Կարսի մարզում ապաստանած արևմտահայ փախստականների դրությունը և մոտավոր թվաքանակը 1890-ական թթ

Abstract

In the 1890s, the Western Armenians having survived from the slaughtering policy of Abdul Hamid II were scattered all over the world. The dense caravans of Western Armenians started to move to the Caucasus Viceroyalty. Being on the boundary, Kars Province had become a gathering place for the Western Armenian refugees. Initially they were lent a helping hand by the local population, but they themselves were also in a very poor social-economic condition and besides, the number of the refugees was increasing day by day and the locals could no longer help the Western Armenian refugees and give them shelter. The problem of refugee relief organization focused in the hands of the Caucasian Armenian Benevolent Society (hereinafter CABS), which organized the help of refugees with the support of Kars and Kaghzvan branches. Our research showed that the number of those settled in Kars Province was more than 20.240. In 1908 already after the Young Turk Revolution, the CABS assisted the refugees in the problem of return at all costs.