Stepan Georgevich Shaumian (; , ''Step’an Ge'vorgi Shahumyan''; 1 October 1878 – 20 September 1918) was a

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

revolutionary and politician active throughout the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

. Arzumanyan, M. Շահումյան, Ստեփան Գևորգի. "Yerevan, Armenian SSR, vol. viii", ''The Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia'', 1982, pp. 431–34 Shahumyan was an ethnic

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 across the ...

and his role as a leader of the Russian revolution in the Caucasus earned him the nickname of the "Caucasian Lenin", a reference to the leader of the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

. The founder and editor of several newspapers and journals, Shaumian is best known as the head of the

Baku Commune Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...

, a short lived committee appointed by Lenin in March 1918 with the task of leading the revolution in the Caucasus and

West Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes A ...

. His tenure as leader of the Baku Commune was marred with numerous problems including ethnic violence between Baku's Armenian and

Azerbaijani Azerbaijani may refer to: * Something of, or related to Azerbaijan * Azerbaijanis * Azerbaijani language See also * Azerbaijan (disambiguation) * Azeri (disambiguation) * Azerbaijani cuisine * Culture of Azerbaijan The culture of Azerbaijan ...

populations, attempting to defend the city against an advancing

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities ...

army, all the while attempting to spread the cause of the revolution throughout the region. Unlike many of the other Bolsheviks at the time however, he preferred to resolve many of the conflicts he faced peacefully, rather than with force and

terror Terror(s) or The Terror may refer to: Politics * Reign of Terror, commonly known as The Terror, a period of violence (1793–1794) after the onset of the French Revolution * Terror (politics), a policy of political repression and violence Emoti ...

. Shaumian was known by various aliases, including "Suren", "Surenin" and “Ayaks". As the Baku Commune was voted out of power in July 1918, he and his followers, known as the

26 Baku Commissars The 26 Baku Commissars were Bolshevik and Left Socialist Revolutionary (SR) members of the Baku Commune. The commune was established in the city of Baku, which was then the capital of the briefly independent Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, an ...

abandoned the city, fleeing across the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad s ...

. He and the rest of the Commissars were captured and executed by anti-Bolshevik forces on 20 September 1918.

Early life

Stepan Gevorgi Shaumian was born in

Tiflis, Georgia Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

, then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

, to a family of

cloth merchants. He became involved in revolutionary politics as a student in Tiflis (

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

). He graduated in 1898, and entered the Riga Polytechnic Institute, but left when his family ran into financial difficulties, and found work as a proof reader. In 1899, he formed Armenia's first Marxist group, in a village near

Stepanavan Stepanavan ( hy, Ստեփանավան), is a town and municipal community in the Lori Province of Armenia. It is located 139 km north of the capital Yerevan and 24 km north of the provincial centre Vanadzor, halfway between Yerevan and T ...

. He returned to Riga in 1900, and joined the Russian Social Democratic Party (RSDLP), but in 1901, he was expelled, arrested, and exiled back to

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

Revolutionary beginnings

In spring 1902, Shaumyan enrolled in the philosophy department of

Humboldt University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (german: link=no, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public university, public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established ...

, from which he graduated in 1905. In Europe, he met with such exiles from the Russian Empire as

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

Julius Martov Julius Martov or L. Martov (Ма́ртов; born Yuliy Osipovich Tsederbaum; 24 November 1873 – 4 April 1923) was a politician and revolutionary who became the leader of the Mensheviks in early 20th-century Russia. He was arguably the close ...

and

Georgi Plekhanov Georgi Valentinovich Plekhanov (; rus, Гео́ргий Валенти́нович Плеха́нов, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj vəlʲɪnˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ plʲɪˈxanəf, a=Ru-Georgi Plekhanov-JermyRei.ogg; – 30 May 1918) was a Russian revoluti ...

, and was present at the

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

, in London, at which the party split into factions, and Shaumyan sided with

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

. Shaumyan returned to Tiflis in 1904, obtained a job as a teacher, while working illicitly as a Bolshevik organiser. of the Bolshand became a teacher, and the leader of local Social Democrats in Tiflis, as well as a prolific writer of Marxist literature. By 1907 he had moved to Baku to head up the significant Bolshevik movement in the city.

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

, then known as 'Koba' was also based in Baku. They clashed. Shaumian was arrested on May Day, 1909, but was released after his employer interceded on his behalf, and accused 'Koba' of being a police agent, as the only person who had known the address of the safe house where he had been hiding. This accusation against Stalin was never proved, and Shaumian apparently accepted his denials, because they continued to collaborate. In 1914, Shaumian led the

general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coa ...

in Baku. The strike was crushed by Imperial Army and Shaumian was arrested and sent to prison. He escaped just as the February Revolution of 1917 was beginning.

The Baku Commune

Early problems

Following the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

(which was centred in Saint Petersburg/Petrograd and

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, and thus had little effect on Baku), Shaumian was made

Commissar Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English transliteration of the Russian (''komissar''), which means ' commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet and ...

Extraordinary for the

and Chairman of the Baku Council of

People's Commissar Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English language, English transliteration of the Russian language, Russian (''komissar''), which means 'commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the pol ...

s. The government of the

consisted of an alliance of Bolsheviks,

Left Socialist-Revolutionaries The Party of Left Socialist-Revolutionaries (russian: Партия левых социалистов-революционеров-интернационалистов) was a revolutionary socialist political party formed during the Russian Revo ...

Menshevik The Mensheviks (russian: меньшевики́, from меньшинство 'minority') were one of the three dominant factions in the Russian socialist movement, the others being the Bolsheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries. The factions eme ...

s and

Dashnaks The Armenian Revolutionary Federation ( hy, Հայ Յեղափոխական Դաշնակցութիւն, ՀՅԴ ( classical spelling), abbr. ARF or ARF-D) also known as Dashnaktsutyun (collectively referred to as Dashnaks for short), is an Armenia ...

. In

March 1918 The following events occurred in March 1918: March 1, 1918 (Friday) * Soviet–Ukrainian War – Ukrainian military commander Symon Petliura, with support from the Central Powers, pushed Russian Soviet forces out of Kiev. * Former pres ...

the leaders of Baku Commune disarmed a group of Azerbaijani soldiers, who came to Baku from

Lenkoran Lankaran ( az, Lənkəran, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, on the coast of the Caspian Sea, near the southern border with Iran. As of 2021, the city had a population of 89,300. It is next to, but independent of, Lankaran District. The city forms a dis ...

on the ship called ''Evelina'' to attend the funeral of Mamed Taghiyev, son of the millionaire

Zeynalabdin Taghiyev , image = Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev.jpg , image_size = 250px , caption = , birth_date = 25 January 1823 Michael Smith, ''Azerbaijan and Russia: Society and State: Traumatic Loss and Azerbaijani National Memory''
/ref> In response, a huge crowd gathered in the yard of one of the Baku mosques and adopted a resolution demanding the release of the rifles confiscated by the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

from the crew of the ''Evelina''. The Azerbaijani Bolshevik organization Hümmet attempted to mediate the dispute by proposing that the arms were taken from the Savage Division to be transferred to the custody of Hümmet. Shaumian agreed to this proposal. But on the afternoon of 31 March, when Muslim representatives appeared before the Baku Soviet leadership to take the arms, shots were already heard in the city and the Soviet commissar

Prokofy Dzhaparidze Prokofy "Alyosha" Aprasionovich Dzhaparidze or Japaridze, ( ka, პროკოფი აპრასიონის ძე ჯაფარიძე, russian: Прокофий Апрасионович Джапаридзе; 15 January 1880 – 20 ...

refused to provide arms and informed the Hümmet leadership that "Musavat had launched a political war". While it was not established who fired the first shot, the Baku Commune leaders accused the Muslims of starting the hostilities, and with the support of Dashnak forces attacked the Muslim quarters: Stepan Shaumyan-1

On the morning of 1 April 1918, the Committee of Revolutionary Defense of the Baku Soviet issued a leaflet with the message: Bolsheviks had only about 6,000 loyal troops, and they were forced to seek support from either Muslim Musavat or Armenian Dashnaktsutyun. Shaumian, himself an Armenian, chose the latter. Shaumian considered the March events to be a triumph of the Soviet power in the Caucasus: According to

Firuz Kazemzadeh Firuz Kazemzadeh ( fa, فیروز کاظم‌زاده; October 27, 1924 – May 17, 2017) was a Russian-born American historian who was professor emeritus of history at Yale University. Biography Firuz Kazemzadeh was born in Moscow to an Iranian f ...

, the Baku Soviet provoked the March events to eliminate its most formidable rival: the Musavat. However, when Soviet leaders reached out to ARF for assistance against the Azerbaijani nationalists, the conflict degenerated into a massacre with the Armenians killing the Muslims irrespective of their political affiliations or social and economic position. Estimates of the number of Azerbaijanis and other Muslims massacred in Baku and surrounding regions range between 3,000 and 12,000. The Committee of Revolutionary Defense issued another proclamation early in April 1918, which insisted on an anti-Soviet character of the rebellion and blamed

Musavat The Müsavat Party ( az, Müsavat Partiyası, from ar, مساواة ''musāwāt'', ) is the oldest existing political party in Azerbaijan. Its history can be divided into three periods: Early Musavat, Musavat-in-exile and New Musavat. Early Musa ...

and its leadership for the events. The Soviet's statement asserted that there was a carefully laid out plot by

to overthrow the Baku Soviet and to establish its own regime: Stepan Shaumyan-2

Less than six months later, in September 1918,

Nuri Pasha Nuri Killigil, also known as Nuri Pasha (1889–1949) was an Ottoman general in the Ottoman Army. He was the half-brother of Ottoman Minister of War, Enver Pasha. Military career Libya Infantry Machine-Gun Captain Nuri Efendi was sent t ...

Ottoman Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...

-led Army of Islam, supported by local Azeri forces, recaptured Baku and subsequently killed an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 ethnic Armenians.Michael P. Croissant, ''The Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict: Causes and Implications''. New York: Praeger, 1998, pp. 14–15 The Bolsheviks clashed with Dashnaks and Mensheviks over the involvement of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

forces, which the latter two welcomed. In either case, Shaumian was under direct orders from Moscow to refuse aid offered by the British. However, he understood the consequences of not accepting British aid, including a further massacre of Armenians by the Turks. Major Ranald MacDonell, a seasoned diplomat and the British

vice-consul A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

of Baku, was tasked by his superiors to persuade Shaumian to reconsider British support.Hopkirk. ''On Secret Service'', p. 305

Coup plots

In mid-summer, MacDonell personally visited Shaumian's home in Baku and the two discussed the issue of British military involvement in a generally amiable conversation. Shaumian first raised the spectre of what British involvement would entail: "Is your General Dunsterville

he head of the military force awaiting orders to enter Baku He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

coming to Baku to turn us out?" MacDonell reassured him that Dunsterville, being a member of the military, was not claiming any political stake in the conflict but was merely interested in helping him defend the city. Unconvinced, Shaumian replied, "And you really believe that a British general and a Bolshevik commissar would make good partners....No! We will organise our own force to fight the Turk." Shaumian was under the impression that the Bolsheviks would soon be sending reinforcements from the Caspian Sea to assist him, although that prospect remained highly unlikely. He had sent numerous telegrams to Moscow extolling the fighting abilities of his Armenian units but warned that they too, would soon be unable to halt the advance of Enver's army. With this, MacDonell's and Shaumian's conversation ended with the possibility of accepting British aid in exchange for complete Bolshevik control over the military force, terms the British could not immediately accept. Relations between the Baku Commune and the British soon reached a turning point when Britain decided to reverse its support for Bolsheviks. Shaumian's intransigence had cost him their support, MacDonell was told by a British officer: "the new policy of the British and French governments was to support the anti-Bolshevik forces....It mattered little whether they were Tsarist or Social Revolutionary."

Hopkirk, Peter Peter Stuart Hopkirk (15 December 1930 – 22 August 2014) was a British journalist, author and historian who wrote six books about the British Empire, Russia and Central Asia. Biography Peter Hopkirk was born in Nottingham, the son of Frank St ...

. ''On Secret Service East of Constantinople: The Plot to Bring Down the British Empire'', Oxford University Press, 2001; , pp 304–5, 322 Over the previous days, numerous people had visited MacDonell, pleading for a withdrawal of British support for Shaumian. Many claimed to be former Tsarist officers offering their service to rise against the Bolsheviks, though MacDonell reportedly suspected them to have been agents working on behalf of the Bolsheviks.

Expulsion

On 26 July 1918, the Bolsheviks were outvoted 259-236 in the Baku Soviet. Shaumian's support had eroded and many of his key supporters abandoned him. Angered with the outcome of the vote, he announced that his party would withdraw from the Soviet and Baku itself: "With pain in our hearts and curses on our lips, we who had come here to die for the Soviet regime are forced to leave." A new government headed primarily by Russians, known as

Central Caspian Dictatorship The Centro-Caspian Dictatorship, also known as the Central-Caspian Dictatorship (russian: Диктатура Центрокаспия, ''Diktatura Tsentrokaspiya'') ( Azerbaijani: Sentrokaspi Diktaturası), was a short-lived anti-Soviet administ ...

(''Diktatura Tsentrokaspiya'') was formed, as British forces under General

Lionel Dunsterville Major General Lionel Charles Dunsterville, (9 November 1865 – 18 March 1946) was a British Army officer, who led Dunsterforce across present-day Iraq and Iran towards the Caucasus and Baku during the First World War. Early life Lionel Charl ...

occupied Baku the same day.

Arrest and death

The Soviet Union 1968 CPA 3666 stamp (One of 26 Baku Commissars Stepan Shahumyan (1878–1918))

On 31 July 1918, the

attempted the evacuation of Bolshevik armed troops by sailing over the Caspian Sea to

Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of ...

, but the ships were captured on 16 August by the military vessels of the

. The Commissars were arrested and placed in Baku prison. On 28 August, Shaumian and his comrades were elected ''

in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in abse ...

'' to the Baku Soviet. On 14 September, amidst the confusion as Baku fell to Turkish forces, Shaumian and his fellow commissars either escaped or were released. In the most widely accepted version of events a group of Bolsheviks headed by

Anastas Mikoyan Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan (; russian: Анаста́с Ива́нович Микоя́н; hy, Անաստաս Հովհաննեսի Միկոյան; 25 November 1895 – 21 October 1978) was an Armenian Communist revolutionary, Old Bolshevik an ...

broke into the prison and released Shaumian. He and the other commissars then boarded a ship to Krasnovodsk, where upon arrival he was promptly arrested by anti-Bolshevik elements led by their commandant, Kuhn. Kuhn then requested further orders from the "Ashkhabad Committee", led by the Socialist Revolutionary

Fyodor Funtikov Fyodor Adrianovich Funtikov (Russian: Фёдор Адриа́нович Фу́нтиков; 1875/76 – 5 May 1926) was Chairman of Provisional Executive Committee of the Transcaspian Region Soviet during the period July 1918 – Jan 1919. He was ...

, about what should be done with them. Three days later, the British Major-General

Wilfrid Malleson Major-General Sir Wilfrid Malleson (8 September 1866 – 24 January 1946) was a major-general in the British Indian Army who led a mission to Turkestan during the Russian Civil War. Life Malleson born in Baldersby, Yorkshire. was commission ...

, on hearing of their arrest, contacted Britain's liaison-officer in

Ashgabat Ashgabat or Asgabat ( tk, Aşgabat, ; fa, عشق‌آباد, translit='Ešqābād, formerly named Poltoratsk ( rus, Полтора́цк, p=pəltɐˈratsk) between 1919 and 1927), is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies ...

, Captain

Reginald Teague-Jones Reginald Teague-Jones MBE (30 July 1889 – 16 November 1988) was a British political and intelligence officer. He was active in the Caucasus and Central Asia during the Russian Civil War. For the last 66 years of his life he was known as Ronald ...

, to suggest that the commissars be handed over to British forces in

Meshed Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of Razavi Khorasan Province and has a po ...

to be used as hostages in exchange for British citizens held by the Soviets. That same day, Teague-Jones attended the Committee's meeting in Ashgabat, which had the task of deciding the fate of the Commissars. For some reason Teague-Jones did not communicate Malleson's request to the Committee, and later claimed he left before a decision was made and did not discover until the following day that the committee had eventually decided to issue orders that the commissars should be executed. On the night of 20 September, Shaumian and the others were executed by a firing squad in a remote location between the stations of Pereval and Akhcha-Kuyma on the

Trans-Caspian railway The Trans-Caspian Railway (also called the Central Asian Railway, russian: Среднеазиатская железная дорога) is a railway that follows the path of the Silk Road through much of western Central Asia. It was built by ...

. In 1956, the ''

Observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Computer science and information theory * In information theory, any system which receives information from an object * State observer in co ...

'' published a letter written by a British staff officer who recounted a conversation he had had with Malleson, stricken with

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or deat ...

at the time, on what was to be done to the commissars. Malleson replied that since the matter did not involve the British, they should not concern themselves with the issue. The telegram that was sent told the authorities holding the commissars to dispose of them "as they sought fit." Nevertheless, Malleson expressed his horror when he learned upon the ultimate fate that had befallen the commissars.

Reburial

In January 2009, the Baku authorities' demolition of the

26 Commissars Memorial The 26 Baku Commissars Memorial was a Soviet-era monument located in Baku, Azerbaijan, that paid tribute to the 26 Baku Commissars from the Baku commune. The commune was overthrown in 1918 and the commissars later executed near Krasnovodsk (now T ...

commemorating the

began and was soon completed. It upset Armenia, as the Armenian public believed that reburial is motivated by the reluctance of the Azerbaijanis to have ethnic Armenians buried in the center of their capital, due to the Nagorno-Karabakh War.Azerbaijan: Outcry at Commissars' Reburial, by Magerram Zeinalov and Gegham Vardanian, IWPR, 2009
/ref> A scandal emerged when Azerbaijani press reported that only 21 bodies were found buried in the park, as "Shaumian and four other Armenian commissars managed to escape their murderers". It was denied by Shaumian's granddaughter Tatiana, now living in

, who told the Russian daily ''

Kommersant ''Kommersant'' (russian: Коммерсантъ, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russi ...

'' it was nonsense:

It is impossible to believe that they weren't all buried. There is a film in the archives of 26 bodies being buried. Apart from this, my grandmother was present at the reburial.

Legacy

Following Shaumian's death, the Soviet government depicted him as a fallen hero of the Russian revolution. Shaumian's close relationship with Lenin also exacerbated the already heightened tensions between the British and the Soviets, who placed much of the blame on the British in complicity in the massacre.

"And today we say with pride and love, that the great son of Armenian people Stepan is also the son of Azerbaijani people, all people of Transcaucasia, all multinational and united Soviet people". ''
Heydar Aliyev Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev ( az, Һејдәр Әлирза оғлу Әлијев, italic=no, Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev, ; , ; 10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani politician who served as the third president of Azer ...
,Алиев Г.А. «Мужественный борец за дело Ленина, за коммунизм: к 100-летию со дня рождения С.Г. Шаумяна». Баку, 1978 г., стр. 26: «И сегодня мы с гордостью и любовью говорим, что великий сын армянского народа Степан – это и сын азербайджанского народа, всех народов Закавказья, всего многонационального и единого советского народа»). the leader of
Soviet Azerbaijan Azerbaijan ( az, Азәрбајҹан, Azərbaycan, italics=no), officially the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijan SSR; az, Азәрбајҹан Совет Сосиалист Республикасы, Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist R ...
''

Throughout the Soviet Union's existence,

Khankendi / az, Xankəndi, italic=no , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = File:StepanakertCollage.jpg , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = From top left: Holy Mother ...

in the

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik, and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains. The region is mos ...

region of the Azerbaijan SSR was renamed as Stepanakert, after Shaumian. In 1992. The city of Jalaloghli in the

Armenian SSR The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...

was also renamed, in Shaumian's honor, Stepanavan, a name it has retained in

post-Soviet The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

Armenia. Streets in

Lipetsk Lipetsk ( rus, links=no, Липецк, p=ˈlʲipʲɪtsk), also romanized as Lipeck, is a city and the administrative center of Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, located on the banks of the Voronezh River in the Don basin, southeast of Moscow. Populat ...

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administrat ...

Stavropol Stavropol (; rus, Ставрополь, p=ˈstavrəpəlʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Stavropol Krai, Russia. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 547,820, making it one of Russia's fastest growing cities. It was known as ...

and

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East ...

(

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

), an avenue in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

are named in Shaumian's honour. A statue of him erected in 1931 stands in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and ...

, the capital of Armenia.

Places named after Shaumian

;Armenia * Stepanavan, Lori *

Shahumyan, Ararat Shahumyan ( hy, Շահումյան) is a village in the Artashat Municipality of the Ararat Province of Armenia. It is named after Stepan Shahumyan Stepan Georgevich Shaumian (; , ''Step’an Ge'vorgi Shahumyan''; 1 October 1878 – 20 Septe ...

Shahumyan, Armavir Shahumyan ( hy, Շահումյան) formerly known as ''Molla Dursun'', is a village in the Armavir Province of Armenia. It was renamed after Stepan Shahumyan, an Armenian Bolshevik commissar. See also *Armavir Province *Armavir, Armenia A ...

Shahumyan, Lori Shahumyan ( hy, Շահումյան) is a town in the Lori Province of Armenia. Etymology It was named ''Shahumyan'' after the Bolshevik-Armenian commander Stepan Shahumyan Stepan Georgevich Shaumian (; , ''Step’an Ge'vorgi Shahumyan' ...

* Shahumyan, Yerevan ;Azerbaijan * Goygol,

Goygol Rayon Goygol District ( az, Göygöl rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the west of the country and belongs to the Ganja-Dashkasan Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Goranboy, Kalbajar, Dashkasan, Sh ...

(formerly Shaumyan) * Aşağı Ağcakənd, Goranboy (formerly Shaumyan, a disputed area claimed by the de facto Nagorno-Karabakh Republic) * Şaumyanovka, (name changed to Məmişlər in 1992) ;Russia * Shaumyan, Krasnodar Krai * Shaumyan, Stavropol Krai ;Republic of Artsakh *

Stepanakert / az, Xankəndi, italic=no , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = File:StepanakertCollage.jpg , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = From top left: Holy Mother ...

, the capital of the de facto independent

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Artsakh controls a part of the former ...

Shahumyan Region Shahumyan Province ( hy, Շահումյան, Shahumyan, also spelled ''Shaumyan'' and ''Shahumian'') is a claimed province of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh, ''de jure'' part of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The capital of the province was Ka ...

, a disputed area including Aşağı Ağcakənd, partially outside the de facto Republic of Artsakh, in Azerbaijan ;Georgia * Shahumiani, Marneuli district, Kvemo Kartli ;Ukraine * Shaumyan, Saky Raion, Crimea

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaumian, Stepan 1878 births 1918 deaths Armenian communists Armenian revolutionaries Executed politicians Old Bolsheviks Politicians from Tbilisi People from Tiflis Governorate Russian Social Democratic Labour Party members Georgian people of Armenian descent Russian people of Armenian descent Russian communists Russian Marxists Russian revolutionaries Riga Technical University alumni People from Stepanavan Articles containing video clips Politicians from Baku