Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic

The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic was a short-lived state that existed from 22 April to 26 May 1918 in the South Caucasus. It covered most of the territory of present-day Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, together with parts of neighbouring Russia and Turkey. The region had been part of the Russian Empire, and after the October Revolution the Transcaucasian Commissariat took over local government. Facing the Ottoman invasion that followed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the Transcaucasian Seim proclaimed independence on 22 April 1918, with its capital at Tbilisi. The new state was immediately recognized by the Ottoman Empire, but its three national groups pursued diverging aims. Peace talks with the Ottomans collapsed, and a renewed Ottoman offensive in May 1918 forced the Georgian delegates to declare independence on 26 May, followed two days later by Armenia and Azerbaijan. The federation had lasted barely a month; its brief life marked the end of a single Transcaucasian polity and the birth of three separate republics.