One of the main regulations of the meeting was giving some authorities to Etchmiadzin Cathedral. But before the meeting they had a discussion over an issue that could be base for the future tragedies for Caucasus region and its Azerbaijani population: territorial claim of the Soviet Union to Turkey in favor of Armenians and the repatriation of Armenians live in foreign countries to Soviet Armenia. Soviet government considered the Armenian Church as a key partner.
Later, Srbazyan who was elected VI Catholicos of All Armenians wrote in his memoirs about the meeting:
“After the discussions on Etchmiadzin Cathedral, Stalin said: “ The war will end sooon. We are going to get the Western Armenian lands back which were given to Turkey in 1920. Armenians should be settled in the very land. So, we envisage migration of thousands of Armenians to Armenia. Soon, the government will issue a decision on it. You also should help us”.
Having heard the unexpected good news I couldn’t help crying and told him: “There are a lot of orders and decrees signed by Armenian Shahs, Tsars and Sultans in the archives of the Armenian Church. We try to save them safe. We wish to see your signature among them, as an approval of your special care to Armenian population.”
After a few month, Joseph Stalin, Chairman of the Council of People`s Commissars has fulfilled Srbazyan’s desire. Such an order was signed on Nowember 21, 1945.
This was the resolution N 2947 of Council of People`s Commissars of the USSR on the measures to repatriate Armenians to Soviet Armenia. (We present the whole text of the Document, which played an important role in the fate of Azerbaijanis living in Armenia. Now, the copies of the document is preserved at the National Archive of Armenia and Archive of the Etchmiadzin Cathedral). The document reads:
“Order of the Council of People`s Commissars of the USSR adopted on the occasion of 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Soviet Government in Armenia:
The guarantee on the giving permission to Council of People`s Commissars of the USSR to organize the resettlement of Armenians living abroad and their appeal to return to the Soviet Armenia will be provided.
1. Proposal of establishing the Committee on replacement of Armenian migrants under the Council of People`s Commissars of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia.
2. Armenians returned to their homeland will be provided with the state loans (50%) for the construction of their private houses.
3. Armenian citizens returned to USSR, will be exempt from custom expenditures for the property brought by them.
In 1921-1925, 19.688 people, in 1926-1936 22.595 people were resettled to the region. The planned resettlement must be the World biggest one, either for its scale or its number. For the first phase, it was considered to resettle 360.000 Armenians.
Since 1946, the first groups of Armenians, living abroad started to flee to Armenia. The process was carried out under the strict controls.
Another document, published for the first time, is the letter of V.Dekanozov, deputy People’s Commissar of the Foreign Affairs (with his own signature) sent to the US, France and Turkey Embassies of the USSR and to the Egypt and Iraq representation offices. We present the whole text of this document, too:
“According to the order adopted on November 21, on the resettlement of Armenians in the Soviet Armenia, by the Council of People`s Commissars of the USSR, we have got lots of questions on the repatriation of Armenians to their homeland.
For this year Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia envisaged to resettle first group of Armenians from Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Syria, Lebanon and Iran. Resettlement of Armenians from the countries, Armenian colonies have already exist, such as USA, France, Egypt, Turkey and Iraq is not considered now. Considering these, all Embassies, Representations and Consulates should focus on the following issues:
a) Preparatory works should be carried out on compilation list of Armenians to be resettled. For this, it would be better to use the contribution of local Armenian Organizations.
b) First of all, it is necessary to find which group of people should be resettled at once.
c) It is necessary to support some Armenian organizations and Charity Institutions, held to collect money for the repatriation of Armenians live in abroad”.
After this letter, World Pan-Armenian Congress held in New York, on May 1947. 715 representatives from 22 countries participated at the event. One of the main issues on the agenda was the repatriation of Armenians living abroad to the Soviet Armenia.
The main defenders of the Soviet Union’s interests, was the representatives of Armenian Churches, from different parts of the World. The one who was the most responsible, was on Yakov Lomakin’s, the Consulate-General оf Russia іn New York shoulders. Registration of resettled Armenians were carried out in the Consulate-General of USSR in US.
The main adviser of Consulate-General was Hamazasp Harutyunyan, the Deputy Head of the Department of Economics of the USSR People`s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs.
So, in the years 1946-1949, 89.637 Armenians were resettled in Armenia from foreign countries. The most intensive years of resettlement are 1946 and 1947. Armenian SSR skillfully misused this situation. By excusing the hardness of resettlement of Armenians from abroad, Grigory Arutinov, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Armenian SSR, offered to resettle hundred thousand of Armenian people to Azerbaijan.
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