Transcaucasia

The Transcaucasian Democratic Federal Republic is a nation in the South Caucasus, bordering Russian Empire, the Sultnate of Turkey, and Qajar Persia.

History

Having been in the Russian Empire since 1864, the regions of the area have had a complex relationship with their overlords and the neighboring regions the Ottoman Empire and Persia.

During the Russo-German War, the nationalist calls for independence grew too loud, and Turkey began to indirectly support the rebels. This was done in hopes of annexing the Turkic regions, namely Azerbaijan, following the war. Turkey did so knowing directly supporting the rebels would lead to war with Russia, which the Turkish court did not believe they could win.

Following independence, the Caucasus regions united to form Transcaucasia, or formally the Transcaucasian Democratic Federal Republic. The region of Azerbaijan wished to unite with Turkey, and so held a referendum. However, the nationalist Azerbaijani were joined by the Georgian and Armenian counterparts, and the referendum was narrowly defeated.

Following this defeat, the pan-Turkic politicians demanded unity by conquest, if needed, and thus led to infighting.