THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE SOUTHWEST CAUCASUS

The people of Kars organized rapidly after the Ottoman departure, fearing their city would be occupied by the British. The initial administration was a temporary council which took over from Yakup Sevket Pasa and was headed by Fahrettin Erdogan. The same group, a mix of Muslims and Armenians, would later organize the first Kars Congress, held to oppose a mandate and demand an independent administration instead of British occupation. A new administration was formed at the Gazi Ahmet Muhtar Pasha Mansion, with 250 people taking part. Delegates chosen by the first congress became the government in the second congress. At a meeting on 30 November 1918 the Southwestern Caucasian government was officially established, headed by Cihangiroglu Ibrahim Bey.

A British commission arrived in Kars after this development, and began to take over lines of defense and crucial military posts. But the depots belonging to the Russians in Sarikamis were not handed over. Colonel Temperly warned the provisional government that they were now under a British colonial governorship, and told them to obey orders properly in the commission’s next visit.

The congresses gathered at Kars and Ardahan in January 1919 decided to resist the occupation. The larger Kars Congress agreed to form a new government under the provisional name of the Democratic Republic of the Southwest Caucasus. The congress was attended by 131 representatives from the region; the head of the government was re-elected, and Dr. Esat Oktay (Gaziyev) became speaker of the parliament.

This government on January 30, 1919 decided to declare its political authority over Kars to the members of the Paris Peace Conference. The declaration was written by Server Atamanoglu (Fevzullah Server Ataberk).

This declaration risked sparking an intervention, as the government was refusing .to comply with British orders. For this reason, the government decided to establish a Republican System, a first in Turkish political history. The term provisional was removed in 25 March 1919 and it became a selfgoverned republic.

The republic prepared a constitution with 18 articles. Women were given the right to vote and be elected. Everybody aged 18 and over could vote. Although it was a very short lived republic and constitution, it was significant in the sense that it was the first in Turkey. The word “republic” was uttered for the first time, and the term “democratic constitution” was adopted from this brief experience.

The English raided the parliament building, today’s governor’s office, one night in April 1919 and asked for a list of the parliamentarians. Many people were arrested and exiled to Malta, among them the Polish- origin deputy Simon Racinsky and the Greek-origin Stefan Vafiyadis. But Fahrettin Erdogan could not be captured. He was then in Oltu, working on the Erzurum Kongress with Yusuf Bey.

Nevertheless, the republic ended. A new provisional government was appointed in Kars by the British, headed by Meshedi Samet Aga. The deputy minister was Dr. Esat. There were also one Molokan and one Greek representative in the government.

In the 1920s Kars was subjected to attacks by the pro-British Armenian Dasnak Sutyun Committees. The provisional government could not prevent the dreadful crimes that took place afterwards. Through letters signed by Dr. Esat, these problems were communicated to the Azeri parliament a few times but no solution could be found. The Muslim population started to establish military forces in order to defend themselves.

In the 1920s Kars was subjected to attacks by the pro-British Armenian Dasnak Sutyun Committees. The provisional government could not prevent the dreadful crimes that took place afterwards. Through letters signed by Dr. Esat, these problems were communicated to the Azeri parliament a few times but no solution could be found. The Muslim population started to establish military forces in order to defend themselves.

The Bolshevik victory weakened Britain and its supporters. In Turkey, meanwhile, national defense congresses were taking place and a government was formed. The east, defended by the powerful 15th Army, was the most secure region; troops from this army entered the region in September and October. Kars fell under the total control of the Turkish army in October 30.

An exchange agreement was signed in Gumru and then with the Moscow Treaty the final boundaries were determined. The real boundary agreement was the Kars Agreement and Kars remained within the borders of Turkey.

In November 1920 a Soviet delegation came to Kars to give the first part of the 10 million gold roubles of aid they had promised for the war of liberation in Turkey. The delegation was headed by the Soviet ambassador Budy Midivani who was accompanied by Mustafa Sulphi, chairman of the Turkish Communist Party (TKP), and other party members. The 500,000 gold rubles were given to the city’s governor and they visited the surrounding villages. They were met with great enthusiasm in the Molokan villages in the neighbourhood. Kazim Karabekir was not pleased by this reception. Mustafa Suphi and his friends stayed in Kars for 24 days, and newspapers reported that they had come to join the war of liberation. The TKP delegation then moved to Erzurum but the Molokan villages they visited were emptied afterwards. The official reason was their refusal to do their military service; the villagers were later deported to the Soviet Union.

Kars sent three deputies to the first Turkish parliament: Fahrettin Erdogan, Cavit Bey and Ali Riza Ataman. The numbers increased gradually and at the 11th session of the parliament there were 11 deputies from Kars. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk visited Kars on 6 October 1924 to witness the effects of the devastating Erzurum-Sarikamis earthquake and listened to complaints about the housing problem. The Muslim families from the Caucasus that had arrived in Kars between 1920 and 1930 were facing serious housing problems. Local people were temporarily staying at the villages of Armenians, Molokans and Greeks that had been emptied. With the Housing Law and Grassland Protection Law introduced in the 1930s, new settlement areas were formed and the immigrants were given partial title deeds. The government was considering a land reform and real ownership would be determined with that, but this never materialized and the problem continues to plague Kars.