As Loshense moreover points out, amongst the Georgians were several rich and noble families with large properties and lands, who were respected and treated well by the royal Russian rule. The Armenians in Caucasus, in contrast, were for the most part peasants, minor land owners, craftsmen and merchants, and constituted a group with democratic demands who refused to be subject to anyone. 15
Pobedonostev and his comrades displayed a particular dislike of the Armenian people, due in part perhaps to the important status of General Loris Melikian, the Armenian commander who was appointed as interior minister of the Russian Empire by Alexander II. Melikian, in accordance with Armenian traditions, worked to bring Russia closer to Europe and take it down the path of a more liberal rule, which would be in contrast to the oppressive Ottoman regime.
Poibiedonostsev and his men could not forgive Melikian for his liberal leaning, and their dislike of him was projected onto each and every Armenian. 16
The political elite led by Poibiedonostsev pursued a policy of harassment of the Armenians, akin to that directed towards the Finns, Baltic peoples and Poles on the basis of their religion and ethnical identity.
An official order from the Russian government revoked the freedom which Tsar Nicholas I, in 1836, had issued for the Armenian Church. From the time of the new order in 1889, a great deal of pressure was exerted on the Armenian schools which were under the supervision of th Armenian Church , and their activities were drastically decreased. 17
At the same time, the Armenian people were subject to an increasing obligation to convert to the Orthodox faith. Faced with the affection of the Armenians towards their church and nationality, the Russian government implemented all measures to redirect this affection away from Armenia and towards Russia. As mentioned earlier, Russia also favoured the policy of strengthening the tent-living nomadic Kurds and the Tatars in Armenia, to undermine the Armenian identity. As time went on, the Russian initiatives became more evident. One instance was agricultural policy: in Eastern Armenia, where there is ample pasture, the Russian government simply refrained from renting or selling land to Armenians, simultaneously opposing any plans for new irrigation channels to improve fertility. 18
As it transpired, the Russian administration made acceptance of the Orthodox faith a condition for Armenians to receive land. 19 When the determination of the Armenians not to abandon their state religion became evident, it was decided to keep the lands for future settlements of Russian emigrants. 20
In the wake of the massacres of 1894-1896, 60 000 Armenians, of whom almost all were peasants, searched asylum in Transcaucasia, and in particular in the province of Kars. Once again, however, the Russian government refused to let the Armenians farm the land, even though there were plenty of free estates. Instead, Armenians were either permitted to settle down in the cities or, if they wanted land, to move to Siberia.
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