The first wave of Russian settlers arrived in Azerbaijan after the signing of the Treaty of Turkmenchay in 1828, when, as a result of a series of brilliant victories by Russian arms, the last of the Russo-Persian wars was brought to a triumphant end. These were mainly members of sectarian communities—Molokans and Doukhobors—whom the Russian government considered it prudent to exile farther away from the Russian provinces to new lands. By 1890, more than 40,000 people had resettled. The colonists settled mostly in valleys and along the coast, engaged in farming and animal husbandry, and lived quite prosperously and peacefully, without any conflicts with the local population.
The second wave of Russians moved to Azerbaijan after the discovery of Baku oil: no longer peasants, but workers and engineers, who, naturally, were almost absent in the region itself. By 1913, the Russian population of Azerbaijan had nearly doubled—to 77,000 people.
In May 1918, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was proclaimed in Tiflis. From the very first days, the government of the young republic faced a serious problem: the country’s main economic, political, and cultural center—Baku—was under Bolshevik control, and the Bolsheviks refused to recognize the ADR’s independence.
It was necessary to take into account the intensifying international struggle for Baku oil. One of the contenders for a key role in the South Caucasus was the Ottoman Empire, which acted as Azerbaijan’s ally. After the conclusion of a bilateral agreement on June 4, 1918, the Ottoman Empire began to provide military assistance to Azerbaijan.
Meanwhile, the government of Soviet Russia led by V. Lenin, understanding that Turkish-Azerbaijani rapprochement would ultimately lead to a clash with the Bolsheviks over Baku, began taking a set of diplomatic and military measures to keep Baku in its hands.
Seeking to play on the contradictions between Germany and Turkey, V. Lenin on May 24, 1918 sent a letter to the head of the Baku Council of People’s Commissars, S. Shaumyan, which said: “...Baku’s position is difficult in international terms. Therefore, I would advise trying a bloc with Zhordania. If impossible—one must maneuver and delay a decision until you become stronger militarily. Sober assessment and diplomacy for delay—remember this...”.
Guided by this instruction, on June 6 Shaumyan appealed to the head of the Georgian government, N. Zhordania, with a proposal to assist the Soviets supposedly in defending the independence of the South Caucasus from a Turkish attack. At the same time, he guaranteed that if Georgia would not allow the Turks to pass through its territory into Azerbaijan, then the Council of People’s Commissars of the RSFSR, after establishing power in the South Caucasus, would grant the Georgians autonomy.
For Russia it was very important that the Germans recognize Baku as belonging to it; moreover, in addition to conceding part of the oil, the Bolsheviks agreed not to interfere in the affairs of Georgia, which was under German protectorate.
Meanwhile, the offensive of Azerbaijani-Turkish militia forces on Baku continued. The People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR, G. Chicherin, sent a note to Germany’s diplomatic representative Ritzler protesting the Turks’ advance. Shaumyan constantly telegraphed Moscow about the Turks’ approach. Russia made every effort to provide the Baku Bolsheviks with military support.
However, at this time events occurred in Baku that led to the fall of Soviet power—the outpost of Russia in the South Caucasus. Convinced that the Bolsheviks could not defend the city, the Baku Council on July 25, 1918 decided to invite the British. Unable to hold power, the Baku Council of People’s Commissars resigned on July 31. Power in the city passed to the government of the “Centrocaspian Dictatorship,” consisting of representatives of the Socialist Revolutionaries, Mensheviks, and Dashnaks. A few days later, British troops occupied Baku.
Russia, however, did not want to accept the loss of Baku, and now felt an even greater need for Germany’s support. On August 19, 1918, G. Chicherin addressed the Consul General Gaushild with a note of protest against the advance of Turkish troops on Baku. It pointed to “the significance that Baku oil has for the national economy of all Russia, and therefore for those countries with which Russia intends to enter into economic agreements.”
The Germans agreed to guarantee that there would be no advance on Baku if Russia ensured the withdrawal of the British. The German government was interested in Baku remaining in Russia’s hands. Finally, after lengthy negotiations, the “Baku question” was resolved. On August 27, 1918, Germany and Russia signed in Berlin a Supplementary Treaty to the Brest Peace. A number of articles of this document directly concerned the South Caucasus.
On September 15, 1918, the Caucasian Islamic Army, consisting of Turkish and Azerbaijani detachments, entered Baku, freeing the city from the British and the puppet government of the “Centrocaspian Dictatorship.”
Baku and Baku oil came under the control of the Azerbaijani government. However, Soviet Russia did not abandon attempts to regain oil-rich Baku. The People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR issued a note in which the liberation of Baku was described as “the seizure of one of the most important cities of the Russian Republic by Turkish troops with the assistance of Tatar bandit detachments.”
On February 12, 1920, Huseynov and his associates proclaimed in Baku the creation of the Azerbaijan Communist Party (Bolsheviks), declaring it an integral part of the Caucasian regional organization of the RCP(b).
On April 22, 1920, it was decided to demand the immediate transfer of power from the ADR government. Two days later, the ACP(b) placed the entire party organization under martial law. And on April 26, Azerbaijani communists approved the final plan for an armed uprising. It was assumed that they would act in close contact with the 11th Soviet Army stationed in Dagestan, whose command took part in all discussions.
On April 27, 1920, an uprising by Bolsheviks emerging from the underground began in Baku. At the same time, armored trains crossed the border between Soviet Russia and Azerbaijan. Behind them, regular units of the Red Army invaded. The operation to overthrow the Musavat government and establish Soviet power in Baku proved lightning-fast. It was followed by the Sovietization of all Azerbaijan.
In Baku, meanwhile, workers’ combat detachments seized arms depots, disarmed the police, occupied government institutions, the post office, the telegraph, the railway station, and the radio station. Individual military units of the ADR went over to the side of the insurgent Bolsheviks.
On the night of April 26–27, 1920, the Bolsheviks подняли an uprising in Baku. And at 00:05, a Red Army landing detachment crossed the border between Soviet Russia and the ADR. In the vanguard of the advancing forces moved four armored trains. They were followed by the main units of the 11th Army, which crossed the border at 04:00. Approaching the Yalama station, after a brief battle they defeated two companies of the Azerbaijani army. In the morning they took the Khudat station almost without resistance.
At 12:00, a Bolshevik delegation led by Hamid Sultanov demanded that the government surrender its authority within 12 hours. According to Mikoyan, the proposal to the Azerbaijani government was made not as a result of the uprising, but “under the threat of an uprising.”
At 00:30 on April 28, another ultimatum was issued to the ADR authorities by Ildrym. In case of refusal, he promised to begin shelling with all ship guns. That same night, a vote took place in the Parliament of Azerbaijan. By a majority, a resolution was adopted to satisfy the insurgents’ conditions. While forced to agree to this measure, the ADR representatives put forward a number of their own conditions. In particular, Azerbaijan’s full independence under Soviet rule was to be preserved. From the new government, the former ministers demanded that the entry of the Red Army into Baku not be allowed.
At 02:00, the parliament announced its self-dissolution. ADR officials in the building were promptly replaced by communists from the Central Committee of the ACP(b) and the Azerbaijani Provisional Revolutionary Committee.
In 1920, on May 24, the Azerbaijani Revolutionary Committee adopted a Decree on the nationalization of the republic’s oil industry (272 private oil companies were liquidated).
With the convening of the First Congress of Soviets of the Azerbaijan SSR on May 6, 1921, the Sovietization of Northern Azerbaijan was completed. On May 19, the first Constitution of the Azerbaijan SSR was adopted.
Construction of the first tram line in Baku began in March 1923, in the difficult period of post-revolutionary devastation. Construction was completed two months ahead of schedule.
The first tram was launched on February 8, 1924. In parallel, the rest of the tram infrastructure was built—depots, traction power substations, stops, and so on.
After the October coup, in the first post-revolutionary years in the newly formed USSR, it was precisely in Baku that the first tram was put into operation—on February 8, 1924.