ABSTRACT
This article examines the origins, negotiations and considerations surrounding the formation and then rapid dissolution of the independent Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (TDFR) in 1918 from the perspective of Azerbaijani statesmen. Left with few alternatives in the rapidly changing geopolitical situation to accomplish their goals and assure their interests – primarily the economic and physical security of the Azerbaijani Muslim population, and also the recovery of Baku from Bolshevik control – other than to seek the backing of Ottoman Turkey, the Azerbaijani faction in the Transcaucasian Seim nevertheless advocated for the principle of federation, stood up against Turkish intentions regarding the status of Batumi, and did not support the incorporation of their country into the Ottoman Empire. In order to properly evaluate the role of the Azerbaijanis in the creation of the ephemeral TDFR, it is essential to examine the fundamentals of the history of Transcaucasia from the Bolshevik October coup in 1917 until the creation of the TDFR on 22 April 1918 and its dissolution into independent states on 26–28 May 1918.
