Riga Treaty (1920). See what the "Riga Treaty (1920)" is in other dictionaries Peace Treaty between Russia and Latvia
The defeat of Germany in the First World War and the collapse of Austria-Hungary promoted Britain and France to the rank of leading powers. The United States began to play an important role in European affairs. The victory of the Bolsheviks in Russia forced the West to reckon with the existence of the Soviet regime and build its foreign policy with this factor in mind.
In the 1920s, the main directions of Soviet foreign policy were: strengthening the international positions of the Soviet state, suppressing anti-Soviet provocations foreign countries, expansion and strengthening of the world communist and workers' movement.
The first step towards diplomatic recognition of the Soviet state was the political treaties of 1920-1921. with border countries and trade agreements with England and Germany. The second step was the participation of the RSFSR in 4 international conferences in 1922-1923.
Genoa Conference (April-May 1922). The conference was attended by 29 countries. The United States declined to formally participate, citing its political rather than economic nature. The main task Soviet delegation, headed by the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs G.V. Chicherin, was the establishment of economic relations with capitalist countries. Western countries insisted that the Soviet government recognize all the debts of the tsarist and Provisional governments, compensate for all losses from the nationalization of foreign property, and also abolish the monopoly of foreign trade.
The Soviet delegation refused to accept the demands of the capitalist countries. At the same time, the Russian government agreed to grant concessions to foreign entrepreneurs and recognize pre-war debts, subject to compensation for damage from the intervention. According to Soviet estimates, it was 2 times higher than the debt. The conference participants refused to accept the conditions of Soviet Russia. The Genoa conference yielded no practical results.
However, the presence of Soviet Russia in Genoa was a step towards its legal recognition by other countries. In addition, a by-product of the conference was the conclusion on the outskirts of Genoa Rapallo Soviet-German Treaty... He caused a stir in the ruling circles of Europe. According to The Rapallo Treaty, the parties refused to reimburse military expenses. Germany renounced claims in connection with the nationalization of the private property of its citizens in Russia. The treaty established diplomatic relations between the two countries. It also provided for the development of trade, economic, legal relations, military cooperation. Thus, Germany in the 1920s became a de facto ally of the USSR. Flight and tank schools of the Reichswehr operated on the territory of the USSR, along with Soviet-German enterprises, defense industry enterprises disguised as them were created, which carried out German military orders. The USSR got acquainted with the achievements in the military affairs of Germany. After Hitler came to power, Soviet-German military cooperation collapsed, and military-technical and financial assistance to Germany from capitalist countries began, supplying it with strategic raw materials (aluminum, oil, nickel, copper).
The Hague Conference (June-July 1922) At the conference, the Soviet side announced the list of enterprises that were supposed to be provided to foreign concessionaires. Negotiating partners have issued ultimatum demands on debt and the recovery of foreign private property. The RSFSR interrupted the negotiations, not allowing them to talk with Russia as with a defeated country. Thus, the second international conference with the participation of Soviet delegations did not yield the expected results.
Moscow Conference (December 1922)... Back in Genoa, the Soviet delegation raised the question of general disarmament, but it was not supported. At the Moscow conference, the issue of proportional reduction of the armed forces of six states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Poland) was discussed. The Soviet disarmament plan assumed the reduction of the personnel of the armies of the countries participating in the conference by 75% in 1.5-2 years. The government of the RSFSR regarded these and other proposals as the first step towards general disarmament.
However, the other participants in the conference, after heated discussions, agreed to sign only a non-aggression pact, but not a general disarmament treaty. Its indirect result was the actual reduction of the armed forces of the participating countries. The Moscow conference was of great propaganda significance. It was first international conference on the territory of the Soviet state and is dedicated to disarmament.
Lausanne conference in Switzerland (November 1922 - July 1923) was dedicated to the Middle East issues. The RSFSR was invited to it to discuss the issue of the Black Sea straits. The head of the Soviet delegation G.V. Chicherin outlined the basic principle of the Soviet program: the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, both in peacetime and in wartime, should be closed to military courts, military aviation all countries except Turkey. The head of the British delegation, Foreign Minister Lord Curzon, on the contrary, insisted on the free passage of warships of all countries through the straits.
The Soviet delegation was not admitted to the last meeting of the conference, and without its participation a convention on the regime of the straits was adopted, which established free passage through the straits for both merchant and military vessels. Thus, England managed to create a permanent threat to the USSR from the Black Sea. The Soviet leadership did not ratify the Lausanne Convention.
1.1. Cooperation of the USSR with the League of Nations.
The League of Nations was created in 1919 at the initiative of the President of the United States Woodrow Wilson as "an instrument of world peace." The Soviet state was not a member of it, but from the second half of the 1920s it began to interact with this organization in the interests of strengthening its own and international security.
For the first time participating in the work of the IV session of the League (1927), the head of the Soviet delegation, Deputy People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs M.M. Litvinov put forward a program of general and complete disarmament within 1 year or in stages over 4 years. It involved the dissolution of all the armed forces; destruction of weapons; the elimination of sea and land bases; termination of military production; curtailment of military training of citizens; passing laws abolishing military service. After rejecting it Soviet Union presented a draft of partial disarmament. All Soviet projects were rejected.
Treaty of Sevres or Treaty of Sevres- one of the agreements of the Versailles-Washington system. Its creation marked the end of the First World War. Consider Briefly the Sevres Peace Treaty.
Participants
The Sevres Peace Treaty was signed with Turkey, the Entente countries and the states that have joined them. Among the latter were, in particular, Japan, Romania, Portugal, Armenia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Greece, Belgium, the Kingdom of Croats, Serbs and Slovenes, etc.
Signing of the Sevres Peace Treaty took place in 1920, on August 10 in the city of Sèvres, in France. By this time, most of Turkish territory was occupied by the troops of the Entente countries.
Peace Treaty of Sevres 1920 g. belongs to the group of agreements that completed the First World War and formed the Versailles system. With his help, the division of Turkey was officially formalized, which was one of the key imperialist goals of the Entente states.
Training
The issue of the partition of Turkey was repeatedly discussed at the conference. However, it was intertwined with unresolved issues of reparations and territories. Western Europe... The partition of Turkey was considered in various combinations; the Entente countries tried to satisfy, first of all, their interests and for a long time did not find a compromise.
Project Peace Treaty of Sevres was developed only in early 1920 at a conference of ambassadors from key allied powers. In April of the same year, France and England reached an agreement on the division of Turkey's Asian territories. In early May 1920, the project was reported to representatives of the Sultan's government and published in the press.
Resistance to Turkey
In April 1920, the Grand National Assembly was formed in Ankara, which proclaimed itself the only legitimate authority.
On April 26, the Assembly turned to the USSR with a request for help in the struggle against the imperialist occupiers. After the publication of the draft agreement, Turkey announced that it would never recognize it.
In response to resistance, the Allied countries decided to use military force to restore the sultan's power throughout the state. By that time, the Entente troops occupied not only the Arab lands of the Ottoman Empire, but also a number of key regions of Turkey itself, including Constantinople, the Straits region, and Izmir.
In accordance with the decision of the Supreme Council of the Allied countries, adopted in Boulogne, the Greek army, which received British weapons, with the support of the British fleet, launched an offensive against the Turkish national liberation forces in June. The Sultan's government by this time did not actually have power. It capitulated to the Allied forces and signed an agreement.
Territories lost by Turkey
According to the Sevres Peace Treaty, the Turkish government was losing power over the Kurds, Arabs, Armenians and representatives of other oppressed peoples. The Entente countries, in turn, sought to establish their rule over these nations.
By the terms of the Sevres Peace Treaty, The Ottoman Empire lost 3/4 of its territory. Eastern Thrace with Adrianople, the entire Gallipoli Peninsula, the European coast of the Dardanelles and Izmir were transferred to Greece. Turkey lost all the lands of the European part of its territory, with the exception of a narrow strip near Istanbul - formally this area remained with the Turkish government. Moreover, in Sevres Peace Treaty it was said that if the state evades compliance with the agreement, the allied countries have the right to change the conditions.
The strait zone nominally remained with Turkey. However, the government had to demilitarize it and provide access to this territory for a special "Commission of the Straits". She had to monitor compliance Peace Treaty of Sevres in this zone. The commission included delegates different countries... The agreement stipulated the rights of the representatives. Thus, the US delegates could join the Commission from the moment they make the appropriate decision. Regarding Russia, Turkey and Bulgaria itself, the treaty contained a clause stating that representatives of these countries could become delegates from the moment the countries became members of the League of Nations.
The Commission was endowed with broad powers and could exercise them independently of the local government. This structure had the right to organize a special police corps under the leadership of foreign officers, to use the armed forces in agreement with the allied powers. The Commission could have its own budget and flag.
Articles Peace Treaty of Sevres that determined the fate of the straits had a clear anti-Soviet content. Countries that intervened against the Soviet regime could now freely deploy their ships in the ports of the strait zone.
Defining boundaries
By Sevres Peace Treaty, the Turkish government was losing control over the territories of Syria, Lebanon, Mesopotamia, Palestine. Mandate management was established over them. Turkey was also deprived of possessions on the Arabian Peninsula. In addition, the government was required to recognize the Kingdom of Hejaz.
The borders between Turkey and Armenia were to be established by the arbitration decision of the American president. Wilson and his advisers assumed that they would become a state, in fact, controlled and dependent on the United States. America wanted to use the country as a staging ground against Soviet Russia.
Under the agreement, Kurdistan was also separated from Turkey. An Anglo-French-Italian commission was to determine the borders between the countries. After that, the question of the autonomy of Kurdistan was submitted for resolution to the Council of the League of Nations. If he recognizes the population as "capable of independence", it will receive autonomy.
According to the treaty, Turkey renounced its rights in Egypt, recognized the protectorate over it, established back in 1918. It also lost its rights in relation to Sudan, recognized the annexation of Cyprus to Britain, proclaimed back in 1914, as well as the protectorate of France over Tunisia and Morocco. The privileges that the Sultan had in Libya were canceled. Turkey's rights to the islands in the Aegean Sea were transferred to Italy.
In fact, the sultan's state lost its sovereignty. By a special decree, the surrender regime was restored, which also extended to the allied countries that did not use it until the First World War.
Financial management
A special commission was formed to control the Turkish monetary system. It included representatives of Britain, France, Italy, as well as the Turkish government itself with an advisory voice.
The Commission received all the resources of the country, except for income, given or assigned as guarantee payments for the Ottoman debt. This structure was free to take whatever measures it deemed most appropriate to preserve and increase Turkey's financial resources. The Commission received full control over the economy of the state. Without her approval, the Turkish parliament could not discuss the budget. Changes to the financial plan could only be carried out with the approval of the Commission.
The section of the treaty concerning the economic status of Turkey included articles according to which the country recognized as canceled agreements, conventions, treaties that were concluded before the entry into force of the Peace of Sevres with Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary or Germany, as well as with Russia or "any government or state, the territory of which was previously part of Russia. "
Protection of minorities
It was mentioned in the 6th part of the agreement. Its provisions stipulated that the main allied countries, in agreement with the Council of the League, would determine the measures necessary to ensure guarantees of the implementation of these decisions. Turkey, in turn, under the agreement, agreed in advance on all decisions to be made on this issue.
Military system
It was mentioned in the 5th part of the Sevres agreement. The articles recorded complete demobilization. The number of the army could not exceed 50 thousand officers and soldiers, including 35 thousand gendarmes.
Conclusion
The imperialist goals of the allied countries were actually not achieved. The Turkish government and the entire population in general actively opposed the division of the territories. Of course, no country wants to lose its sovereignty.
The treaty essentially destroyed Turkey as an independent state, which was unacceptable for a country with a long history.
It should be noted that Russia's participation in the process was minimized. This was largely due to the reluctance of the Entente to cooperate with the Soviet government, the desire to gain access to the country's borders. The allied countries did not see Soviet Russia as a partner; on the contrary, they considered it a competitor who needed to be eliminated.
The treaty established the northeastern border of Turkey, which exists to the present day.
Basic information
The treaty, signed on March 16, 1921 in Moscow by representatives of the government of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and the government of the RSFSR, was ratified by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee on July 20, 1921, and by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on July 31, 1921. The exchange of instruments of ratification took place on September 22, 1921 in Kars.
The treaty became the second international legal act signed by the Kemalist government of Turkey, while the administration of Sultan Mehmed VI Vahidaddin remained the internationally recognized government in the occupied capital of Constantinople (Istanbul), signing on behalf Ottoman Empire in August 1920, the Sevres Peace Treaty, which was rejected by the Kemalists and never entered into force.
Under the Moscow Treaty, the RSFSR recognized Turkey within the borders proclaimed by the Declaration of Independence of Turkey, better known as the "Turkish National Pact" (Turkish Misak-ı Millî, "national agreement"), adopted by the Ottoman parliament on January 28, 1920.
The treaty, adopted without the participation of the Azerbaijan, Armenian and Georgian SSRs, established the northeastern border of Turkey with these states, securing Turkey's territorial acquisitions under the Treaty of Alexandropol (Gyumr), with the exception of:
- the cities of Alexandropol and the eastern part of the Alexandropol district of the Erivan province, which Turkey undertook to transfer to the Armenian SSR,
- the northern part of the Batumi region, which Turkey undertook to transfer to the Georgian SSR, and
- Nakhichevan and Sharur-Daralagez districts of the Erivan province, which Turkey undertook to transfer to the protectorate of the Azerbaijan SSR.
According to the agreement, the southern part of the Batumi region (Artvin district), the Kars region, the Surmalinsky district and the western part of the Alexandropol district of the Erivan province remained within Turkey.
The following in October 1921, the conclusion of the Treaty of Kars, identical to Moscow, between the Kemalists and the Transcaucasian SSR, which in 1922 became part of the ZSFSR, completed the legal registration of the interstate borders that exist today.
Background
1918-1919
On May 28, 1919, the Armenian authorities announced their intention to annex six vilayets of Western Armenia. Such a statement was casus belli for any Turkish government, as well as for most of Turkish society, and especially for Turkish nationalists, who already in May 1919 declared themselves in Central Anatolia and Western Armenia, and nine months later turned into a dominant force under the leadership of the lieutenant general of the Ottoman army Mustafa Kemal. Kemal united the scattered Turkish national organizations - "societies for the protection of rights" and the remnants of the regular troops of the former Turkish Caucasian Front that remained here - into "national forces" and led the National Movement, which proclaimed its main goal to preserve the sovereignty and integrity of the Ottoman Empire. On September 4-11, at the All-Turkish Congress of "Societies for the Defense of Rights" held in the city of Sivas, the executive body of the Turkish patriotic forces was created - Representative committee led by Mustafa Kemal, who served as the interim government of Turkey. On December 27, the Representative Committee moved to Angora (Ankara).
1920
Declaration of Independence of Turkey. The beginning of the Greco-Turkish war
In response to the adoption of the National Vow, the Entente powers occupied Istanbul and the Black Sea straits zone on March 16, opening from mid-1920 fighting against the Turkish Republic. The main striking force of the Entente in the war against Turkey in Western Anatolia was the Greek army, which occupied the Izmir region since May 1919, therefore this war in literature was called the Greco-Turkish War. Great Britain, France and the United States planned to limit the activity of their troops to the straits zone, without providing significant support to Greece in the hostilities against Turkey. At the same time, US President Woodrow Wilson suggested that the authorities of the Armenian Republic enter the war on the side of the Entente, promising to include all historical Armenian lands into Armenia after the victory. The United States also promised Armenia assistance with weapons, uniforms and food.
The opening of another front - against Armenia -, in addition to diverting forces, was fraught with complications for the Kemalists in relations with Soviet Russia, which considered the Transcaucasia a sphere of its exclusive interests, while the local Bolsheviks generally continued to view the Transcaucasia as part of the Russian state.
Meanwhile, having defeated the remnants of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia in the North Caucasus, units of the 11th Army of the Red Army of the RSFSR by mid-April 1920 concentrated at the northern border of Azerbaijan.
On April 26, Mustafa Kemal appealed to the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR V. I. Lenin with a request to provide Turkey with military assistance and a proposal to establish diplomatic relations and develop a common military strategy in the Caucasus. This strategy concerned overcoming the so-called Caucasian barrier created by the Dashnaks, Georgian Mensheviks and Britain as an obstacle to the development of relations between Soviet Russia and the Kemalists. Dashnak Armenia did not allow the transport of goods to Turkey through its territory, and the delivery of aid across the Black Sea was hampered by the presence of ships of the Entente countries.
Kemal stated that “Turkey undertakes to fight together with Soviet Russia against the imperialist governments for the liberation of all the oppressed,<…>expresses its readiness to participate in the struggle against the imperialists in the Caucasus and hopes for the assistance of Soviet Russia in the struggle against the imperialist enemies who attacked Turkey. " The letter outlined the main principles of the foreign policy of the VNST: the proclamation of the independence of Turkey; the incorporation of the undeniable Turkish territories into the Turkish state; giving all territories with a mixed population the right to determine their own destiny; transfer of the question of the straits to the conference of the Black Sea coastal states; the abolition of the regime of surrender and economic control by foreign states; the elimination of all kinds of spheres of foreign influence.
The Soviet government decided to support the Kemalists. Firstly, the idea of a national liberation struggle against imperialism coincided with the Bolshevik ideology, and secondly, more importantly, the transformation of Anatolia into an English zone of influence was extremely disadvantageous for Russia. On the instructions of V.I. Lenin, on June 3, the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs sent a letter to the Turkish government. It said that “The Soviet government extends the hand of friendship to all the peoples of the world, remaining invariably true to its principle of recognizing the right of each people to self-determination. The Soviet government is following with keen interest the heroic struggle waged by the Turkish people for their independence and sovereignty, and in these difficult days for Turkey, it is happy to lay a solid foundation of friendship that should unite the Turkish and Russian peoples. "
On April 26, the 11th Army of the Red Army crossed the northern border of Azerbaijan. On April 28, Azrevk took power in Azerbaijan into his own hands, who proclaimed the Azerbaijan Socialist Soviet Republic. By the first half of May, Soviet power had been established almost throughout the territory of Azerbaijan.
On May 11, the government of the Turkish Grand National Assembly sent its People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Bekir Sami at the head of the first official delegation of the VNST to the RSFSR to prepare a general agreement on friendship and mutual assistance, which arrived in Moscow on July 19. On July 24, Bekir Sami and his deputy Yusuf Kemal met with the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR G.V. Chicherin and his deputy L.M. Karakhan.
Aggravation of relations between Turkey and Armenia
In the meantime, having received the news that the Sultan's government intends to agree to the arbitration of US President Woodrow Wilson on the border between Turkey and the Republic of Armenia, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey considered this humiliating and unacceptable for Turkey, treaties, conventions, agreements, acts and official decrees, as well as concession agreements for the sale or operation of mines concluded by the Sultan's government without the approval of the VNST, starting from March 16, 1920, that is, from the day of the occupation of Istanbul. On June 9, mobilization was announced in the eastern provinces. The eastern army under the command of Lieutenant General Kazim Pasha Karabekir was pushed (through the territory of northern Iran) in the direction of Nakhichevan.
The Kemalist government of Turkey and Armenia have actually been at war since June 1920, when border clashes broke out, in which part of the regular troops took part on both sides. For some time, the sides were kept from the military conflict by the position of the leadership of Soviet Russia, who considered the war of Turkey against Armenia undesirable and expressed their readiness to mediate. A few weeks before the signing of the Sevres Peace Treaty (see below), Armenia sent border troops to the Olty District, which did not formally belong to Turkey, but was under the de facto control of Muslim field commanders (mostly Kurdish) and units of the Turkish army remaining here in violation of the terms Mudross truce. The entry of troops began on June 19, and by June 22 the Armenians took control of most of the territory of the district, including the cities of Olty and Penyak. From the point of view of Turkish nationalists, it was about the invasion of Armenian troops into the territory of Turkey, which was used by Turkey as a basis for a retaliatory strike.
In Moscow, representatives of the Soviet leadership, negotiating, on the one hand, with the delegation of the Republic of Armenia led by L. Shant, and on the other hand, with the Kemalist delegation led by Bekir Sami and seeking to reach a peace agreement between the parties, put forward the “principle of the ethnographic border based on national relations that existed before great war", And suggested" to make mutual resettlement in order to create a homogeneous ethnographic territory on both sides. " The Armenian delegation agreed with this in principle. The Turkish delegation, however, not only rejected this principle, but also did not accept L. Karakhan's proposal to hold a meeting with L. Shant's delegation to clarify the positions of the parties on the disputed territories, arguing that they did not have such powers. Bekir Sami insisted on the boundaries defined by the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, and demanded the recognition of the "National Vow". The Turkish delegation stubbornly insisted on the need for a military campaign against Armenia, arguing that if a land corridor through Nakhichevan with Azerbaijan and the Red Army stationed there was not created in a short time, the death of the national movement in Turkey would be inevitable. Bekir Sami demanded at least the oral consent of Soviet Russia to the occupation of Sarikamysh and Shakhtakhty by the Turks. Not having received the consent of G. Chicherin, Bekir Sami demanded a meeting with the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR V. I. Lenin.
July 28 - August 1, parts of the Red Army, which made their way through Zangezur, and the troops of the Eastern Army VNST jointly occupied the Nakhichevan district. On July 28, the Nakhichevan Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed here. The Shusha-Gerusy (Goris) -Nakhichevan corridor between Kemalist Turkey and Soviet Azerbaijan was opened. On August 10, a ceasefire agreement was signed between Armenia and the RSFSR, which formalized the temporary stay of Soviet troops in Zangezur, Karabakh and Nakhichevan. Nevertheless, a strong influence of the Turkish parts remained in Nakhichevan.
In Moscow on August 13, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) discussed G.V. Chicherin's proposals regarding Turkey and Armenia, and on August 14, V.I. Lenin received a Turkish delegation. After clarifying with the member of the Military Revolutionary Council of the Caucasian Front GK Ordzhonikidze the question of the expediency of the Turks occupying Shahtakhta and Sarykamysh, GV Chicherin informed Bekir Sami that the Soviet government would not object, provided that the Turks did not advance further this line. By August 24, a draft Friendship Treaty was developed, which determined the basic principles of relations between the two countries (non-recognition of treaties imposed on the parties by force, cancellation of agreements concluded in the past between tsarist Russia and Turkey, transfer of the decision on the status of the Black Sea Straits to the conference of the Black Sea states, etc. .). In Art. 3 projects, the parties undertook, upon mutual agreement, to take all necessary measures to open communication routes between Russia and Turkey in the shortest possible time in order to transport people and goods. Article 4 stated that the RSFSR agreed to take on mediation between Turkey and those bordering third states that extended their power to any territory included in the "National Vow" - thereby the Soviet government indirectly recognized Turkey's right to the regions of Batum, Kars and Ardahan. Due to the fact that these territories were part of Armenia and Georgia, it was decided to postpone the issue of defining the north-eastern border of Turkey and the final signing of the prepared treaty. This project later became the basis for the Moscow Treaty of Friendship and Brotherhood, signed on March 16, 1921.
During the negotiations, an agreement was also reached, which provided for the provision of assistance to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey with weapons, ammunition and gold, and, if necessary, with joint military actions. At the disposal of G. K. Ordzhonikidze were immediately sent for subsequent transfer to the Turks 6 thousand rifles, over 5 million cartridges and 17 600 shells. The financial assistance was agreed in the amount of 5 million gold rubles.
Peace Treaty of Sevres. Armenian-Turkish war
Meanwhile, on August 10, in France, 14 states (including the Sultan's government of Turkey and the Republic of Armenia) signed the Sevres Peace Treaty, which officially formalized the division of the Arab and European possessions of the Ottoman Empire. In particular, Turkey recognized Armenia as a "free and independent state", Turkey and Armenia agreed to submit to US President Woodrow Wilson on arbitration of borders within the Van, Bitlis, Erzurum and Trebizond vilayets. The Treaty of Sevres was perceived in Turkey as unjust and "colonial", as an obvious manifestation of the inability of Sultan Mehmed VI to protect the national interests of Turkey.
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Angora, the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR did not recognize the Sevres Peace Treaty. Soviet Russia became the only state in the world to express open disagreement with the Treaty of Sevres. The Bolsheviks tried to prevent the passage of the Black Sea straits under the control of the Entente and the creation of an anti-Soviet bridgehead on the lands of the liquidated Turkish state. As for the Transcaucasus, the ruling circles of Armenia and Georgia were ready to actively support the Entente in its actions against Soviet Russia.
The Kemalists were not going to recognize the terms of the Sevres Peace Treaty, according to which they would have to give Armenia a part of the primordial Turkish territory established by the "National Turkish Pact" - moreover, in their understanding, the primordial Turkish lands included not only Western Armenia, but at least at least half of the territory that the Republic of Armenia controlled in August 1920 (the entire territory west of the Russian-Turkish border established after the war of 1877-1878). Armenia could have achieved the fulfillment of the terms of the Sevres Peace Treaty only by winning another war, but the forces of the parties were clearly unequal. During this period, Armenia had an army, the number of which did not reach even 30 thousand people. She was opposed by the Turkish army of 50 thousand people under the command of Kazim Pasha Karabekir, which remained on the border with Armenia, despite the fierce fighting in Western Anatolia between the Turks and the Greek army, which also tried to consolidate its territorial acquisitions under the Sevres Peace Treaty. In addition to the regular troops, Karabekir could count on numerous irregular armed formations, also ready to fight against the Armenians. As for the Armenian army, which was considered the most trained and disciplined in the Transcaucasus, it was mentally and physically exhausted as a result of its participation in wars that have practically not stopped since 1915. As shown further developments Armenia could not count on serious foreign policy support, while the Kemalists used diplomatic and military assistance from Soviet Russia and the Azerbaijan SSR.
The leadership of Soviet Russia considered the northeastern border of Turkey, established in 1878 by the Berlin Treaty, as fair and in line with international realities. The plans of the Armenian leadership to re-create Great Armenia in Moscow were viewed as manifestations of Armenian nationalism and condemned - especially since a weakened Armenia was hardly able to defeat Turkey, and the Bolsheviks did not believe in the reality of American promises of assistance. In this regard, Soviet diplomacy tried to keep Armenia from entering the war against Turkey, but in vain.
Meanwhile, on September 8, the first batch of Soviet aid arrived in Erzurum, which was agreed upon by Khalil Pasha, whom Mustafa Kemal sent to Moscow on an unofficial mission before the start of the VNST. As a result of his negotiations with Kamenev, the Council of People's Commissars decided to secretly allocate a million gold rubles to Turkey. Khalil Pasha returned to Turkey through the Caucasus together with a Soviet diplomatic mission headed by adviser Y. Ya. Upmal-Angarsky. Her path to Anatolia turned out to be extremely difficult and dangerous. The mission delivered about 500 kg of gold bullion, which amounted to approximately 125 thousand gold Turkish lira. Two hundred kilograms were left for the needs of the Eastern Turkish Army, and the remaining 300 kilograms were taken to Ankara and spent primarily on salaries for civil servants and officers. Subsequently, the transportation of weapons, ammunition and equipment was carried out by sea from Novorossiysk and Tuapse to Samsun, Trabzon and Inebola, from where they were transported to the interior regions of Anatolia.
The first batch of weapons and ammunition was delivered to Trabzon at the end of September 1920. Within a month, the Turkish army received 3387 rifles, 3623 ammunition boxes and approximately 3000 bayonets. Basically, the rifles were captured German ones - the same ones that were in service with the Turkish army. For all the years of the War of Independence, according to official Turkish data, the supply of weapons and ammunition by Soviet Russia amounted to: rifles - 37 812 pieces, machine guns - 324, cartridges - 44 587 boxes; guns - 66 pieces, shells - 141,173 pieces.
After a series of new border clashes, Armenia on September 24 declared war on Turkey. On September 28, Turkish troops launched an offensive along the entire front and, possessing a significant superiority of forces in the main directions, managed to break the resistance of the Armenian troops within a few days and occupy Sarykamysh, Kagizman, Merdenek, and reach Igdir. The advancing Turkish troops devastated the occupied areas and destroyed the civilian Armenian population, who did not have time or did not want to flee. At the same time, it was reported that some Armenian units began ethnic cleansing in the Kars region and Erivan province. A few days later, the Turkish offensive was suspended, and until October 28, battles were fought on approximately the same line.
On October 28, Turkish troops resumed a general offensive, took control of the southern part of the Ardahan district and captured Kars on October 30, and occupied Alexandropol on November 7. Meanwhile, Georgia declared its neutrality. The United States did not provide the promised assistance to Armenia. On November 11, the Turkish offensive resumed. The Armenian army was virtually destroyed, and the entire territory of Armenia, except for the regions of Erivan and Lake Sevan, was occupied by the Turks. The question arose about the preservation of the Armenian state and Armenians as a nation.
On November 15, the government of the Republic of Armenia addressed the Turkish Grand National Assembly with a proposal to start peace negotiations. ...
On November 29, the Armenian Bolsheviks, in agreement with the Central Committee of the RCP (b), raised an uprising in Caravanserai against the government of the Republic of Armenia and created the Revolutionary Committee of Armenia, which on the same day proclaimed the Armenian SSR and appealed for help to the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR. Units of the 11th Army of the Red Army were sent to Armenia from the Azerbaijan SSR, which occupied Erivan on December 2.
Meanwhile, on the night of December 2–3 in Alexandropol, a delegation of the Government of the Republic of Armenia signed a peace treaty with a delegation of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, according to which the territory of the Republic of Armenia was limited to the region of Erivan and Lake Gokcha (Sevan). The territory of the former Kars region, Alexandropol and Surmalinsky districts of the Erivan province was transferred to Turkey. Armenia was obliged to "abolish compulsory military service and have an army of up to 1,500 bayonets, 20 machine guns and 8 light weapons." Turkey acquired the right to free transit and conduct military operations on the territory of Armenia, control over its railways and other communication routes. Armenia also pledged to withdraw its diplomatic delegations from Europe and America.
On December 10, the Council of People's Commissars of the Armenian SSR announced non-recognition of the Alexandropol Peace Treaty and proposed to start new negotiations, but the Turks refused to consider this issue. In this situation, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR proposed the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to continue negotiations on the conclusion of a peace treaty.
Negotiation progress
After the signing of the cooperation agreement on August 24, 1920, the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR G.V. Chicherin announced on August 27 at the talks in Moscow to the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the VNST Bekir Sami that Turkey should cede to the Republic of Armenia in addition to the territories that were part Russian Empire, also part of the Van and Bitlis regions (with the possible exception of Sarikamysh). Bekir Sami could not contact Ankara and sent his deputy Yusuf Kemal to Turkey with a corresponding request. The answer of the chairman of the VNST Presidium, Mustafa Kemal, was sharply negative: Turkey will not concede a square inch of its territory. Bekir Sami was removed from the leadership of the delegation, and on February 18, 1921, a new Turkish delegation headed by Yusuf Kemal arrived in Moscow to continue negotiations.
From the end of 1920 until the spring of 1921, Nestor Lakoba and Efrem Eshba were in Turkey on the personal instructions of Lenin, who contributed to the signing of the treaty.
On February 14, 1921, the Red Army launched an offensive against Georgia and on February 25 entered Tiflis, where the Georgian SSR was proclaimed. The Georgian government moved to Batum. In early March 1920, Turkish troops occupied the Batumi region and on March 11 entered Batum "to the applause of the population."
On February 26, the head of the Russian Soviet delegation, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs GV Chicherin, opened the Moscow conference.
On March 16, the Soviet-Turkish Treaty on "Friendship and Brotherhood" was signed in Moscow without the participation of representatives of the Azerbaijan SSR, the Armenian SSR and the Georgian SSR.
On the part of the RSFSR, the agreement was signed by Chicherin and a member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee
Power passed into the hands of the Provisional Government under the leadership of Konstantin Päts.
Red Army troops were sent to the Baltic States to restore Soviet power. After a 13-month war with Soviet Russia (November 28, 1918 - January 3, 1920), the Tartu Peace Treaty was signed between the RSFSR and Estonia on February 2, 1920.
The agreement on the part of the RSFSR was signed by a member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) Adolf Ioffe, and on the part of the Estonian Democratic Republic - by a member of the Constituent Assembly Jaan (in Russian text - Ivan) Poska.
Under the agreement of the RSFSR, proceeding from the proclaimed right of all peoples to free self-determination up to complete secession, it unconditionally recognized the independence and independence of the Estonian state, renounced all rights, including property rights, that previously belonged to the Russian Empire. Estonia pledged not to present Russia with any claims arising from the fact of its previous stay in Russia.
A state border and neutral zones were established between the RSFSR and Estonia, in which the parties pledged not to keep any troops, except for the border. The contracting parties pledged not to have armed vessels in the Peipsi and Pskov lakes. At the same time, the presence on the territory of each state of troops, organizations and groups, aiming at armed struggle with another contracting party, was prohibited; states that are in an actual state of war with the other side. The transportation through ports and territories of "everything that can be used to attack another contracting party" was prohibited.
The parties undertook to inform each other about the state of non-governmental: troops, military depots, military and technical property located on their territory, as well as to exchange prisoners of war and return internees to their homeland.
Russia returned all kinds of valuables to Estonia, as well as all archives, documents and other materials evacuated to the territory of the Russian Empire during the First World War that had scientific or historical significance for Estonia.
Diplomatic and consular relations, as well as trade and economic relations were established between the contracting parties on the basis of the most favored nation regime.
From the point of view of the Russian Federation, the Tartu Peace Treaty of 1920 after Estonia joined the USSR in 1940.
On May 18, 2005, the Russian Federation and Estonia signed two agreements on border issues in Moscow. On June 20, 2005, the Estonian parliament ratified them, unilaterally including in the preamble of the ratification law a reference to the Tartu Peace Treaty. Moscow considered that this confirms a number of assessments of Estonia's joining the USSR, unacceptable for the Russian Federation, and on September 1, 2005, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the withdrawal of Russia's signature on border treaties with Estonia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Estonian counterpart Urmas Paet signed in Moscow a new agreement on the border and delimitation of the sea space in the Narva and the Gulf of Finland. Unlike the 2005 version, the treaty states that it concerns exclusively the passage of the state border. The mutual absence of territorial claims was also recorded.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources
The Central Executive Committee of the Soviets of Workers, Peasants, Cossacks and Red Army Deputies of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic announces that the plenipotentiary representatives of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and plenipotentiary representatives of the Latvian Democratic Republic concluded and signed in Riga on August 11, 1920, a peace treaty between Russia with one , hand and Latvia - on the other, which from word to word reads like this:
Peace treaty between Russia and Latvia
Russia, on the one hand, and Latvia, on the other, guided by a firm desire to end the war that had arisen between them and finally resolve all issues arising from Latvia's former belonging to Russia, decided to enter into peace negotiations and conclude a lasting, honorable and just peace as soon as possible and for this, they appointed as their delegates:
Government of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic:
Adolf Abramovich Ioffe and
Yakov Stanislavovich Ganetsky,
Government of the Democratic Republic of Latvia:
Ivan Ivanovich Vesman,
Peter Rembertovich Bergis,
Aks Khristoforovich Bushevich,
Eduard Andreevich Kalinin and
Karl Yakovlevich Pauluk.
The designated plenipotentiaries, having gathered in Moscow, upon mutual presentation of their powers, recognized as drawn up in the proper form and in full order, agreed as follows:
From the date of entry into force of this peace treaty, the state of war between the contracting parties ceases.
Article II.
Based on the proclaimed Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic the right of all peoples to free self-determination up to complete separation from the state, which they are part of, and in view of the clearly expressed will of the Latvian people for an independent state existence - Russia unconditionally recognizes the independence, independence and sovereignty of the State of Latvia and refuses voluntarily and for ever any sovereign rights, which belonged to Russia in relation to the Latvian people and the land by virtue of the existing state-legal order, as well as on the basis of international treaties, which in the sense indicated here will lose their force in future times. No obligations in relation to Russia arise from the former belonging to Russia for the Latvian people and the land.
Article III.
The state border between Russia and Latvia runs:
From the Estonian border on the alignment of the villages of Babina and Vymorsk, through Vymorsk, along the Glubotsa river through Vashkov, then along the Opochna river, r. Opochna and r. View to Dubinin, where the shortest line goes to the river. Kukhva, further along the river. Kuhva and its tributary r. Pelega to Umernisha, from where a straight line to the river. Morning at the letter "in" the inscription of Kailov, along the river. Morning before bending it at Mal. Mill, from where a straight line to the bend of the river. Lzha that in. two, versts north of the Old Man's inscription, further along the river. Lzha and the administrative border of the Lyutsinsky, Rezhitsky and Dvinsky counties with the Opochetsky, Sebezhsky and Drissensky counties to Pazin on the Osunitsa river, then in straight lines across the lake. White, lake. Black, lake between Vasilev and Mosishki, across f. Saveyki to the mouth of the river flowing into the Western Dvina between Kos'kovtsy and F. and D. Novoye Selo, then along the Western Dvina river to f. Saffronovo.
By the 14th day after the ratification of the peace treaty, both contracting parties undertake to withdraw their troops to the state border on their territories.
Both contracting parties mutually renounce any settlements arising from Latvia's former belonging to Russia, and acknowledge that state property of various denominations located on the territory of each of them constitutes the inalienable property of the respective state. The right of claim to Russian state property, which after August 1, 1914, was exported from the territory of Latvia to the territory of a third state, passes to the state of Latvia.
Likewise, the right of Russia's claim for legal entities and third states, insofar as these rights relate to the territory of Latvia.
All the claims of the Russian treasury that are on the property located within the territory of the Latvian state, as well as all claims on Latvian citizens, are transferred to the Latvian state, but only in an amount that cannot be offset by counterclaims subject to offset.
Note. The right to claim debts from the land-poor peasants to the former Russian Peasant Land Bank or other now nationalized Russian land banks, and arrears, as well as the right to claim debts to the former Russian Noble Land Bank or other now nationalized Russian land banks lying on the landowners' lands, when the transfer of these lands to landless or landless peasants - does not pass to the Latvian government, but is considered destroyed. Documents and acts certifying the rights specified in this article are transferred The Russian government The Latvian government, since they are in the actual possession of the former. If it is impossible to fulfill this within one year from the date of ratification of this agreement, such documents and acts shall be recognized as lost.
Article XI.
1. The Russian government returns at its own expense to Latvia and transfers to the Latvian government libraries, archives, museums, works of art, tutorials, documents and other such property educational institutions, scientists, government, religious, public and estate institutions, since these items were taken out of Latvia during the 1914-1917 World War, and in fact are or will be under the jurisdiction of government or public institutions of Russia.
As for archives, libraries, museums, works of art and documents that have significant scientific, artistic or historical significance for Latvia: and which were exported from Latvia to Russia before World War 1914-1917, the Russian government agrees to return them to Latvia insofar as, since the separation of them will not cause significant damage to Russian archives, libraries, museums, art galleries, in which they are stored.
Questions relating to this division are subject to the resolution of a special mixed commission with an equal number of members from both contracting parties.
2. The Russian government shall return at its own expense and transfer to the Latvian government all exported during the World War 1914-1917. from Latvia to Russia judicial and government cases, judicial and government archives, including archives of senior and junior notaries, archives of serf offices, archives of spiritual departments of all denominations, archives and plans of land surveying, land management, forestry, railway, highway, postal telegraph and other institutions; plans, drawings, maps and, in general, all materials from the topographic department of the Vilna military district, as they relate to the territory of the Latvian state; archives of local branches of the Noble and Peasant Banks, branches of the State Bank and all other credit, cooperative and mutual insurance institutions; likewise, archives and office work of private institutions in Latvia, since all the aforementioned items are in fact or will be in the jurisdiction of government or public institutions in Russia.
3. The Russian government returns at its own expense and transfers to the Latvian government for transfer to ownership all kinds of property documents, such as: deeds of sale and mortgages, lease agreements, all kinds of monetary obligations, etc., including books, papers, etc. documents necessary for the production of settlements, and in general documents that are important for determining the property and legal relations of Latvian citizens, exported from Latvia to Russia during the World War 1914-1917, since these are actually or will be in the jurisdiction of government or public institutions Russia. In case of non-return within two years from the date of ratification of this agreement, such documents are considered lost.
4. Russia separates from the business archives and records of its central and local institutions that part of them that is directly related to the regions that are part of Latvia.
Article XII.
1. The Russian government returns to Latvia those evacuated to Russia during World War 1914-1917. property of public, charitable, cultural and educational institutions, as well as bells and utensils of churches and houses of prayer of all denominations, since the aforementioned items are in fact or will be under the jurisdiction of government or public institutions of Russia.
2. Russian government returns evacuees to Latvia c. Russia after August 1, 1914, from Latvian institutions of commercial, land and small loans of various names, such as: banks, mutual credit societies, savings and savings banks and associations, as well as city and public funds and pawnshops operating within Latvia, belonging to the said banks or values pledged in them, with the exception of gold, precious stones and paper money, since such values are or will actually be in the possession of Russian government and public institutions.
3. With regard to payment of Russian government securities in circulation within Latvia, guaranteed by the government, as well as private ones issued by companies and institutions whose enterprises have been nationalized by the Russian government, as well as in relation to the satisfaction of claims of Latvian citizens against the Russian treasury and against nationalized institutions, - Russia undertakes to recognize for Latvia, Latvian citizens and institutions all those benefits, rights and advantages that it has directly or indirectly provided or will be provided to any third country or its citizens, societies and institutions. If the securities or property documents are not available, then the Russian government agrees, when applying this paragraph of this article, to recognize the holders of these securities, etc., those who provide evidence of the evacuation of their securities carried out during the war.
4. With regard to deposits in savings banks, deposits, pledges and other amounts made to former government and judicial institutions, insofar as such deposits and amounts belong to citizens of Latvia, equally with respect to deposits or amounts of various denominations made to the branches of the former State Bank and nationalized or liquidated credit institutions and their branches, since such deposits and amounts belong to citizens of Latvia, - the Russian government undertakes to recognize for Latvian citizens all those rights that were once recognized for all Russian citizens, and therefore allows Latvian citizens who did not have the opportunity to occupation, then use these rights, use them now. When reimbursing these claims, it will take into account in favor of the citizens of Latvia the loss by the Russian monetary unit of part of its purchasing power from the moment of the final occupation of Latvia - September 3, 1917 - by the time the refunded amounts are paid.
5. With regard to valuables and property stored or kept in the premises of banks or their safes, since such valuables and property belong to Latvian citizens and are or will actually be in the possession of Russian government or public institutions, the provisions set forth in paragraph 4 of this article shall be observed. The same provisions apply to valuables and property of Latvian citizens stored in Latvian credit institutions and their safes evacuated after August 1, 1914.
Note. The amounts, valuables and property specified in this section shall be transferred to the Latvian government for transfer to property.
Article XIII.
The Russian government returns to the Latvian government for transfer to property those evacuated during the World War 1914-1917. to Russia the property of Latvian cities, societies and individuals, both legal and physical, since such is actually located or will be in the possession of Russian government or public institutions.
Note 1. In case of doubt, Latvian joint stock companies or partnerships are those, the majority of shares or shares of which belonged to Latvian citizens before the Russian government issued the corresponding decree on the nationalization of industry.
Note 2. This article does not apply to capital, deposits and valuables kept in branches of the State Bank or in private banks, credit institutions and savings banks in the territory of Latvia.
Article XXIII.
This treaty is subject to ratification and comes into force from the moment of ratification, since the treaty itself does not say otherwise.
The exchange of the instruments of ratification must take place in Moscow. Wherever the moment of ratification of the treaty is mentioned as a term in this treaty, this means the moment of the exchange of instruments of ratification.
In witness of this, the authorized representatives of both parties signed this agreement with their own hands and sealed it with their seals.
Genuine in duplicate.
Done in Moscow, completed and signed in Riga, August 11, one thousand nine hundred and twenty.
Signed by:
|
J. Ganetsky. |
A. Buschewitschu. |
After considering this treaty, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of Soviets of Workers, Peasants, Cossacks and Red Army Deputies of the 7th convocation on September 9, 1920, confirmed it and ratified it in all its contents, promising that everything stated in the above acts would be respected and inviolable. In witness whereof, the Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, having signed this instrument of ratification, approved it with the state seal.
Signed:
Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the Soviets of Workers, Peasants, Cossacks and Red Army Deputies M. Kalinin.
Secretary V. Ts. I.K. A. Yenukidze.
Collection of legalizations and orders of the government for 1920, Administration of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR M. 1943, pp. 733-744