article The Veterinary Convention on Health and Anımal Dıseases and the Turkısh-Georgıan Border in the Documents of the Turkısh Dıplomatıc Archıve

Abstract

After the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, the Georgian Mensheviks took control of the administration in Georgia and declared independence. However, this was short-lived: following the Sovietization of Armenia and Azerbaijan by the Bolsheviks, Red Army troops entered Tbilisi, and the Georgian Soviet government was established in 1921. During the subsequent Soviet period, Turkish-Georgian relations evolved, largely influenced by the broader dynamics of Turkish-Soviet interactions. Although there were no insurmountable problems until the beginning of World War II, Turkish-Soviet relations grew tense as the war progressed, and this tension continued to escalate even after the war. Turkey maintained a keen interest in Georgia along the Soviet border, monitoring developments closely and informing the Turkish Foreign Ministry and other relevant state institutions. The archival documents related to Georgia mainly cover military, political, demographic, territorial, migratory, and commercial relations. Following the cession of Batumi to Georgia under the Treaty of Moscow, population movements intensified, leading to problems related to borders and land ownership. One of these problems was related to animal health, which required regulations on the movement of livestock to pastures and meadows.

To avoid any risks during border crossings, Turkey closely monitored developments concerning the sanitary situation and epidemics in neighboring Georgia. According to a 1923 report, although investigations revealed no presence of diseases such as cholera or typhus in Georgian ports, the need arose to take measures against contagious animal diseases along the Turkish–Georgian border between Turkey and the USSR, and the possibility of concluding an agreement was brought to the agenda in this context.

A 17-article Veterinary Agreement (Contract) was signed between Turkey and Georgia on August 6, 1928, in Ankara, along with three protocols and annexes that were approved on the same day. The agreement was concluded within the framework of the Treaty of Kars, signed on 13 October 1921, and the Pastures Agreement, signed in Ankara on 6 August 1928. Accordingly, the inhabitants of Turkey were permitted to use designated pastures within the borders of the Adjara, Ozurgeti, Ahıska, and Akhalkalaki administrations, whereas the inhabitants of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic were allowed to use areas within the borders of the Artvin and Kars provinces, extending up to 15 kilometers away from the Turkish–Georgian border. The contract specified the procedures for controlling large and small livestock, as well as the rules and sanctions that animal owners using the pastures and the authorities on both sides of the border were required to follow.

In this study, the Veterinary Agreement is examined as a regulation concerning health, livestock diseases, and the Turkish–Georgian border during the Soviet period, drawing on documents from the Turkish Diplomatic Archive.