Between empire and independence: Armenia and the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic

ABSTRACT The period of the short-lived Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (TDFR) or Transcaucasian Federation was from the Armenian perspective a traumatic one, defined by the military threat coming from the Ottomans and by the complicated relations with the other major ethnic groups of the region. The Armenian political elite and “common Armenians” were caught off-guard by the Russian revolution. The Turkish advance of the Caucasus Front was seen by Armenian political forces as an existential threat, yet this assessment was not necessarily shared by counterparts in the Transcaucasian Federation, especially the Muslim (Azerbaijani) political forces, leading to bitter divisions within the emerging Transcaucasian institutions. These two factors determined the Armenian perspective on the Transcaucasian Federation. The Armenian political entities (first and foremost the Dashnaktsutyun) were opposed to the creation of the Transcaucasian Federation, as they saw its emergence as the result of Ottoman pressure. Yet they were equally reluctant when it came to the transition from the Transcaucasian Federation to independent nation-states. This attitude was reflected in the fact that the Armenian National Council lagged behind its Georgian and Azerbaijani counterparts when it declared itself to be the central body of power in the Armenian-inhabited lands.