What The Russian Archives Say About The Armenian Claims

A Turkish scientist who did research in the official Russian archives, has found a document that clearly disputes just about everything Armenian activists said during World War I and now, about their own conduct and that of the Turks / Ottomans. Before looking at the document, and quoting it, it has to be pointed out that those of us who are actually honest don’t take these things at face value alone; the document has to be authenticated. However, it’s reasonably save to publish it here since the chance that it is not authentic is not that big.

Of course, everything is possible, if it is not authentic, you will see me publish a post retracting this one at a later date. I am, however, confident that it will not be necessary to do so.

All the more so because the document does not give us much new information; it only confirms what we already know. Armenian activists have tried to deny it for years, but it should be clear for everyone who has studied this subject in some detail, that the Turks are not the ones lying about the conduct of tens of thousands of Armenians before, during and after World War I.

OK, here is what the document, partially, says:

Firstly, it was written by Brigadier General Leonid Bolkhovinitov and sent to the Russian headquarters in Dec. 11, 1915. The Turkish scientist found the document at the Russian State Military History Archives.

He wrote: “Armenian voluntary units had started violent slaughters against the Muslim people with racist motives.” The Russian Brigadier General added that the information given by the Armenians “are politically-motivated” and did not reflect the actual situation in the region. He also named the incidents as, “The issue defined as the Armenian question.”

“We shall not believe in the death tolls that the Armenians give. The number of missing people has been exaggerated in the memos distributed by the Dashnak party and there is no doubt that they are politically-motivated. Those Armenian gangs, who triggered the slaughters, are the ones who should be blamed for those missing,” Bolkhovinitov wrote in his report.

Furthermore, he argued, Britain was responsible for must of the hostilities between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Without British interference, the report said, the two may have formed an alliance. However, the British - the report says - provoked the Armenians to attack Turkish Muslims, which made the situation untenable. He then added: “Before that Turks, Armenians, and Kurds used to live in peace. Even the living conditions of Armenians were much better than Kurds’ and Turks.”

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The entire report is rather repeated in other archives. However, these archives are the British ones. Telegrams and documented communication between the Porte, and Salisbury do solicit such intent.

The common goal and interest of the British Empire was to keep the Russian Empire at bay. Thus keeping the Ottoman state weak, but strong enough to create a buffer zone between the "Silk" road from India to the Sinai.

Thus the hampering of Ottoman territories was somwhat easy for the Brits to accomplish. As the Russians were at the gates of Istanbul, the British fleet was in the Marmara. Which led to the Russian withdrawal, but also the "protectorate" mandate or ultimatum. That ultimatum was sent to the Sultan on the premise of defending the Asiatic territories of the Ottoman state.

The conditions of this ultimatum, was in most part, if not in all, for British interests. As it placed demands for the British mandate on the Island of Cyprus. Hence, the British said at the time, they would take the Island anyway but made mitigating proposal for the Sultan not to appear any weaker than he was.

The deal were these drastic reforms imposed to better the life of Christian subjects throughout the Empire. Unfortunately, the Sultan had presumptivly thought this wasn't anything the British took serious. When really, it acted as leverage for the Armenian communities to start demanding more and more from the already impoverished Ottoman government.

The debt the Ottomans had, respectively was around 250,000,000 pounds owing to the British Empire. This was an accumilating debt on an interest rate of 6%. So there really wasn't any method of sustaining the British demands that the British didn't care much for. However, the conditions of the demands soon after did incite the feeling of "broken" promises to the Armenians by the Ottoman Government.

There after, the Turks found themselves inbetween two Empires, and a violent minority incited by the great powers. As the first world war broke out, the Armenian terrorists/rebels/freedom fighters took the opportunity to use the Russian position in the war to thwart the Ottoman control in "Western Armenia". During that operation, the cleansing of Mussuluman, Kurdish and Turkish a like was not an uncommon scene. The incited reaction was complete, but only one thing became a problem for the Armenians fighting with the Russians, the Russians were out of the war and were going home. Therefore, the Armenians were left alone to fend for themselves while still trying to clean the blood off their hands.

This is when the relocation law was signed. The unavoidable and untenable situation arrived with the decision to segregate the Armenian Ottomans out of the eastern provinces in their best interest to prevent any retaliation from local Mussulumans, Kurds, and Turks a like. The exaggerations the Russian General advised are consistent as people did begin to dissappear. They were being relocated, but not at the numbers the Armenians had solicited.

According to census reports before the war, Ottoman Armenians were a scarcely and sprawled minority in Anatolia. With a total population of not over 1.2 million people. The claim today is that 1.5 Armenians perished during the war. While the Armenian diaspora and state still refuse to acknowledge the deaths of 600,000+ Turkish residences in the region. Turkey has acknowledged a substantial amount of dead Armenians, and those numbers vary from 500,000 - 700,000.

Turkey also acknowledges the many deaths of Armenians as a cause of minority disputes and hardships. However Turkey, admits justly that it was in an impotent status to be able to govern and police the war torn eastern provinces of Anatolia.

The belief and accurate information collected from the British and Russian archives do not suggest a genocide. But an incited rebellion for the betterment of each Empire. Russians were close swallowing the Ottoman Empire whole, but managed modern Armenia only, and then were stopped by the British. Whom made the reprocautions with the means of propaganda to incite rebellious movements as a cost to keep the Ottomans weak and Russians away from their Indian frontier.
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*http://poligazette.com/2008/06/16/russian-archives-refute-armenian-claims/
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