December 23, 1947

Kremlin, Moscow

Amendment 10/III-48 г. N: 754

The USSR Council of Ministers hereby DECIDES:

1. To voluntarily resettle 100,000 collective farmers and other Azeri population from the Armenian SSR to the Kur[a]-Araslowland of the Azerbaijan SSR from 1948 to 1950, including 10,000 persons in 1948, 40,000 persons in 1949 and 50,000 in 1950.
2. To oblige the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR and the Council of Ministers of the Armenian SSR:

a) to arrange the explanation of conditions and privileges offered by the state to migrants to the Kur[a]-Aras lowland of the Azerbaijan SSR, among collective farmers and other Azeri population;

b) to ensure the settlement of accounts between kolkhozes and collective farmers – no later than 10 days prior to their departure as per workday units envisioned by production plans of kolkhozes;

c) to ensure the transportation of personal belongings, cattle and poultry by the migrants.

3. To oblige the heads of ministries and institutions, establishments and enterprises to dismiss those persons who migrate from the Armenian SSR to Kur[a]-Aras lowland of the Azerbaijan SSR.
4. To provide the following privileges to Azeri population resettling to the Kur[a]-Aras lowland of the Azerbaijan SSR:

a) to provide free transportation and carriage of cattle and properties in the amount of up to 2 tons per family;

b) to apply the decree of the Central Executive Committee and the Soviet People’s Commissariat №115/2043 of November 17th 1937 “On privileges for agricultural resettlement”, except for the privileges on compulsory supplies of milk;

c) to provide migrating families with irrevocable cash benefits of 1,000 roubles per head of the family and 300 roubles per each family member;

d) to sell for cash payment bread grain in the amount of 1.5 centners per head of the family and 0.5 centers per family members, to migrant families resettled to the Kur[a]-Aras lowlands of the Azerbaijan SSR.

5. To allow Azeri population migrating from the Armenian SSR to the Kur[a]-Aras lowland of the Azerbaijan SSR to exchange agricultural products (grain, potatoes) and cattle prohibited for transportation by the quarantine laws for exchange coupons in places of departures, in order to receive an equal amount of products and equal number of heads of cattle in the place of destination.
6. To oblige the Agricultural Bank:

a) to provide credits for the construction of dwelling houses and dependencies in the amount of up to 20,000 rouble per farm with the repayment period of 10 years, starting from the third year after receipt of the credit;

b) to award longterm loans worth 3,000 roubles per family of migrants for the period of 5 years with the repayment beginning on the third year after receipt of the loan.

7. To oblige the Ministry of Communications

a) to ensure transportation of Azeri population with their properties and cattle by request of the Council of Ministers of Armenian SSR, by special echelons with the equipped and disinfected wagons;

b) to get wagons ready by the Railroad Department on the schedule, approved by the Ministry of Communications, the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR and the Council of Ministers of Armenian SSR, without collecting the payment for wagons in the destination point. The settlements for transportation of Azeri population shall be centralized by the accounts, provided by the Railroad Department.

8. To oblige the Ministry of Public Health of USSR to ensure medical examination of all migrants in the point of destination and medical and sanitary control in the process of transportation. The staff and appropriate medicines shall be provided to accompany the echelons.
9. The Ministry of Finances of USSR shall envision in the budget of the Azerbaijan SSR for the year of 1948 the funds for the resettlement of Azerbaijani population from Armenian SSR to the Azerbaijan SSR.
10. The Council of Ministers of the Armenian SSR and the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR shall joint develop the appropriate specific measures for the resettlement and placement of population from the Armenian SSR to the Azerbaijani SSR, within a period of one month for the purposes of the fulfillment of this decree. The measures shall be reported to the USSR Council of Ministers.
11. To allow the Council of Ministers of the Armenian SSR to use buildings and living houses abandoned by Azerbaijani population in light of their resettlement to the Kur[a]-Aras lowland of Azerbaijan SSR for the settlement of foreign Armenians arriving into Armenian SSR.

J. Stalin, chairman of the Council of Ministers of USSR

Y. Chadayev, manager of the Council of Ministers of USSR.