The Armenian Question

By Anonymous -
One of the big questions during the process of keeping the Ottoman Empire together is managing several of the demographic groups within the region. One such group in the Ottoman Empire was the Armenians, who have a deep historical ties to the eastern portion of the Ottoman Empire. The problem arose because Armenians were primarily Christian, due to which they faced widespread discrimination from both the Ottoman Empire themselves as well as neighboring groups like the Kurds.

The key conflict revolving around the Armenians was the Russo-Turkish War in which Russia attempted to reclaim territory it has lost during the Crimean War, and helping support several of the ethnic groups in the Balkans attempting to break away from the Ottoman Empire. The Armenian groups hoped to utilize Russia’s successful invasion to gain more rights within the Ottoman empire. This was given in Article 16 of the Treaty of San Stefano, which put Russia’s withdrawal from the region on the condition that the Armenians be treated better. However, the great powers feared Russia was utilizing this to lay full claim to the region, and this was changed to simply say that the Ottomans should implement reforms to better treat the Armenians in Article 61 of the Treaty of Berlin. Unfortunately, these reforms were not implemented, and instead the Armenians faced even more severe punishments and massacres.

 We should note that none of the European powers particularly cared about the Armenians, but simply considered them a strategic resource. Russia used them to take strategic land connecting it to the Black Sea, and then stay there as long as possible. Most of the “reforms” proposed were more to just give the illusion of support to Armenians in order to support European actions in the region, and did not even have an Armenian representative give input. The Armenian question would eventually result in the Armenian revolt, and the Armenian genocide, so these actions should not be taken lightly. Overall, managing the relationship between European powers, the Ottoman Empire, and individual demographic groups will be key for successful delegates.

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