The Battle for Zangezur was a military conflict fought between April 26 and July 16, 1921 for control of the strategic and rugged region of Zangezur (Syunik). The war was waged between Armenian national forces, initially part of the First Republic of Armenia and later organized as the Republic of Mountainous Armenia, and the Soviet Red Army.
The conflict is historically significant for ensuring that the Zangezur region remained an integral part of Armenia rather than being annexed by Soviet Azerbaijan. Led by the military commander Garegin Nzhdeh, the Armenian resistance transformed Zangezur into the last bastion of Armenian independence after the fall of the central government in Yerevan in December 1920.
Background Soviet invasion of Armenia Following the sovietization of Azerbaijan in April 1920, the 11th Red Army took up positions along the frontiers of the Armenian republic. The Soviet leadership in Moscow, while engaged in negotiations with the Armenian mission led by Levon Shant, authorized the Red Army to occupy the "disputed" territories of Karabagh, Zangezur, and Nakhichevan. For the Soviets, control of these regions was vital to opening a strategic land corridor to their ally, the Turkish Nationalist movement of Mustafa Kemal Pasha.
In June 1920, the Red Army's 32nd Rifle Division began its advance into Zangezur. Despite local Armenian protests, a Soviet scouting party entered the village of Tegh on June 29, and by July 5, the Red Army occupied Goris, the administrative center of the district.
The initial period of Soviet occupation was marked by political repression. The Cheka (extraordinary committee) carried out numerous arrests of Armenian nationalists and socialist opponents. In early August, the Red Army executed prominent Armenian figures, including Parliament members Arshak Shirinian and Vahan Khoreni, whose bodies were discovered with signs of torture.
On August 10, 1920, the Armenian government in Yerevan, pressured by the simultaneous Turkish invasion on its western front, signed a preliminary treaty in Tiflis. This accord gave the Armenian government's "temporary" consent to the Soviet occupation of Zangezur and Karabagh, hoping to stabilize relations with Moscow while focusing on the Turkish threat.
While regular Armenian army units under Dro withdrew to Daralagyaz following the August treaty, Garegin Nzhdeh refused to abandon the region. He retreated to his stronghold on Mount Khustup in the Ghapan district, vowing to resist the Bolshevik-Turkish alignment. On August 25, 1920, Nzhdeh was proclaimed Sparapet (Supreme Commander) by his partisans in the village of Kavart.
Exploiting the local population's resentment toward Bolshevik requisitions and the murder of their leaders, Nzhdeh launched a general rebellion on October 10. His irregulars utilized explosive-filled barrels rolled down mountain slopes and their intimate knowledge of the terrain to devastate Soviet columns.
Confrontation in Goris General Nikifor Nesterovskii and later General Pyotr Kuryshko led massive operations to liquidate the rebellion. However, in a series of engagements during November 1920, Nzhdeh's forces routed the Red Army’s 28th Division. By November 22, 1920, Nzhdeh’s forces triumphantly re-entered Goris, expelling the Red Army from Zangezur.
The sovietization of the central Armenian government in Yerevan occurred on December 2, 1920. Zangezur, however, remained independent under Nzhdeh's control, declaring itself "Autonomous Siunik." Following the failed February Uprising of 1921 in Yerevan, thousands of Armenian soldiers, intellectuals, and political leaders fled to Zangezur to continue the resistance.
Declaration of Mountainous Armenia On April 26, 1921, at a congress held in Tatev, the Republic of Mountainous Armenia was proclaimed. Nzhdeh served as the supreme military commander, while Simon Vratsian headed the civil administration. The republic continued to demand that Zangezur remain an integral part of Armenia, citing the declaration made by Soviet Azerbaijan's leader, Nariman Narimanov, on November 30, 1920, which had briefly ceded the disputed regions to Armenia as a "fraternal gesture".
The conflict in Zangezur experienced a significant escalation in late 1920. Rebel forces utilized the mountainous terrain and guerrilla tactics to outmaneuver the Red Army, and Soviet operations were severely hampered by the onset of winter. As a result, Soviet regiments were drastically depleted; for instance, regiments of the 84th Rifle Brigade numbered only 150 to 250 bayonets each. Specifically, the 248th Regiment fielded 188 bayonets, 30 machine gunners, 9 cavalrymen, and 29 command staff, while the 249th Rifle Regiment consisted of 118 bayonets, 20 machine gunners, 16 telephone operators, and 14 command staff. Non-combat losses were high, with disease-related fatalities exceeding combat wounds. On December 25, 1920, a congress convened by Nzhdeh at the Tatev Monastery refused to recognize the Sovietization of Armenia and declared Zangezur an autonomous republic.
War By the spring of 1921, Soviet estimates placed the Armed Forces of Mountainous Armenia at around 9,170 total fighters (6,800 infantry and 2,370 cavalry). They were equipped with 96 machine guns and over 10 artillery guns. The main rebel headquarters was situated south of Goris, with a contingent of approximately 700 men stationed under Nzhdeh at Dortpi. On April 21, 1921, a second congress at Tatev proclaimed the "Republic of Mountainous Armenia."
While negotiations between Bolshevik Armenia and the rebel forces were ongoing in May 1921, the Red Army command, following a Kavburo decision, prepared an offensive set for June 25, 1921, choosing to rely primarily on Armenian units of the Red Army. The attempt to peacefully integrate Zangezur had stalled in May, and anti-Bolshevik resolve was further fueled when former representatives of Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Dagestan signed an agreement in Paris on June 10, 1921, pledging joint struggle against the Bolsheviks. On June 13, the Soviet Armenian government prepared an appeal signed by Alexander Miasnikian and members of the government to the “Authorities of Zangezur”, which was printed as a leaflet for propaganda purposes.
Initial Armenian offensive As the Soviet presence consolidated, the military situation grew increasingly volatile. Around this time, roughly 3,000 Azerbaijani forces infiltrated the borders of Mountainous Armenia under the guise of nomads near Minkend, further threatening Syunik's defense lines. On June 5–6, 1921, Soviet forces launched a major offensive on the Ordubad–Genvaz front. By the evening of June 6, Syunik's popular companies repulsed the attack, inflicting heavy casualties and chasing the retreating forces back to Ordubad, which Colonel Ohanjanian noted was a significant morale boost for the defenders. Learning of Bolshevik preparations, rebel forces, fortified on the left bank of the Arpacha River on the impregnable heights of Ghushchi–Genvaz, launched an attack. The 330 soldiers constituted the bulk of the troops of the Zanzezur Western Front. Commanded by Yaponin (Yovhannes Paronian), the attack was sudden and pushed through the Vorotan mountain pass. On the night of June 15–16, the attack had succeeded; the rebels quickly pushed out Armenian Red Army troops and captured the entire Daralagyaz District.
On June 16, commander Kuro Tarkhanian/Tarkhanov sent a telegram to Nzhdeh, who was in Kapan, reporting that rebel horsemen had taken 3 cannons, ammunition, and 170 prisoners (including three battalion commanders) from the Soviets, alongside 4 mountain cannons.. Tarkhanian noted that the enemy was retreating in terror and that their Daralagyaz units were effectively beaten. On June 17, rebel forces took an additional 700 Soviet troops prisoner and captured several machine guns. Aram Simonyan notes that this surprise attack placed the Soviets in a "difficult position," decisively beating their units in the first three days and giving the rebels the advantage. Capturing the Arpa bridge threatened other Soviet units from the rear, causing the Daralagyaz garrison—the first regiment of the Soviet Armenian brigade—to collapse and cease operations after suffering heavy casualties and encirclement.
The second Soviet Armenian brigade also began a disorderly retreat under heavy rebel attacks. Although brigade commanders briefly formed a short-lived battle order, increasing pressure forced them to retreat once more. This retreat allowed the rebel forces in Zangezur to deploy their cavalry, which passed behind the third Soviet Armenian brigade. To avoid encirclement, the regiment retreated to the eastern heights of Aynadzor (Aghavnadzor), where they were continually attacked by Zangezur rebels. The second and third battalions evaded capture by retreating across the Arpa bridge to Norashen, whereas the first battalion was separated under pressure, abandoned its positions on Aynadzor’s heights, and retreated toward Gharanlugh (Martuni).
Many local villagers left Daralagyaz alongside the retreating Red Army units. Three to four days after Daralagyaz was captured, Arshak Hovhannisyan, Yeprem Sargsyan, and Garnik Shahinyan arrived in Keshishkend and demanded—on Nzhdeh's behalf—that Yapon launch an offensive to capture Nor Bayazet (Gavar). Yapon firmly refused the proposal, stating that they could not cross the Selim Pass to capture Nor Bayazet and that his troops were demoralized and waiting for an opportunity to desert to their nearby homes. Soviet reports also noted demoralization within the rebel forces. To stop the rebel advance, the Red Army command increased pressure along the borders of Arevik, Kapan, and Goris, forcing Nzhdeh to redeploy a portion of the Syunik troops from Daralagyaz to defend those borders.
On June 18, Nzhdeh led a light cavalry unit from Kapan through the Sovietized, Turkic-populated region of Bargushat to disperse Red Army forces concentrated on the right bank of the Vorotan River. The local population, who had been under Bolshevik authority for a year, welcomed the troops with food and pledged submission, while the district militia fled toward Khanlygh. Nzhdeh appointed a Turkic commissar over the villages before arriving in Goris. On the same day, Alexander Miasnikian, Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of Armenia, issued an appeal blaming the Zangezur authorities for the renewed bloodshed, stating that while the Soviets did not seek the conflict, an upcoming Red Army offensive would liberate Daralagyaz and the entirety of Zangezur.
In an article titled “The New Adventure”, the Sovetakan Hayastan (Խորհրդային Հայաստան) newspaper wrote: “The blow against the people has been struck. The Soviet government of Armenia made utmost efforts to resolve the Zangezur issue without bloodshed. On the 13th, Comrade Karinyan, a representative of our government, once again set out for Daralagyaz with a peace proposal; the ‘saviors’ of Zangezur had been forewarned of this proposal, yet they... prefer war to peace..."
Soviet counteroffensive Learning of this, Miasnikian summoned them to his office and sternly warned them against falling into extremes or becoming overly focused on the administrative, judicial, and punitive aspects of the matter. Hayk Baghdasaryan, a tribunal member present at the meeting, later noted that the president of the republic instructed them to prioritize political influence to stop the panic and boost the morale and combat spirit of the troops. Specifically, Miasnikian stated that the mere presence of the military revolutionary tribunal at the front, alongside other military and political steps, would help quickly restore order and discipline in the units. He added that it was necessary to talk with commanders and soldiers to clarify the reasons behind the retreat before initiating any legal proceedings.