Italian Military Missions in Transcaucasia and Poland, 1918-1921: A Privileged Observatory on the Russian Civil War

Following the collapse of Tsarist Russia and the outbreak of the Russian Civil War, the Entente powers were confronted with the unexpected rise of Bolshevism, which disrupted their plans for post-war order. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918 enabled Germany to shift its focus to the Western Front, but the subsequent collapse of Germany left the Entente to negotiate peace in Versailles without Russian representation. While this facilitated the recognition of the Baltic States and a restored Poland, the situation in the Caucasus proved far more complex. The former Russian territories in the Transcaucasus splintered into the independent but unstable republics of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, alongside the short-lived Mountainous Republic in the North Caucasus. These fledgling nations were marked by territorial disputes, ethnic conflicts, and political rivalries, including clashes between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, Georgians and Abkhazians, and Bolshevik and Menshevik factions. An Italian military mission led by Colonel Gabba in April 1919 observed that these conflicts were deliberately fueled to secure strategic advantages in contested areas. The instability of the Transcaucasus became a focal point of post-war geopolitics, highlighting the challenges of achieving lasting peace in the region.