| Transcaucasian Commissariat Закавказский Комиссариат Zakavkazskij Komissariat | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autonomous area of Russia | |||||||||
| 1917–1918 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
| Capital | Tiflis(now Tbilisi) | ||||||||
| Government | |||||||||
| • Type | Commissariat | ||||||||
| Chairman | |||||||||
• 1917–1918 | Evgeni Gegechkori | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 15 November 1917 | ||||||||
| 22 April 1918 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
TheTranscaucasian Commissariat was established atTbilisi on 15 November 1917, as the first government of the independent Transcaucasia following theOctober Revolution inPetrograd. The Commissariat decided to strengthen theGeorgian–Armenian–Azerbaijani union byconvoking aDiet or general assembly (Sejm) in January 1918.[1][2] It declared independence fromSoviet Russia and formed theTranscaucasian Democratic Federative Republic after being faced with the threat of being overrun by theOttoman invasion.[3]
Peace talks were initiated with theOttoman Empire in March 1918, but broke down quickly as the Ottoman officials refused to accept the authority of the Commissariat. TheTreaty of Brest-Litovsk, which ended Russia's involvement in theFirst World War, conceded parts of theTranscaucasus to the Ottoman Empire, who continued theirinvasion of the region in order to take control of the territory. Faced with this imminent threat, theTDFR was proclaimed as an independent state on 22 April 1918. Further negotiations began immediately with the Ottoman, which recognized the state.
