Guba, April-May 1918. Documented Pogroms of the Muslims
126
looting the houses and setting them ablaze. All our family, i.e. my
father, mother, grandmother, uncle, brother and myself were staying
at home, never walking outdoors.
The next day, a group of Armenians broke into our residence.
They searched everything at home, got our money, our golden works
and other valuables and left warning us not to lock the door and to
file up the white flag. That we did.
Another group of armed Armenians came in the day after ma-
king several prompt shots to those indoors i.e. my father Mammadali
Meshadi Feyzullah oghlu, my uncle Kerbalai Dadash Baghyr oghlu
and my brother Jafar. The former ones were killed on the spot, where-
as by brother was wounded and died six days later. Witnessing all
this, I sneaked into the next room, blocked the door with flour sacks
and stayed there for a keeping track of the developments through
the window. In a day’s time, the third group of Armenians arrived and
grabbed everything that was left by the previous ones. I was very an-
xious about my mother and grandmother, o I left my shelter.
Then the 4th group of Armenians arrived. I started imploring
them not to kill me. So they convoyed me to the mosque as a pri-
soner. I was only set free from there 9 days later, after the Armenians
had left our town. I was asking the Armenians why they were killing
the Muslims. They said they were avenging for the Turkish Armenians
killed by the Turks, so we should be also eradicated.
My mother, Madina Meshadi Baghyr gyzy passed away from
the shock ten days after these events, whereas my grandmother got
totally blind and deaf. Among the Armenians I spotted armed local
residents of Guba too, such as Vartan Avakov, Arutyun son of Baba,
barber Jevad, Mirza Aghajanov, Vartan son of Grigory, Yefrem son of
Arakel, Babajan and his son. I did not see them killing the Muslims,
looting or burning their households, all I saw was them walking about
armed.
In our home, all furniture was set afire, however the household
did not burn down.
The damage inflicted to me by the Armenians is 200 hundred
thousand rubles, 150 thousand out of them in cash (since I am a mer-
chant) golden works and other valuables, and the interiors were worth
another 50 thousand. Nothing to add to this.
Records read aloud.