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THE BIG EXODUS
Then comes a new misfortune: taugh having smashed the Turks on the battlefields, victorious Russia is forced to evacuate virtually all of the Liberated Armenian provinces, under the diplomatic pressure of France, England and Germany .
Panic spreads then among the inhabitants of these provinces, informed of the destiny reserved to their brothers in Javakhk and also in the rest of Eastern Armenia.
The fear from a Turkish revenge, added to the incentive of the Russian administration, in search for docile Christian populations in order to repopulate the devastated zones of Eastern Armania, but more especially of rebel Northern Caucasus, will incite the exodus of more than 300 000 Armenians from Western Armenia, coming essentially from the strategic provinces of Garin (Erzeroum), Passen, Alashkert, Mouch, Hamshen …., retreating with Russian army.
Finally, from this shiny military campaign, which revived the immense hope of a Liberated Armenia, the Russian Empire retained only the cities of Akhalkalak and Akhaltzkha, devastated and depopulated…..
This big exodus will have disastrous consequences for the future of the Armenian country: the Erkir. In fact, the departure of the Armenians coincided with the floods of Muslim settlers towards Western Armenia, the unfamous ‘Muhadjirs' ….
Indeed, it was a matter of tacite understanding between the Turks and the Russians, each side having an interest in this process.
Thus, while recovering docile and laborious christian populations, Russia expelled the fanatical muslim rebels from Northern Caucasus, base to Chamil’s rebellions.
On its turn, Turkey profited from this rare occasion to change the homogenous character of the Armenian Country (Erkir), since the 300 000 Armenians of 1828 would have represented almost 650 000 in 1915 …… plus, the Turks launched a huge forced islamisation campain on this occasion, among the populations remaining on their encestral lands. Almost as much Armenians, nearly 250 000, preferred their soil to their identity, and thus accepted the forced islamisation.
Thus, almost half a million of Armenians were “eliminated” from Armenia in 1828, replaced by almost as much « Turks », thanks to the combination of forced islamisation, influx of the refugees from the Balkans and the North Caucasus. The latters, embittered, full of revenge, prooved to be perfect persecuters, used against the Original Armenians… especially « thanks » to a state policy aiming the final extermination of the Original inhabitants.
These « Muhadjirs » are immidiatly armed, granted full powers and total impunity for eny crime commited against christians, and are imposed on every Armenian village in the Erkir. They were arbitrarily offered the best plot of lands, confiscated from the poor Armenian peasants without eny compensation. As if this was’nt enough, the villagers are forced to feed these settlers, to host them, to give them their cattle, and if ever they wished, the most beautiful girls…..
In the collective Armenian memory, the ‘Zouloum' was to spread from now on, untill it became the norm. The Appartheidal policy got more and more hard lined, untill it turned into a systematic Genocidal plan, resulting first into the Generalised Hamidian Massacres, and then into 1915- 23.
And even taugh in the collective memory of the Armenians, the Zouloum is immediately associated with the Kurdish tribes and the Hamidiye Troops, it is still not less true, that these ‘Muhadjir Settlers’ played an essential role, by undermining the basis of the economy in the Erkir, by maintaining the oppression in every day life, making life impossible for the Armenian peasant.
Besides, most of the revolts in Sassoun or in Mouch, were caused by the presence of these turkified Settlers. The famous Kyossé Bimbachi was for example a Tcherkez from the North Caucasus….
The Big Western Powers (England, France and Germany), in reality not very concerned by the destiny of the Armenian people, sacrificed the first Christian Nation on earth for the sake of ‘bigger interests’ (the future Realpolitik), Thus they returned Western Armenia to the Turkish Butchers in 1829 for the first time, and unfortunately no the last....
Nevertheless, bled to white, illiterate, enslaved and betrayed, the Armenian masses will never stop believing the ‘Big beautiful promises of Christian Powers in Europe'.
Alas, the same causes provoking the same effects, Armenia will still be sacrificed in the same conditions in 1878, then in 1917, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1939, 1945, 1988, 1991...