Modern History of Armenia (17-21 cc.)

Brutal political, social, national and religious oppressions led to a massive liberation movement of the Armenian people in that period.

In 1722-1730 a strong national-liberation movement broke out in Syunik led by David Bek. At that time the Russian Empire began to expand his country's southern borders and already by “Adrianopole Treaty” (1829) the accession of the Transcaucasia was mostly completed. In 1828 “Armenian Marz” (Region) was temporarily formed on the territories of the former Yerevan and Nakhichevan Khanates, which later became the basis of the rebuilt Armenian statehood. Since the beginning of the 19th century Armenia was divided between the Ottoman and Russian empires. The western and eastern parts of historical Armenia, populated with Armenians, are conditionally called Western Armenia and Eastern Armenia.

Not having independent and its own state, in the 20th century, Armenia stood on the edge of destruction. Taking advantage of the situation created as a result of the First World War, in February 1915 the War Minister of the “Young Turks” government Enver Pasha ordered to exterminate the Armenian soldiers serving in the Turkish army. On April 24 and subsequent days in Kostandnupolis (Istanbul) some 800 representatives of the Armenian intellectuals such as writers, doctors, scholars, journalists and clerics, including Armenian members of the Turkish Parliament, were arrested and deported far in Anatolia. After Armenian intellectuals and soldiers were killed, the Turks began their 2nd program of monstrous project. They began to kill peaceful civilians, women, elder population, children. The implementation result of this monstrous program,  1.5 million people were killed during Armenian Genocide. Western Armenia was deprived of its native population.

The First Republic of Armenia

 On May 26, 1918 the Transcaucasian Sejm (Parliament) was dissolved leading to the dissolution of Transcaucasian Republic. on May 28, 1918 the Armenian National Council declared itself as the only and supreme authority of Armenian provinces. The Republic of Armenia was established.

Soviet Armenia

On November 29, 1920 a small detachments of the Red Army and the Armenian Bolsheviks entered Ijevan (Northeastern Armenia) from the Azerbaijani side and declared Armenia a Soviet Republic. On March 16, 1921 a Treaty on Friendship and Fraternity between Russia and Turkey was signed in Moscow, new border was recognized according to the Treaty of Kars (October 3, 1921) that was signed between Turkey and the Transcaucasian states and is in force up to date. Soviet Armenia became a leading industrial-agrarian country. The Armenian people took an active participation in the Second World War. About 440,000 Armenian soldiers and officers fought in the ranks of Soviet Army.

Karabakh movement

 On the February 20th, 1988 the extraordinary session of the Council of the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast /NKAO/ adopted a historic decision, based on the constitution of the USSR. The Council made an appeal to the Azerbaijani SSR, to the Armenian SSR and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to withdraw the Oblast from Azerbaijan and transfer it to Armenia. Between the 27th and 29th of February 1988, in response to the aforementioned peaceful rallies and demonstrations which took place in Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, the massacres and mass murders of the Armenian population were organized in the industrial city of Sumgait (not far from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku). The movement began to accept larger volumes. In May-June 1991 Azer prompted the beginning of the Karabakh-Azerbaijan war. At that period Armenian population formed a united national front, consisted from underground Committees for Self-Defense and numerous headquarters for the self-defense forces across the various regions of the NKAO. 

3-rd Republic

 On September 21, 1991 the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia decided to hold a referendum throughout the whole territory of the republic to come out from the USSR and declare its independence, according to the provisions of the “Declaration of Independence” of the RA.  On the 23th of September, 1991, the Supreme Council declared Armenia independent, based on the results of the plebiscite. Levon Ter-Petrosyan was the first president elected in 1991. On July 5 of 1995 the RA Constitution was adopted.  On February 19, 2008, Serzh Sargsyan was elected as the President, who is  the current president of Armenia.

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