On December 2, 1920 the agreement for the sovietisation of Armenia was signed by Dro and Terteryan on the one side, and Legran on the other. Armenia was declared an independent Soviet republic with the province of Yerevan and all its districts, a part of the province of Kars, the district of Zangezur in the province of Gandzak, a part of the district of Kazakh, and those parts of the province of Tiflis that had been under Armenian control up to September 28, 1920 within its territory.
During the days of sovietisation of Armenia, Turkish-Armenian negotiations continued in Alexandrapol. From Dilijan, Kasyan conveyed the news of the sovietisation of Armenia to Karabekir. Vratsyan in turn sent a telegram to the Armenian delegation, informing them of the government’s resignation, making them understand that they must accept the Turkish terms and sign the treaty of Alexandrapol.
In the early hours of December 3, when Soviet rule had already been forced on Armenia, the Armenian-Turkish treaty was signed in Alexandrapol.
On December 2, 1920, Legran arrived at the Armenian foreign ministry, where Dro and Terteryan were waiting. In consultation with Vratsyan, the sides accepted a formula whereby, pending the arrival of the Revkom, the entire administration would be entrusted to Dro, who was named commander of the military forces of Soviet Armenia, assisted by Otto Silin, a member of Legran’s mission. The agreement signed, Terteryan and Social Revolutionary leader Arsham Khondkaryan drafted the final act of the Armenian government: “In view of the situation created in the land by external factors, the Government of the Republic of Armenia in its session of 1920 December 2 decided to resign from power and to transfer the entire military and civil authority to the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, to which position is appointed Minister of War Dro.”
According to the agreement, the commanders of the Armenian army were not to be held to account. Five of the military revolutionary committee members were appointed from the communist party: Kasyan, Mravyan, Ter-Gabrielyan, Bekzadyan, and Nurijanyan, and two from the leftist Dashnaks, Dro and Terteryan.
By five o’clock in the afternoon, Vratsyan and his ministers had closed their offices and left the government building. Vratsyan later recalled: “We quietly dispersed to our homes. Quiet and calm was the city as well. Quiet also was Masis [Mount Ararat], wrapped in thick clouds, musing over the vanity of the world. This, alas, is what the Bolsheviks subsequently acclaimed as the ‘bloody coup’ of the workers and peasants. That evening, Father Abraham [Avetik Sahakyan] and Papasha [Levon Tadevosyan] came over, sad, in an uncharacteristic manner. They sat without speaking. I, too, was silent, near my desk. On my left side, observing us from the wall was the painting that the artist Yerkanyan had gifted, the sharp-eyed, pretty-headed, and buxom girl of Trebizond. From the broad window, the silhouette of Masis could be made out in the twilight. Silence enveloped the room, as it did our souls.”
December 2 had not left a significant effect on the public. In Vratsyan’s words, “Only the Turkish-Armenians, who were grieving the destruction of independence, were extremely sad. Because of communication difficulties, the majority of the districts were surprised, but there again did not seem to be any particular regret. Some were even happy, saying, ‘Finally the Russians will come and save us. We will be safe from the Turks, we will have bread, we will also have fuel, and life will become easier’. This was the general feeling.”
A segment of Armenia’s former ministers and members of parliament fled Armenia on December 2 and began moving towards Georgia through the mountains. They were arrested on their way and brought back to Yerevan, where they remained imprisoned. “Others moved towards Zangezur. Of the former ARF member ministers, Vratsyan, Kajaznuni, Khatisyan, Tigranyan, and Gyulkhandanyan were living in freedom,” Khatisyan wrote. “Some of the ARF members of parliament proclaimed that they had left the ARF and tried to form a group, but they did not succeed. Some of them joined the Communist Party and the rest fled Armenia two or three months later.”
On December 4, a new Armenian government, presided by Sargis Kasyan, head of the Revkom, arrived in Yerevan.
From Tatul Hakobyan‘s book – ARMENIANS and TURKS
