The acti̇vi̇ti̇es of the bolshevi̇k commi̇ssi̇oner Stephan Shaumyan i̇n Baku(1917-1918)

THE ACTİVİTİES OF THE BOLSHEVİK COMMİSSİONER STEPHAN SHAUMYAN İN BAKU(1917-1918) Natural sources of the Caucasus started to draw attentions of great powers from the 18th century on. For geographic reasons, it was Russia which spread its hegemony over the region for the most degree. While Russia was trying to reach the southern seas during the Tsarist period, then it focused on controlling the Baku oils in the early years of Bolsheviks. Thus, Stephan Shaumian was assigned to the Baku Soviet commissionership and started massacres of the Turks. For he was an Armenian, he protected and armed Armenians, and provoked against the Turks. The Ottoman Empire wanted to interfere in the situation, but when it was defeated in the First World War, it could not turn to the Caucasus. Baku oils were in the agenda of other great powers, too, besides Russia. The United Kingdom, USA and France among others were active in the region for their economic interests. The Azerbaijani Turks, however, became victims of those economically oriented plans. In spite of the massacre in Baku on March 31, 1918, Azerbaijani Turks resisted and founded an independent state under the leadership of Mehmet Emin Resulzade. This state was, however, not a long-during formation, and the Bolsheviks seized the entire Caucasus to annex the Soviet Union. Keywords: Massacre, Armenians, Russians, Stephan Shaumyan, Azerbaijan Turks.