Transcaucasian Seym

Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic
Закавказская демократическая федеративная республика
1918
Flag Coat of arms
Transcaucasia immediately prior to the formation of the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic.
Capital		Tbilisi
Languages		Georgian Azerbaijani Armenian
Government		Federative republic
President		Nikolay Chkheidze
Historical era		World War I
•	Federation proclaimed	April 22, 1918
•	Georgia declares independence	May 26, 1918
•	Armenia and Azerbaijan declare independence	May 28, 1918
•	Federation dissolved	May 28, 1918
Currency		Transcaucasian ruble
Preceded by Succeeded by Transcaucasian Commissariat Democratic Republic of Armenia Azerbaijan Democratic Republic Democratic Republic of Georgia
Today part of		Armenia  Azerbaijan  Georgia  Russia  Turkey

The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (TDFR; Закавказская демократическая Федеративная Республика (ЗКДФР); Zakavkazskaya Demokraticheskaya Federativnaya Respublika (ZKDFR); 22 April – 28 May 1918), also known as the Transcaucasian Federation, was a short-lived South Caucasian state extending across what are now the modern-day countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, plus parts of Eastern Turkey as well as Russian border areas.

After the February Revolution, the Russian Provisional Government installed the Special Transcaucasian Committee (особый Закавказский Комитет (ОЗАКОМ), osobyy Zakavkazskiy Komitet (OZAKOM)) to govern the area.

In November 1917, following the October Revolution, the first government of an independent Transcaucasia was created in Tbilisi. A Transcaucasian Committee and a Transcaucasian Commissariat (Sejm, headed by the Georgian pro-Menshevik Social Democrat Nikolay Chkheidze) existed for a couple of months. On December 5, 1917, the Committee endorsed the Armistice of Erzincan signed by the Ottoman command of the Third Army.

On March 3, 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk marked the end of Russia's involvement in World War I. The Ottoman Empire regained Batum, Kars and Ardahan. Starting on March 14, the Trabzon peace conference was held between the Ottoman Empire and a delegation from the Sejm. By April 5, the head of the Transcaucasian delegation, Akaki Chkhenkeli, accepted the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk as a basis for more negotiations and urged the Transcaucasian governments to accept this position. The mood in Tbilisi, however, was very different. Instead of being bound by the terms of Brest-Litovsk, the Sejm gathered and made the decision to establish independence. On 22 April 1918, it proclaimed the establishment of the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic. A state of war between the Republic and the Ottoman Empire was confirmed and, shortly afterwards, the Ottoman Third Army took Erzerum and Kars.