Between Soviet Russia and Kemalist Turkey: The Aleksandropol District and the Violence of Sovietization

This research provides a comprehensive analysis of the historical specificities surrounding the establishment and consolidation of the Soviet regime in the Aleksandropol district during the critical transition period of 1920–1922. The author examines the complex historical environment where the convergence of the geopolitical interests of Soviet Russia and Kemalist Turkey became the decisive factor in shaping Armenia's Soviet state-building process and Soviet-Turkish relations. The study demonstrates that the prolonged Turkish occupation of the district (1920–1921) and its subsequent deliberate isolation led to a catastrophic economic crisis. This socio-economic collapse served as a convenient pretext for the Bolsheviks to introduce the harsh policies of "War Communism," characterized by forced requisitions and the suppression of private economic initiatives. A significant contribution of this article is the introduction of a substantial body of unpublished archival documents into scientific circulation. These primary sources allow for a meticulous reconstruction of the historical realities through which the Bolshevik authorities implemented their mechanisms of coercion and systemic political violence. A central focus of the study is the strategic "scapegoating" of local revolutionary committees (revcoms), which were systematically held responsible for the economic failures of the central administration. Furthermore, the paper elucidates the socio-political impact of administrative purges, party cleansing or re-registrations, which specifically targeted the intelligentsia and the vulnerable Western Armenian refugee population—survivors of the Armenian Genocide. In conclusion, the analysis of historical facts and archival evidence leads the author to the firm conclusion that the repressions in the Aleksandropol district were not accidental or chaotic occurrences. Instead, they constituted a fundamental, structural component of the early Soviet state apparatus. These systematic purges were deliberately designed to eliminate any potential political opposition and ensure the final, undisputed establishment of the one-party totalitarian system in the region.