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1918-1920'de Müslüman Kafkasya: İngiliz-Türk Çatışmasının Düğümünde

Sevindzh Alieva · DergiPark (Istanbul University), 2021

Collection summary

A scholarly article examining the Anglo-Turkish confrontation in the Muslim Caucasus in 1918-1920, based on Russian-language archival materials and contemporary memoirs.

Sevindzh Alieva's article traces the Anglo-Turkish rivalry in the Caucasus after the end of the First World War and the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, drawing on Russian-language archives and contemporary testimonies. The author argues that despite the Armistice of Mudros, Turkish officers and soldiers voluntarily remained in the Caucasus and joined the national liberation struggle of the region's Muslims, with pro-Turkish sentiment strong in Georgia, Azerbaijan and the North Caucasus. It further contends that anti-Turkish policy drew Moscow and London closer together. For the collection, the piece illuminates the political and military aftermath of the Army of Islam's 1918 campaign.

The source's own abstract

Based on Russian-language archival materials and memories of contemporaries, this study investigates the main lines of the Anglo-Turkish confrontation in the Muslim Caucasus in 1918-1920.British troops arrived in the Caucasus after the victory of the Entente in the First World War and the revolution of the Russian Bolsheviks in October 1917.As a result, the struggle for independence on the national outskirts of the former Russian Empire accelerated.This study deals with the Anglo-Turkish rivalry for the region based on specific examples and facts.Despite the Armistice of Mudros, the Turkish military remained in the Caucasus voluntarily and took part in the national liberation struggle of the Muslims of the Caucasus.Pro-Turkish sentiments were felt in the Muslim environment of Georgia, Azerbaijan, and the North Caucasus.It was not unacceptable for London to be in the Caucasus in any capacity whatsoever.Therefore, the anti-Turkish policy brought the positions of Moscow and London closer.