[2] It was established by military commander and Armenian political thinker Garegin Nzhdeh and his allies with the support of local guerrilla forces, following the suppression of the February Uprising in April 1921.

Following World War I, the signing of the Treaty of Sèvres, and in the ensuing peace negotiations in Paris, the Allies had vowed to punish the Young Turks and reward some, if not all, of the eastern provinces of the empire to the nascent Armenian Republic.

In matters related to the Near East, the principal western powers, Great Britain, France, Italy and the United States, had conflicting interests over the spheres of influence they were to assume.

Meanwhile, the recently formed Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and Turkish National Movement had both set their sights on taking over the Caucasus, including Armenia.

In January 1921, Drastamat Kanayan sent a telegram to Nzhdeh, suggesting allowing the sovietisation of Syunik, through which they could gain the support of the Bolshevik government in solving the problems of the Armenian lands.