Armenian pogroms in the Ottoman Empire in 1894-1896 and politics of Russia (according to the diary of V.N. Lamzdorf)

Abstract

The presented material examines the attitude of the ruling elite of Russia to the pogroms of the Armenian population that took place on the territory of the Ottoman Empire in 1894-1896. The main historical source in the article is the diary of Count V.N. Lamzdorf, Director of the Chancellery of the Russian Foreign Ministry. Analysis of V.N. Lamzdorf's diary allows us to understand the mechanisms of decision-making in St. Petersburg on the Armenian issue in the context of Russia's relations with the Ottoman Empire and other European states. The article notes the impact of the change in Russia's foreign policy strategy in view of its claims in the Far East on the policy of the Empire in the Balkans and the Middle East. V.N. Lamzdorf shows that the Russian ruling elite strove to preserve the territorial integrity of the Ottoman Empire and the status quo in the Balkans and Asia Minor on the eve of grandiose changes in the Far East. This factor led to the dominance in the Russian Foreign Ministry of the policy of a peaceful resolution of the Armenian issue in the Ottoman Empire, with the help of convincing the Sultan of the need for voluntary concessions in this direction. The general policy of European states in resolving this problem was hampered by disagreements between Great Britain, Russia, France, Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary. The text of the article repeatedly cites the opinion of V.N. Lamzdorf, demonstrating the distrust of St. Petersburg to the tough policy of Great Britain in relation to the Ottoman Empire. A study of the diary of the Director of the Foreign Ministry Chancellery shows the disdainful attitude of Emperor Nicholas II and Foreign Minister A.B. Lobanov-Rostovsky towards the national movement of Armenians in Western Armenia. The article notes that V.N. Lamzdorf himself and the Russian ambassador to Istanbul A.I. Nelidov, as the crisis grew, became increasingly aware of the futility of the policy of peaceful persuasion of the Sultan in the need to present administrative-territorial autonomy to the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire without its reinforcement with power resources. The failure of the reforms could lead to a new wave of pogroms against Christians in the Ottoman Empire, including Armenians and Greeks, as it happened in 1898 in Crete.