Occupation of Western Armenia
The occupation of Western Armenia by the Russian Empire during World War I began in 1915 and was formally ended by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. It was sometimes referred to as the Republic of Van by Armenians. Aram Manukian of Armenian Revolutionary Federation was the de facto head until July 1915. It was briefly referred to as "Free Vaspurakan". After a setback beginning in August 1915, it was re-established in June 1916. The region was allocated to Russia by the Allies in April 1916 under the Sazonov–Paléologue Agreement.
Occupation of Western Armenia | |||||||||
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| 1915–1918 | |||||||||
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The area of Russian occupation as of September 1917 and administrative-territorial division of the regions of Turkey occupied by Russian troops during the First World War in 1916-1917. Some Western-Armenian regions (Berdaghrak\Yusufeli, Sper\Ispir, Tortum, Gaylget\Kelkit, Baberd\Bayburt and other) were included by Russians into Trebizon (Pontic) territorial division. | |||||||||
| Status | Military occupation | ||||||||
| Capital | Van (de facto) | ||||||||
| Common languages | Armenian Turkish Kurdish | ||||||||
| Religion | Armenian Apostolic Islam | ||||||||
| Governor | |||||||||
• Apr 1915 – Dec 1917 | Aram Manukian | ||||||||
• Dec 1917 – Mar 1918 | Tovmas Nazarbekian | ||||||||
• Mar 1918 – Apr 1918 | Andranik Ozanian | ||||||||
| Historical era | World War I | ||||||||
| April–May 1915 | |||||||||
| 8 March – 8 November 1917 | |||||||||
| 3 March 1918 | |||||||||
• Turkish recapture Erzurum | 12 March 1918 | ||||||||
• Turks recapture Van | 6 April 1918 | ||||||||
• Dissolved | April 1918 | ||||||||
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| History of Armenia |
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| Timeline • Origins • Etymology |
From December 1917, it was under Transcaucasian Commissariat, with Hakob Zavriev as the Commissar, and during the early stages of the establishment of First Republic of Armenia, it was included with other Armenian National Councils in a briefly unified Armenia.
This provisional government relied on Armenian volunteer units, forming an administrative structure after the siege of Van around April 1915. Dominant representation was from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. Aram Manukian, or "Aram of Van," was the administration's most famous governor.