The Council of People's Commissars of Azerbaijan () was established as the governing body of the

Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, also referred to as the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, Azerbaijani SSR, AzSSR, Soviet Azerbaijan or simply Azerbaijan, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent re ...

. Accounts differ as to whether it was formed on 28 April 1920 (Mil'man and Guliev) or at the First All-Azerbaijan Congress of Soviets, 6-19 May (Kharmandarian). The 11th Red Army had moved into north Azerbaijan following the defeat of General

Anton Denikin Anton Ivanovich Denikin (, ; – 7 August 1947) was a Russian military leader who served as the Supreme Ruler of Russia, acting supreme ruler of the Russian State and the commander-in-chief of the White movement–aligned armed forces of Sout ...

Volunteer Army The Volunteer Army (; ), abbreviated to (), also known as the Southern White Army was a White Army active in South Russia during the Russian Civil War from 1917 to 1920. The Volunteer Army fought against Bolsheviks and the Makhnovists on the ...

. The Baku Bureau of Kavkraikom (the Caucasian Regional Committee) of the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik) had held a joint meeting with the

Communist Party of Azerbaijan The Azerbaijan Communist Party (; ) was the ruling political party in the Azerbaijan SSR, making it effectively a branch of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It was formed on 20 February 1920, when the Muslim Social Democratic Party, ...

on 27 April at which they formed the Azerbaijan Revolutionary Committee (Azrevkom). This new body issued an ultimatum to the government of the

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (), also known as the Azerbaijan People's Republic (; ), was the first secular democracy, democratic republic in the Turkic peoples, Turkic and Muslim worlds. *Tadeusz Swietochowski. ''Russia and Azerbaijan: ...

, who immediately surrendered: The Red Army had sent an armoured train directly to Baku which arrived on 28 April.Zeynaloğlu C. (1992) ''Müxtəsər Azərbaycan tarixi'', 1992, p.142 The terms of the surrender passed lawful power to Azrevkom, to whom several key figures had been appointed in their absence. In particular

Nariman Narimanov Nariman Karbalayi Najaf oghlu Narimanov (, ; – 19 March 1925) was an Azerbaijanis, Azerbaijani Bolsheviks, Bolshevik revolutionary, writer, publicist, politician and statesman. For just over one year, beginning in May 1920, Narimanov headed th ...

was absent having travelled to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

to see

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

and

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

and only arrived in Baku on 16 May. Thus although he was declared the chairperson of the AzSovnarkom, this was a role he could only truly assume when he arrived in the middle of the First All-Azerbaijan Congress of Soviets. The senior Bolsheviks responsible for stage managing the foundation of the AzSovnarkom were

Sergei Kirov Sergei Mironovich Kirov (born Kostrikov; 27 March 1886 – 1 December 1934) was a Russian and Soviet politician and Bolsheviks, Bolshevik revolutionary. Kirov was an early revolutionary in the Russian Empire and a member of the Bolshevik faction ...

and

Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze Sergo Konstantinovich Ordzhonikidze, ; (born Grigol Konstantines dze Orjonikidze; 18 February 1937) was an Old Bolshevik and a Soviet statesman. Born and raised in Georgia, in the Russian Empire, Ordzhonikidze joined the Bolsheviks at an e ...

Original membership of AzSovnarkom

Established 28 April 1920: *

Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars * Chingiz Ildyrym, People's Commissar of Naval Affairs * Hamid Sultanov,Декреты Азревкома 1920-1921 гг: сборник документов. Azerbaijan State Publ., 1988; p. 428. People's Commissar of Internal Affairs * Aliheydar Garayev, People's Commissar of Labor and Justice *

Gazanfar Musabekov Gazanfar Mahmud oghlu Musabeyov or Musabekov (, , – 9 February 1938) was an Azerbaijani Bolshevik revolutionary and Soviet statesman. He was Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Azerbaijan SSR from 1929 to 1931, and he headed t ...

, People's Commissar of Agriculture, Commerce, Industry and Food *

Mirza Davud Huseynov Mirza Davud Baghir oghlu Huseynov (, , ; Russian: ), also spelled Husseynov or Huseinov (March 1894 – March 21, 1938), was an Azerbaijani revolutionary and statesman. Early life Huseynov was born in a religious family in March 1894 in Baku. H ...

, People's Commissar of Finance * Samad aga Agamalioglu * Dadash Bunyadzade, People's Commissar of Education and State Control * Cemil bey Vezirov, People's Commissar of Posts, Telegraphs and Communications *

Ağahüseyn Kazımov Ağahüseyn Kazımov (1892–1937) joined the Council of People's Commissars of Azerbaijan as the People's Commissar's deputy for Health in Azerbaijan following the establishment of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic The Azerbaijan Sovie ...

People’s Commissar of Health

Later development

On 28 November 28,

Movsum Kadyrli Movsum Nadzhmetdinovich Kadyrli (1893-1937) was an Azerbaijani revolutionary active in the Communist Party of Azerbaijan. He was also known as Israfilbekov. On 28 November 1921, Movsum Kadyrli was joined the Council of People's Commissars of Azer ...

was appointed People’s Commissar of Health of the AzSSR. He held this position until January 21, 1935.

References

{{reflist 1920s in Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic Council of People's Commissars 1920 establishments in Azerbaijan