The Armenian Social-Democratic Labour Organization (, ''Sotsial-Demokratakan Banvorakan Hai Kazmakerpoutiun'', abbreviated «ՍԴԲՀԿ», S.D.B.H.K.), often pejoratively referred to as the Specificists (, ''spets’ifikner''), was an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

organization in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

.TerMinassian Anaïde.
Aux origines du marxisme arménien : Les spécifistes
'. In: ''Cahiers du monde russe et soviétique'', vol. 19, n°1-2, Janvier-Juin 1978. Le Caucase. p. 67-117

History

The S.D.B.H.K. was founded in Baku in October 1903 by a group of Armenians who had become Marxists during studies in Germany and Switzerland, as well as a few ex-

Dashnak The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (, abbr. ARF (ՀՅԴ) or ARF-D), also known as Dashnaktsutyun (Armenian: Դաշնակցություն, lit. "Federation"), is an Armenian nationalist and socialist political party founded in 1890 in Tifl ...

s, ex-

Hunchak The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (SDHP) (), is the oldest continuously-operating Armenian political party, founded in 1887 by a group of students in Geneva, Switzerland. It was the first socialist party to operate in the Ottoman Empire and i ...

intellectuals and others. The group was, in particular, dissatisfied with the outcome of the

2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party The 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was held from July 30 to August 23 (July 17 – August 10, O.S.) 1903, starting in Brussels, Belgium (until August 6) and ending in London, England. Probably as a result of diplomat ...

. The S.D.B.H.K. sought to establish

trade unions A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

among Armenian workers along similar lines as the

General Jewish Labour Bund The General Jewish Labour Bund in Lithuania, Poland and Russia (), generally called The Bund (, cognate to , ) or the Jewish Labour Bund (), was a Jewish secularism, secular Jewish Socialism, socialist party initially formed in the Russian Empire ...

. Like the General Jewish Labour Bund, the S.D.B.H.K. argued with the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

s and

Menshevik The Mensheviks ('the Minority') were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with Vladimir Lenin's Bolshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903. Mensheviks held more moderate and reformist ...

s to allow autonomous ethnic organizations within the

Russian Social Democratic Labour Party The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), also known as the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party (RSDWP) or the Russian Social Democratic Party (RSDP), was a socialist political party founded in 1898 in Minsk, Russian Empire. The ...

. The organization argued that 'specific' conditions applied in

Transcaucasia The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...

, especially in Armenian-dominated areas and that these areas needed a special agrarian program. Key ideologues of the S.D.B.H.K. included Bakhshi Ishkhanyan, A. Rubeni (who later joined the Bolsheviks), Ghazar Ter Ghazarian, Nariman Ter Ghazarian, T. Isakhanyan, E. Palyan, G. Kuzikyan (Yesalim), and D. Ter-Danielyan (Davit Ananun). In its early phase, the small organization began agitations among workers and students, and began publishing leaflets and brochures for mass distribution. The S.D.B.H.K. distributed its propaganda in and around Baku (mobilizing workers in Balakhani, Bibi-Eybat and Black Town) as well as in

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

, and in the country-side of

Karabakh Karabakh ( ; ) is a geographic region in southwestern Azerbaijan and eastern Armenia, extending from the highlands of the Lesser Caucasus down to the lowlands between the rivers Kura and Aras. It is divided into three regions: Highland Kara ...

. On May 1, 1904, the S.D.B.H.K. organized a strike of 4,0005,000 Armenian workers in Balakhani. The Armenian Social-Democratic Workers Organization concentrated its efforts in labour organizing, leading some thirty strikes between 1906 and 1917. It claimed to have some 2,000 workers organized in its unions. The organization had influence among Armenian workers in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

and

. The S.D.B.H.K. favoured a system of broad local government and national-cultural autonomy within Russia. In 1904, its main organ was ''Sotsiyalist'' ('Socialist') issued from Baku, which later relocated to

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

and continued publishing there 1905-1906. In January 1905, the S.D.B.H.K. was invited to a conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, the General Jewish Labour Bund, the Social Democracy in the Latvian Territory and the

Revolutionary Ukrainian Party The Revolutionary Ukrainian Party () was a Ukrainian political party in the Russian Empire founded on 11 February 1900 by the Kharkiv student secret society Hromada. History The rise of the party came about with a successful consummation after o ...

. The S.D.B.H.K. had expressed its intention to send a delegation for the conference, but did not attend in the end. The S.D.B.H.K. received fierce criticisms from the other social democratic factions in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

, both the Bolsheviks (

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

and

Stepan Shaumian Stepan Georgevich Shaumian (; ; 1 October 1878 – 20 September 1918) was an Armenian Bolshevik revolutionary and politician active throughout the Caucasus. His role as a leader of the Russian Revolution in the Caucasus earned him the nicknam ...

) and Mensheviks ( and

Noe Zhordania Noe Zhordania ( ka, ნოე ჟორდანია ; ; born – January 11, 1953)შველიძე დ., საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკა (1918–1921): ენციკ� ...

). Ahead of the

3rd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party The 3rd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was held during 25 April – 10 May

2–27 April Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

1905 in London, UK. The Menshevik Central Committee had voted against calling the Congress on 7 ...

in 1905, both the Menshevik leader Zhordania and the Bolshevik leader

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

argued against a union with S.D.B.H.K. Lenin referred to the group as a 'bundist creature'. Following the defeat of the

Russian Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, t ...

, the S.D.B.H.K. had local units in Baku, Tiflis, Batumi and

Shusha Shusha (, ) or Shushi () is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet Union, Soviet ...

. During 1906-1907 the S.D.B.H.K. published ''Kiank'' ('Life') and, later, ''Dzayn'' ('Voice') as its Tiflis organs. Later Specifist organs included ''Banvor'' ('Worker') published in Baku in 1907 (revived in 1917), ''Gorts'' ('Work') in Tiflis in 1908; ''Nor kiank'' ('New Life') in Baku 1911-1912, ''Garun'' ('Spring') in Moscow irregularly 1910-1912 and ''Mer ughin'' ('Our Way') published in Baku in 1912. By 1910-1911 the organization had been largely suppressed by the Russian government. Following the 1917

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

, the supported the Provisional Government of Russia. It opposed any reduction of the war effort. In the summer of 1917 the S.D.B.H.K. merged with the

Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Mensheviks) The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Mensheviks), later renamed the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (United), was a political party in Russia. It emerged in 1912 as the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was divided into two, ...

and the General Jewish Labour Bund to create a united Social Democratic organization in Baku. In the independent

First Republic of Armenia The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia, was an independent History of Armenia, Armenian state that existed from May (28th ''de jure'', 30th ''de facto'') 1918 to 2 December 1920 in ...

(19181920), Davit Ananun and other Specifists founded the Social-Democratic Labour Party of Armenia as an opposition party. It was dissolved following the establishment of Soviet rule in Armenia. Whilst the Specifists never gained a broad mass following, the Specifist tendency continued to be active in the Communist Party of Armenia well into the Soviet period. A number of former members of the S.D.B.H.K. held prominent positions in the government of the

Armenian SSR The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (ArSSR), also known as Soviet Armenia, or simply Armenia, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union, located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Soviet Armenia bordered the Soviet republics ...

, such as

Alexander Miasnikian Alexander Fyodori Miasnikian or Myasnikov (28 January February1886 – 22 March 1925), also known by his revolutionary ''nom de guerre'' Martuni, was an Armenian Bolshevik revolutionary, military leader and politician. During the Russian Civi ...

and

Ashot Hovhannisian Ashot Garegini Hovhannisian (; , ''Ashot Gareginovich Ioannisyan''; June 17, 1887June 30, 1972) was an Armenian Marxist historian, theorist and Communist official. Life and career Early life Hovhannisian was born on 17 June 1887 in the city Shush ...

․

References

{{Armenian political parties 1903 establishments in the Russian Empire 1917 disestablishments in Russia Defunct socialist parties in Asia Defunct socialist parties in Europe Factions of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party Political parties disestablished in 1917 Political parties established in 1903 Political parties of minorities in Imperial Russia Political parties of the Russian Revolution Russian Social Democratic Labour Party

History

See also

References