Transcaucasia, Nationalism, and Social Change: Essays in the History of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia

Among the most ancient seats of civilization, the countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia are today independent states struggling to establish their sovereignty and stability. When it appeared in 1983, Transcaucasia was the first scholarly comparative study of this vital and diverse region, little known to the outside world. This revised and expanded edition adds to the historical essays new work on the economic development, demographic changes, and recent political evolution of the region and explores the current problems facing these southern neighbors of Russia. The contributors to Transcaucasia, Nationalism, and Social Change use original research and archival work, combined with broad interpretative essays, to give a full picture of the historical evolution of these three states during the ancient, medieval, and modern periods. Part 1 approaches the ancient roots of Caucasian civilization and the impact of Russian rule. Part 2 looks at the rise of nationalist movements, the emergence of revolutionary parties, and the first wave of modernization of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, while Part 3 carries the story into the Soviet period, in which profound social and economic transformations took place. The final section explores the end of Soviet rule and the emergence of independent states. Contributors are Audrey Alstadt, Barbara A. Anderson, Artin H. Arslanian, Stephen Blank, George A. Bournoutian, Nora Dudwick, Charles H. Fairbanks, Jr., Nina Garsoian, Peter B. Golden, Richard G. Hovannisian, Stephen F. Jones, Gerard J. Libaridian, Anahide Ter Minassian, L. H. Rhinelander, Mark Saroyan, Gertrude E. Schroeder, Brian D. Silver, Ronald Grigor Suny, Tadeusz Swietochowski, and R. W. Thomson. Ronald Grigor Suny is Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago. Contents Transliteration and Dating Introduction Part 1. Caucasian Civilization and the Impact of Empires Iran and Caucasia The Origins of Caucasian Civilization: The Christian Component The Turkic Peoples and Caucasia The Ethnic Composition and the Socio-Economic Condition of Eastern Armenia in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century Viceroy Vorontsov’s Administration of the Caucasus Part 2. Nationalism and Social Change under Tsarist Rule The Emergence of Political Society in Georgia Nationalism and Socialism in the Armenian Revolutionary Movement (1887-1912) Revolution and Liberation in the 1892 and 1907 Programs of the Dashnaktsutiun The Azerbaijani Bourgeoisie and the Cultural- Enlightenment Movement in Baku: First Steps toward Nationalism National Consciousness and Political Orientations in Azerbaijan, 1905-1920 Part 3. Revolution and Soviet Transformation Nationalism and Social Class in the Russian Revolution: Caucasian Armenia between Imperial and Soviet Rule: Britain and the Transcaucasian Nationalities during the Russian Civil War Bolshevik Organizational Development in Early Soviet Transcaucasia: Autonomy vs. Centralization, Clientelism and the Roots of Post-Soviet Disorder Part 4. Nation-Making and the Emergence of Independent States On the Road to Independence: Cultural Cohesion and Ethnic Revival in a Multinational Society Beyond the Nation-State: Culture and Ethnic Politics in Soviet Transcaucasia Nagorno-Karabakh and the Politics of Sovereignty Georgian-Armenian Relations in 1918 to 1920 and 1991 to 1994: A Comparison Transcaucasia since Stalin: The Economic Dimension Population Redistribution and the Ethnic Balance in Transcaucasia Conclusion Contributors Index