Interrogation Protocol, October 9, 1918. Baku City.
The following individual, interrogated as a witness by the Extraordinary Commission of Inquiry under the Government of Azerbaijan in accordance with Article 443 of the Criminal Procedure Code, provided the following statement:
Colonel Vladimir Konstantinovich Olongren:
“I am 54 years old and reside in Baku, in the house of the Ashurbeyov brothers at the intersection of Kamenistaya and Gogol Streets, No. 205-32.
On Monday, March 19 of this year, around 5 o’clock in the morning, 20-25 armed Armenian soldiers, led by two Armenians in officer’s uniforms, entered the house of the Ashurbeyovs. This group began searching all the apartments in the house, starting from the third floor. When they entered Ali Bey Ashurbeyov’s apartment and found a box containing Berdan-type rifle cartridges, the Armenians, leaving nothing untouched, began to destroy the entire apartment. They broke furniture, mirrors, chandeliers, clocks, and other items, looting valuables in the process. One of the officers, of medium height, put on Ali Bey’s fur coat and, with the help of a few soldiers, managed to don his uniform overcoat before leaving. I can identify this officer if I see him, as well as his tall and extremely thin companion. Of all Ali Bey Ashurbeyov’s household items, only his carpets could be saved. The Armenians returned to this house many times in groups, and each time I had to prevent them from entering the apartments. The tall officer who participated in the looting of Ali Bey’s apartment gave me a document stating that he had searched the entire house and found no Muslims. I had to show this document to the Armenian gangs that came to the house, and they would leave without entering the apartments.”
It was read and signed: Colonel Olongren.
Members of the Extraordinary Investigation Commission: Juror Mammad Khan Tekinski, Assistant Prosecutor A. Kluge (signatures)
Source: AR PII SSA, f. 277, p. 2, work 13, v. 14. Solmaz Rustamova-Tohidi – Baku. March 1918. Azerbaijan Massacres in the Documents, p. 250.
