EMIGRATIONS FROM EASTERN ANATOLIA AND EASTERN BLACK SEA REGIONS UNDER RUSSIAN OCCUPATION IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR
Abstract
One of the most tragic results of wars is that civilians living in war territories have to
leave their settlements, that is, migration. The fate of the Caucasia was deeply influenced by
these migrations as much as by the battles fought in the Caucasian Front in the First World
War. Having begun in the first days of the war in 1914, migrations continued uninterruptedly
until 1917. The Muslim population of the region where the Turkish-Russian conflict was
experienced had to immigrate westwards in parallel to the Russian advancement.
The number of migrants climaxed after the Russian occupation of Erzurum in 1916.
Local people, all kinds of transportation means of whom had been seized by the Turkish
army, retreated along with the army to the inner parts of Anatolia despite the freezing cold
as they did not want to live under a yoke. Upon occupation of Trabzon in the same year,
local people immigrated westwards over Ordu and Giresun. Mostly the sea route and boats
were used during the immigration. The immigrants had to cope with gang attacks, epidemics
and hunger along the path despite all kinds of precautions taken by the Ministry of Internal
Affairs and the Governorships of Erzurum and Trabzon. Those who migrated through the
Black Sea were attacked by the Russian Navy. The migration wave that started from Erzurum
extended over Erzincan and Sivas to Kayseri, Niğde, Kırşehir and Çatalca. And those who
immigrated southwards spread to a wide region up to Diyarbakır and Adana.
This study examines the migration movements between 1915 and 1917 based on
the Turkish General Staff’s Archive of Military History and Strategic Studies (ATASE), the
Turkish Prime Ministry’s Ottoman Archive and memoirs.
Keywords
References
- Genelkurmay Askerî Tarih ve Stratejik Etüt ve Denetleme Başkanlığı Arşivi (ATASE)
- BDH. 361.1030.1445.015.022
- Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi (BOA) :
- DH. ŞFR. 509/97.
- DH. ŞFR. 509/98-5.
- DH. İ.UM. Z13/74.
- DH. ŞFR. 510/49.
- DH. ŞFR. 510/138.
Details
Primary Language
Turkish
Subjects
-
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
Publication Date
August 26, 2016
Submission Date
April 27, 2016
Acceptance Date
July 18, 2016
Published in Issue
Year 1970 Volume: 16 Number: 32