16 Facts About Stepan Shaumian

Stepan Georgevich Shaumian was an Armenian Bolshevik revolutionary and politician active throughout the Caucasus.

The founder and editor of several newspapers and journals, Shaumian is best known as the head of the Baku Commune, a short-lived committee appointed by Lenin in March 1918 with the task of leading the revolution in the Caucasus and West Asia.

Stepan Gevorgi Shaumian was born to a family of Armenian cloth merchants in Tiflis, then part of the Russian Empire.

Stepan Shaumian's family was descended from the Shaumian line of meliks of Meghri; one of his ancestors, named Stepan Shahumian, took part in Davit Bek's rebellion in the 1720s.

Stepan Shaumian became involved in revolutionary politics as a student in Tiflis.

Stepan Shaumian graduated in 1898 and entered the Riga Polytechnic Institute, but left when his family ran into financial difficulties, and found work as a proofreader.

Stepan 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.

The strike was crushed by Imperial Army and Stepan Shaumian was arrested and sent to prison.

Stepan Shaumian escaped just as the February Revolution of 1917 was beginning.

In either case, Stepan Shaumian was under direct orders from Moscow to refuse aid offered by the British.

Major Ranald MacDonell, a seasoned diplomat and the British vice-consul of Baku, was tasked by his superiors to persuade Stepan Shaumian to reconsider British support.

Stepan 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.

Stepan Shaumian 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.

Stepan Shaumian's support had eroded and many of his key supporters abandoned him.

Stepan Shaumian was regularly praised by Party leaders in the Caucasus.

Since the Soviet dissolution, Stepan Shaumian's legacy has been affected by the impact of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.