Baku Council

The Baku Council ( azerb. Bakı Soveti ) is an organ of Soviet power in Baku in 1917-1918.

The February Revolution of 1917 led to the emergence of a system of councils which, relying on the organization of workers, created parallel structures of power. At the time of the revolution, Baku was a multinational industrial center, which created the prospect for the seizure and retention of Soviet power in the region. The Baku Council was formed on March 6 ( 19 ), 1917 ^[1] . In general, in Transcaucasia, the Transcaucasian Commissariat with the center in Tiflis , which supported the Provisional Government and the convening of the Constituent Assembly, represented official power.

After the October Revolution, the Baku Council, chaired by Stepan Shaumyan, unconditionally supported the Bolsheviks and declared himself October 31 ( November 13 ) 1917 the supreme authority in Baku and the Baku region ^[2] . In November 1917, Baku became the first Soviet city of Transcaucasia. After the re-election, on December 12 ( 25 ), 1917, the Socialist-Revolutionaries (85), Bolsheviks (48), Dashnaks (38), Musavatists (18) and Mensheviks (13) were represented in the Baku Council. Shaumyan retained the post of chairman. Assistant to Shaumyan was Prokofiy Dzhaparidze . On December 16 ( 29 ), 1917, Lenin appointed Shaumyan "the extraordinary commissioner for the affairs of the Caucasus" ^[3] . However, the rival authority of the Baku Council was the Tiflis Transcaucasian Commissariat. The Shamkhor massacre marked the confrontation between the Musavat Ganja and Soviet Baku . March events in Baku consolidated the alliance of the Baku Council with the Armenian nationalist party Dashnaktsutyun and led to the alienation of the local Azerbaijani population from the Council. However, the Azerbaijanis still retained their presence in the Council (Azizbekov and Narimanov ). On April 14, the power of the Baku Council spread to Mugan , where the militia of the Russian villages fought a war with the armed detachments of the Musavatists.

On April 15, the Baku Council announced the creation of the Caucasian Red Army on the basis of the armed workers detachments of the Red Guard. By the end of May, this army consisted of 4 brigades uniting 19 battalions. The total number of armed forces reached 18 thousand fighters, of which the majority (up to 80%) were Armenians . The management was carried out by Grigory Korganov . The composition of the Caucasian Red Army was incorporated into the national Armenian armed forces. In addition to them, there were Russian formations of Petrov, Dobrynin and Bicherakhov ^[4] .

On April 25, 1918, the Baku Commune was formed. This became possible after the dissolution of the Baku City Council. The foreign policy situation was complicated by the offensive of the Turkish army during this period and the proclamation of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic on May 28 in Ganja . By May, industry was nationalized in the territory of Baku province.

However, in the summer of 1918, Turkish troops were already under the walls of Baku . In the absence of assistance from Soviet Russia and increased English influence, the Baku Council was dissolved and the Central Caspian took power in Baku. Shaumyan and the Baku commissars made an unsuccessful attempt to evacuate, but were transported by the ship "Turkmen" to Krasnovodsk , arrested and executed.