Gandzha Rebellion of 1920

a counterrevolutionary uprising of the Musavatists in Gandzha (now Kirovabad) aimed at the overthrow of Soviet power, established in Azerbaijan on Apr. 28. 1920. The Gandzha uprising was to serve as a signal for insurrection throughout Azerbaijan. The rebels were supported by the Georgian Mensheviks and Armenian Dashnaks, as well as the Entente. Among the organizers of the rebellion were Nuri Pasha, the commander of the Turkish occupation troops in the Caucasus, and General D. Shikhlinskii. On May 26 the rebels took over the Muslim part of Gandzha, disarmed units of the 20th Infantry Division stationed there, and tried to take the railroad station. They numbered about 10,000–12,000 and had three artillery batteries. Units of the 11th Red Army were sent to Gandzha to put an end to the rebellion. B. Efendiev and G. Sultanov were sent as special commissars to Gandzha by the government of the Azerbaijan SSR. On May 31 the Red Army units, together with working people of the city, suppressed the rebellion.