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door, heard two shots and saw him falling down dead. The same very
day, four Armenians came with a wish to kill me, however, after I paid
them off 4 thousand rubles, they left. A while after another group of
people came asking for money and threatening me with death. I gave
them another 3 thousand rubles. Finally, two more persons arrived to
grab my last thousand rubles.
Two days later, I got to know that my sister had been murdered.
I did not leave home that day, however, when I visited my sister’s
home, I found the house completely in ashes with burned dead bo-
dies of my sister and my 70-year-old brother-in-law Hajji Dadashbala
Gasum oghlu and my nephew Gasym, 19. I buried the dead bodies.
Luckily, no one from my own family was affected.
The Bolsheviks were represented by the Armenians only. I could
not identify any of them. They originated from very various places,
even from Persia. I also heard that the Guba Jews were pointing to the
households that the Armenians later set ablaze. Nothing was stolen
from me. As for the assets of my sister and brother-in-law, I’d estimate
it at 100 thousand rubles. I have nothing to add to this.
Signed (in Arabic characters)
Translated by E.Khanbudaghov (certified by a signature)
Signed by A.Novatski, the member of the Commission
Reference: SARA, f.1061, op.1, d.96, l.19
File No.50
Record of Examination
On this 12th day of December, 1918, in Guba
Novatski, the member of the Ad Hoc Investigation Commission
established by the Government of Azerbaijan, examined the following
person as a witness, pursuant to the Criminal Court Regulations:
Witness: Mammadmussa Mammadali oghlu, aged 24, a
Guba resident, literate.
About a month after Novruz Bayramy30 (the Spring Holiday –
A.F.) armed Armenians numbering above 3000 took over our town
of Guba early in the morning. Upon entering the town, they imme-
diately started slaughtering the Muslim men, women and children,
Documents on the Devastation of Guba
Witness Testimonies of Residents of the Town of Guba