Saturday, February 13, 2021

February 13, 1921. Armenia revolts.

On this day in 1921 Armenians rose up against the Bolsheviks, who had been attempting to take over their country  with the backing of the USSR.  The Soviet sponsored effort was designed to turn the form province of Imperial Russia back over to Russia's hands and into that of the Reds.


The uprising took advantage of a Soviet invasion of Georgia, the last pro western nation which remained independent which had been part of Imperial Russia in the Caucuses. The use of Red forces for that left enough of a vacuum for Armenian nationalist to revolt.  While the revolt was initially successful, obviously it failed long term and Armenia, the first nation in the world to officially adopt Christianity, returned unwillingly to the Soviet orbit.

It's sometimes noted that Lenin "supported" the rights of self determination of small states.  By this point in 1921 the Reds had already reconquered almost all the lands once occupied by Imperial Russia in the southwest of the former empire and had fought or conspired to reconquer nearly every other section of the former Russian Empire.  So much for self determination.

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