The Dashnaktsutiun’s Search for an Ally on the Eve of the First World War

Abstract

This article focuses on the rather controversial 8th World Congress of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), held in Erzurum in August 1914. Historians are divided on the outcome of this very important congress. Historians who support the genocide thesis argue that representatives of the ruling Committee of Union and Progress were present in Erzurum during the Congress and propo-sed to the ARF (the leading Armenian party in both the Ottoman and the Russian Empire) to incite a rebellion against the Tsarist regime in return for an autonomous Armenia in three Ottoman vilayets/provinces. However, historians who do not agree with the genocide thesis categorically deny either a meeting between the Ottoman representatives and ARF or any proposal including autonomy. In this article, the author reviews and evaluates all available archival sources, as well as the memories of the attendees and secondary sources and draws several important conclusions. a). ARF and some Ottoman officials seem to have had negotiations in Erzurum aimed at facilitating some cooperation between Tashnak Armenians on both sides of the border and the Ottoman government in order to open a new front against Russia. b). That the Ottoman officials were fully authorized by the Ottoman government for formal talks with the ARF delegation is rather questionable; yet there is little doubt that a form of autonomy was among the promises made to the ARF delegation. c). ARF claims that the Erzurum Congress had secured the loyalty of the Armenians to the Ottoman Empire should be questioned as the ARF had decided to form and arm the so called Armenian voluntary units long before the congress commenced and the Ottoman Empire entered WWI.