Английская Википедия:Armenian National Congress (1917)
The Armenian National Congress (or Congress of Eastern Armenians[1][2]) was a political congress established to provide representation for the Armenians of Russia.[3][4][5] It first met at the Artistic Theatre in Tbilisi on Шаблон:OldStyleDate.[6][7][8][9][10] Its formation was prompted by the opportunities the Russian Revolution provided for Armenians (and other minority nationalities in Russia) towards the end of World War I.[4]
Members
The congress consisted of 204[1] members from all over the Russian Empire, with only Armenian Bolsheviks refusing to take part for ideological reasons.[11] It was dominated by the Dashnak Party.[6][10][12][13][14]
The composition along party lines was as follows:[15]
- Dashnaks: 113 representatives
- Populists: 43 representatives
- Socialist Revolutionaries: 23 representatives
- Social Democrats: 9 representatives
- No party: 7 representatives
- There was also a small number of representatives from Western Armenia, including Andranik Ozanian.
Functioning
Since a real government did not exist in the Yerevan province of Armenia, the Armenian National Congress served as a government for the province.[16] According to Richard Hovannisian, the Congress was "the most comprehensive Eastern Armenian gathering since the Russian conquest of Transcaucasia".[6] The immediate objectives of the Congress were to devise a strategy for the war effort, provide relief for refugees, and provide local autonomy for various Armenian-run institutions throughout the Caucasus.[4] The Congress also called for the militarization of the Caucasus front.[17][18] The Armenian National Congress supported the policies of the Russian Provisional Government concerning the war, and also suggested redrawing provincial boundaries along ethnic lines.[19] The Congress was instrumental in the secularization of Armenian schools and the nationalization of secondary Armenian schools.[17]
The Congress met for 18 sessions before it dissolved on Шаблон:OldStyleDate.[20]
Legacy
Before dissolving, the Congress created a National Assembly of 35 members to act as a legislative body for Armenians under the Russian Republic.[21] It also created an executive body of 15 members called the Armenian National Council, headed by Avetis Aharonian.[5][22][23] This council eventually declared independence for the First Republic of Armenia led by Aram Manukian in May 1918.[3][4][5]
References
Sources
- Richard G. Hovannisian Armenia on the Road to Independence (University of California, 1967)
- Richard G. Hovannisian The Republic of Armenia: The First Year 1918-19 (University of California, 1971)
- Rouben Paul Adalian Historical Dictionary of Armenia (Scarecrow Press, 2010)
- Anahide Ter-Minassian La République d'Arménie 1918-20 (Éditions Complexe, 2006 ed.)
- ↑ 1,0 1,1 Ter-Minassian p.30
- ↑ Stephen F. Jones Socialism in Georgian Colors: the European Road to Social Democracy (Harvard University Press, 2005), page 259
- ↑ 3,0 3,1 Adalian p.76
- ↑ 4,0 4,1 4,2 4,3 Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ 5,0 5,1 5,2 Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ 6,0 6,1 6,2 Hovannisian Armenia on the Road to Independence, p.87
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Ter-Minassian p.30 for Old Style date
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ 10,0 10,1 Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Hovannisian Republic, pp.16-17
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite journal
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Ter-Minassian pp.30-31
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ 17,0 17,1 Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Hovannisian Republic, pp.17-18
- ↑ Ter-Minassian pp.33-34
- ↑ Ter-Minassian p.34
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
