THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN TURKEY AND THE USSR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-00976A000200010005-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 62
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 15, 1999
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: January 1, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

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SE INFORMATION
DOCUMENT NO.
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Fott ne ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
FOR RESEARCH AND REPORTS
THE BOUNDARY
BETWEEN TURKEY AND THE USSR
CIA/RR M-17
TS 3 0_2pS0 January 1952
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
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S CRET
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WARNING
This material contains information affecting
the national defense of the United States
within the meaning of the espionage laws,
Title 18, USC, Secs. 793 and 794, the trans-
mission or revelation of which in any manner
to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
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SE ET
SECUR I TY I NFORMAT ION
TR7 BOUNDARY BETWEEN TURKEY AND THE USSR
CIA/RR M-17
January 1952
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
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Table of Contents
Page
I. Introduction
1
II. Treaties and Agreements Defining the Turkey-
USSR Boundary 5
Descriptions of the Boundary Area and the
Boundary 11
A. Terrain Regions of the Boundary Area 11
1. Mountain Region 11
2. Plateau Region 15
3. Aras Valley Region 17
B. Detailed Description of the Boundary 18
C. Transportation 22
D. Agriculture, Mining, and Industries of the
Boundary Area 28
1. Agriculture 29
2. Mining and Industries 31
E. Peoples of the Boundary Area 34
IV. Boundary Problems 41
A. Soviet Claims on Turkish Territory 41
B. Serdarabad Dam Question 44
V. Map Coverage of the Boundary Area 47
Maps
Following Page
Turkey-U.S.S.R. Frontier Area: Historical
Boundaries and Soviet Claims (CIA 11806) 6
U.S.S.R.-Turkey Frontier Area (CIA 11737) 12
U.S.S.R. Border Area: Turkey and Iran,
Transportation (CIA 11692) 22
This report has not been coordinated with the intelligence organi-
zations of the Departments of State, the Army, the Navy, and the
Air Force.
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SECURITY INFORMATION
I. INTRODUCTION
The international boundaries of the Soviet Union are to be
covered in a series of reports, of which this is the second. The
first, U.S.S.R.-Iran Boundary, was published as M-15. Reports on
the Soviet boundaries with other countries will be issued from time
to time. The purpose of the series is to present information on the
following: (1) the documentary history of the present boundary,
(2) the course of the boundary, (3) peoples and economy of the bor-
der area, (4) boundary disputes or potential disputes, and (5) im-
portant maps of the boundary area.
The present boundary between the USSR and Turkey was defined by
treaty in 1921. In part, it is identical with an older boundary
existing between 1829 and 1878. As demarcated on the ground in 1925
and 1926, the boundary follows an irregular course for about 367
miles across the highland area east of the Black Sea. From west to
east it traverses three distinct terrain regions: (1) a rugged and
complex mountain region, (2) a high, dissected plateau, and (3) the
valley of the Ares River. In the northwestern section, where it
. crosses the mountain and plateau regions, the boundary is located
with reference to small streams, watershed lines, mountain heights,
towns, and roads. In the southeastern part it follows the thalweg1
of the Aras River.
1. The thalweg of a stream is the channel, and in determining a
boundary following the thalweg, the line of deepest points in the
channel is most commonly used.
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The principal routes crossing the boundary focus on Erzurum on
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the Turkish side and Tiflis (Tbilisi) on the Soviet side. The only
transborder railroad is a broad-gauge line from Sarikam191 in Turkey
to Leninakan in the Armenian SSR. These two points are connected
with the Turkish and the Soviet rail networks, respectively. Im-
portant roads cross the boundary from the Turkish side to the Soviet
side between Kars and Leninakan, Ardahan and Akhalkalaki, Ardahan
and Akhaltsikhe, Batumi and Hopa, and Igdir and Yerevan.
Economic development is more advanced on the Soviet side of the
boundary than on the Turkish side. The Transcaucasus region of the
Soyiet Union is of considerable importance to the over-all Soviet
economy, whereas northeastern Turkey occupies a minor position in
the Turkish national economy. Near the Black Sea the principal
agricultural products are tea, fruits, corn, nuts, and tobacco; in
the Aras Valley, wheat, cotton, and citrus fruits are grown on
irrigated land. Mining is developed to only a small extent in the
area near the boundary, although there are considerable deposits of
copper in Turkey and minor copper deposits on the Soviet side. The
principal industrial centers, all of which are on the Soviet side,
are Batumi, Leninakan, and Yerevan. Batumi is an important center
of petroleum refining and transshipment.
1. In accord with the policy of the Board on Geographic Names, the
"i's" in some Turkish place names are printed without a dot. The
"i" without a dot represents a Turkish vowel for which there is no
English equivalent.
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The boundary traverses an area of linguistic and religious com-
plexity. The two principal ethnic groups on the Soviet side are the
Georgians and Armenians, each of which is represented in the Soviet
Union by an SSR. The Armenians not only are found in the Armenian
SSR but also are widely scattered in urban centers on both sides of
the boundary. Other peoples of importance in the boundary area are
the Kurds, Adzhars, and Lazes.
There appear to be no disputes between the two countries re-
garding the location of the present boundary. Since 1945, however,
the Soviet Union has, on different occasions, advanced claims to
large areas of Turkish territory on the ground that they have been
historically connected with Georgia and Armenia and should therefore
be attached to those republics. A dispute of lesser importance
concerns the proposed joint use of waters of the Aras River diverted
by the Serdarabad dam to supply irrigation canals.
Good source materials for representing the boundary are available
in Washington. These include the official map series at the scale
of 1:25,000 and the protocol that describes the boundary in detail,
both of which were prepared by a mixed Turkish-Soviet demarcation
commission in 1925 and 1926. Map CIA 11737, U.S.S.R.-Turkey Fron-
tier Area, which accompanies this report, was compiled from these
two sources from various other Russian and Soviet sources, and
from Turkish map series. Map CIA 11806, Turkey-U.S.S.R. Frontier
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Area: Historical Boundaries and Soviet Claims, also attached, shows
the three international boundaries that have existed between Turkey
and Russia and indicates the greatest extent of Soviet claims on the
areas of present-day Turkey. A third map, U.S.S.R. Border Area:
Turkey and Iran--Transportation, CIA 11692, also is included.
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II. TREATIES AND AGREEMENTS DEFINING TAR TURKEY-USSR BOUNDARY
The present Turkish-USSR boundary is the result of a series of
treaties and agreements completed during the nineteenth century and
the first quarter of the twentieth century. Russia first acquired
territory in the present frontier area in 1802 by annexing Georgia
as a province. The second Russian acquisition of importance in the
border area came as a result of the Russo-Persian War of 1826-27.
By the Treaty of Tourkmantchai,1 signed at the conclusion of the
war, Persia ceded to Russia the khanates of Yerevan and Nakhichevan.
The western boundaries of these areas form a part of the present
international boundary. (The various boundary lines discussed in
this section are shown on map CIA 11806.)
At the close of the Russo-Turkish War in 1829, Russia again ex-
tended its territory in the boundary area by acquiring part of the
Armenian Plateau lying to the north of the Aras River. According to
Article IV of the Treaty of Adrianople, signed in 1829,2 the fron-
tier between the two empires was established as follows:
...the line which, following the present boundary of the
Province of Gouriel Lidurie, from the Black Sea, ascends to
that of Imeritia, and thence in the most direct line to
the point where the frontiers of the Pashalics of Akhaltzik
1. "Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Russia and Persia signed
at Tourkmantchai 10/22 February 1828," British and Foreign State
Papers, 1827-28, Vol. XV, London, 1829, pp. 669-675.
2. "Treaty of Peace between Russia and Turkey signed at Adrianople,
14th September, 1829," Edward Hertslet, Map of Europe by Treaty,
Vol. II, London, 1875, pp. 813-823.
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Akhaltsikh, Akhaltsik#7 and of Kars unite with those of
Georgia, leaving, in this manner, to the north and within
this line the city of Akhaltzik and the fort of Alkhalkhaliki
Akhalkalakg, at a distance which must not be less than
two hours.
The territories south and west of this line towards Kars and Trabzon,
together with the greater part of the territory of Akhaltsikhe, were
to remain under Turkish sovereignty. Those territories to the north
and east, toward Georgia, Imeritia, and Guria, as well as the whole
of the coast of the Black Sea from the mouth of the Kouban Lkubang
as far as St. Nicholasghekvetilig, were to go to Russia. Russian
claims to Georgia, Imeritia, Mingrelia, and Guria also were recog-
nized.
The boundary described in the Treaty of Adrianople remained in
effect for almost 50 years despite Russian conquests inside the
Turkish border during the Crimean War. The Treaty of Paris in 1856,
signed after the Crimean conflict, provided that each of the two
nations should retain its prewar possessions in Asia and that a
mixed commission should be appointed to verify the boundary. In
1878, however, Russia extended its territory by further conquest in
Turkey, and by Article LVIII of the Treaty of Berlinl the territories
of Ardagan Ardahaig, Kars, and Batum [Batumi] were ceded to Russia,
1. "Treaty between Great Britain, Austria-Hungary, France, Germany,
Italy, Russia, and Turkey, for the Settlement of Affairs in the East,
signed at Berlin, 13 July 1878," British and Foreign State Papers,
1877-1878, Vol. LXIX, London, 1885, pp. 749-766.
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TURKEY?U.S.S.R. FRONTIER AREA: Historical Boundaries and Soviet Claims
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