Map Close  
Person info Close  
Information Close  
Source reference Close  
  Svenska
 
Index

Armenia

The Urartu Civilisation

Victory for Independence

Artashisian Dynasty on the Armenian Throne

Armenia caught between Rome and the Arsacids

The Acceptance of Christianity

Defending Christianity

Armenia Under the Bagratouni Dynasty

Cilicia - the New Armenia

Armenia Under Turanian Rule

The Renaissance or the Resurrection of Armenia

The Eastern Question

Russia in the Caucasus

The Armenian Question

Battle on Two Fronts

Tsarist Russia Against the Armenians

The Revolution of the Young Turks and the Armenian People on the Eve of World War I

The First World War

The Resurrection of Armenia

Armenia on the Road to Independence, 1918

- Armenia on the Road to Independence, 1918

Eastern Armenia

Western Armenia

"The Fateful Years" (1914-1917)

"Hopes and Emotions" (March-October, 1917)

The Bolshevik Revolution and Armenia

Transcaucasia Adrift (November, 1917

Dilemmas (March-April, 1918)

War and Independence (April-May, 1918)

The Republics of Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia

The Suppliants (June-October, 1918)

In conclusion

Soviet Armenia

The Second Independent Republic of Armenia

Epilogue

Previous page Page 343 Next page Smaller font Larger font Print friednly version  
Eastern Armenian Preparations

Whereas the Armenians of Turkey promised to fulfil their duties, those of Russia begged Tsar Nicholas II for opportunity to undertake more than their normal obligations. War fever once again stirred Transcaucasia to extraordinary vivacity. Tiflis, the intellectual, cultural, and financial centre of the Eastern Armenians, became the site of pronounced anti-Turkish agitation. Anticipating war in a near festive atmosphere, the National Bureau, which had been formed in 1912 to pursue the problem of Ottoman reforms, attempted to coordinate Armenian strategy. Already in August, 1914, through the Bureau's initiative, Catholicos Gevork had appealed to Nicholas to take under his benevolent wings the suffering Western Armenians, to protect their lives and property, and to guarantee the implementation of the reform project. 13 Count Vorontsov-Dashkov, acting as intermediary, informed the Catholicos in September that the government was determined to introduce into the eastern Ottoman provinces the measures envisaged in the original Russian plan of 1913 and to make no compromises on the Armenian question. The Viceroy continued: "I feel obliged however to warn you that at the present moment Armenian activity both on our side and beyond the order must be in complete conformity with my directives, for because of the existing strained relations between Turkey and Russia, from the point of view of general policy shared by our allied governments, it is imperative that the occasion for war be given by Turkey itself and not by any action of ours. Thus, it is very undesirable and even dangerous to instigate a revolt among the Western Armenians." 14

Vorontsov-Dashkov concluded by requesting the Catholicos to keep his flock prepared to action case of armed conflict.

The Viceroy for Caucasus manoeuvred skilfully to gain the loyalty of Dashnaktsoutiun, which, since 1904, had been at war with the Russian bureaucracy. Pursuing this goal, he coaxed Nicholas to appease the Armenians by responding favourably to an appeal of the Catholicos to liberate the many members of Dashnaktsoutiun still in prison or exile. In his petition, the Catholicos defended the patriotism of the party, whose antagonism to the Russian government he ascribed to the misguided and harmful policies of Vorontsov-Dashkov's predecessors. In addition to a general amnesty, the prelate requested the immediate release of a hundred and eighty specifically named civic and political leasers. 15 the voice of the Armenians seemed now to reach the Imperial Palace, for the Tsar accepted the advice of his Viceroy and returned the prisoners of the "Stolypin era" to Transcaucasia.

Vorontsov-Dashkov followed closely the debates of the Armenian National Bureau, regional assemblies of Dashnaktsoutiun, and numerous special conferences relating to the formation of volunteer contingents. Such units had assisted Russian armies in 1827-1828, 1855-1856, and 1877-1878, but on each occasion the Armenians had felt insufficiently compensated for their sacrifices. Soon after the German declaration of war, Vorontsov-Dashkov conferred with bishop Mesrop of Tiflis, Alexander Khatisian, mayor of the city, and Dr. Hakob Zavriev, active both in Dashnaktsoutiun and Russian public circles, and suggested that the Armenians initiate the creation of volunteer corps. 16 Later, through his military staff, the Viceroy offered to provide the necessary weapons, material, and money to outfit four separate groups, which would be commanded by popular revolutionary heroes. The enemies of the Tsar were to become his officers. 17