The most terrifying massacre, following Baku in the Baku Governorate, was committed by Armenians in the town of Shamakha and in the villages of the Shamakha uyezds. It is noteworthy that the massacre in Shamakha, and later in Kuba was committed by armed dashnak troops, sent there by the soviet power, directly by the leaders of the Baku Commune S. Shaumian and Q. Korqanov. In the letter to V. Lenin, on 13 April 1918, S. Shaumian reported about sending “new troops” with artillery and guns to Shamakha. These troops were headed by S. Lalayan, Shaumian’s closest comrade in arms and one of the main initiators of the Baku massacre.

7 volumes out of 925 pages of investigation materials (reports, victims and witness’ questioning minutes, uyezd and police chiefs’ information, acts concerning damages, the number of killed and injured ones), collected by the Special Investigation commission, once more demonstrate Armenians’ atrocity.

Armed dashnak troops’ main purpose, led by S. Lalayan, who’d been sent to Shamakha by S.Shaumian’s order, was to clean the Shamakha uyezd from bandits and, by putting an end to anarchy at the uyezd, to restore security in the territory. The troop promised to move to Madrasa village, on March 15, passing by Shamakha. As soon as the Muslims, watching their houses on the edge of the town, saw the troop, they thought it could be an attack and opened fire. The troop started to shoot in response. Soon shooting took the whole town. Consequently, both sides suffered casualties. However, the representatives of the three nations, living in the town (Azerbaijanis, Armenians and Russians), could get together and swear to live in peace and not to break the law and order.

As soon as the troop leaders, sent by Shaumian, heard about the agreement they stated that “the Muslim priesthood can reconcile with the Armenian priesthood, but the Armenian people want war against Muslims and England is their supporter in the issue”.

Glad with the made decision the Azerbaijani population of Shamakha was woken up by gunshots in the morning of March 18. The downtown populated by Azerbaijanis was being shot from guns and machineguns by Armenians and Molokans. In a few hours after the attack the Armenians and Molokans could enter the Azerbaijani part of the town. During the attack they were robbing the Azerbaijanis’ houses, ruining, burning them and slaughtering the civilians. According to the reports of the Special Investigation commission in Shamakha several thousand Azerbaijanis were killed by Armenians. Among the killed there were many respected personalities, public figures, well-known not only in Shamakha, but in all Azerbaijan. One of them was Mamad Aliyev, a deputy of the first State Duma, a well-known akhund (a priest) Haji Jafarqulu and the others. The Commission in its reports was stating that “the damage to the Azerbaijani population of Shamakha town was estimated at an average of more than 1 billion rubles”.

Inspired by motto “After killing, rob and after robbing, kill”, the Armenians in Shamakha and in the uyezd obsessed with the feelings of national hostility and national revenge to the Azerbaijani people, together with killing peaceful civilians – women, children and old men, they aimed at possessing their properties.

According to A.Novatsky’s report, the member of the commission, concerning Shamakha’s destruction and cases of violence against the Azerbaijani population, on July 12, 1919, the Special Investigation commission announced the main perpetrators of the crimes committed in Shamakha, they were S.Lalayev, who came from Shamakha, living in Baku Qavrila Karaoqlanov, Arshak Gyulbendiyan, Mikhail Arzoumanov, Armenak Martirosyan and the others (31 men). It was noted that these criminals, gathering around themselves several thousand dashnaks, armed with guns, machinegun and knives, during a few days had killed thousands of Azerbaijan civilians, men, women and kids. These murders were committed with particular violence. In Shamakha the Armenians plundered the property for the sum more than 1 billion rubles, burnt and ruined all the houses in the town, which belonged to Azerbaijanis. In the town 13 mosques were burnt, including “Djuma-mosque”, which was a historical monument. By instituting criminal proceedings against the principal perpetrators of the Armenian vandalism, the Commission ordered to start investigation with their following criminal prosecution.

In the Shamakha uyezd, the Armenians ruined, burnt and brutally murdered the population of the 86 Azerbaijani villages. In the documents, acts, concerning the Armenian vandals’ atrocities, made by the Special Investigation commission on the 53 villages in particular, the number of the death toll and damage is indicated.
According to the data, noted in the acts, in general, 8027 Azerbaijanis, among them 4190 men, 2560 women and 1227 kids were killed by Armenians in the 53 villages of the Shamakha uyezd. As to these acts, the damage caused by Armenians in the villages reached 339.5 billion rubles.

Recommended literature:

1. Abışov, Vaqif Şirin oğlu. Şamaxı qəzasında Azərbaycan xalqına qarşı soyqırımı : 1918-1920 / V. Ş. Abışov ; layihənin rəh., ön sözün müəl. Y. M. Mahmudov ; AMEA A.A. Bakıxanov adına Tarix İnstitutu. - Bakı : Elm, 2017. - 120 s.
2. Azərbaycan xalqına qarşı 1918-ci il soyqırımları / AMEA A.A. Bakıxanov adına Tarix İnstitutu, Azərbaycan Respublikası Hərbi Prokurorluğu ; red. heyəti: Y. M. Mahmudov [et al.] ; layihənin rəh.: Y. M. Mahmudov, X. R. Vəliyev ; elmi red., ön sözün müəl. Y. M. Mahmudov. - Bakı : Azərbaycan Tarixçiləri İctimai Birliyi, 2016. - 408 s.
3. Zülfüqarlı, Məhərrəm Paşa oğlu. Şamaxı soyqırımı : 1918-ci il = Shamaxi Genocide : 1918 / M. P. Zülfüqarlı ; red. heyəti F. Babayev [et al.] ; elmi red. K. K. Şükürov ; layihənin rəh. E. Süleymanov. - Bakı : AVCİYA, 2011. - 112 s.
4. Şamaxı: 100 il "tam məxfi qrif"i altında : 1918-ci il. Şamaxı: məlum olmayan həqiqətlər. Ermənilərin törətdikləri cinayətlər haqqında ensiklopedik məlumatlar / R. Novruzoğlu [et al.] ; ön sözün müəl. A. İ. Mustafayeva ; elmi red. T. Ə. Əhmədov ; məsl.: M. N. Quluzadə [et al.] ; AMEA İnsan Hüquqları İnstitutu. - Bakı : Elm və təhsil, 2014. - 203 s.
5. Шемаха, март-июль 1918 г. : азербайджанские погромы в документах / сост. С. А. Рустамова-Тогиди ; гл. конс. Э. Махмудов. - (Документы Чрезвычайной Следственной Комиссии). Т. 1: Город Шемаха. - Баку : [НИЦ МНБ АР], 2013. - 855 с.
6. Шемаха, март-июль 1918 г. : азербайджанские погромы в документах / сост. С. А. Рустамова-Тогиди ; гл. конс. Э. Махмудов. - (Документы Чрезвычайной Следственной Комиссии). Т. 2: Селения Шемахинского уезда. - Баку : [НИЦ МНБ АР], 2013. - 888 с.