The First Republic of Armenia's Secret Constitution

In May 1918, as Ottoman forces closed in on Yerevan, a hastily assembled Armenian National Council declared independence in a dusty Tiflis apartment. But the First Republic of Armenia — born at Sardarabad — had no written constitution, no codified laws, and barely a functioning government. This episode traces the frantic months between Sardarabad and the drafting of Armenia's first constitutional framework in 1919, a document that borrowed from the Swiss federal model, the French Third Republic, and the peculiar realities of a tiny, blockaded Caucasus state. We explore the debates at the National Assembly in Yerevan, the role of constitutional commission chair Hovhannes Katchaznouni, the clash between Dashnak socialist ideals and the need for a multi-party compromise, and the quiet crisis over women's suffrage (Armenia granted it in 1919, before the United States). Along the way, we touch on the territorial crisis with Georgia and Azerbaijan, the refugee flood from the western Armenian genocide, and why this short-lived constitution still matters to modern Armenian identity. A story of state-building in the eye of a storm. #FirstRepublicOfArmenia #ArmenianConstitution #Katchaznouni #Dashnaks #Sardarabad #Yerevan #Tiflis #ArmenianNationalCouncil #WomenSuffrage #SwissFederalModel #FrenchThirdRepublic #Caucasus #1918 #1919 #ConstitutionalHistory #StateBuilding #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo