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The following choice bits are from:
A History of Armenia
by Vahan M. Kurkjian
published by the
Armenian General Benevolent Union of America
1958 /YR
From an online publication
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Russians
take the Erevan province from the Persians |
The army of Abbas was defeated and the city of Tabriz was occupied by the Russians. By the
treaty of Turkmen-Tchai in 1828, Persia surrendered the Khanates of Erevan and Nakhjevan,
their sole remaining possessions on the left bank of the Arax. Etchmiadzin, the spiritual
capital of the Armenian people, was thus delivered from incursions, often humiliating and
sacrilegious. However, the creation of an "Armenian autonomous province" under
Russian suzerainty, which had been promised or hoped for, did not meet with the approval
of the Viceroy of the Caucasus, General Paskevitch.
Shah-Abbas seized upon this excuse to attempt a revenge for the reverses inflicted upon
Persia by the Turks. He promptly invaded Azerbaijan, took the province of Ararat and
advanced towards the West. He was brought to a halt, however, when confronted by a
powerful force under the general, Sinan Pasha, sent against him by the new Sultan of
Turkey, Ahmed I (1603-1617). Shah-Abbas, realizing his inferiority, had to give up
Armenia, but not before he had burned and destroyed everything within reach, reducing the
country to a waste and making it useless for the victorious Turks. At the same time, he
ordered the Armenians to emigrate to Persia and settle there as colonists. The entire
population of Eastern Armenia was thus deported, and those who were unwilling to quit
their ancestral homes were forced to do so under the threat of whip and bludgeon, even of
steel. Weary caravans did finally, after a long march, reach the banks of the Arax River,
the crossing of which cost the lives of thousands. Those of the evacuees who could manage
to evade their conquerors slipped away to the north, to seek refuge in Astrakhan, on the
Volga River, to join eventually the preceding Armenian emigrants in Moldavia, Bukovina and
Poland.
The news of a Russian campaign was therefore joyfully hailed by the harassed people, and
their courage was revived to the point of aiding the army of liberation. General
Paskevitch captured a dozen important towns and cities in Armenia — Kars, Akhalkalak,
Akhaltzikh, Bayazid, Diadin, Alashkert, Hassan-Kala, Erzerum, Khnous, Baiburt, etc. The
Czarist armies, victorious also in European Turkey, were threatening Constantinople when
Western powers, intent on maintaining the integrity of the Ottoman Empire, interceded. By
the Treaty of Adrianople in 1829, Russia was persuaded to restore to Turkey all her new
acquisitions in Asia with the exception of the districts of Anapa, Poti, Akhalkalak and
Akhaltzikh.
[p288]
The Armenians were bitterly disappointed, and fearing Turkish vengeance for their
adherence to the Russian cause, ninety thousand of them emigrated towards Alexandropol and
adjacent Russian territories. This was a pitiful exodus; half of them died from starvation
and exposure on the way. The survivors found themselves confronted with another
oppression. The Russian administration, heir to the Byzantine policy of championship of
the Orthodox Church, was not in sympathy with the faithful Armenian churchmen, who, being
orthodox too, had clung to the autonomous existence of their own creed. Greek intolerance
of bygone centuries seemed to have been transmitted in force to these Slavs of the East.
Despite the periodical incitement of religious fanaticism by the Russian Orthodox clergy,
the Armenians have always acknowledged their gratitude for the full security given to them
within the Russian frontiers in those early days of the 19th century.
The main body of the deportees was, after a toilsome journey, herded through Azerbaijan
and Kurdistan towards Ispahan, where Shah-Abbas established in 1605 an Armenian town, New
Julfa, not far from his capital city. The King evinced a real sympathy towards the exiles,
and as soon as they had settled in their new home, he proclaimed religious liberty within
his realm. He himself occasionally attended the ceremonies of the Armenian Church, and did
not tolerate any molestation of Christians by his Moslem subjects. Unfortunately, many of
his successors failed to adhere to his wise policy, and under the influence of fanatical
mollahs, mistreated the Armenians.
The reforms were to be executed in the six Armenian provinces, Erzerum, Van, Bitlis,
Diarbekir, Sivas and Kharput. Scarcely had the paper been signed when secret orders were
issued from the palace of the "Red Sultan" for the general massacre which took
place in 1895 and 1896. The number of the dead, almost all of them able-bodied men,
reached 100,000 — according to the conservative estimate of the British Blue Book,
63,000.
Highlights
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The Armenian historian is
telling us:
In the early 17th century, the
Ottoman Turks took parts of Armenia from the Persians.
The Persians truly
"deported" the Armenians from Eastern Armenia
[But we are not told that
the Erivan province had a
Muslim majority before the Russian conquest. This area became populated with
Armenians much more afterwards, as part of Russian policy, principally with
Armenians from the Ottoman Empire.]
When Russia flexed her muscles
in 1828-29 against the Ottoman Turks, many Armenians betrayed their Ottoman nation.
Russian promises to
Armenians, via General Paskevitch, were broken.
90,000 Armenians left with the
Russians, for fear of Ottoman revenge upon the Armenians' disloyalty
[With the WWI parallel,
Richard Hovannisian wrote in 1967 that 300,000 Armenians did the same, about half dying from
famine and disease. These are called "genocide victims."]
The Russian Orthodox clergy
encouraged religious fanatics, a holdover from the Greeks, against the Armenians
The Persian Shah Abbas treated
the Armenians kindly
The number of 1890s Armenian
dead is reported as from one-half to one third of today's typical claims of 200,000
to 300,000.
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Post
WWI Developments (link) |
In November 1918 the British landed in Batum and in the middle of
the following year they withdrew from Trans-Caucasus. During the critical period of the
Armenian Republic they did not help our people, but merely sold to the Armenians some
rifles and military uniforms. They tried to use the Armenians as tools in their fights
against the Bolsheviks. General Stokes, in the name of the British Foreign Secretary gave
the only honest advice to the leaders of the Republic. "England cannot do anything
for you," he said, "Try to come to an understanding with the Bolsheviks."
On November 25th, Ohanchanian and the Tashnak Bureau relinquished their powers and Simeon
Vratsian, the chief of the Bureau was elected Premier. To halt the Turkish army, he sent
Khatisian to Alexandropol to meet Karabekir and arrange an armistice. In the meanwhile he
called an extraordinary council (Nov. 30-Dec. 1) with government and party officials
dominating it, to decide whether Armenia should adopt Russian or Turkish orientation. The
majority voted for the Russian tie. Immediately following the decision, Vratzian informed
LeGrand that Armenia had now become an "Independent Socialist Republic." The
next day, December 2nd, 1920 an agreement was signed with LeGrand, according to which
Armenia should have a Soviet regime; the Republican army should not be held responsible
for its past opposition, the members of the Tashnak party should not be persecuted; on the
contrary, two members of the party would be admitted to the ministerial cabinet and Dro,
another member, would be appointed military governor of Erevan. Thereupon, Vratsian and
his government withdrew from office, after serving only seven days. The Turks remained
[p487] static for the moment, waiting watchfully. On December 6th, the Revolutionary
Committee arrived in Erevan under the presidency of Gassian, to whom Dro surrendered the
reins of government.
Treaty of Alexandropol; February revolution
It was at Alexandropol that the Turks and the Armenian delegation under Khatisian first
heard of the bolshevization of Armenia. Karabekir was urging the delegation to sign the
armistice the same day. It is rumored that Khatisian telephoned Erevan, asking whether he
should sign the armistice, and received an answer, attributed to Vratsian, that he was
authorized to do so. It is a known fact that sixteen hours after the bolshevization of
Armenia, toward midnight on December 2nd, Khatisian signed the Alexandropol treaty, which
can be summarized as follows:
"Turkey recognizes the independence of Armenia; the Armenians yield their rights in
the Sèvres Treaty (that is to say the cause of Turkish Armenia); the Akhourian river will
be the boundary between the two countries; the Armenian army will not have more than 1,500
soldiers; military service will not be compulsory; the gendarmerie will be responsible for
internal security; Turkey will defend Armenia against attack; Sharour and Nakhitchevan
will be autonomous territories under Turkish protection," etc.
Scarcely three months later, there occurred a civil war in Armenia known as the February
revolt, which claimed thousands of new sacrifices from a bleeding people. The opposing
sides have different versions of this ghastly event. The Armenian Bolsheviks accuse the
Tashnak party of inciting the people to rebellion, that Vratsian organized a
"Liberation Committee" whose sole aim was to overthrow the communist regime. His
immediate colleagues were Rupen "Pasha" and commander Nezhteh, who was in
Zangezur. On the other hand, the Tashnaks accuse the Bolsheviki of persecuting their
members, beating and shooting their former opponents, thus forcing the people to defend
themselves.
The Tashnak revolt lasted about 45 days — from February 18th to April 2nd, 1921. It is
reported that this fratricidal war cost the unhappy nation more than 20,000 lives. Through
an unfortunate twist of fate, there was simultaneously a conference in Moscow between the
Russians and the Turks, and another in London between British [p488] and Turks. To both of
these conferences Vratsian who had again become the Armenian Premier, sent telegrams
confirming the treaty of Alexandropol. But while Vratsian was dispatching these messages,
A. Aharonian, the delegate of the Armenian Republic declared before the Allied Supreme
Council on February 26th that he and the government he represented "do absolutely
reject the treaty of Alexandropol."
This dissension had a disastrous effect on the cause of Turkish Armenia.
However, when the Bolshevik army reached Erevan, the Tashnak revolt was crushed, and
Vratsian fled to the mountains of Sewnik carrying with him the treasury of the Republic.
After a futile attempt to set up an independent government in Zangezur, he and his
followers moved on to the city of Tabriz in Persia.
Lenin thereupon sent Alexander Miasnikian to pacify Armenia and establish a stable
government there, on the Soviet pattern.
Highlights
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The Armenian historian is
telling us:
The British used the Armenians
as pawns.
The Armenians willingly joined
the Soviets.
The Turks had nothing to do
with this decision, remaining "static."
The Gumru/Alexandropol Treaty
is the first time the Turks had heard of the Bolshevization of Armenia.
The violence of early 1921 was
between Armenians only, resulting in a "self-genocide" of 20,000 lives. When some writers refer to the "Armenian Genocide
of 1915-1921," they are including these victims as having died at the hands of
the Turks.
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