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TheArmenian national movement[1][2][3] (Armenian:Հայ ազգային-ազատագրական շարժումHay azgayin-azatagrakan sharzhum)[note 1] included social, cultural, but primarily political and military movements that reached their height duringWorld War I and the following years, initially seeking improved status for Armenians in theOttoman andRussian Empires but eventually attempting to achieve anArmenian state.
Influenced by theAge of Enlightenment, theFrench Revolution, and therise of other nationalist movements in the Ottoman Empire, theArmenian national awakening developed in the early 1860s.[21] During theTanzimat Era, theArmenian elite worked with Ottoman reformers to prevent banditry and abuses by nomadicKurdish tribes, particularly in thesix Armenian-populated vilayets of the Ottoman Empire. When this goal failed, Armenian nationalism took hold over the intelligentsia, and the autonomy or independence for Armenians in the Ottoman and the Russian Empires was the next step.[1][9] Starting in the late 1880s, Armenian nationalists engaged inguerrilla warfare against the Ottoman government andKurdish irregulars in the eastern regions of the empire, led by the three Armenian political parties: theSocial Democrat Hunchakian Party (Hunchak), theArmenakan Party and theArmenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnak). Armenian nationalists generally saw Russia as their ally for independence from the Turks, although Russia maintained an oppressive policy in the Caucasus. After theYoung Turk Revolution, Armenian political parties replaced the traditional authority of the Ottoman loyalistamira class. These parties, especially the Dashnaks, held a tense working relationship with theCommittee of Union and Progress. The Ottoman government signed theArmenian reform package in early 1914, however it was shelved by World War I.
DuringWorld War I, Armenians were systematically exterminated by theOttoman government in theArmenian genocide. According to some estimates, from 1915 to 1917, about 800,000-1,500,000 Armenians were killed.[22] After the decision to exterminate the Armenians was taken by theOttoman Ministry of Interior, tens of thousands ofRussian Armenians joined the Russian army asArmenian volunteer units upon Russian promises for autonomy. By 1917, Russia controlled many Armenian-populated areas of the Ottoman Empire. After theOctober Revolution, Russian forces retreated and transferred control of occupied Ottoman Anatolia to Armenian units. TheArmenian National Council proclaimed theRepublic of Armenia on May 28, 1918, thus establishing an Armenian state in the Armenian-populated parts of theSouthern Caucasus.
By 1920, theBolshevik Government in Russia and theAnkara government came to power in their respective countries. Turkish forces successfullyinvaded the western half of the Armenian Republic, while theRed Army invaded and annexed the country in December 1920. Afriendship treaty was signed between Bolshevik Russia and the Ankara government in 1921. The formerly Russian-controlled parts of Armenia were mostly incorporated into theSoviet Union, of which theArmenian Soviet Socialist Republic was established. Hundreds of thousands of Armenian refugees found themselves in the Middle East, Greece, France and the United States giving start to a new era of theArmenian diaspora. Soviet Armenia existed until 1991, when the Soviet Union disintegrated and the current (Third)Republic of Armenia was established.
During therise of nationalism,Armenians were living among theOttoman Empire andRussian Empire. In the middle of the1826-1828 Russo-Persian WarTsar Nicholas I sought help from the Armenians, promising that after the war, their lives would improve. In 1828, Russia annexedYerevan,Nakhichevan, and the surrounding countryside with theTreaty of Turkmenchay. Armenians still living under Persian rule were encouraged to emigrate to Russian Armenia and 30,000 followed the call. In 1828, Russiadeclared war on the Ottoman Empire, and in theTreaty of Adrianople,Akhalkalak andAkhaltsikhe annexed by Russia. A significant portion of Armenians were annexed into Russia.[23] Another wave ofOttoman Armenian immigration occurred, with 25,000 settling inRussian Armenia.[24]
In 1836,Russification programs targeted the Armenian Church.[25] Russia curtailed the Church's advances in the society.[25][clarification needed]
In 1839,Abdülmecid I initiated theTanzimât period to reorganize the Ottoman Empire, but also to stem therise of nationalism among its minorities.Ottomanism was a key goal of the Tanzimat, which was meant to unite all of the different peoples living in Ottoman territories, "Muslim and non-Muslim, Turkish and Greek, Armenian and Jewish, Kurd and Arab". For this purpose,Islamic law was put aside in favour of secular law.[26] This policy officially began with theEdict of Gülhane, which declared equality before the law for both Muslim and non-Muslim Ottomans.[27] Armenian nationalism was stagnant during these years, earning them the title of 'millet-i sadika' or the "loyal millet".[28]
In 1863,Ottoman Armenians were introduced to a set of major reforms. TheArmenian National Constitution codified the rights and privileges of theArmenian millet, but also introduced regulations defining the authority of thePatriarch.[29] Also included was a new parliament: theArmenian National Assembly, which was seen as a milestone by progressive Armenians. Another development was the introduction of elementary education, colleges and other institutions of learning by Protestant missionaries.Armenian newspapers were founded. Armenian historians began writing the history of their people, which instilled a new sense of nationalism. This was part of an evolution in Armenian political consciousness from purely cultural romanticism to one which called a programme for action.[30]
1860 and onward, the number of Armenian schools, philanthropic and patriotic organizations multiplied in the Ottoman Empire.[32] The initial aim of Protestant missionaries were theconversion of the Muslims and Jews, sought to convertGregorian Armenians. The Armenian subjects of the Empire, influenced by the Armenian Diaspora, the network of congregations and schools of the Protestant missionaries throughout the Ottoman Empire, begin to rethink their position in the world. In 1872, the journalist Grigor Ardzruni said “Yesterday we were an ecclesiastical community, today we are patriots, tomorrow we will be a nation of workers and thinkers.”[32] A parallel development occurred in Russian Armenia.[33] Before 1840, Armenian journals were mainly in the hands of the clergy.[34] This was changed. Along with the schools, the press played an important educational role and pointed the way to liberation.[34] When Rev.William Goodell settled in Constantinople in 1831 to the end of World War I, the missionaries made considerable contributions to the education of Armenians. The European intellectual currents such as ideas of theFrench Revolution were transmitted through the 23,000 Armenian students within 127 Protestant congregations with 13,000 communicants, and 400 schools.[35]
In the 1880s,Tsar Alexander II increasedRussification to reduce the threat of future rebellions (Russia was populated by many minority groups). Tsar Alexander II attempted to prevent separatism. The Armenian language, schools were targeted. Russia wanted to replace these Russian schools and Russian educational materials.[25]
The1897 Russian Empire Census stated that 1,127,212 Armenians were in the Russian Lands (Erivan, 439,926;Elizavetpol, 298,790;Kars72,967,Tiflis, 230,379,Baku, 52,770;Chernomorsk, 6,223Daghestan, 1,652,Kutais, 24,505). At the same period (1896Vital Cuinet) Armenians in the Ottoman Empire were 1,095,889 (Adana Vilayet, 97,450Aleppo Vilayet, 37,999;Ankara Vilayet, 94,298;Bitlis Vilayet, 131,300;Bursa Vilayet, 88,991;Diyâr-ı Bekr Vilayet67,718;Erzurum Vilayet, 134,967;İzmir Vilayet, 15,105;İzmit, 48,655;Kastamonu Vilayet, 2,647;Mamure-ul-Azil Vilayet, 79,128;Sivas Vilayet, 170,433;Trebizond Vilayet, 47,20;Van Vilayet, 79,998)[36] There were many Armenians familiar with Russian customs.[23] Russia, for Armenians, was also a path to Europe.[23]
Kagik Ozanyan claims that the Tanzimat helped the formation of an Armenian political strata and incited an Armenian national spirit. Armenian nationalists hoped to build their nation through a revolution, similar to theFrench Revolution.[37][unreliable source?] The Russian Consul General to Ottoman Empire, General Mayewski, recorded the following[38]
The rebellion of Armenians resulted from the following three causes:
(1). Their known evolution in political matters (Issue of Civilizations),
(2). Development of ideas of nationalism, salvation and independence in Armenian opinion (Revolution Perspective),
(3). Supporting of these ideas by Western governments and publication through the inspiration and efforts of Armenian clerical men (Armenian Question).[38]
The development of ideas of nationalism, salvation, and independence, established during the 19th century proved to be inspiring to Armenians. These concepts were first introduced to the Armenian national psyche when Armenian intelligentsia which had studied in Western Europe studied the French Revolution. They espoused a democratic-liberal ideology which rested on therights of man. Another second wave come with the emergence of Russian revolutionary thought which by the end of the 19th century wasMarxist and socialist. TheArmenian Revolutionary Federation took inspiration from this source.[39] However, the materialism and class struggle explained in Marxism did not neatly apply to the socioeconomics ofArmenians in the Ottoman Empire as much as to those inRussian Armenia.[citation needed]
The discovery ofUrartu has come to play a significant role in 19th and 20th-centuryArmenian nationalism.[40]
TheSix vilayets in the Ottoman Empire were largely populated by Armenians, whileErivan andKars provinces were the main Armenian-populated provinces in the Russian Empire.[citation needed]
In the late 19th century, Armenian political organizations were founded, such as theArmenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnak), theSocial Democrat Hunchakian Party (Hunchak), andArmenakan (later known asRamgavar). The organized Armenian activities traced back to an earlier known Armenian group, the "Union of Salvation," before the three major groups established themselves.[citation needed]
Protectors of the Fatherland was established as a secret society inErzurum in 1881. Protectors of the Fatherland was almost certainly influenced by the ideas of the French and Greek Revolutions as 'Freedom or Death' was their motto.[41] Members are organized into cells of ten, and only the leader had access to a central committee.[42][clarification needed]
In 1885, the "Armenian Democratic Liberal Party" was established inVan byMëkërtich Portukalian, who later went into exile inMarseille but kept in touch with local leaders, and published a journal of political and social enlightenment titledL'Armenie. The party's aim soon become to 'win for the Armenians the right to rule themselves, through revolution'. Their view on how to liberate Armenia from the Ottoman Empire was that it should be through the press, national awakening and unarmed resistance.[citation needed]
In 1887, the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (Hunchak) was the first socialist party in the Ottoman Empire and Persia, founded byAvetis Nazarbekian,Mariam Vardanian,Gevorg Gharadjian,Ruben Khan-Azat,Christopher Ohanian,Gabriel Kafian andManuel Manuelian, a group of college students who met inGeneva, Switzerland, with the goal to gain Armenia's independence from the Ottoman Empire. Hunchak means "Bell" in English, and was taken by party members to represent "awakening, enlightenment, and freedom." It was also the name of the party'smain newspaper.[citation needed]
In 1889 theYoung Armenia Society was founded byKristapor Mikayelian in Tbilisi.[43] The Young Armenia Society organisedFedayee campaigns into Ottoman territory. The Young Armenia Society organized an armed expedition to Ottoman Armenia with theGugunian Expedition. Its aims were to carry out reprisals against Kurds persecuting Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. The society believed that the Russians would assist in the creation of an autonomous Armenian province under Russian rule.[43]
In 1890 theArmenian Revolutionary Federation (“ARF” or Dashnaktsutiun or Dashnak) was founded inTiflis.[44] Its members armed themselves into fedayee groups to defend Armenian villages from widespread oppression, attacks, and persecution of the Armenians. It being seen as the only solution to save the people from Ottoman oppression and massacres. Its initial aim was to guarantee reforms in the Armenian provinces and to gain eventual autonomy.[citation needed] Throughout its history, the ARF is often accused of aiming to convinceWestern governments and diplomatic circles to sponsor the party's demands.[45][clarification needed]
During 1880-1890 the local communication channels were developed. The organizations were fully functional underAnkara,Amasya,Çorum,Diyarbakır,Yozgat, andTokat. In 1893 they began to post propaganda directed toward the non-Armenians. The main theme of the propaganda were that people should take control of their own life against the oppressors.[46] The messaging did not affect Muslims. These activities ended with clashes between Armenian nationalists and Ottoman police, with many being arrested. Local authorities acted against them as they were cutting telegraph wires or bombing government buildings. Britain and the European powers concluded that if there would be more intervention the conflict would end with sectarian conflict, and a civil war would occur.[47]
Armenian nationalism and the Armenian Apostolic Church has long been intertwined.[23] The main voices of the movement were secular, as close to the turn of the century,Massis (published in Constantinople), theHiusissapile andArdzvi Vaspurkan (published in Van) became the main national organs (journals).[34] These publications were secular. Major Armenian writers of the era,Mikael Nalbandian andRaphael Patkanian can be counted among the influential.[citation needed]
Beginning with 1863,Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople began to share their powers with the Armenian National Assembly, and their powers were limited by the Armenian National Constitution. They[who?] perceived the changes as erosion of their community.[48] Armenian religious leaders played a key roles in the revolutionary movement. The Patriarch of ConstantinopleMkrtich Khrimian was an important figure.[49] Mkrtich Khrimian was transferred toJerusalem in his later years, although this was actually an exile.[citation needed]Nerses II Varzhapetyan said "It is no longer possible for the Armenians and the Turks to live together..."[50]
Beginning in the mid-19th century, the Great Powers took issue with the Empire's treatment of its Christian minorities and increasingly pressured extend equal rights to all its citizens. Following the violent suppression of theHerzegovina uprising, the BulgarianApril Uprising and the SerbianKumanovo uprising in 1875, the Great Powers invoked the 1856Treaty of Paris by claiming that it gave them the right to intervene and protect theOttoman Empire's Christian minorities.
The Armenian patriarchate of Constantinople,Nerses II (1874–1884), forwarded Armenian complaints of widespread "forced land seizure ... forced conversion of women and children, arson,protection extortion, rape, and murder" to the Powers. March 1878, after the conclusion of the1877–78 Russo-Turkish War, the Armenians began to look more toward theRussian Empire as the ultimate guarantors of their security. Patriarch Nerses approached the Russian leadership during the negotiations with the Ottomans inSan Stefano and convinced them to insert a clause, Article 16, to theTreaty of San Stefano, stipulating that the Russian forces occupying the Armenian-populated provinces in the eastern Ottoman Empire would withdraw only with the full implementation of reforms.[citation needed]
In June 1878, Great Britain was troubled with Russia's powerful position in the Treaty and forced the parties for a new negotiations with the convening of theCongress of Berlin. Article 61 of theTreaty of Berlin contained the same text as Article 16 but removed any mention that Russian forces would remain in the provinces. Instead, the Ottoman government was periodically to inform the Great Powers of the progress of the reforms. The Armenian National Assembly and Patriarch Nerses II sentCatholicos Mgrdich Khrimian to present the case for the Armenians at Berlin; in his famous speech (following the Berlin negotiations) “The Paper Ladle,” Mgrdich Khrimian advised Armenians to take thenational awakening of Bulgaria as a model forself-determination which was ignored by the European community of nations.[51]
In 1880, British Prime MinisterWilliam Gladstone declared that “To serve Armenia is to serve the Civilization." The great powers sent to the Porte an “Identic Note” which asked for the enforcement of the Article 61.[52] This followed on January 2, 1881, with a British Circular on Armenia to other Powers.[52] However Armenian nationalists had discovered that neitherTsar Alexander II's idealism norGladstone's liberalism were dependable allies.[citation needed]
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Significant European and American movements began with the Armenian diaspora inFrance and in theUnited States as early as in the 1890s.[citation needed]
In 1885, theArmenian Patriotic Society of Europe was established inLondon. Its goal was that theArmenian diaspora should help those in their native land, both financially and raise Armenian political consciousness about its subject condition. Various political parties and benevolent unions, such as branches for the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, the Social-Democrat Henchagian party, and theArmenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) which was initially founded in Constantinople, were established wherever there was a considerable number of Armenians.[citation needed]
The emergence of the Armenian National Movement in the early 1880s and the armed struggle by the late 1880s coincides withSultanAbdul Hamid II's reign (1876-1909). Abdul Hamid II oversaw an autocracy while ruling over a period of decline of the empire.
TheKum Kapu demonstration occurred in theKumkapı district of Constantinople on July 27, 1890. The Hunchaks concluded that the demonstrations at Kum Kapu were unsuccessful.[53] Similars demonstration on a lesser scale followed throughout most of the 1890s.[54]
The ARF undertook the1896 Ottoman Bank Takeover, seizing theOttoman Bank in Constantinople, on 26 August 1896. In an effort to raise further awareness in Europe regarding thepogroms and massacres instigated by the SultanAbdul Hamid II, 28 armed men and women led byPapken Siuni andKarekin Pastirmaciyan (Armen Karo) took over the bank which largely employed European personnel from Great Britain and France.
TheYıldız assassination attempt was a failed assassination attempted on Abdul Hamid II by the ARF atYıldız Mosque on July 21, 1905.
Van turned into a center of Armenian Nationalist activity, asLake Van borders Russia and Persia, making assistance easily accessible.[55]
In May 1889, theBashkale Clash Ottoman gendarme stopped threeArmenakan members which they believed were members of a large revolutionary apparatus, two of whom were subsequently killed. The incident increased sectarian tensions and other conflicts occurred.[56]
During theHamidian Massacres in 1896, theDefense of Van saw the Armenian population in Van defend against Ottoman forces and Kurdish tribesmen.[citation needed] TheKhanasor Expedition was the Armenianmilitia's response.[citation needed]
TheBattle of Holy Apostles Monastery was an armed conflict of the Armenian militia inHoly Apostles Monastery nearMush, in November 1901.Andranik Ozanian's intentions were to attract the attention of the foreign consuls at Mush to the plight of the Armenian peasants and to provide hope for the oppressed Armenians of the eastern provinces.[57]
Sason was formerly part of thesanjak of Siirt which was inDiyarbakır vilayet of the Ottoman Empire, later part ofBatman Province of Turkey.Zeitun was formerly part of theAleppo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire, later Süleymanlı in theKahramanmaraş Province of Turkey. The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party and the ARF were active in the region.[citation needed]
The Armenians of Zeitun had historically enjoyed a period of high autonomy in the Ottoman Empire until the nineteenth century. In the first half of the nineteenth century, the central government decided to bring this region of the empire under tighter control. This strategy ultimately proved ineffective. In theFirst Zeitun resistance, in the summer of 1862, the Ottomans sent a military contingent of 12,000 men to Zeitun to reassert government control. The force, however, was held at bay by the Armenians and, through French mediation, the first Zeitun resistance was brought to a close. The Zeitun Armenians gave inspiration to the ideas of creating an Armenian state in Cilicia.[58]
TheSasun resistance of 1894 was the resistance of the Hunchak militia of the Sasun region. The region continued to be in conflict between the fedayee and the Muslim Ottomans between the local Armenian villages.[citation needed]
Between the years 1891 and 1895, activists from the Armenian Social Democrat Hunchakian Party visited Cilicia, and established a new branch in Zeitun. AnotherZeitun Rebellion took place in 1895.[citation needed]
In spring 1902, a representative of the ARF, Vahan Manvelyan, was sent to in Sason with the purpose of mediating peace, but ended up irritating the Muslims. In February 1903, at the Third ARF Congress inSofia, it was decided sendcommitteemen to Sasun.Hrayr Dzhoghk went to Van, where he organized in Sasun. Alongside Hrayr Dzhoghk wasAndranik. Andranik became the main organizer and head of theSasun Uprising of 1904. Hrayr Dzhoghk was killed on April 13 in the village Gelieguzan. He was buried in a court of a local church near toSerob Paşa.
While the Armenian national liberation movement was in its early stage; lack of outside support and inability to maintain a trained, organized Kurdish force diminished Kurdish aspirations for autonomy. However, two prominent Kurdish tribes mounted opposition to the empire, based more from an ethno-nationalistic standpoint. TheBadrkhans were secessionists while the Sayyids of Nihiri were autonomists. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 was followed (1880–1881) by the attempt of ShaykhUbaydullah ofNihri to found an "independent Kurd principality" around the Ottoman-Persian border (including the Van Vilayet) where the Armenian population was significant. Shaykh Ubaydullah of Nihri gathered 20,000 fighters.[59] Lacking discipline, his man left the ranks after pillaging and acquiring riches from the villages in the region (indiscriminately, including Armenian villages). Shaykh Ubaydullah was captured by Ottoman forces in 1882 and his movement ended.[59]
The Kurds sacked neighboring towns and villages with impunity.[60] The central assumption of the Hamidiye system that Kurdish tribes could be brought under military discipline—proved to be impossible. ThePersian Cossack Brigade later proved that it could function as independent unit, but the Ottoman example, which it was modeled after, never replaced the tribal loyalty to Ottoman Sultan or even to its establishing unit.[citation needed][clarification needed] The Hamidiye corps or Hamidiye Light Cavalry Regiments were well-armed, irregular, majorityKurdish cavalry (minor amounts of other nationalities, such asTurcoman) formations that operated in the eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire.[61] They were intended to be modeled after theCaucasian Cossack Regiments (example Persian Cossack Brigade) and were primarily tasked to patrol the Russo-Ottoman frontier[62] and secondly, to reduce the potential of Kurdish-Armenian cooperation.[63] The Hamidiye Cavalry was in no way a cross-tribal force, despite their military appearance, organization, and potential.[64] Hamidiye quickly find out that they could only be tried through a military court martial[65] They became immune to civil administration. Realizing their immunity, they turned their tribes into “legalized robber brigades” as they steal grain, reap fields not of their possession, drive off herds, and openly steal from shopkeepers.[66] Kurdish chieftains also taxed the population of the region in sustaining these units, and Armenians perceived this tax as exploitation. The Hamidiye cavalry harassed and assaulted Armenians.[67]
The Hamidian massacres were brought to an end through mediation by the Great Powers. However instead of Armenian autonomy in these regions, Kurdish tribal chiefs retained much of their autonomy and power.[68] Abdul Hamid made little attempt to alter the traditional Kurdish power structure.[68] The sultan entrusted the Kurds to safeguard the southern and eastern fringe of the empire and its mountainous topography, limited transportation, and communication system.[68] The state had little access to these provinces and were forced to make informal agreements with tribal chiefs, for instance the Ottomanqadi and mufti did not have jurisdiction over religious law which bolstered Kurdish authority and autonomy.[68]
At the 1907Battle of Sulukh,Kevork Chavush was critically wounded on May 25, 1907, during a large firefight with the Ottoman army in Sulukh, Mush. Kevork Chavush escaped the fighting. Two days later his body was found in Kyosabin-Bashin on May 27 under a bridge.[citation needed]
In 1908, after theYoung Turk Revolution, the Hamidiye Cavalry was disbanded as an organized force, but as they were “tribal forces” before official recognition, they stayed as “tribal forces” after dismemberment. The Hamidiye Cavalry is described as a military disappointment and a failure because of its contribution to tribal feuds.[69]
SultanAbdul Hamid II wanted to reinforce the territorial integrity the Ottoman Empire, and assertedPan-Islamism as a state ideology.[70] Abdul Hamid II perceived the Ottoman Armenians to be an extension of foreign powers, a means by which Europe could "get at our most vital places and tear out our very guts."[70]
The Armenians, especially the ARF, supported theYoung Turk Revolution.[71] With the revolution began theSecond Constitutional Era, which proved difficult to reinstill Ottomanism among its subjects.
The ARF, a Marxist-socialist organization[72] previously outlawed, became the main representative of the Armenian community in the Ottoman Empire, replacing the pre-1908 Armenian elite, which had been composed of merchants, artisans, and clerics who had seen their future in obtaining more privileges within the bounds ofOttomanism.[73] During the same time the ARF was moving out of this context and developing the concept of an independent Armenian state. With this national transformation the ARF's activities become a national cause.[74]
Once in power, theCommittee of Union and Progress (CUP) introduced a number of new initiatives intended to promote the modernization of the Ottoman Empire. The CUP advocated a program of reform under a strong central government, as well as the reducing foreign influence. CUP promoted industrialization and administrative reforms. Administrative reforms of provincial administration quickly led to a higher degree of centralization.[citation needed]
The1908 Ottoman general election resulted in a new parliament composed of 142 Turks, 60Arabs, 25Albanians, 23Greeks, 12Armenians (including four from ARF and two fromHunchaks), 5Jews, 4Bulgarians, 3Serbs and 1Vlach. The CUP could count on the support of about 60 deputies and formed a government.[75]
Karekin Pastermadjian of the ARF became an MP.[76] During his four years as a deputy, he worked for the railroad bill.[which?] Its purpose was to build railroads in the vilayets which were considered to be Russia's future possessions. For that reason neither France nor Germany wished to undertake it. Another fundamental object was to build those lines with American capital, which would make it possible to counteract the Russo-Franco-German policies and financial intrigues. But in spite of all efforts he was unable to overcome the German opposition, although, as the outcome of the struggle in connection with that bill, two ministers of public works were forced to resign their posts.[citation needed]
At the time of theBalkan Wars (1912–1913) around 35,000 Armenians lived in Bulgaria.[citation needed]
Andranik participated in the Balkan Wars in theBulgarian army, alongside generalGaregin Nzhdeh, as a commander of Armenian auxiliary troops. Andranik met revolutionistBoris Sarafov in Sofia and the two pledged themselves to work jointly for the oppressed peoples of Armenia and Macedonia. Andranik participated in theFirst Balkan War alongside Nzhdeh as a Chief Commander of 12th Battalion ofLozengrad Third Brigade of theMacedonian-Adrianopolitan militia under the command of ColonelAleksandar Protogerov. His detachment consisted of 273 Armenian volunteers, which was more than half of the 531 non-Macedonian born fighters in the group.[citation needed]
On October 20, the Macedonian-Adrianopolitan militia and Andranik's volunteer detachment, participated in theSiege of Adrianople. On November 4, 1912, the Macedonian-Adrianopolitan militia with the support of Andranik's volunteer detachment defeated a numerically superior Turkish force nearMomchilgrad.[citation needed]
The politics in Constantinople was centered around trying to find a solution to the demands of Arab and Armenian reformist groups. With most of the Christian population outside of the Empire after the Balkan Wars, Islamism became central to the Ottoman official ideology.
In 1913,Karekin Pastermadjian took part in conferences held for the consideration of the Armenian reforms. He was in Paris and the Netherlands, as the delegate of the ARF, to meet the inspectors general who were invited to carry out the reforms.[citation needed]
TheArmenian reform package was signed in February 1914. L. C. Westenenk, an administrator for theDutch East Indies, and Major Hoff, a major in theNorwegian Army, were selected as the first two inspectors. Hoff was in Van when World War I broke out, just as Westenenk was preparing to depart for his post in Erzerum.[77][78][79]
On December 16, 1914, the Ottoman Empire dismantled theArmenian reform package, just after the first engagement of the Caucasus Campaign in theBergmann Offensive. TheTsar visited the Caucasus front on December 30, 1914, telling the head of theArmenian Church that "a most brilliant future awaits the Armenians".[80][81]
Russification programme reached its peak withthe decree of June 12, 1903, confiscating the property of the Armenian Church drawing the ire of the Armenians. When the Tsar refused to back down the Armenians turned to the ARF. The Armenian clergy had previously been wary of the ARF, condemning their socialism asanti-clerical. However, the ARF previously acquired support and sympathy in the Russian administration. This was mainly due to the ARF's attitude toward the Ottoman Empire, and the party enjoyed the support of the central Russian administration, astsarist and ARF foreign policy had the same alignment until 1903.[82] The edict on Armenian church property was faced by strong ARF opposition, because it now perceived the Russian government a threat to Armenian national existence. In 1904, a Dashnak congress specifically extended their programme to support the rights of Armenians in the Russian Empire as well as Ottoman Turkey.[citation needed]
As a result, the ARF leadership decided to actively defend Armenian churches.[82] The ARF formed a Central Committee for Self-Defence in the Caucasus and organised a series of protests. AtGandzak the Russian army responded by firing into the crowd, killing ten, and further demonstrations were met with more bloodshed. The Dashnaks and Hunchaks began a campaign of assassination against tsarist officials in Transcaucasia and they succeeded in woundingPrince Golitsin. The events convinced Tsar Nicholas that he must reverse his policies. He replaced Golitsin with the Armenophile governorCount Illarion Ivanovich Vorontsov-Dashkov and returned the property of the Armenian Church. Gradually order was restored and the Armenian bourgeoisie once more began to distance itself from the revolutionary nationalists.[83]
Unrest in Transcaucasia, which also included major strikes, reached a climax during the1905 Russian Revolution. 1905 saw a wave of mutinies, strikes and peasant uprisings across imperial Russia and events in Transcaucasia were particularly violent. InBaku, the centre of the Russian oil industry, class tensions mixed with ethnic rivalries. The city was almost wholly composed ofAzeris and Armenians, but the Armenian middle-class tended to have a greater share in the ownership of the oil companies and Armenian workers generally had better salaries and working conditions than the Azeris. The Bakuvian governor,Prince Mikhail Nakashidze, was murdered by an ARF bomb in May of that year.[84] In December 1904, after a major strike was declared in Baku, the two communities clashed on the streets and the violence spread to the countryside.[citation needed]
In January 1912, a total of 159 Armenians were charged with membership of a "Revolutionary" organisation. During the revolution Armenian revolutionaries were split into "Old Dashnaks", allied with theKadets and "Young Dashnaks" aligned with theSRs. To determine the position of Armenians all forms of the Armenian national movement was put onto trial.[85] When the tribune finished its work, 64 charges were dropped and the rest were either imprisoned or exiled for varying periods[85]
Beginning at the end of July and ending on August 2, 1914, theArmenian congress at Erzurum was a watershed event between theOttoman government of the CUP andOttoman Armenian citizens. Coming soon after the passage of theArmenian reform package, a conversation between these groups were established with the Armenian liaisonsSimon Vratsian,Arshak Vramian, Rostom (Stepan Zorian), and E. Aknouni (Khatchatour Maloumian) and Ottoman liaisons Dr.Behaeddin Shakir,Ömer Naji, and Hilmi Bey, also accompanied by an international entourage of peoples from the Caucasus. The CUP requested that Ottoman Armenians assist in an Ottoman military campaign intoTranscaucasia by inciting a rebellion (with theRussian Armenians) against the tsarist army.[86][87] The Ottoman plan was to draw thePersians,Kurds,Tatars andGeorgians into a holy war against the Allies.[88] They offered the Ottoman Armenians autonomy if they supported the war plan. The Tsar also promised autonomy forRussian Armenia.[88] A representative meeting ofRussian Armenians assembled inTiflis, Caucasus, during August 1914.[88] The Tsar promised autonomy to six Turkish Armenian vilayets as well as the two Russian-Armenian provinces.[89] Tsar asked Armenian's loyalty and support for Russia in the conflict.[88] The proposal was agreed upon and nearly 20,000 Armenians,Armenian volunteer units, served with the Russian colors.[88] The Armenians were quite willing to remain loyal to their government, but declared their inability to agree to the other proposal, that of inciting their compatriots under Russian rule to insurrection.[88] In spite of these promises and threats, the executive committee of the ARF informed the Turks that the Armenians could not accept the Turkish proposal, and on advised the Turks not to participate in the present war, which would be very disastrous to the Turks themselves.[90][better source needed]
TheRussian Armenian Volunteer Corps was a military fighting unit within theImperial Russian Army. Composed of several groups atbattalion strength, its ranks were exclusively made up of Armenians from the Russian Empire, though there were also a number of Armenian from the Ottoman Empire. In August 1914, following Germany's declaration of war against Russia, CountIllarion Vorontsov-Dashkov, the Russianviceroy of the Caucasus, approached Armenian leaders in theTiflis to broach the idea of a formation of a separate fighting corps. His offer was received warmly and within a few weeks Armenian volunteers began to enlist. Responsibility for its formation was given to a special committee created by theArmenian National Council, which coordinated its activities from Tiflis,Yerevan andAlexandrapol.[91]
TheBattle of Sarikamish took place from December 22, 1914, to January 17, 1915, as part of theCaucasus Campaign. The Ottomans employed a strategy which demanded that their troops be highly mobile and to arrive at specified objectives at precise times.[92] Along theKars Oblast, the 3rd battalion commanded byHamazasp Srvandztian and 4th battalion by Keri (Arshak Gavafian) operated on the front facing Erzurum between Sarikamish andOltu.[93] 4th battalion of the Armenian volunteers engaged at Barduz Pass.[94] The Ottoman army suffered a delay of 24 hours in theBarduz Pass, and 4th battalion of the Armenian volunteers lost 600 troops in a battle there.[citation needed]
Between April 15–18 of 1915, the brigade of Armenian volunteers under the command of Andranik participated in theBattle of Dilman of thePersian Campaign.[citation needed]
Drastamat Kanayan led his battalion into eleven battles in the neighborhood ofAlashkert, Toutakh, andMalashkert.[citation needed]
OnRed Sunday the leaders of the Armenian community were arrested and moved to two holding centers nearAnkara upon the order of the Minister of the InteriorMehmed Talaat Beyof April 24, 1915. Talaat Bey delivered the detention order on April 24, 1915, which commenced at 8 p.m. and carried out by Chief of Police of Constantinople Bedri Bey.[95]
Hampartsoum Boyadjian, a Hunchak, was among the first to be arrested in April 1915 atRed Sunday. After a trial in July, he was hanged on 24 August 1915, with 12 comrades.[96][97]
On May 6, 1915, Andranik was the commanding officer of the first Armenian volunteer detachment (about 1,200 soldiers), which helped lift theSiege of Van.[98]
On June 15, 1915,The Twenty Martyrs were sentenced to death by hanging. All twenty men were Hunchak leaders, and after spending two years in Ottoman prisons, and undergoing lengthy show trials, were hanged inBayazid Square.
In 1915 theAdministration for Western Armenia, popularly known as theRepublic of Van, was established under Russian protection, withAram Manukian as its head. The Republic of Van was aprovisional government which lasted until 1918.[99][100][101]
Andranik commanded a battalion which defeatedHalil Pasha in theBattle of Bitlis in 1916.[citation needed]
Negotiations with the French for returning Armenian refugees to their homes in Cilicia conducted underBoghos Nubar. Negotiations were conducted within theQuai d'Orsay. Foreign MinisterAristide Briand used this opportunity to provide troops for the French commitment made in theSykes-Picot Agreement, which was still secret at the time.[102] Armenian leadership also meet withSir Mark Sykes andFrançois Georges-Picot. TheFrench Armenian Legion was officially established inCairo, Egypt in November 1916, and put under the command of GeneralEdmund Allenby. Beginning in 1917, this Armenian force fought to the frontlines in Palestine and Syria against the agreement.
TheFebruary Revolution of 1917 caused chaos in Russian forces on the Caucasus Front, and by the end of that year most Russian soldiers left the front and returned to their homes. In July 1917, six Armenian regiments were created in the Caucasus Front with the support of Armenian organizations inPetrograd and Tiflis. As of October 1917 two Armenian divisions were already created, withTovmas Nazarbekian at their head. As of early 1918 only a few thousand Armenian volunteers under the command of two hundred officers opposed the Ottoman army.[citation needed]
In the spring of 1917, Karekin Pastermadjian and Dr.Hakob Zavriev was sent from the Caucasus to Petrograd to negotiate with theRussian provisional government concerning Caucasian affairs. Pastermadjian then left for America in June 1917 as the representative of theArmenian National Council of Tiflis and as the special envoy of the Catholicos of all the Armenians.[citation needed] He was assigned as the ambassador of the First Republic of Armenia to the United States in Washington, D.C.[citation needed]
On December 5, 1917, thearmistice of Erzincan was signed between the Russians and Ottomans, ending hostilities between the two states. After theOctober Revolution, a multinational congress of Transcaucasian representatives met to create a provisional regional executive body known asTranscaucasian Seim.[citation needed]
In 1918, the Russian authorities made Andranik a Major General.[103] He was then governor of the Administration for Western Armenia, from March and April 1918.[104]
The roots of an Armenian republic was achieved by the Armenians under Russian control which devised a national congress in October 1917. TheArmenian National Council of Tiflis was concluded in September 1917 with 203 delegates from Russian Armenia, of which 103 belonged to the ARF. On March 3, 1918, the Russians followed the armistice of Erzincan with theTreaty of Brest-Litovsk, and exited the war, with territorial losses. From March 14 to April 1918, aconference was held between the Ottoman Empire and a delegation of the Seim. When the first Republic of Armenia (First Republic of Armenia) was proclaimed in 1918, the ARF became the ruling party.[citation needed]
The original plan for theArmenian army was to consist ofTovmas Nazarbekian's 60,000 soldiers with Andranik Pasha's 30,000 fedayees. However, after the dissolution of theTranscaucasian Democratic Federative Republic, the Ottoman Empire had takenAlexandropol and were intent on taking Yerevan. After the formation of the First Republic of Armenia in May 1918 Andranik fought alongside volunteer units to stop the Ottoman army. The Armenians were able to stop the Turkish army in the battles ofSardarapat andAbaran. The First Republic of Armenia had to sign theTreaty of Batum on June 4, 1918. After the Ottoman Empire took vast swathes of territory and imposed harsh conditions, the new republic was left with 10,000 square kilometers.[105] Andranik's military leadership was instrumental in allowing the Armenian population of Van to escape the Ottoman Army and flee to Eastern Armenia.[citation needed]
On July 26, 1918, theCentrocaspian Dictatorship was a short-lived anti-Soviet client state proclaimed inBaku, forged by theMensheviks and the ARF, and the unrecognized state replaced the BolshevikBaku Commune in a bloodless coup d'état.[106] The Baku forces mainly were commanded byColonel Avetisov.[107] Under his command were about 6,000 Centrocaspian Dictatorship troops of theBaku Army.[107] The vast majority of the troops in this force wereArmenians, though there were someRussians among them. Their artillery comprised some 40 field guns. Most of the Baku Soviet troops and practically all their officers were Armenians of ARF affiliation.[108] Centrocaspian Dictatorship fell on September 15, 1918, when theOttoman-Azerbaijani forces took Baku after theBattle of Baku.[109]
By July a sectarian conflict had started inZangezur. Armenian couriers dispatched toYerevan pleaded for officers and materiel. The Republic could not support irregular forces fighting in the south. At the critical moment General Andranik arrived in Zangezur with an irregular division estimated with about 3 to 5 thousand men and 40,000 refugees and the occupied provinces of Russian Armenia.[110] As the commander of Armenian forces inNakhichivan Autonomous Republic,[clarification needed] Andranik declared that his army was determined to continue the war against the Ottoman Empire.[111] His activities were concentrated at the link between the Ottoman Empire and theAzerbaijan Democratic Republic atKarabakh,Nakhchivan, and Zangezur.[citation needed]
Andranik and his troops were 40 km (25 mi) fromShusha, the most important city of Karabakh at the time, in early December 1918. Just before theArmistice of Mudros was signed, Andranik was on the way from Zangezur to Shusha, to control the main city of Karabakh. In January 1919 Armenian troops advanced, and the British generalWilliam M. Thomson gave Andranik assurances that a favorable treaty would be reached at theParis Peace Conference of 1919.[112]
On October 30, theArmistice of Moudros ended the hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies of World War I. It also concluded theCaucasus Campaign for the Ottoman Empire. By the end of the war, the Ottoman Empire, although it lost thePersian Campaign, theSinai and Palestine Campaign, and theMesopotamian Campaign, it had re-captured all the territory which was lost to the Russians. The Ottomans signed several treaties establishing its supremacy in the caucasus: on December 5, 1917, thearmistice of Erzincan, on March 3, 1918Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, on March 14Trabzon peace conference and on June 4, 1918,Treaty of Batum.[citation needed]
In 1919,Avetis Aharonyan was the head of the Armenian delegation at the Paris Peace Conference withBoghos Nubar. In late 1919 Andranik led a delegation to the United States to lobby its support for a mandate for Armenia. He was accompanied by GeneralJaques Bagratuni, Captain Haig Bonapartian, and Lieutenant Ter-Pogossian. InFresno he directed a campaign in which he raised $500,000 for the relief of Armenian war refugees.[citation needed]
Aharonyan signed theTreaty of Sèvres formulating the "Wilsonian Armenia" in direct collaboration with the Armenian Diaspora. The treaty was signed between the Allied Powers and the Ottoman Empire atSèvres,France on August 10, 1920. It made all parties signing the treaty recognize Armenia as a free and independent state. The drawing of definite borders was, however, left to PresidentWoodrow Wilson and theUnited States Department of State, and was only presented to Armenia on November 22.Wilsonian Armenia refers to the boundary configuration of theArmenian state in the Treaty of Sèvres, drawn byWoodrow Wilson.[115]
On September 24 and theTurkish–Armenian War began, which resulted in a Turkish victory.Negotiations were then carried out betweenKâzım Karabekir and a peace delegation led byAlexander Khatisian in Alexandropol. Although Karabekir's terms were harsh the Armenian delegation had little recourse but to agree to them. TheTreaty of Alexandropol was thus signed on December 3, 1920, after the Armenian government had fallen to a concurrent Soviet invasion on December 2.[116]
Azerbaijan claimed most of the territory Armenia was sitting on, demanding all or most parts of the former Russian provinces ofElizavetpol,Tiflis,Yerevan,Kars andBatum.[117] Territorial clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan took place throughout 1919 and 1920, most notably in the regions ofNakhichevan,Karabakh andSyunik (Zangezur).
In May 1919, Dro led an expeditionary unit that was successful in establishing Armenian administrative control in Nakhichevan.[118]
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However, despite ARF's tight grip on power, the ARF was unable to stop the impendingRed Army invasion of Armenia from the north, which culminated with a Soviet takeover in 1920. There was also a large movement of Armenian communists who aided the Soviet control. The11th Red Army began its virtually unopposed advance into Armenia on November 29, 1920.[citation needed]
The actual transfer of power took place on December 2 in Yerevan. The Armenian leadership approved an ultimatum, presented to it by the Soviet plenipotentiaryBoris Legran. The ARF was banned its leaders exiled and many of its members dispersed to other parts of the world.[citation needed]
Daniel Bek-Pirumyan was arrested and executed by the Bolsheviks in Karakilisa in 1921. In 1937 duringJoseph Stalin'sGreat Purge against the military and other suspected enemies, his secret police arrestedMovses Silikyan,Christophor Araratov,Dmitry Mirimanov, Aghasi Varosyan, Stepan Ohanesyan, Hakob Mkrtchyan, and Harutyun Hakobyan imprisoned and finally executed in Nork gorge. Aghbalyan moved to Lebanon, and established the Nshan Palanjian seminarium inBeirut.[citation needed]
TheTreaty of Kars was signed on October 13, 1921, and ratified inYerevan on September 11, 1922. The treaty established the current borders between Turkey and the South Caucasus states. Armenian Minister of Foreign AffairsAskanaz Mravian and Minister of Interior Poghos Makintsian signed the Treaty of Kars, which helped to conclude the territorial disputes after the Caucasus Campaign.[citation needed]
In January 1920,Turkish National Movement sent forces to Marash, where theBattle of Marash ensued against theFrench Armenian Legion. The battle resulted in the massacres of 5,000 – 12,000 Armenians, spelling the end of the remaining Armenian population in the region.[119]
France disbanded the French Armenian Legion shortly after the war started. One of the Armenian Legion members,Sarkis Torossian, wrote in his diary that he suspected the French forces gave weapons and ammunition to the Kemalists to allow the French army safe passage out of Cilicia.[120]
TheCilicia Peace Treaty between France and the Ankara Government was signed on 9 March 1921. It was intended to end the Franco-Turkish war, but failed to do so and was replaced in October 1921 with theTreaty of Ankara.[citation needed]
On 18 February 1921, the ARF led an anti-Soviet rebellion in Yerevan and seized power. The ARF controlled Yerevan and the surrounding regions for almost 42 days before being defeated by the numerically superior Red Army troops later in April 1921. The leaders of the rebellion then retreated into theSyunik region. On 26 April 1921, the 2nd Pan-Zangezurian congress, held inTatev, announced the independence of the self-governing regions of Daralakyaz (Vayots Dzor), Zangezur, and Mountainous Artsakh, under the name of theRepublic of Mountainous Armenia and later on 1 June 1921, it was renamed the Republic of Armenia.[121]
After months of fierce battles with the Red Army, the Republic of Mountainous Armenia capitulated in July 1921, following Soviet Russia's promises to keep the mountainous region as a part of Soviet Armenia. After losing the battle,Garegin Nzhdeh, his soldiers, and many prominent Armenian intellectuals, including leaders of the firstIndependent Republic of Armenia, crossed the border into the neighbouring Persian city ofTabriz.[citation needed]
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Operation Nemesis was the ARF's code-name for a covert operation in the early 1920s to assassinate the Turkish planners of theArmenian genocide. Those involved with the planning and execution of the operation (includingShahan Natalie andSoghomon Tehlirian) were survivors of genocide. The Operation, between 1920 and 1922, assassinated many significant political and military figures of the Ottoman Empire, the Internal Affairs Minister ofAzerbaijan and some Armenians who were working against the Armenian cause.[citation needed]
TheFirst Republic of Armenia was the first modern establishment of an Armenian state. The leaders of the government came from mainly the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and also other Armenian political parties who helped create the new republic. When it was declared, out of 2,000,000 Russian Armenians in the Caucasus, 1,300,000 Russian Armenians were to be found within the boundaries of the new Republic of Armenia, which also had 300,000 to 350,000 refugees that escaped from the Ottoman Empire.[122] Added to this Armenian population were 350,000 to 400,000 people of other nationalities.[122] There were 1,650,000 Armenians (both Russian, and Ottoman origin) of the 2,000,000 people within the borders of the new Republic.[122][better source needed]
Richard G. Hovannisian explains the conditions of the resistance:
"In the summer of 1918, the Armenian national councils reluctantly transferred from Tiflis to Yerevan to take over the leadership of the republic from the popular dictator Aram Manukian and the renowned military commander Drastamat Kanayan. It then began the daunting process of establishing a national administrative machinery in an isolated and landlocked misery. This was not the autonomy or independence which Armenian intellectuals had dreamed of and for which a generation of youth had been sacrificed. Yet, as it happened, it was here that the Armenian people were destined to continue [their] national existence."[123]
— R.G. Hovannisian
The timeline covers the activities of Armenian citizens of theOttoman Empire,Russian Empire and theArmenian diaspora in Europe as early as the 1890s. The timeline has events formulated by theSocial Democrat Hunchakian Party,Armenakan Party,Armenian Revolutionary Federation, andArmenian Patriotic Society of Europe. The events under theArmenian Soviet Socialist Republic are not covered.
There is a Fedayees museum in Yerevan named after General Andranik Ozanian. Armenian resistance has left a symbolic dish. The "Harissa (dish)" (Armenian:Հարիսա): is generally served to commemorate theMusa Dagh resistance.[citation needed]
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)The Armenian revolution was born in a romantic haze, inspired by Russian populism, the Bulgarian revolution...
In the whole operation some seven or eight thousand Armenians lost their lives, a massacre which, accompanied by others in the neighbouring areas, caused consternation in the capitals of Europe.
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