The Political Situation of the Kurds of the Azerbaijan Republic (1918–1930)

Abstract

The study entitled “The Political Situation of the Kurds of the Azerbaijan Republic during the Years 1918–1930” is based on historical sources. Throughout this period, the Kurds lived under severe economic hardship and political instability. War, poverty, and the violent policies of the Musavatists caused deep dissatisfaction and resentment among the Kurdish population of Azerbaijan. The Musavat authorities continuously attempted to assimilate, marginalize, and eliminate the Kurds and their rights.

This ongoing political repression and social exclusion led the Kurds to support the arrival of the Soviet army and the establishment of Soviet authority. On April 28, 1920, the Musavat regime came to an end, and between 1920 and 1922, the Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan was established. As a result, the lives of the Kurds underwent major transformations in both their economic and political structures. Many nomadic Kurds were forced to abandon their traditional lifestyle and settle permanently, engaging in agriculture and livestock breeding.

At the same time, due to the new Soviet policies, the Kurds began to hope for democratic and social reforms. However, these changes were more evident among the Kurds of Armenia than among those of Azerbaijan. Between 1923 and 1929, the administrative unit known as the Kurdistan Uezd (also called Red Kurdistan) was established in the Kurdish-inhabited regions of Azerbaijan as an ethnically based administrative district. Most Kurdish areas were included within this framework.

The October Revolution and the policies of Lenin and Stalin were the main factors behind the establishment of this entity. However, the Kurdistan Uezd did not function effectively as an ethnic administrative unit. Due to political complications and Stalinist repression, it was dissolved in 1929 and officially abolished.