Azerbaijan news

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

Kulu Maharramli

In the cold fall of 1919, California residents gathered to meet Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the country, who had just won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end World War I. Wilson, who joined his country in the war in Europe two years ago, spoke to Congress about his famous call to “start a war to end all wars” and the consequences of that call. He noted the emergence of new democracies in the world after the war, and asked the people gathered in the hall at this point in the conversation:

– By the way, you Azerbaijan Do you know a country called?

President He paused for a moment and looked around the room.

Everyone looked at each other in surprise, a strange expression appeared on their faces, and some of those sitting in the front row shrugged their shoulders. Seeing the confusion, Wilson spoke heavily:

– You know that there is such a country thousands of kilometers away from America, and they share the same values ​​with us…

It was no coincidence that US President Wilson, who was in a strong anti-Turkish mood at the time and did not hide his sympathy for the Armenians, suddenly remembered Azerbaijan. He did not forget his meeting with the representative of this country Alimardan bey Topchubashov at the Paris Peace Conference, his gentlemanly behavior, and the democratic processes taking place in the first parliamentary republic established in the Muslim East. James Haber, the special envoy he sent to Baku after the meeting, also spoke about the establishment of real democracy there reportread the “Declaration of Independence” attached to this report. Wilson was convinced that the United States and Azerbaijan share the same values.


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Of course, Azerbaijan The democratic values ​​of the People’s Republic, the domestic and foreign policies it defined, and the whole form of government stemmed from the Declaration of Independence as a perfect document. But who is the author of this “treaty”, which consists of six clauses and declares the independence of Azerbaijan?

It is absolutely true that independence as an ideology stemmed from the centuries-old aspirations of the people, and state independence was the product of the collective will of the people and our founding fathers who fought for it. But at the same time, taking the pen in someone’s hand, that will political and no doubt translate it into a legal document.

Of course, the first thing that comes to mind when talking about this topic political The figure is Mohammad Amin Rasulzade. Because in February 1917 Russia going to Azerbaijan after the bourgeois revolution political in fact, he is at the forefront of the process.

At that time, MA Rasulzade, the leader of the most powerful party in the Caucasus, “Musavat”, who was in the center of attention with his personality, intellect and political understanding, was leading Azerbaijan step by step towards independence with all his efforts. After the October coup, the March 1918 massacres in Baku, and the idea that the Transcaucasian Seym would collapse in May of that year, it became vital to declare Azerbaijan’s independence. Georgia’s secret talks with Germany on independence accelerated the process.

As MA Rasulzadeh, who took part in peace talks with Ottoman Turkey as a member of the Transcaucasian Seym delegation on May 11, 1918, wrote, So, MA Rasulzade was aware of the Georgians’ plans to declare independence unilaterally, he could get information about it from the Turks and other sources. The Georgian delegation led by Akaki Chkenkeli left Batumi openly on May 25 and returned to Tbilissi (Georgia). Most likely, MA Rasulzadeh made a final decision at that time, drawing up a plan for the further behavior of the Muslim faction of the Seym, as well as the text of the Declaration of Independence (of course, based on the provisions already in mind). Rasulzadeh, who is responsible for the historic steps as the leader of the faction, is expected to declare and create Milli He sent his letter to the council and his friend Nasib bey Yusifbeyli to Tbilissi (Georgia) on the night of May 25. He remained in Batumi to hold bilateral talks with Ottoman Turkey, including the provision of military assistance.

Yusifbeyli read the letter at a meeting of the Muslim faction of the Seimas in Tbilisi on May 26. It is possible that the text of the “Declaration of Independence” will be subject to some additions and amendments, but there is no doubt that the document as a whole is politically and legally perfect. (In the archive documents, Rasulzade’s letter from Batumi with N. Yusifbeyli mysteriously disappeared from the collection of documents related to the Republic, but it was there before).

Thus, on May 26, 1918, the day when the Georgians left the Seym and declared their independence, the Muslim faction also joined the dissolution of the Seym. Azerbaijan He established the National Council and two days later, on May 28, declared the independence of Azerbaijan.

About all these dynamic events in the collection “Istiglal” prepared by MA Rasulzade on the occasion of the anniversary of the Republic in 1919 “Azerbaijan Republic “article. However, the great thinker did not say anything about how the Declaration of Independence was written in that article, because in his writings on the subject of independence, he always emphasized that independence belongs not to one individual, but to the whole nation. However, on May 28, 1929, on the occasion of the 11th anniversary of the Republic, his article entitled “Today’s Inspiration” published in the “Fiery Land” magazine in Ankara revealed the truth. In the same article, MA Rasulzadeh wrote: “The 28 May Declaration, which established the independence of the Turkish Republic for the first time in the Islamic world and, finally, the greatness of thought which is found in Wilson’s Article 14 and which forms the basis of the opinion of the League of Nations. Azerbaijan It is a certificate that shows that he is privileged. ” (Land of Fire, May 28, 1929, No. 4, pp. 118-121). In other words, by pointing out these important sources cited in the declaration, Rasulzade leaves no doubt that the author of the Declaration of Independence is the ideologue of the Republic.

Author of the Declaration of Independence proclaimed in Tbilissi (Georgia) on May 28, 1918 Milli Shirmammad Huseynov, one of the most prominent researchers of that period, also confirmed that he was the chairman of the council MA Rasulzade.

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History always carries global ideas. Independent Azerbaijan The republic was not only an idea, but also an extraordinary historical event that became a reality. Mohammad Amin Rasulzadeh led such a complex political process as the establishment of the Republic, and even after the Bolshevik occupation, he kept alive the idea of ​​independence in emigration for many years. Along with the Republic, which is the “miracle of modernity of the East”, Rasulzade played an invaluable role in creating a new way of thinking, a new way of thinking, a new morality and new values.

These are the values ​​that reminded Azerbaijan of Woodrow Wilson in the rainy autumn days of 1919, what makes the 104-year history of the Republic attractive to us today, and what makes millions of young and old proud of the name of the Republic.



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