Newly uncovered telegrams from the 1920s reveal that the Turkish government opposed the establishment of Kurdish-language schools and autonomy for Kurds in Azerbaijan, fearing the spread of Kurdish nationalism. Historian Dr. İsmet Konak shared details on Monday, highlighting Ankara’s resistance to Kurdish rights in the Soviet Union.
Dr. Konak, who has been researching the ‘Red Kurdistan’ region, discovered two previously unseen documents from 1925 and 1926 in the Turkish Foreign Ministry archives. He stated, “The more we delve into these archives, the clearer it becomes that Turkey’s hostility towards the Kurds was pathological.” The documents reveal Ankara’s objection to the creation of a ‘Kurdish Republic’ in Karabakh and its opposition to Kurdish-language education in Soviet Azerbaijan.
One of the telegrams, dated 17 November 1925, shows that the Turkish Foreign Ministry viewed the establishment of Kurdish boarding schools and the potential training of Kurdish-speaking teachers as a “threat to national security”. The Turkish government feared that these schools could be used to spread Kurdish education and influence into Turkey.
Telegram 1 (17 November 1925)
To the Embassy in Moscow
To the Consulate in Baku
To the Consulate in Yerevan
(Confidential)
The Russian Soviet government has designated 45 Kurdish villages around Karabakh as a “Kurdish Republic”, with internal administration conducted in the Kurdish language and external communication in the Azerbaijani Turkish language. There are reportedly 250 teachers, and Kurdish boarding schools have been established in Karabakh, where the education period lasts five years. As in other Soviet schools, a political agenda is pursued in these institutions, and some of the teachers are Armenians. There is a concern that those educated in these schools may later be sent to our territory. The Eastern Border Commission has reported these findings to the Ministry of the Interior. It is requested that detailed and comprehensive information on this matter be obtained.
The second document, a telegram from 23 January 1926, indicates that the Turkish government was relieved to learn that the Kurdish legal entity in Karabakh was only an administrative unit rather than a full-fledged republic. The document also celebrated that education in these schools would be conducted only in Turkish, highlighting Ankara’s ongoing concerns about the use of the Kurdish language.
Telegram 2 (23 January 1926)
To the Embassy in Moscow
In response to correspondence dated 10 December 1925 from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and 4 January 1926 from the Embassy in Moscow:
A district composed of Kurdish-inhabited villages around Karabakh has been established. This is named a “Kurdish district”, not a “Kurdish Republic”. It does not even possess autonomy. The schools in this district are primary and secondary education institutions where instruction is in Turkish, with no difference from other district schools. Therefore, there is no indication that those educated there would be specifically sent to Turkey.
Dr. Konak emphasised that these documents demonstrate Turkey’s long-standing resistance to Kurdish self-determination, drawing parallels with other ethnic groups such as the Turkish Cypriots and the Gagauz in Moldova, who were allowed self-governance. “While Turks in Cyprus and Gagauzia could exercise their rights to self-determination, Kurds were labelled as rebels and separatists,” he said.
These findings are part of a broader effort to uncover Turkey’s historical stance against Kurdish autonomy and rights in neighbouring regions, as shown by its efforts to suppress Kurdish culture and language both within and beyond its borders.
Red Kurdistan (Kurdistana Sor in Kurdish) was an autonomous administrative region in Soviet Azerbaijan established in 1923 and dissolved in 1929. It was created for the Kurdish population living in the regions of Lachin, Kelbajar and Kubatly in what is now Azerbaijan. The region, known as the Kurdistan Uyezd, aimed to serve as a homeland for the Kurdish minority in the South Caucasus, reflecting the Soviet policy of supporting minority rights and national identities in the 1920s.
Red Kurdistan was part of the Soviet “korenizatsiya” (indigenisation) policy, which promoted local languages and cultures within the Soviet Union’s various ethnic regions. However, the region’s existence was short-lived. In 1929, Red Kurdistan was abolished as part of the Soviet Union’s administrative restructuring, and its territory was incorporated into other administrative divisions. Many Kurds were later subjected to forced resettlement, particularly during Stalin’s era, further diluting the Kurdish presence in the region.
Today, the history of Red Kurdistan remains a significant point of reference for Kurdish nationalists and is often invoked in discussions about Kurdish rights and autonomy in the broader region.
