From the Minutes of the Plenary Meeting of the Caucasian Bureau of the C.C. R.C.P.(B.)

July 5, 1921

Attended by:

Member of the C.C. R.C.P. Stalin; members of the Caucasian Bureau: comrades Orjonikidze, Kirov, Nazaretian, Orakhelashvili, Figatner, Narimanov and Miasnikov; People’s Commissar of Foreign Affairs of A.S.S.R. Huseynov.

Heard:

  1. Comrades Orjonikidze and Nazaretian put forward a motion to reconsider the previous decision on Karabakh.

Decided:

  • For the sake of national peace between the Muslims and Armenians and economic ties between Upper and Lower Karabakh and its continued contacts with Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh shall remain within the Azerbaijanian S.S.R. with broad regional autonomy and its administrative center in the town of Shusha, which is part of the autonomous region.

For: 4 votes, 3 abstentions.

  • To instruct the C.C. of Azerbaijan to establish the borders of the autonomous region and present them to the Caucasian Bureau of the C.C. R.C.P. for approval.
  • To instruct the Presidium of the Caucasian Bureau of the C.C. R.C.P. to talk to the C.C. of Armenia and the C.C. of Azerbaijan about a candidate to the post of extraordinary commissar of Nagorno-Karabakh.
  • The C.C. of Azerbaijan shall outline the scope of autonomy of Nagorno-Karabakh and present it to the C.C. Caucasian Bureau for approval.

Secretary of the Caucasian Bureau of the C.C. R.C.P. Figatner.