When Turkey attacked Russian Armenia, the Tsarist government, fearing that the defense of the Caucasus by the Armenians would fuel the nationalistic ambitions of the Armenian people, sent 150 thousand Armenian soldiers to the Polish and Galician Fronts and moved other Russian troops to the Caucasus to protect the Armenian population.
Of these 150,000 Armenian soldiers, only a few survived the European battles and were able to return to the Caucasus until the end of the war. It was a harsh measure in relation to the Armenian people, but in the future, even greater woes awaited them.
The Russians were gone, the Turks have not arrived yet. The surviving Armenian male population made desperate efforts to organize the defense of their country.
Armenian elements of the Russian army united and with the help of volunteers for some time delayed the Turkish offensive. Of the 150 thousand Armenian soldiers taken into the Russian army, the vast majority had already perished or had been scattered, and the Armenians could recruit no more than 35 thousand people.
Gladstone’s fame and eloquence had contributed to the fact that the British people and all the liberal public in the world were well aware of the troubles and beatings that Armenians had endured in the past.
Opinions regarding the Armenians were different – some emphasized the suffering of the Armenian people, while others emphasized their shortcomings. But, in any case, in contrast to the indifference which Western democracies usually demonstrated towards the fate of Eastern and Middle Eastern peoples, Armenians and all their misfortunes were well known in England and the United States.
The Interest in the Armenian race was fueled by religious, philanthropic, and political motives. The atrocities carried out against the Armenians aroused the fair anger of those simple and compassionate men and women of whom there were so many among the English-speaking nations.
Now, it seemed that the moment came when the Armenians would be provided with fair treatment and with the right to live peacefully in their homeland. Their oppressors and tyrants died as a result of war or revolution.
The greatest nations that turned out to be the winners were friends of the Armenians and had to take care of the triumph of the Armenian cause. It seemed incredible at the time that the five great Allied powers would not be able to fulfill their will.
In the Lausanne Treaty, which depicted the achievement of the final peace between Turkey and the great powers, history would in vain search for the word “Armenia.”
“Believe in my deep sympathy for the Armenian people,” Winston Churchill said to Avetis Aharonyan.
P.S. Now, it is clear why the Russians are voting for the departure of an Armenian contingent to Syria with “humanitarian” and other missions. Now, it is clear that those who agreed and sent the Armenian mission to Syria under the Russian flag are in fact potential killers of the Armenian people. Now, it is clear who these people are and what final goals they are pursuing.
