The Shamkhor massacre ()The New review, Volumes 13–15 – World Federation of Ukrainian Former Political Prisoners and Victims of the Soviet Regime, p. 27 or the Shamkhor incident (), took place on 22–25 January (9–12 January, Old Style) 1918, Shamkir, Azerbaijan.The Azerbaijani Turks: power and identity under Russian rule By Audrey L. Altstadt, p. 85 The Azerbaijani armed groups, acting on orders from the Military Council of Nationalities, massacred Russian soldiers who were returning home from the Caucasus Front,The formation of the Soviet Union: communism and nationalism, 1917–1923 By Richard Pipes, p. 103the Modern encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet history, Volume 39 by Joseph L. Wieczynski, p. 170Wladimir S. Woytinsky: La Democratie. p. 113 in an effort to obtain sufficient arms.The making of the Georgian nation by Ronald Grigor Suny, p. 191Historical dictionary of Azerbaijan by Tadeusz Świętochowski, Brian C. Collins, p. 85The Berlin–Baghdad express: the Ottoman Empire and Germany's bid for world power By Sean McMeekin, p. 331
The Azerbaijani Musavatists and Tatar Cavalry Regiment, under the leadership of the Military Council of Nationalities, stopped a Russian train and demanded the handover of the military supply on it, but the Russian soldiers had refused to give the military equipment away. The following events resulted in the Azerbaijanis storming the train, which led to hundreds of deaths.
Events After the October Revolution the Imperial Russian Army ceased to exist as an organized force and its soldiers in large numbers moved into Transcaucasia, trying to get home and often terrorized the local population, forcing it to flee. The leaders of Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic needed to act quickly to prevent the sacking of cities and the fall of their regime. Therefore, they organized a Military Council of Nationalities in which the Armenians, the Azerbaijanis, and the Georgians were represented.The struggle for Transcaucasia, 1917–1921 by Firuz Kazemzadeh, pp. 82–83
When a particularly large and militant group of Russian soldiers began to move along the railroad away from the front in January 1918, the Military Council of Nationalities decided to disarm them. The operation was ordered by Noe Ramishvili, the Interior Minister of Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic.The struggle for Transcaucasia, 1917–1921 by Firuz Kazemzadeh, p. 83
A large group of Azerbaijanis had stopped a Russian train near Shamkhor, riding along what is known as the Baku–Tiflis rail line,The Russian Revolution, 1917–1921: From the Civil War to the consolidation of power by William Henry Chamberlin, p. 409 and demanded the handover of the military supply on the train, but the Russian soldiers had refused to give the military equipment away. It is impossible to determine who fired the first shot, but eventually Azerbaijanis stormed the train, which led to hundreds of deaths.The Caucasus Under Soviet Rule By Alex Marshall, p. 87 Azerbaijanis had gained significant amount of war equipment after their attack. Thousands of Russian soldiers were disarmed and sent on their way. The events also had angered Bolshevik and Azerbaijani leaders which had led to confrontations later on in that year. The incident at Shamkhor was also followed by organized attacks against Russians throughout the region.Commissar and Mullah: Soviet–Muslim Policy from 1917 to 1924 By Glenn L. Roberts, p. 20
Casualties
Various sources indicate that the death toll in the incident ranged from 1000 to over 2,000 Russian soldiers. However, a number of researchers consider these numbers to be clearly overestimated, believing that several hundred Russian soldiers and officers were killed. The number of Russian soldiers killed and wounded remained unknown. According to S.I. Vereshchak, their "number was difficult to establish", since many corpses were burnt and "many were taken away by fellow villagers".
Vladimir Buldakov notes that "the number of those killed and burned alive on both sides was impossible to count." M.A. Volkhonsky and V.M. Mukhanov only note that "the number of victims on both sides was enormous." Other authors indicate that the incident resulted in thousands of people getting killed. I. S. Ratkovsky believes that the total number of those killed and wounded on both sides exceeded 5 thousand people.
Books Hovhannisian R. G. Armenia on the Road to Independence, 1918. — Berkeley — Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1967. — 376 p. — ISBN 978-0-520-00574-7
References