In 1828 Russia finally rooted in South Caucasus

PanARMENIAN.Net - By the treaty of Turkmanchay, the Qajar Empire recognized Russian suzerainty over the Erivan khanate and Nakhchivan khanate. Thus, the whole of Eastern Armenia passed under the Russian control, while the western part entered into the structure of the Ottoman Empire. This division became one of the causes of the Armenian Genocide, but not the key one, as Turkey is constantly pledging. Annexation of Eastern Armenia to Russia saved the Armenian population from being massacred by the Caucasian Tatars (who now call themselves Azerbaijanis) and from total assimilation to the Persians. In that distant time Erivan was a city more Persian than Armenian, and but for the closeness of Echmiadzin, almost nothing in the city would have implied that Christians lived there. Only a few churches... However, it should be noted that Persia was not much intolerant of confessors of other religions, and attracted them to the construction of the empire, without urging them to change their faith. The Persians simply “made use” of the Armenians, who were skilled craftsmen, by engaging them in the enhancement of their empire. But the situation was totally different in the Ottoman Empire.

As a reminder, hostilities between Turkey and Persia ended only in 1639 thanks to the partition of Armenia: the western part was ceded to the Ottoman Empire, while the eastern part, together with Yerevan, came into the possession of the Persian Empire. Eastern part of Armenia was ruled by a sardar (governor), while a chief of police appointed by him governed Yerevan.

In 1828 Russia finally took roots in the South Caucasus. The territory of present Azerbaijan consisted of khanates and provinces, most of which passed into the possession of Russia. Modern Azerbaijani “apologies for a historian” are trying to prove that in the place of Eastern Armenia there used to be Northern Azerbaijan, that is why the Republic of Armenia is nothing else but part of the “aboriginal Azerbaijani lands”. All this is so ridiculous and absurd that even answering these “historians” would be senselessness. Eastern Armenia was cut to the present size by Bolsheviks in cahoots with Kemalist Turkey. But that's a different story. As for the peace Treaty of Turkmanchay, it saved hundreds of thousands of Armenians from death, captivity and slavery. Also in the person of Armenia Russia got a staunch ally in such a dangerous region. There has always been little hope on Georgia; Azerbaijan did not exist then; so there remained only Armenia. Perhaps in the course of years some victories of the Russian weapon have been perceived ambiguously, but in any case, despite the fact that Armenians had hard times under the Russian rule too, there worked the saying “Choose the lesser of two evils”. In the absence of own statehood, Russia was then the lesser evil.

Nevertheless, it must be admitted that after the formation of Erivan Province, life in the city advanced: there opened schools, gymnasiums, printing houses, and the comedy of Alexander Griboyedov “Woe from Wit” was first staged in a private house in Yerevan. Although there was made an attempt to place under the jurisdiction of the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate the property of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the story had a fortunate end for us. So, by and large, there were more pluses than minuses. And let us not forget that it was into Eastern Armenia that western Armenians fled while escaping from Turkish scimitar.