Стр. 25 - Azərbaycan xalçaları

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sian Empire... In addition, I asked his Excellency [Commander-in-Chief of the Russian army
in the Caucasus I.F. Paskevich] concerning all Armenians in Iran and now I am writing to
Sir [Griboyedov regarding this] and I am asking your Highness to involve Ivan Fyodorovich
Paskevich so he does not forget to include the article in the treaty during reconciliation in
connection with the safe return of Armenians living in cities and villages ruled by the Iranian
administration to Armenia under the guardianship of the Great Russian Empire.” A.S. Gri-
boyedov and I.F. Paskevich did not forget the resettlement of Armenians when the treaty was
prepared. This issue was included in Article 15 of the Turkmenchay Treaty. The Article reads:
“His Excellency Fath Ali Shah grants total pardon to the entire population and officials of the
province called [southern] Azerbaijan. In addition, officials and residents are allowed to freely
go to Russia from Iran province with their families starting on this day, and they are granted
one year unimpeded by the local authorities to carry and sell their movable properties and
belongings without any tax or customs. Concerning real estate, a five year period is identified
to sell it or to have a voluntary decree regarding it.” Griboyedov is believed to be the author of
Article 15. As is apparent, the term “Iranian Armenian” is not mentioned here. This is a diplo-
matic choice, allowing the issue to be understood in a general context and permitting it to be
applied broadly and purposefully in real life.
An issue regarding Armenian villagers in the custody of Muslim rulers reemerged at this
period. The idea to give internal self-management to Armenians in the custody of a majority
Muslim area was put forth in the special “Rules” sent to Paskevich by Dibich, the chairman of
the chief headquarters. Velyaminov, the judge on civil affairs, did not welcome this idea. How-
ever, Paskevich revisited this idea during his later activity.
After the Turkmenchay Treaty was signed, a new era of Armenian resettlement in northern
Azerbaijan began. The characteristic features of this period are the large size of the resettle-
ment and Iranian and Ottoman geographical sources.
Resettlement committees were established in Iravan and Nakhchivan to organize resettling
Armenians. The resettled people were granted important privileges: they were exempt from
taxes and duties for six months and they were given aid and compensation provided by Iran.
The resettlement began after certain preparations were executed. The resettled Armenians
from Iran were comprised of 40,000-50,000 people. In 1828-1829 during and after the Russo-
Turkish war, up to 90,000 Armenians were resettled from Turkey. The major target of the reset-
tlement was Azerbaijani land in the South Caucasus. In his “New Danger for Russian Interests
in Transcaucasia” published in Petersburg in 1911, N. Shavrov wrote, “More than 1,000,000
out of 1,300,00 Armenians are not local population of this land and were resettled here by
us.” When Armenians were resettled, priority was given to the lands of northern Azerbai-
jan, especially Nakhchivan, Iravan, and Karabakh. According to Nerses’ plan, all Armenians
from the districts seized by the Russian army, including Tabriz, Khoy, Salmas, and Maraga,
were to be moved to Nakhchivan, Iravan, and Karabakh provinces. A diligent pro-Armenian
group systematically realized his request. N. Shavrov noted that during the two years after the
war (1828-1830), they moved 40,000 Armenians from Iran and 84,000 Armenians from Turkey
to Transcaucasia and settled them in Iravan and Elizavetpol governorates, where Armenians
were a minority. 200,000 desyatinas (1 desyatina = 1.1 hectare) of treasury land was allocated
to them and 2,000,000 manats worth of specially owned lands were purchased for them from
Muslims. Armenians were settled in the mountainous regions of Elizavetpol governorate and
on the banks of Goyche Lake.
As a result of Armenian resettlement, the ethnic make-up of the Karabakh, Iravan, and Na-
khchivan populations were substantially changed. According to the decree of Russian Army
Commander-in-Chief in the Caucasus, Yermolov, the Karabakh province census conducted in
1823 recorded 1,600 (8.4%) of 20,000 families were Armenians, while by 1832 Armenians made
up 34.8%. Even though Armenians comprised only a little more than 20% of Iravan khanate’s
population before it was invaded by Russia, this figure reached over 46% in 1834-1835. Na-
khchivan’s ethnic make-up experienced the same modification. Prior to the resettlement, 434
Armenian families were counted in Nakhchivan, whereas 2285 families were brought in after
resettlement. In general, 2551 families were resettled in Nakhchivan province.
The resettlement of Armenians in the Russian-invaded territories of northern Azerbaijan and
in western Azerbaijan was maintained during the Crimean War in 1853-1856, the Russo-Turk-
ish War in 1877-1878, and after the Armenian revolts against the Ottoman Empire in the 1890s
were suppressed.
The ethno-demographic situation in the territories of Azerbaijan changed in favor of Armeni-
ans through resettlement initiatives by Russia. In addition, their positions were strengthened
in the administration systems and agricultural life. All these events were followed by deepen-
ing of hostile attitudes of Armenians towards local Azerbaijanis. From the 1905 report of the
Iravan governor to the Tsar, the first confrontations between Armenians equipped and incited
by Tsarist Russia and peaceful Azerbaijanis occurred in the 1880s. During the events of 1905-