THE SOUTH CAUCASUS IN 1905-1906 ACCORDING TO “THE NEW YORK TIMES” COVERAGE

Abstract

In the years 1905-1906, events took place in the South Caucasus that were called "Armenian-Tatar (Azerbaijani Turkish) clashes” or "Armenian-Tatar massacres”. The main sources in the study of this issue, along with archival documents, official records, and memoirs of eyewitnesses of events are newspaper periodicals. Newspapers are an irreplaceable source of scientific information, and for historical research, they have often been used as an additional source of information that provides an understanding of the historical context of past events. In this sense, newspaper periodicals are the most significant source for the reconstruction of the events of 1905-1906 in the South Caucasus. This article analyzes the events of 1905-1906 based on the coverage they received in the American press, the most important being the New York Times newspaper. The study of the materials convincingly shows that they were not objective, because despite the numerous facts cited about the huge casualties on both sides, the Azerbaijani Turks were still portrayed as the culprits of the conflict.

Keywords

• South Caucasus
• Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict
• The New York Times
• massacre
• ethnic conflict

“THE NEW YORK TIMES” KAYITLARINA GÖRE 1905-1906 ARASI GÜNEY KAFKASYA

Abstract

1905-1906 yıllarında Güney Kafkasya’da “Ermeni-Tatar (Azerbaycan Türkü) çatışmaları” veya “Ermeni-Tatar katliamları” olarak adlandırılan olaylar meydana gelmiştir. Arşiv belgeleri, resmi kayıtlar ve olayların görgü tanıklarının hatıraları dışında bu mesele üzerinde çalışması için esas kaynak gazete yayınlarıdır. Gazeteler eşsiz bir bilimsel bilgi kaynağıdır ve tarihi araştırmalarda sıklıkla geçmiş olayların tarihi bağlamının anlaşılması sağlayan ek bilgi kaynakları olarak kullanılmaktadırlar. Bu anlamda gazete yayınları, Güney Kafkasya’daki 1905-1906 olaylarının tarih yazımı için en önemli kaynağı teşkil etmektedir. Bu makale, 1905-1906 olaylarını -en önemlisi New York Times gazetesi olan- Amerikan basınında haber yapıldığı şekliyle incelemektedir. İncelenen belgeler, ikna edici bir şekilde bu haberlerin objektiflikten uzak olduğunu göstermektedir, zira iki tarafın da çok büyük kayıplar verdiğini ortaya koyan olgulara atıf yapılmış olsa da Azerbaycan Türkleri çatışmanın esas sorumluları olarak tasvir edilmiştir.

Keywords

• Güney Kafkasya
• Ermeni-Azerbaycanlı çatışması
• etnik çatışma
• katliam
• The New York Times

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