994.
Nezavisimaya gazeta, 6 April 1994.
Nezavisimaya gazeta, 26 August 1994.
The decree of 7 March 1944, quoted in an Ingush publication:
Ternistyi put' naroda, Moscow, 1992, p.43.
I. Dementieva, 'Voyna i mir Prigorodnogo raiona, Izvestia,
26 January 1994 (one of a series of five articles, 25-29 January
Ternistyi put' naroda, op. cit., p. 49.
D. G. Kabisov, Rost blagosostoyaniya i demograficheskie
protsessy v Yuzhnoy Osetii, Tskhinvali, 1987, pp. 42-43.
Ternistyi put' naroda, op. cit., p. 52.
See A. Galazov's speech at a session of the North Ossetian
Supreme Soviet on 10 November 1992: O verolomnoy agressii
ingushskikh natsional-extremistov protiv Severnoy Osetii.
Materialy 18 sessii Verkhovnogo Soveta Severo-Osetinskoy ASSR (10
noyabria 1992), Vladikavkaz, 1992, p. 9.
Rossiya, No. 34, 18-24 August 1993.
See official Ossetian statistics on the number of weapons,
as well as data on Ingushi strength, in: Izvestia, 25 January
Nezavisimaya gazeta, 18 December 1992.
Izvestia, 29 July 1993.
O. Vasilyeva, "Ingushskii anklav" - eto vykhod, Novoe
vremya, No. 14, April 1994.
Megapolis-express, 13 July 1994.
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Contested Borders in the Caucasus, by Bruno Coppieters (ed.)
© 1996, VUB University Press