Parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic

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Opening of the Parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic Opening of the Parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.jpg
Opening of the Parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic

Parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was the legislative branch of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. It was the parliament of the first parliamentary republic in the Caucasus Region of Central Asia.

Contents

The parliament was established on December 7, 1918 when Azerbaijan declared independence away from the short-lived Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic. The parliament disbanded in April 1920 after the Red Army took control of Baku.

History

Azerbaijani National Council

On May 28, 1918, the Azerbaijani Muslim faction of the Transcaucasian Seym declared itself to be the Azerbaijani National Council., the governing body of the new Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. This was the first parliament in the history of Azerbaijan. As stated in the Declaration of Independence,

"Until the convening of the Constituent Assembly, Azerbaijan is headed by the National Council elected by the people and the Provisional Government, which is responsible to the National Council."

On September 17, 1918, three months after the formation of Fatali Khan Khoyski's cabinet, the government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic moved to Baku. Fatali khan Khoyski began preparations for the convening of the Constituent Assembly. . At his suggestion, the National Council undertook to convene the Constituent Assembly. [1]

The first session of the Parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic First meeting of the Parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.jpg
The first session of the Parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic

On November 19, 1918, the National Council decreed all nationalities in Azerbaijan should be represented in parliament. At that time, the country had a population of 2,750,000. Of these, 1,900,000 were Azerbaijani Muslims, 500,000 were Armenians, and 230,000 were Russians.

The 120 seats in the new parliament were to be apportioned among all the ethnic and political groups.

Out of 21 Armenian representatives, eight were to be elected from Ganja, eight from Shusha and five from Baku. The 10 Russian representatives were given to the Russian National Council, -1 to the German National Organization, -1 to the Jewish National Council, 1 to the Georgian Committee and -1 to the Polish Committee. The Council also provided for the sending of three representatives by the Baku Trade Union Council and two representatives by the Baku Industry and Trade. Members of parliament had parliamentary immunity.

The Council also decided to include 44 Turkish Muslim representatives elected to the All-Russian Constituent Assembly in late 1917 in the new parliament. The remaining 36 Muslim deputies and representatives of other nationalities had to be re-elected. The formation of the new Parliament was to be completed on December 3, 1918.

Parliament in 1918 .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Musavat and Independents: 40 seats Ittihad: 14 seats Ahrar: 8 seats Socialists: 14 seats Independents: 4 seats Unaffiliated: 4 seats Left independent: 1 seat Slavic alliance: 5 seats Ethnic minorities: 7 seats Armenian fraction: 5 seats Dashnaksutyun: 7 seats Vacant: 11 seats Parliament of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (27 April 1920).svg
Parliament in 1918
  Musavat and Independents: 40 seats
  Ittihad: 14 seats
  Ahrar: 8 seats
  Socialists: 14 seats
  Independents: 4 seats
  Unaffiliated: 4 seats
  Left independent: 1 seat
  Slavic alliance: 5 seats
  Ethnic minorities: 7 seats
  Armenian fraction: 5 seats
  Dashnaksutyun: 7 seats
  Vacant: 11 seats

On November 29, 1918, signed by Rasulzade the application was published. The appeal stated:

Citizens! War and revolution during the emergency condition, considering the strike, which has the Suraiya-team iqtizai time to reconnect with Baku, Azerbaijan collected. Suraiya-team first adopted the law only the Muslims belonging to Suraiya-Milli national picture from the state was to take a picture. According to the law adopted on the 19th of this month, the National Council will become a 120-member Majlis-Mabusan (Parliament) by December 3. Lawyers from the country's provinces were invited to the meeting, as well as representatives from minority nations. The prisoner who will be gathered in this way will be the owner of our country, will decide its destiny, organize its government and defend its interests until the Assembly of the Azerbaijani Parliament convenes in the future by a general election method... let us put aside enmity and discord that give us nothing but disaster and misery. History has forced us all to live together. Let's build our lives on a rational and humane basis, love and respect each other so that we can easily bear the natural hardships of a new life. Despite national and religious differences, all Azerbaijani citizens are children of the same country. They must reach out and help each other to build a common life in a common homeland and achieve their happiness together.

Opening of parliament

On December 7, 1918, at one o'clock in the afternoon, the Azerbaijani Parliament opened in the building of Haji Zeynalabdin Tagiyev's former girls' school on Nikolayev Street . Chairman of the National Council of Azerbaijan Mohammad Amin Rasulzadeh delivered a congratulatory speech.At the suggestion of the Musavat faction, Alimardan bey Topchubashov was elected chairman of the parliament, and Dr. Hasan bey Agayev was elected his first deputy. As Topchubashov was at the Paris Peace Conference, Agayev headed the activities of the parliament.

At the first session of parliament, the resignation of the Khoyski government was accepted and F. Khoisky was called to form a new government. On December 26, 1918, F. Khoisky addressed the parliament with his program and submitted his new government for approval. The parliament adopted the government's program and expressed confidence in the new government.

Russian and Armenian boycotts

None of Russian delegates to Parliament attended the opening session of parliament. The Baku Russian National Council, controlling the Russian delegates, declared that the Parliament had no moral right to speak on behalf of the Russian population in Azerbaijan. They tried to prove that Azerbaijan had violated the idea of a "united and indivisible Russia" in declaring its independence. Allegedly, the participation of the Russian National Council in the Parliament and the Government would mean "recognition of the fact of separation of Azerbaijan from Russia", which facilitated the recognition of Azerbaijan in the international arena. However, not all Russians in Azerbaijan supported the Russian boycott of Parliament. The Russian-Slavic Society in Baku appealed to Rasulzade to allow the representatives of this society to "enter the Parliament" in order to participate in "general state-building" in Azerbaijan.

The Armenians delegates boycotted the opening session and other sessions for the next two months. Finally, they decided to participate. They create two factions in parliament - the Armenian and the Dashnaktsutyun. It was said that the Armenians only wanted to use parliament to promote their goal of a Greater Armenia.

The existence of 11 factions and groups in Parliament created a fractured legislature. For example, the Socialist Bloc of Parliament, under the guise of "protecting the interests of the poor", regularly promoted the annexation of Azerbaijan by the Soviet Union. They later succeeded in opening a diplomatic mission in Moscow, and finally advocated the intervention of the Red Army in Azerbaijan..

Adoption of laws

More than 270 bills were submitted to the parliament, about 230 of which were adopted.

There were 11 commissions in the parliament: Finance and Budget, Legislative Proposals, Central Commission for Elections to the Constituent Assembly, Mandate, Military, Agrarian Issues: Commissions on Inquiries, Command and Control on the Use of the Country's Productive Forces, Editorial and Labor Commissions.

The activities of the Parliament were governed by a charter specially prepared for this purpose - the "Instruction (instruction) of the Parliament of Azerbaijan."

Rasulzade assessed the activity of the Parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic as follows:

The National Assembly represented all classes and nations of the country and completely ruled the fate of the state. Without it, no orders would pass, no expenses would be incurred, no war would break out, no peace would be signed. The government stays when it gains the confidence of the parliament and falls when it loses it. There was no means to rule in the middle. It was the absolute power of the parliament.

— Mammad Amin Rasulzade

The end of the Parliament

On the night of April 26-27, 1920, units from the 11th Red Army crossed into Azerbaijan and laid siege to Baku. Baku was also besieged by Soviet units from the Caspian Sea. The next morning, armed groups of communists seized important facilities both inside and outside the city.

A delegation of communists acting on behalf of the Soviets issued an ultimatum to hand over power to the Azerbaijani Parliament. This delegation represented the Central Committee of the Azerbaijani Communist (Bolshevik) Party and Baku bureau of the Caucasus Committee of the Russian Communist (Bolsheviks). Mammad Hasan Hajinski, who had close ties with the Azerbaijani Bolsheviks, held talks with the Communists.

The ultimatum and the results of the commission's negotiations were discussed at the final session of parliament chaired by Mammad Yusif Jafarov. The meeting started at 20.45 on April 27 and lasted until 23.25. During the session, Rasulzade asked to open the doors of the Parliament to the general public. In his speech, Rasulzadeh said:

Gentlemen! Let's do not make our historic decision without the knowledge of the nation. Let's leave the door of the country's Parliament open so that everyone knows what a dangerous situation we are in and what decision we will make. Therefore, I propose not to close the doors of our parliament to the nation and not to make decisions without the knowledge of the nation.

— Mammad Amin Rasulzade

Hajinski told parliament that if they did not transfer power to the communists tonight, the local communist party would call in the Red Army. The Communists also warned that all the political parties would be banned. Hajinski also said that the Communists refused to consider any proposals from parliament and warned the members about the consequences.. At the end of his speech, Hajinski called on the members of Parliament to make the only right decision in the current situation "for the salvation of the nation".

Samad agha Agamalioglu, Gara bey Garabeyov, Aslan bey Safikurdski, Rasulzade and Sultanmajid Ganizade expressed their support for the transfer of power to the Communists only under certain conditions. The Parliament decided by a majority vote to hand over power on the following terms:

Elections

Is the stenographic record of the Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan reports that the elections will be hidden and Muslim Majlis-Məbusana the parliament members, in addition to the 44 people who are part of the National Council elected 36 new members. [2] The proportion of members to be involved was as follows:

From the Armenian minority population - 21 members: 8 from Ganja Armenian Population Committee, 8 from Shusha Armenian Population Committee, 5 from Baku Armenian Population Committee;

Governments of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic

First cabinet: 28 May 1918 - 17 June 1918

Second cabinet: 17 June 1918 - 07 December 1918

Cabinet changes 6 June 1918

Third Cabinet: 26 December 1918 - 14 March 1919

Fourth Cabinet: 14 March 1919 - 22 December 1919

Fifth cabinet: 24 December 1919 - 01 April 1920

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References

  1. ↑ "Parliament of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan". axc.preslib.az. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  2. ↑ Azərbaycan Xalq Cümhuriyyəti (1918-1920), Parlament (Stenoqrafik hesabatlar) (PDF). Bakı: Azərbaycan Nəşriyyatı. 1998.
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