The 'Pasture Issue' between Soviet Armenia and Azerbaijan

• In Event: Bordering Practices and Border Crossings in the Late Imperial and Early Soviet Caucasus

Abstract

The conflicts between the sedentary Armenian and the non-sedentary Turkish-speaking population on land use in the 1920s and 1930s, the so-called pasture issue, serves as a starting point to analyze modernization strategies in the early Soviet state. The presentation sheds light on conflict management in a region often neglected by research. After numerous attempts for arbitration had failed, the Transcaucasian institutions agreed to expel nomads from pastures in Armenia during collectivization. The (semi-)nomads lost their position as protégées of the Communist Party and became outcasts. Due to specific regional factors, the outcome of the collectivization was not as disastrous as in Kazakhstan or Ukraine. Nevertheless, the Soviet modernization in the region ended up in a forced segregation of communities alongside national lines. Today, the long-term consequences of these policies still contribute to the destabilization of the region.

Author

• Stephan Rindlisbacher, European U Viadrina (Germany)