Categories: History

Nicholas II Expressed Solidarity with Adbul Hamid’s Policy Towards Armenians

The last Russian emperor, Nicholas II (1894-1917), was the immediate executioner of the Armenian people on par with the Turkish authorities. In particular, during the Armenian pogroms of 1894-1896, the Russian emperor declared his support to the Turkish sultan Abdul Hamid.

Moreover, Russian diplomacy called the rising movement against the Sultan policy of exterminating the Armenians “part of the international revolution that must be suppressed at the very beginning.” And Russian Foreign Minister Lobanov-Rostovsky instructed the Sultan: “Exterminate, Your Majesty, exterminate.”

This happened at a time when the Russians were trying in every way to prevent British pressure on the Sultan. The British demanded the implementation of a reform program in the Ottoman Empire, which was regarded by Russians as interference in the internal affairs of Turkey.

During the reign of Nicholas II, many Armenian schools were closed down, and Armenian leaders were persecuted, arrested, and sent into exile. In June 1903, a law was passed under Nicholas to confiscate the property of the Armenian Church.

In 1905, Armenian-Tatar clashes were artificially provoked as well. And in the end, it was under Nicholas II that in the summer of 1915, the Russian army without any explanation retreated from Van Province, condemning its population to death.

David Fidanyan

Vigen Avetisyan

Recent Posts

Before the Sistrum: Tracing a Bronze Age Rattle from Anatolia to Ararat

How a humble noise-making instrument may connect Hattian metalworkers, Hurrian myth-singers, Egyptian priestesses of Isis,…

1 day ago

The Turkish Pipeline: How Syrian Fighters Were Recruited, Moved and Deployed Against Armenian Forces in the 2020 Artsakh War

Image Source: 301.am For years, Ankara and Baku publicly denied that Syrian fighters had any…

4 days ago

Tork Angegh: Storm, Stone, and the Oldest Face of the Armenian Pantheon

Long before Armenia's kings raised churches over pagan sanctuaries, before Hellenism folded Vahagn into Herakles…

1 week ago

The Goat on the Armenian Highland: A Symbol Older Than Writing

Introduction Long before Urartian kings inscribed their names in cuneiform on the cliffs of Van,…

2 weeks ago

“Summon Against Her the Kingdoms of Ararat”: Urartu-Armenia in the Prophecy Against Babylon

A Coalition Beneath the Mountain Among the oracles of judgment collected in the Book of…

2 weeks ago

The Tower That Never Left Us: From the Susi Shrine of Ancient Van to the Obelisk Above the Yerevan Cascade

If you have ever climbed the Cascade in Yerevan and looked up at the tall,…

2 weeks ago