| Red Kurdistan Курдистанский уезд, Kôrdistana Sor |
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| Motto Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Translit.: Proletarii vsekh stran, soyedinyaytes'!) English: Workers of the world, unite! |
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| Anthem The Internationale |
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| Capital | Laçîn | |||
| Language(s) | Kurdish language[1] | |||
| Religion | State atheism | |||
| Government | Soviet administrative unit | |||
| Historical era | Interwar period | |||
| - Established | 1923 | |||
| - Disestablished | 1929 | |||
| Currency | Soviet ruble (руб) (SUR) | |||
Kurdistan Uyezd (Azerbaijani: Kürdüstan qəzası[2], Russian: Курдистанский уезд Kurdistanskij Uezd), also known colloquially as Red Kurdistan (Azerbaijani: Qızıl Kürdistan; Kurdish: Кöрдьстана Сор / Kôrdistana Sor; Russian: Красный Курдистан Krasniy Kurdistan) was a Soviet administrative unit that existed for six years from 1923 to 1929.[3] Its capital was Lachin (Laçın in Kurdish).
The presence of Kurds in today's Azerbaijan dated back to the 9th century. The area between Karabakh and Zangezur became inhabited by nomadic Kurdish tribes in the 18th century. Eventually, this population became the majority in most parts of the region, particularly around Lachin, Kalbajar (Kelbajar in Kurdish), and Qubadli (Qûbadlî in Kurdish).
Although commonly referred to as an okrug or an Autonomous Oblast, Red Kurdistan was neither. It was an uyezd, a typical administrative unit much like any other in Azerbaijan, with no greater level of autonomy than any other uyezd. According to other sources, status of Kurdistan Uyezd was different than status of other administrative units of Azerbaijan and it enjojed a certain level of autonomy. [4] [5] [6] Kurdistan was created by the Soviet authorities to attract sympathies of Kurdish people in neighboring Iran and Turkey and take advantage of Kurdish movements in those countries. It was established on July 7, 1923, under the official name "Kurdistan Uyezd". The majority of Kurds in the region were Shi'a, unlike the Sunni Kurds of Nakhchivan (Sadarak, Teyvaz) and other areas of the Middle East. Azeri authorities included them in their Azerification campaign, which resulted in the loss of first-language speech and identity. At the 1926 census, uyezd had a total population of 51,426 people, ethnic Kurds constituted 72.3% or 37182 people .
On April 8, 1929, the Kurdistan Uyezd was dissolved. On May 30, 1930, a Kurdistan Okrug was founded instead. Okrug included the territory of former uyezd and also entire Zangilan raion and part of Jabrayil raion. However, due to the protests of Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was concerned that open support of Kurdish movement could damage the relations with Turkey and Iran, the okrug was liquidated on July 23, 1930. In late 1930s Soviet authorities deported most of the Kurdish population of Azerbaijan and Armenia to Kazakhstan, and Kurds of Georgia also became victims of Stalin’s purges in 1944.[7] Starting from 1961, there were efforts by deportees for the restoration of their rights, spearheaded by Mehmet Babayev who lived in Baku, which proved to be futile.[8]
In 1992, after the capture of Lachin by Armenian forces during the Nagorno-Karabakh war, the Lachin Kurdish Republic was declared in Armenia by a group of Kurds led by Wekîl Mustafayev. However, since most of the area's Kurdish population had fled along with the ethnic Azeris and had found refuge in other regions of Azerbaijan, this attempt failed. Mustafayev later took refuge in Italy.
