Armenian national movement

Long ago, Armenian people lived in two big lands.

They wanted to rule themselves. Many people began to learn more about their history. They started new schools and wrote newspapers.

Some groups worked to make things better. They wanted more rights for their people. This helped them feel like one nation.

Later, a very sad time happened. Many people were hurt during a big war. This was a hard time for everyone.

Finally, they made a new country.

It was a big moment for the people.

Long ago, many Armenians lived in two big lands. These were the Ottoman and Russian Empires.

In the 1860s, a new spirit grew. This was called a national awakening. Armenians began to study their history. They started new schools and wrote newspapers. Many people learned about new ideas from Europe. They wanted to be a nation of thinkers.

By the late 1880s, political groups formed. These groups wanted Armenians to rule themselves. Some fought in small wars. Others wanted to use the press to make change.

During World War I, a very sad thing happened. The Ottoman government killed many Armenians. This was called the Armenian genocide. Between 800,000 and 1,500,000 people died.

In 1918, the Republic of Armenia was born. It was a new state in the Caucasus. But this state did not last long. In 1920, the Red Army from Russia took control. Most of the land became part of the Soviet Union. Many Armenians had to leave their homes. They moved to new places like Greece and the United States.

The Armenian national movement was a big change for the Armenian people. For a long time, they lived in two large lands. These were the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire.

Armenians wanted to have a better life in these places. They also wanted to have their own state. This movement included many different things. It had social groups and cultural groups. It also had political and military groups. These groups grew much stronger during World War I. People wanted to decide their own future. They wanted to be a nation of thinkers and workers.

This movement grew through many steps over many years. First, Armenians began a national awakening in the 1860s. They started to study their own history. They built new schools and colleges. They also started newspapers to share news. Protestant missionaries helped by teaching many students. These students learned new ideas from Europe. Some ideas came from the French Revolution. These ideas were about the rights of all people. This helped people rethink their place in the world. They moved from just loving their culture to wanting real action.

Many people worked to build this movement. In the late 1880s, political parties began to form. Three main groups were the Hunchak party and the Armenakan party. The third group was the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, also called the Dashnaks. Some groups, like the Protectors of the Fatherland, were secret. They started in a place called Erzurum in 1881. They even had a motto: "Freedom or Death." Other leaders, like Mëkërtich Portukalian, helped through the press. They wanted to win the right to rule through revolution and education.

History shows that this time was very hard. During World War I, the Ottoman government killed many Armenians. This event is known as the Armenian genocide. Experts estimate that between 800,000 and 1,500,000 people died from 1915 to 1917.

Many Armenians joined the Russian army to help. In 1918, the Armenian National Council declared a new Republic of Armenia. This was a new state in the Southern Caucasus. However, this state did not last very long. By 1920, the Red Army from Russia took control of the country.

The movement changed how Armenians lived in the world. After the Russian army took over, much of Armenia became part of the Soviet Union. This lasted until 1991 when the Soviet Union ended. When the Soviet Union fell, the Third Republic of Armenia was born.

Because of the wars, many Armenians had to leave their homes. They became refugees and moved to new places. They settled in Greece, France, and the United States. This created a large group of Armenians living all over the world. This is known as the Armenian diaspora. Their story links the old empires to the modern world we see today.

The Armenian national movement was a complex series of social, cultural, and political efforts. These movements aimed to improve the status of Armenians living in the Ottoman and Russian Empires. Eventually, the movement sought to establish an independent Armenian state. This awakening began in the early 1860s. It was influenced by the Age of Enlightenment and the French Revolution. It was also shaped by other nationalist movements within the Ottoman Empire.

The movement developed through several distinct stages of political consciousness. Initially, Armenian elites focused on reform within the existing empire. During the Tanzimat Era, they worked with Ottoman reformers to stop abuses by nomadic Kurdish tribes. This was especially important in the six Armenian-populated vilayets. When these reforms failed to provide safety, nationalism grew among the intelligentsia. They moved from cultural romanticism toward active political programs. This shift turned a religious community into a group of patriots and thinkers.

Education and the press were vital mechanisms for this national awakening. Protestant missionaries established many schools and colleges throughout the Ottoman Empire. These institutions taught European intellectual currents to thousands of students. For example, 23,000 students studied within 127 Protestant congregations. Armenian historians also began writing their own history to instill national pride. New newspapers allowed people to share ideas and organize. This helped transform the Armenian people from an ecclesiastical community into a modern nation.

As the movement progressed, organized political parties emerged to lead the struggle. In the late 1880s, nationalists began guerrilla warfare against the Ottoman government. Three major parties led these efforts: the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party, the Armenakan Party, and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, also known as the Dashnaks. Some groups, like the Protectors of the Fatherland, operated as secret societies. They used a cell structure to maintain organization. These parties sought different paths, ranging from unarmed resistance to full revolution.

The movement faced extreme hardship during World War I. During this time, the Ottoman government carried out the Armenian genocide. This was a systematic extermination of the Armenian people. Historical estimates suggest that between 800,000 and 1,500,000 Armenians were killed from 1915 to 1917. In response to these events, tens of thousands of Armenians joined the Russian army. They formed volunteer units after receiving promises of autonomy.

Political shifts in the region led to the birth and loss of an independent state. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, Russian forces retreated from occupied territories. The Armenian National Council proclaimed the Republic of Armenia on May 28, 1918. This established a state in the Southern Caucasus. However, this independence was short-lived. By 1920, Turkish forces invaded the western half of the republic. Simultaneously, the Russian Red Army invaded and annexed the country in December 1920.

The aftermath of these conflicts reshaped the Armenian world forever. Much of the former Russian-controlled territory became the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. This part of the Soviet Union existed until the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991. Following that collapse, the Third Republic of Armenia was established. The wars also forced hundreds of thousands of Armenians to become refugees. They settled in places like Greece, France, and the United States. This created a global Armenian diaspora that connects the nation to the modern world.