1920 Ganja revolt

The 1920 Ganja revolt (Azeri: Gəncə üsyanı), also referred to as the Ganja Uprising, was an anti-Bolshevik rebellion that took place in Ganja, Azerbaijan from 26 to 31 May 1920 as a reaction to Azerbaijan's Sovietisation.

The disintegration of the Russian Empire resulted in the formation of a number of independent states on its territory. On 28 May 1918, the Azerbaijani National Council declared the independence of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. Twenty-three months later the political power in Azerbaijan was ceded by the ruling Musavat Party to the Bolsheviks to avoid bloodshed that the advancing 11th Red Army might have brought upon the country. On 28 April 1920, Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed.

Azerbaijan's Sovietisation significantly reduced the Bolshevik pressure on the neighbouring states, which caused much resentment and unrest among demoralised Azerbaijanis shocked by such rapid political change. Civil masses were angered by Bolsheviks' requisitions of provision supplies and their strong and explicit antireligious sentiment. The unrest was also triggered by various political organisations founded by Musavat members who fled to Georgia or went undercover. The anti-Bolshevik attitude went on to spread onto the Azerbaijani army dissatisfied with the Soviets' plan to reorganise it according to the Red Army model by discharging the officers and dividing the units.

The discharge of the Commander of the Ganja garrison Mahammad Mirza Qajar and his officers led to the strongest civil unrest among Azerbaijanis. On the night of May 25 to 26 1920 the garrison consisting of 1,800 servicemen revolted and seized control over the Muslim quarter of Ganja. They were led by General Qajar, General Javad bey Shikhlinski, General Teymur Novruzov, and Colonel Jahangir Kazimbeyov. The Soviet units which arrived by railway ringed the city. On 29 May, they attempted numerous times to launch an attack but each time were hurled back with heavy casualties. They only became successful upon deploying heavy artillery. Around 1,000 rebels were killed; the rest fled into the mountains to join the units that had been formed there. The battle lasted until 31 May and ended in the Bolshevik victory. Afterwards the city was looted and pillaged for an entire week.

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