A Region Out of Step with Europe’s “Interwar” Period

The Caucasus region defies conventional European historical periodization. While Western Europe experienced a clear “interwar” period between 1918-1939, the Caucasus witnessed continuous conflict. World War I’s aftermath lingered through regional civil wars, and World War II arrived differently here than in Europe’s battlefields. When Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, the Caucasus became both frontline and rear base – never fully occupied but transformed into a crucial Soviet southern bulwark during 1942’s darkest hours. The three South Caucasus republics suffered 200,000-300,000 military and civilian deaths each, comparable to other Soviet republics though far below Ukraine, Belarus and Russia’s staggering losses.

The “Strange War” of Ambiguous Alliances

From the Caucasus perspective, World War II featured peculiar geopolitical dynamics. Turkey maintained an opportunistic neutrality, oscillating between Nazi and Soviet sympathies as battlefield fortunes shifted. Iran relived World War I scenarios when British and Soviet forces jointly occupied it in August 1941 to prevent Axis alignment. These tensions stemmed from 1930s diplomatic deterioration, exacerbated by revelations like Armenian Cheka officer Georgy Agabekov’s 1930 defection exposing extensive Soviet spy networks in Turkey and Iran. The Caucasus borderlands gradually closed, transforming regional character and residents’ prospects.

Economic Decline and Vanishing Cosmopolitanism

Observers in the early 1930s noted alarming trends. Swiss traveler Ella Maillart, expecting a “thousand-and-one-nights bazaar” in Batumi, found economic stagnation instead. By 1934, Italy’s Tbilisi consul reported Baku’s decline as a transit hub for Persia and Central Asia. This resulted from the 1929 crisis devastating Turkey and Iran, compounded by crashing agricultural prices. The Caucasus isthmus ports faded as cross-border commerce evaporated.

Foreign communities dwindled amid Soviet nationalization. The February 6, 1930 closure of Baku’s trade fair symbolized this shift. Persian merchants were forcibly evicted from Baku storefronts by Azerbaijani authorities. Police harassment and confiscatory taxes drove out most remaining Turks, Persians and Greeks. By 1932-33, nearly 20,000 Persian citizens left Soviet Caucasus, with Tbilisi’s Persian community shrinking to 6,000. Traditional labor migration patterns ceased without top-level approval.

Stalin’s Homogenizing Terror

The 1937-38 Great Purge particularly targeted Caucasus elites. In Georgia alone, nearly 25,000 fell victim – 10,900 executed, 13,300 sent to camps. Lavrentiy Beria oversaw these operations before becoming NKVD chief. Azerbaijani political and intellectual elites were decimated as “pan-Turkists.” Borderland minorities faced deportations justified as security measures. Abkhaz and Adjara autonomous region elites endured show trials, with Adjara’s Turkic-speaking Muslims forcibly relocated to Central Asia.

Simultaneously, mass roundups expelled foreigners and stateless persons. By January 1938, NKVD operations arrested nearly 40,000 Iranian citizens and ethnic Armenians from Iran in Soviet Azerbaijan alone – given the choice of retaining Iranian citizenship (and expulsion) or accepting Soviet citizenship (and Central Asian exile). From spring 1938, thousands passed through Julfa and Astara transit points. Turkey’s milder response still saw hundreds detained in Batumi and Sukhumi awaiting deportation.

The Caucasus as War Front and Rear (1941-43)

After Germany’s 1941 invasion, the Caucasus became strategically vital. Baku’s oil fields produced 71% of Soviet petroleum. Stalin warned regional leaders on July 4, 1941 about their precarious position despite distance from frontlines. By 1942, with German forces advancing southward, the Caucasus faced existential threat. Operation Edelweiss aimed to seize the region, with mountain troops crossing passes.

Beria arrived in August 1942 to reorganize defenses. Martial law was declared September 9, with civilians mobilized to build fortifications. A September 23 Tbilisi anti-fascist rally showcased cross-ethnic unity, featuring Azerbaijani poet Samed Vurgun, Georgian writer Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, and Armenian orientalist Joseph Orbeli. Soviet propaganda revived historical resistance narratives against foreign invaders while cautiously restoring religious institutions – both churches and a 1944 Baku-based Islamic spiritual administration.

Iran’s Strategic Role and Soviet Manipulation

The 1941 Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran created a buffer zone. Soviet forces systematically confiscated German property in northern Iran, shipping it to Baku. By January 1942, Tabriz’s 200,000 residents faced famine, darkly joking “anti-fascism is the new bread.” Soviet political operatives cultivated local allies, helping establish the Tudeh Party in September 1941. They also exploited minority grievances – Kurds and Azerbaijanis oppressed by Reza Shah’s assimilation policies. A Kurdish revival society formed in Mahabad by August 1942, while Azerbaijani leader Mir Jafar Baghirov dispatched operatives to Iranian Azerbaijan.

Cold War Fault Lines Emerge (1945-46)

Postwar tensions erupted over two crises presaging the Cold War. Against Turkey, Stalin demanded revised Montreux Convention terms for the Straits and border adjustments citing 1921 treaty “injustices.” Georgian scholars publicly claimed historic rights to Black Sea territories. A May 30, 1945 bridge explosion closed the Turkish-Armenian border crossing, while Soviet plane intrusions provoked incidents.

In Iran, the September 1945 creation of the Azerbaijani Democratic Party under Ja’far Pishevari (a former communist prisoner) launched an autonomy movement with Soviet backing. Simultaneously, a Kurdish republic formed in Mahabad. However, Stalin sacrificed these proxies for oil concessions – a May 1946 Soviet-Iranian agreement traded withdrawal for northern oil rights. Abandoned, both movements collapsed by December 1946, their leaders fleeing or executed.

Legacy: The Caucasus as Cold War Birthplace

These 1945-46 crises marked early Cold War confrontation. Turkey and Iran’s subsequent alignment with the U.S. informed the 1947 Truman Doctrine. The Caucasus’ strategic importance persisted through the 1960s as a enduring flashpoint between superpowers, its wartime experiences shaping decades of geopolitical struggle.