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Ottoman Turks and Persians contested the area in the 16th century and in 1639 they divided Armenia between them. The Persian half eventually fell to the Russian empire in 1828. Muslim Turks saw the large Christian population in the eastern half of Turkey as a subversive threat. They massacred 300,000 Armenians in 1894-1896. Armenia was a battleground between Turkish and Russian armies during World War I. Though successful against the Turks, Russian troops withdrew after the Russian Revolution in 1917. Turkish massacres of Armenians escalated; between 1915-1922 nearly 1.5 million Armenians perished in what is considered the first genocide of the twentieth century. A modern diaspora of Armenians sought refuge in Russia, the United States, and elsewhere. | Ottoman Turks and Persians contested the area in the 16th century and in 1639 they divided Armenia between them. The Persian half eventually fell to the Russian empire in 1828. Muslim Turks saw the large Christian population in the eastern half of Turkey as a subversive threat. They massacred 300,000 Armenians in 1894-1896. Armenia was a battleground between Turkish and Russian armies during World War I. Though successful against the Turks, Russian troops withdrew after the Russian Revolution in 1917. Turkish massacres of Armenians escalated; between 1915-1922 nearly 1.5 million Armenians perished in what is considered the first genocide of the twentieth century. A modern diaspora of Armenians sought refuge in Russia, the United States, and elsewhere. | ||
The defeat of the Ottoman Turks in World War I and the dissolution of the Russian Empire gave the Armenians a chance to declare independence in May 1918; but the nation could not defend its borders against the Red Army that invaded in December 1920 and reestablished Russian ascendancy. During the war between Turkey and Greece (1920-1922), Armenians sided with the Greeks and the victorious Turks wrested the districts of Kars and Ardahan from the western portion of Armenia. Russia incorporated the remainder of Armenia | The defeat of the Ottoman Turks in World War I and the dissolution of the Russian Empire gave the Armenians a chance to declare independence in May 1918; but the nation could not defend its borders against the Red Army that invaded in December 1920 and reestablished Russian ascendancy. During the war between Turkey and Greece (1920-1922), Armenians sided with the Greeks and the victorious Turks wrested the districts of Kars and Ardahan from the western portion of Armenia. Russia incorporated the remainder of Armenia into the Russian Empire and thence intosome gramar the Transcaucasian Soviet Republic in 1922. It became a separate republic in 1936 and remained part of the Soviet Union until the union disintegrated in late 1991 and Armenia regained its independence. | ||
Armenia has not prospered in the recent decades. In December 1988, a massive earthquake killed 55,000 and left hundreds of thousands homeless. It damaged the country’s nuclear reactors and they had to be shut down, substantially reducing the national energy supply. Much of Armenia was denuded of trees as they were cut down for firewood during the extremely cold winter of 1992-1993. Fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan erupted in 1992 over the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, entirely encompassed by Azerbaijan. Though a cease fire went into effect in 1994, the issue has not been resolved. | Armenia has not prospered in the recent decades. In December 1988, a massive earthquake killed 55,000 and left hundreds of thousands homeless. It damaged the country’s nuclear reactors and they had to be shut down, substantially reducing the national energy supply. Much of Armenia was denuded of trees as they were cut down for firewood during the extremely cold winter of 1992-1993. Fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan erupted in 1992 over the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, entirely encompassed by Azerbaijan. Though a cease fire went into effect in 1994, the issue has not been resolved. | ||