Guba, April-May 1918. Documented Pogroms of the Muslims
36
representative in Guba Uyezd”. (74)
By the way, in the same work Baghirov mentioned that “Ghe-
lovani subsequently appeared to be a provocateur”, however he ab-
stained from further elaborations on such a serious charge. (75)
Another notable detail in this respect is that neither did Ghe-
lovani provide any information regarding his first encounter with
such a seemingly notable figure, even though he mentioned “another
delegation steadily naming itself a Bolshevik one” that arrived at his
headquarters while in Khachmaz. Only once he refers to the person
by name in a short passage: “Japaridze received a telegram signed by
a Guba resident Mirjafar Baghirov, my former aide”. (76)
This way or another, according to witness testimonies of Gu-
ba residents, it was a Muslim from Guba and a fervent Bolshevik
M.Baghirov who, together with Ghelovani and “two Jews”, appeared
in front of his fellow townsfolk when the ultimatum regarding recog-
nizing the Soviet rule was launched. (77) Subsequently, on a number
of occasions, Guba residents saw Baghirov in the company of Bol-
sheviks from Ghelovani’s unit. In some cases, local Muslims were pa-
ying Armenian gangsters at Baghirov’s home to save their households
from arson and plunder, whereas in another case, 9 days after the
massacre broke out, all the property looted from the local Muslims
was loaded on carts and taken away from Baghirov’s home under
Ayrapetov’s surveillance. (78) The latter episode was confirmed by
Baghirov himself, although in a slightly different interpretation: “After
a week of unbridled violence in Guba Uyezd, Amazasp’s units collected
all valuables of Guba Uyezd and set off to Baku. What I managed to do
almost on my knees is to get at least some household stuff back from
them for owners of houses burnt down. We collected and stored what
we got back for further distribution”. (79)
Meanwhile even prior to Amazasp’s assault, Mirjafar Baghirov
together with Ghelovani was involved in arranging revolutionary
committees in both Guba and adjacent villages, “establishing normal
order”, capturing district institutions, forming local Red Guard units
and calling in a squad run by Oganesov. (80) However, attack by the
Lezghin units hampered further steps to establish the Soviet power
in Guba Uyezd.
What should be mentioned specifically in this context, is that
unlike other Guba residents unanimously referring to “the Lezghins