DESTINED FOR A GREAT MISSION

The upcoming anniversary of the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR), the first republic in the Muslim East and in the Turkic world, is another honour to recall the brilliant political figures, lawyers, economists, journalists, educators, and artists who were the Founding Fathers of this country. One of them was Khosrov-bey Sultanov.

Creating the History

Khosrov-bey Sultanov was born on May 10, 1879 in the village of Kürdhaji of Zangezur County, Elisabethpol Governorate (currently in Lachin region of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia)  in the family of Pasha-bey Sultanov, who represented one of the most notable and wealthy families in the region. Pasha-bey gave an excellent education to his sons. One of them was the national hero Sultan-bey, who left an indelible mark on the glorious military history of our nation. He had received a military education but preferred landlord’s way of life to a career in a uniform. However, he has been known for his keen interest in the art of war. To protect family lands and wealth, Sultan-bey had a mounted militia unit whose potential had proved to be extremely useful during the ADR period, when we were compelled to repel military aggression by the neighbouring Ararat (Armenian) Republic. By the way, the latter was created upon the original Azerbaijani lands of Irevan and its environs.

Khosrov-bey had entered the medical faculty of the Odessa University after his graduation from the Elisabethpol (Ganja) Gymnasium. Later, he has successfully practiced medicine for more than a year. The fall of tsarism in Russia and the beginning of revolutionary upheavals in 1917 were a turning point in his life. These shocking events coupled with the consequences of the First World War ended in 1918 had deeply impressed Khosrov-bey Sultanov and shaped the fate of his homeland, Azerbaijan, which has managed to restore its independent statehood under such extremely difficult historical circumstances.

In 1917, Khosrov-bey became a member of the leading party of Azerbaijani national-democrats, Musavat. By virtue of his personal charisma and political courage, he has soon turned into one of the most influential figures of the party. He was elected to the All-Russian Constituent Assembly in Transcaucasian constituency as a representative of the Muslim National Committee and the Musavat Party.

During the formation of the Transcaucasian Federation in early 1918, Khosrov-bey Sultanov defended the interests of the Azerbaijani people in the Transcaucasian Seim along with other prominent Azerbaijani politicians.

On May 28, the former representatives of the Azerbaijani faction of the Seim, who had founded the National Council under the leadership of Mammad Amin Rasulzadeh, announced the establishment of the independent Republic of Azerbaijan. Khosrov-bey Sultanov was one of the twenty-six signatories of the historic Declaration of Independence.

Thus, at such a crucial time for our nation, which had been hardly resisting the pressure from the great powers struggling for its natural resources and the bloody acts of terror committed by the Armenian gangs, the best sons of Azerbaijan made a heroic move by proclaiming the independence of Azerbaijan. Thanks to their incredible efforts, the Azerbaijani people has proved to the world its right for freedom and adherence to the best traditions of both the West and the East, to the ideas of democratic statehood, republicanism, human rights, as well as the national, moral, and religious principles.

Minister in Two Cabinets

In fact, the Declaration of Independence was the first constitutional document in the history of republicanism in Azerbaijan. It proclaimed that "from now on, the peoples of Azerbaijan are vested with sovereign rights within a full-fledged independent state of Azerbaijan, which consists of the eastern and southern parts of Transcaucasia." The form of government of the newly established independent state was a democratic republic. The citizens of Azerbaijan were guaranteedfull civil and political rights, regardless of ethnic origin, religion, class, profession, or sex. The Republic of Azerbaijan was determined to establish friendly relations with all, especially with the neighbouring nations and states.

One of the main challenges of democratic Azerbaijan was the establishment of a strong army capable of providing protection from external invasions. Initially, this task was entrusted to Khosrov-bey Sultanov, who became the Minister of Defense in the first ADR government.

Following the resignation of this government in mid-June 1918, the second cabinet began to work under the leadership of Fatali-khan Khoyski again. Despite all the domestic and foreign political difficulties, the new government has managed to defend the independence of Azerbaijan, lay the foundation of the national economic policy, and start building the national army like the first military unit, the Special Azerbaijani Corps, under the command of General Ali-agha Shikhlinsky. But most importantly, with the support of the Ottoman troops, ADR has managed to free Baku from the predominantly Dashnak authorities led by the Centrocaspian Dictatorship, which in turn replaced Shaumian’s clique of the Baku Commune at the end of July.

In the second government of Khoyski, Khosrov-bey Sultanov became the Minister of Agriculture and State Property. Undoubtedly, Sultanov's close ties with the landowners has played a significant role in his appointment. Given that Azerbaijan was a predominantly agricultural country, the potential of the ministry to solve the land issues as quickly and effectively as possible would determine the attitude of huge masses of the aggrieved Azerbaijani peasantry towards ADR.

Sultanov’s determination and firmness allowed his government to take the first serious steps towards shaping the agrarian policy of the independent Azerbaijan in the shortest possible time.

Meanwhile, in the fall of 1918, serious changes took place in Azerbaijan. The troops of Baku’s ally, the Ottoman Empire, left the territory of Azerbaijan as soon as the Mudros Armistice was signed on October 30. In mid-November, the British troops, representing the Entente bloc victorious in the war, entered Baku. The British military command headed by General Thomson has realised soon that the Khoyski government was the only legitimate authority on the territory of Azerbaijan.

The National Council of Azerbaijan restored in mid-November 1918 announced the establishment of the Azerbaijani parliament. The supreme legislative body of ADR representing almost all political forces and national groups held its first opening session on December 7, 1918. Khosrov-bey Sultanov was also one of the members of the newly formed parliament.

On December 26, the third government of Fatali-khan Khoyski was established. Khosrov-bey Sultanov was not included in the new cabinet. But, as the subsequent events has showed, he was ready to perform a completely unique mission: the protection of every Azerbaijani’s sacred land, Karabakh, from the Armenian aggressors.

Governor-General of Karabakh

Since its inception, ADR has been forced to defend its independence and territorial integrity. But out of all the external threats, only one has pursued it constantly, consuming a tremendous amount of strength and public resources and taking thousands of lives. It was the aggressive policy of Armenian Republic artificially created on Azerbaijani lands, which actually continued the policy of genocide launched by the Dashnak-Bolshevik Baku Commune in the spring of 1918 against the Azerbaijani people.

One of the targets of the Armenian aggressors was the primordially Azerbaijani region of Karabakh. In the summer and autumn of 1918, the territory of Karabakh, then part of Ganja Governorate, was attacked by Armenian armed units led by one of the most malicious butchers, Andranik Ozanian. Over 150 Azerbaijani villages were destroyed, part of their population was killed, and a large number of refugees saved their lives in neighbouring regions and even in Iran.

At an extraordinary meeting of the Azerbaijani parliament on December 20, 1918, Prime Minister Fatali-khan Khoyski said that Andranik Ozanian’s objective was "to detach Zangezur and Shusha provinces from Azerbaijan and annex them to Armenia."

Taking into account the real danger of occupation, on January 15, 1919 the government of Azerbaijan decided to create General Governorate of Karabakh including Zangezur, Shusha, Javanshir and Jabrail districts of Ganja Governorate. Khosrov-bey Sultanov was appointed the governor-general of the newly established entity.

According to the report of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of ADR, Sultanov’s main tasks in this post were: "the struggle against and total elimination of the Armenian movement, ultimate establishment of order, organisation of local government, provision of food supplies and general assistance for refugees, control of epidemics both among the refugees and the indigenous population and, finally, the return of refugees to their native places."

Khosrov-bey Sultanov took up his duties on February 12, 1919, when he arrived to Shusha. His brother, Sultan-bey, made part of his armed units available to the Karabakh Governor-General. The government has paid a monthly salary of the members of these units in advance. At the same time, Khosrov-bey began organising irregular cavalry detachments.

The efforts of the governor-general have shortly been rewarded with success. Despite the seizure of the Askeran Crossing by the Dashnak militia on March 21, the Azerbaijani troops under the command of Khosrov-bey Sultanov defeated the aggressors and returned Khankendi and Shusha under the control of the Azerbaijani state on May 30.

In the early summer of 1919, the Dashnak government of Armenia provoked a new round of bloody conflict having supplied the Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh with large amounts of weapons. On June 4-5, several soldiers of the Azerbaijani army died in clashes with Armenians. Governor-General Sultanov took tough measures to suppress the Armenian actions. He expelled from Karabakh the members of the Armenian National Council supporting the secession of this province from Azerbaijan and its annexation to Armenia, hence restoring some sort of order in the region. At the same time, Sultanov issued an order stating that all crimes against Armenian individuals and their property would be punished according to the fullest extent of the martial law.

Governor-General soon visited the Armenian quarters of Shusha, where the population has greeted him with a welcoming speech. The representatives of Karabakh Armenians declared the recognition of the Azerbaijani government and expressed confidence that the Azerbaijani authorities would take all measures to prevent further excesses and to establish good neighbourly relations between the Muslims and Armenians of Karabakh. In his speech, Sultanov pointed out that only the authorities that respected no national differences could claim the statehood, and the Azerbaijani government was trying to solve some serious public issues taking into account the equality of all citizens before the law.

Soon, the Azerbaijani government has achieved progress in making the British military command to acknowledge its sovereign authority over Karabakh including Zangezur province. On August 15, 1919, the seventh congress of the Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh agreed to create a national-cultural autonomy for the Armenian population of Karabakh within Azerbaijan. Thus, the tireless and purposeful efforts of Khosrov-bey Sultanov as the governor-general of Karabakh have succeeded with the recognition of Azerbaijan's authority over this historical region.

On November 23, 1919, Azerbaijan and Armenia concluded an agreement in Tiflis, where both parties pledged to stop all armed conflicts between them, to open roads leading to Zangezur, and to resolve all disputable issues, including the issue of borders, by peaceful means. On December 14, 1919, the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace conference took place, which confirmed the decision agreed in the November agreement on the peaceful settlement of disputable issues.

However, Armenia has soon treacherously violated the conditions of the armistice in order to capture Zangezur and Karabakh. More than ten thousand regular Armenian troops passed through Zangezur to Karabakh destroying Azerbaijani villages on their way. According to the Azerbaijani government, forty Muslim villages were destroyed in Zangezur from the end of November 1919 to January 1920.

In early 1920, Governor-General Khosrov bey Sultanov took a number of serious measures in order to protect the population of the province. He increased the number of Azerbaijani armed units at strategically important points and organised the arming of the local population. On February 19, Sultanov categorically demanded from the Armenian National Council of Karabakh to resolve immediately the issue of "the ultimate entry of Karabakh into Azerbaijan as its integral economic part."

However, on the night of 22-23 March, when the Azerbaijanis were celebrating Novruz, Armenian armed groups attacked the Azerbaijani garrisons in Askeran and Khankendi. In a telegram addressed to the Minister of Internal Affairs of ADR, Governor-General Sultanov reported: "At two thirty in the night of March 23, Armenians attacked our military unit in Khankendi with impressive force. At the same time, Armenians began attacks in Shusha. Both attacks were deflected, though there is some fighting in the vicinities. Shusha is bombarded from Shushikend. The telegraph communication between Agdam and Shusha was interrupted."

To curb the Armenian aggression, the Azerbaijani government sent a 20,000-strong corps to the province headed by Major-General Habib-bey Salimov. The liberation of Karabakh from Armenian armed units took almost the whole of April 1920. Governor-General Khosrov-bey Sultanov has played a crucial role in these operations. His consistent policy aimed at the establishment of the sovereign right of Azerbaijan over its historical lands has become one of the pledges of successful military operations of Azerbaijan’s National Army.

Forever in Memory

Nevertheless, the Armenian aggression and the deployment of the best military forces of ADR to the western regions of Azerbaijan have paved the way for the XI Army of Soviet Russia to freely cross the Azerbaijani borders and move towards Baku. Despite the de facto recognition of its independence at the Versailles Peace Conference, ADR was forced to cease to exist on April 27-28, 1920. The leaders of independent Azerbaijan preferred to accept the Bolshevik ultimatum about the surrender of power rather than to plunge their people into the abyss of an apparently doomed resistance fraught with mass victims. Having sacrificed ADR from tactical perspective, the state’s leadership nevertheless left the political stage following the realisation of a mission of strategic importance: the nation and statehood of Azerbaijan were preserved! Azerbaijan, albeit formally, has remained on the political map. At that critical historical moment, this was the maximum the Founding Fathers could hope for the Democratic Republic committed to slaughter both by the enemies and friends.

After the establishment of the Soviet power in Azerbaijan and thanks to the recommendation of the well-known Bolshevik figure Chingiz Ildyrym (commander of the Red Navy of Soviet Azerbaijan, and later the People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs in the first government of Soviet Azerbaijan), Khosrov-bey Sultanov was appointed the Chairman of the Shusha Revolutionary Committee. But the task set by the former Governor-General of Karabakh remained unchanged: to protect the Azerbaijani population from Armenian gangs.

Realising the threats that the Sultanov brothers present for the triumph of the "Armenian Cause", Armenian politicians tried to provoke distrust of the Bolshevik government towards them. Khosrov-bey was accused of having links with Musavatists and was arrested. Following his short imprisonment, he has realised the impossibility of his stay in Soviet Azerbaijan.

In 1923, Khosrov-bey Sultanov left his homeland for good. That is how the emigrant period of his life begins. He used to live in Turkey, Iran, France, Germany, where he worked as a professor at the Medical University of Germany. While in France, Khosrov-bey became one of the creators of the monthly magazine ‘Prometheus’ published in Paris by emigre organisations of the peoples of the Caucasus and Ukraine. According to some reports, in 1926 he arrived from Paris to Iran, where he helped organise the cells of the Ittihad Party in Tehran and Tabriz. Khosrov-bey has appointed Ashur-bey Isabeyli the head of the Tehran cell and his own brother Iskender-bey Sultanov, who lived in exile in Iran, as the head of the Tabriz cell of the party.

In 1936, Khosrov-bey Sultanov finally settled in Turkey. He spent the rest of his days in this country. His life was interrupted in 1943. The grave of Khosrov-bey Sultanov is in the cemetery of Feriköy in Istanbul. But the memory of Khosrov-bey Sultanov, as well as the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, one of the creators of which he was, will always live in the people, in our hearts. Since this memory is a particle of an unshakable and unquenchable Azerbaijani idea.