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Transition from Iranian rule to Russian rule

Russo-Perisan Wars; and Treaties of Gulistan (1813) and Turkmenchai (1828)

Audrey L. Altstadt argues that Russian military actions towards Caucasus were already on since 1790, but the first war Russo-Persian War was 1804. (1804-13) The commander-in-chief appointed by Russia was infamous Pavel Tsitsianov, called  ishpokdor  meaning "his work is dirt", or "shedder of blood" by Iranian chronicler Muriel Atkin. Tsitsianov's main destructions took place in the historical city of Ganja now in Azerbaijan, including the change of city’s name to Elizavetpol. He has functioned from 1803 to 1806, until his assassination in Baku.

Administration after 1828

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Russian administration was not equal towards non-Christian Azerbaijanis, and the religious authorities were kept under control and this created disturbance among non-Christian citizens. The Azerbaijani Turks were affected by Russian restrictions against non-Christians.The Russian state made concerted efforts to control the application of Islamic law in the empire

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Baku

After the treaty of Gulistan in 1813, Baku was fully integrated into Russian Empire. The years after the Russian conquest, Azerbaijan saw significant economic development, especially int he city of Baku after the second half of the 19th century.

1813: Treaty of Gulistan

Russia, fighting in two frontiers, with Ottoman in between 1806 to 1812; with Persian in 1804 to 1813 years, the wars were ended consecutively by treaties: treaty of Bucharest in 1812 with Ottoman Empire, and treaty of Gulistan in 1813 ended the Russian- Persian conflict for a while. Under this treaty, Russia was acknowledged as the power controlling South Caucasus; western and eastern Georgia and Muslim khanates till Baku and Quba was under Russian control and administration.

Assessment and aftermath

Controlling the administration of Caucasus, Russia was recognized as a power over Caucasus, yet the success of treaty of Gulistan was overshadowed with the Ottoman threat. Treaty of Bucharest was in favor of Ottoman Empire, that gained the territories Russia conquested during the time of war: Poti and Anapa, Black Sea port cities as well as Akhalkalaki. Still, the conditions of sovereignty comparatively stabile in these years, in the complex political map of South Caucasus, Russia had the means to control the region through defensive lines.

Ottoman Armenia

The Ottoman Empire consists of millets, different ethnic and religious groups have their own administrations in local scale, and Armenians were governed by the Patriarchate. In Constantinople, upper eschelons of Armenian society control the Patriarchate, resulted in lower and middle class Armenians' dissidence in 1840.

The geographical as well as cultural distance between Armenian citizens of Empire in great cities like Constantinople or Smyrna with Eastern Anatolia, contributed the differences between these two communities of Armenians living in Ottoman Empire.

As Ottoman Empire attempted to reform the inequalities and injustices among its citizen, through British-forced Hatt-i Sherif of Gülhane in 1839 and Hatt-i Humayun in 1856, Although the situation of the Ottoman Armenians slightly improved after Abdul Mejid I carried out Tanzimat reforms in its territories, the reforms were never fully implemented and proved unsuccessful. Among the Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire, the habit was to look to Europe instead the empire, for security and promises.

Meanwhile, Turkish nationalism was to replace the ideas such as Ottomanism, the non-Turkish subjects of the Empire was under threat, not only of discrimination but also of extermination, and the clash between was inevitable.

The Armenian national movement, besides its individual heroes, was an organized activity represented around three parties of Armenian people. The first party, Armenakan s, was established in Van, modern-day Turkey, in 1888. Yet, more influential ones were Social Democrat Hunchakian Party, and Armenian Revolutionary Federation; (ARF was the largest and most influential among the three) and were created by Armenians under Russian sovereignty.

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When both empires governing Armenians, Russian and Ottoman, came to World War I, both attempted to deal with Armenian issue with great violence and brutality, carried to level of policy of genocide by Ottoman Empire.

The Armenian Genocide (1915–1921)

The disputes over the lands, local power and tax, created the hostility between the Armenians and the Kurds, of whom Ottoman state used to control areas with Armenians. The Armenian Question, becoming an international one rather than an internal issue, started to take attention and protest from Western foreigns. In addition to these, the revolutionary Armenian parties, and the wars between Russia, motivated the Turkish government for strategic considerations.

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In 1915, the Ottoman Empire systematically carried out the Armenian Genocide.

The violence started with the arrest and forced exile of Armenian intellectuals in April 24, 1915 especially from Constantinople. Within coming months, the Armenian communities in Eastern Anatolia was forced to move, displaced, killed or forced to walk in inhuman conditions towards Southern borders, to Syrian desert.

The events of 1915–23 are regarded by Armenians and the vast majority of Western historians to have been state-sponsored mass killings. Turkish authorities, however, maintain that the deaths were the result of a civil war coupled with disease and famine with casualties incurred by both sides. The exact number of deaths is hard to establish. It is estimated by many sources that close to a million and a half Armenians perished in camps, which excludes Armenians who may have died in other ways. Most estimates place the total number of deaths between 600,000 (by Turkish authorities) and 1,500,000 (by Western academics).