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| Parliament of Azerbaijan (1918–1920) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Parliament of Azerbaijan (1918–1920) |
| Native name | Milli Məclis (1918–1920) |
| Foundation | 1918 |
| Disbanded | 1920 |
| House type | Unicameral |
| Members | 120 (initial) |
| Meeting place | Baku |
Parliament of Azerbaijan (1918–1920)
The Parliament of Azerbaijan (1918–1920) was the unicameral legislative body of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, seated in Baku and convened after the collapse of the Russian Empire and during the aftermath of the World War I. It operated amid contestation involving Ottoman Empire, British forces, Soviet Russia, and local political movements such as the Musavat Party, Hummet, and Armenian Revolutionary Federation. The legislature enacted foundational measures for statehood, negotiated recognition with foreign capitals like Istanbul, Paris, and London, and faced internal crises culminating in the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic takeover.
Following the February Revolution and the October Revolution in 1917 that transformed the Russian Provisional Government and the Bolshevik Party position in the Caucasus, delegates from regions including Baku Governorate, Elizavetpol Governorate, Ganja Governorate, and Karabakh convened at provincial councils and national councils such as the Azerbaijan National Council. The proclamation of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic on 28 May 1918 followed deliberations influenced by representatives from Muslim Socialist Bloc, Himmat, Ittihad, and the Armenian National Council (dashnaktsutiun), with the new Parliament formed to replace the provisional body and to codify laws in the aftermath of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and shifting fronts involving the Caucasus Campaign and the Ottoman–Azerbaijani relations.
The assembly initially comprised approximately 120 deputies representing diverse groups: Musavat Party, Ittihad, Hummet, Socialist-Revolutionary Party, Bolsheviks, Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Dashnaktsutyun, and representatives of Russian and German minorities. Prominent figures included Mammad Amin Rasulzade, Fatali Khan Khoyski, Nasib bey Yusifbeyli, Alimardan Topchubashov, and Gulam Akhundov alongside delegates affiliated with Mensheviks and Mensheviks currents. Parliamentary committees mirrored factions such as those aligned with the Transcaucasian Seim legacy and engaged with municipal bodies like the Baku City Duma.
The Parliament enacted legislation on citizenship, land reform, national symbols, and civil rights to consolidate the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic legal framework. Key acts included decrees on proclamation of independence, establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic Armed Forces, creation of secular institutions influenced by debates in Istanbul and Copenhagen-style diplomatic norms, and adoption of national symbols such as the flag later associated with the Azerbaijani National Flag. Laws addressed minority rights involving Armenian Oblast-related disputes, measures on oil concession regulation affecting Baku oil fields and companies like Royal Dutch Shell and Anglo-Persian Oil Company, and fiscal legislation interacting with treaties negotiated in Paris Peace Conference contexts.
The Parliament elected cabinets headed by leaders such as Fatali Khan Khoyski and Nasib bey Yusifbeyli, balancing portfolios among parties including Musavat, Ittihad, and allied independents; executive-legislative relations reflected compromises with ministers representing Transcaucasian Commissariat legacies and diplomatic envoys like Alimardan Topchubashov. Tensions emerged over prime ministerial appointments, coalition stability, military command authority tied to commanders from the Azerbaijan Army and paramilitary formations, and administrative coordination with regional centers such as Ganja and Shusha amid competing claims by Armenian Revolutionary Federation and Bolshevik-aligned soviets.
Parliamentary diplomacy sought de jure recognition from British Cabinet, the Entente Powers, and emergent states after World War I, sending delegations to Paris Peace Conference and negotiating with representatives of the Ottoman Empire and Iran. Recognition efforts involved interlocutors such as Lord Curzon and contacts with the United Kingdom and France leading to limited acknowledgment before Soviet advances; engagement with Georgia and Armenia aimed at bilateral accords over territories including Zangezur and Karabakh. The legislature oversaw treaties and agreements affecting oil concessions in Baku, navigation on the Caspian Sea, and transit routes connecting to Persia and Trabzon.
Parliament operated amid insurgencies, ethnic clashes such as the March Days (1918), Bolshevik uprisings, interventions by British Army forces in the Caucasus, and diplomatic pressure from Soviet Russia culminating in the Red Army invasion in April 1920. Internal fractures among Musavat factions, socialist blocs, and minority deputies weakened legislative cohesion as the Azerbaijan Communist Party advanced supported by the 11th Red Army; the capital Baku experienced strikes and political agitation tied to labor organizations influenced by Hummet and Baku Commune alumni. The Sovietization process led to the dissolution of the parliamentary assembly and the establishment of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic.
Historians assess the Parliament as a short-lived but formative institution that laid groundwork for modern Azerbaijani statehood, national symbols, and civic institutions cited in studies of Transcaucasia interwar politics, comparative analyses with First Republic of Armenia and Democratic Republic of Georgia, and debates in post-Soviet historiography. Figures like Mammad Amin Rasulzade and Alimardan Topchubashov remain central to narratives of independence, while archival research connects parliamentary acts to later constitutional developments in Azerbaijan and to legal disputes over Nagorno-Karabakh and oil diplomacy in the Caspian region. The Parliament's record is commemorated in scholarly works and memorials in Baku and continues to influence political discourse in contemporary Azerbaijan.
Category:Politics of Azerbaijan Category:History of Azerbaijan (1918–1920)