MASSIVE RESETTLEMENT OF THE ARMENIANS TO KARABAKH AND OTHER REGIONS OF AZERBAIJAN 

XIX c. became the most important turning point in the ethnic history of Karabakh. Subordination and consequent elimination of the Karabakh khanate gave the Czarist government an opportunity to resettle Armenians in the territory of North Azerbaijan, including Karabakh, in order to strengthen Russian positions in the region. The Russian author of XIX c. S. Glinka wrote: «...increase of the resettled related Christian people [in Azerbaijan] can place a reliable stronghold in the borders of Russia for repulse of the hostile actions of the neighboring peoples, particularly, of the Turks, Persians, and the mountaineers».

Before the process of resettlement began, Karabakh consisted of 17 counties (mahals). In 12 mahals, if to exclude several Armenian villages, lived almost exceptionally Azerbaijanis. The mahals of Dizak, Varanda, Chelaberd and Talish were consisted of the Azerbaijanis («Muslim») and Armenian villages. There were also villages where the Armenians and Azerbaijanis lived mixed.

In the beginning of XIX c. the Czarist officials have made some work to define the number of the population of the Karabakh province.

One source, according to which the number of the Karabakh population in 1805 was 10.000 families, points that in 1808 the number of the families living in Karabakh decreased to 7.474. All the historical sources confirm the decrease of the number of the Karabakh population during the mentioned period. As known from the history, part of the population of these places left their homes during the war, but returned back as soon as the war was over.

The second important historical document which provides detailed information about the number and ethnic composition of the Karabakh population, is the taxation register of the Karabakh province, prepared by the Russian officials Yermolov and Mogilevsky, soon after the elimination of the Karabakh khanate in 1823. The register provides the number of population village-by-village and family-by-family and also informs about their ethnic belonging. According to the register, the number and ethnic composition of Karabakh population in 1823 is as follows:

It also has to be noted, that of the total Karabakh population, the share of 5 districts situated in the mountainous part of Karabakh, i.e. the districts of Dizak, Varanda, Chelaberd, Khachen and Talish, where, as mentioned, Azerbaijanis and Armenians lived mixed, was 1.559 families (7.75%). Despite its importance, a substantial deficiency of this document was the fact, that Armenians- first wave settlers from Iran were included in the register without provisions.

Resettlement of Armenians increased substantially during the second Russo-Iranian war in 1825-1826. 18 thousand Armenian families were settled in Karabakh, particularly in its mountainous part. This source also shows, that with exception of the villages of Ahlatian, Pirnakhay and Shinatag in Zangezur, the populations of all the Armenian villages were immigrants from Iran.

The massive resettlement process gained additional momentum after conclusion in 1828 of the Turkmanchay Peace Treaty between the Russian Empire and Iran, and the Adrianopol peace accord (1828) with the Ottoman Empire.

According to the Article 15 of the Turkmanchay treaty, the Armenian population of Iran (they were, primarily, the inhabitants of the Southern Azerbaijan occupied at that time by Russians) had been given a right to freely resettle to the regions of the Caucasus during a period of one year. Based on this treaty, first party of 8.249 Armenian families were resettled from Iran and placed in the Erivan gubernia (territory of present-day Armenia), the Karabakh province and the Shemakha district. More Armenians were resettled from the Ottoman Empire after war of 1826-28. The Russian author of the end of XIX and beginning of XX cc. N.I. Shavrov describes all these processes as follows: «After the war of 1826-1828 ended, during the period of 1828-1930 we (i.e. Russia) have resettled to the Transcaucasus more than 40.000 Persian and 84.600 Turkish Armenians and placed them in the best state lands of Yelizavetpol and Erivan provinces, where [the number of] the Armenian population was miserable, and in Tiflis, Borchaly, Akhaltsiki and Akhalkalaki districts» (all mentioned districts are the territory of present-day Georgia). Shavrov also indicates, that «of 124.000 Armenians officially being resettled, there were many who resettled unofficially, therefore, the total number of those who resettled, considerably exceeds 200.000». As the same author pointed out, in Yelizavetpol province Armenians were settled not in the whole territory of the province, but on only its mountainous parts, beginning from the lake Gekcha (present-day Sevan in Armenia). As you know, the mountainous part of the Yelizavetpol province is consisted of mainly the mountainous part of Karabakh.

The words by the great Russian writer, ambassador of Russia to Iran in 1818-1829 A.S. Griboyedov, who by the way, was also the author of the idea of resettlement of the Armenians to the North Azerbaijan, also deserve great attention. He wrote: «Armenians, in most of their part, were settled in the lands of the Muslim landowners...The settlers are by themselves in very constrained situation and constraint the Muslims, which grumble and with good reason...we discussed a lot about the influences which we have to exercise on the Muslims [i.e. the Azerbaijanis who accepted the Armenian settlers] to reconcile them with their present burdened situation, which will not last long, and to eradicate their fear concerning that the Armenians will seize forever the territory, where they were allowed to for the first time».

It would be interesting to remark, that the Czarist government entrusted the implementation of the resettlement of the Iranian and Ottoman Armenians to the regions of the South Caucasus to colonel Lazarev, an Armenian by nationality.

In consequent years, the massive resettlement of Armenians to the South Caucasus, «was going- using the words of another Russian author of XIX c. V.L. Velichko,- now hardly noticeable stream, now wide, impetuous  torrent». Armenians were resettled again during the Crimean war (1853-1856). Unfortunately, their number was not registered. During the years of Russo-Ottoman war of 1877-1879 85 thousand Armenians were resettled to the South Caucasus, in 1894 this number was 90.000, in 1897- 10.000. Already in 1908 due to the settlers, the number of Armenians in South Caucasus reached 1 million 300 thousand people. «Of 1 million 300 thousand Armenians living nowadays in South Caucasus, more than 1 million don't belong to the indigenous population of the region and were settled by us» - wrote Shavrov, when criticizing the methods of the colonial politics of the Russian government, which, as the author believes, «began its colonial activity not from settling the Russian people in Transcaucasus, but from settling there the strangers». As you see, there is no reason to think that Shavrov, who stays in the positions of «velikoderzhav» (imperial) monarchy and who proceeded from only the interests of the Russian Empire, had sympathized or had antipathy against this or some other nation living in Caucasus.

Mass resettlements of the first half of XIX c. put an end to the existence of offsprings of ancient Albanians, who even though were almost Armenized culturally and ethnically by XIX c., but still were preserving some part of their distinctiveness and remembered their origins. Having been in absolute minority, they melted in the history for good. Armenians-settlers, who had nothing common both with ancient Albanians, and with the land of Karabakh, came to their place.

An additional note: In 1978 there was an inauguration of a marble pedestal in Leninavan city of NKAO (former name was Maraghashen) in honour of the 150th anniversary of the replacement of the first 200 armenian families from Maragha (the Southern Azerbaijan) to the Karabagh region (after the Turkmenchay Peace Treaty of 1828). Later, Armenians exploded this pedestal but the photo of the monument has been preserved.

BEFORE THE ERASURE OF "150"

The monument devoted to the 150th anniversary of the settlement of armenians from Maraga to Karabagh shows the real history of Armenians in Karabagh. (The photo was taken in Maraghashen in the Soviet period) 

 AFTER THE ERASURE OF "150"

The process of settlement of the Armenians to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan has been continuing up today. According to officials in Yerevan, more than one thousand families from Armenia have taken up residence in Karabakh since 1994. Close to four hundred people from Armenia were settled in Nagorno Karabakh only in 2000-2001. Armenian families from Syria and other Middle East countries move to Karabakh as well.