Abstract
Tsarist Russia, before and during the First World War, encouraged non-muslims living under the Ottoman State to revolt to weaken the Ottoman State from within and to undermine its struggle on the fronts, and also contacted some Kurdish groups and provoked them against the Turkish State with the promise of establishing a so-called Kurdish state in Eastern Anatolia. Russia, which focused its policies on the Kurds especially in 1914, started to meet with some Kurdish leaders in order to use them against the Ottoman State. Furthermore, it aimed to unite some ethnic elements, especially Armenians and Kurds, under the umbrella of Russia and use them against the Ottoman State in the First World War. This study examines developments in the years 1914–1915, when the aforementioned Russian policies regarding separatist Kurdish movements reached their peak, based on the published archival documents of Tsarist Russia. In addition, the changes in Tsarist Russia’s separatist Kurdish activities, which was initiated and encouraged in 1914, in the context of its policies towards Armenians in 1915 will also be discussed.
Keywords: Osmanlı, Rusya, Birinci Dünya Savaşı, Kürt, Ermeni
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