The Armenian Revolutionary Movement: The Development of Armenian Political Parties Through the Nineteenth Century

This is the first comprehensive work in English dealing with the nineteenth-century Armenian revolutionary movement and the subsequent rise of Armenian political parties. It covers in details the history of the Armenian revolutionists' armed struggle against the government of the Ottoman Turks beginning with the first major uprising in 1862 and extending to the culmination of the Turkish Armenian massacres in 1896. Incredibly daring yet loosely organized and sporadic uprisings directed by small secret societies characterized the early stage of Armenian political consciousness. But in 1885 the first Armenian political party, the Armenakan, was founded in Turkish Armenia, signaling the beginning of political maturity. Thereafter the leadership of the Armenian revolutionary forces passed into the hands of organized political parties; the Armenakan, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, and the Hunchakian Revolutionary Party. These same parties, with some changes, continue to remain active through 1963. Nalbandian analyzes the actions of the revolutionists within the framework of the political and intellectual history of the Armenians and endeavors to clarify the sources, objectives, and accomplishments of the Armenian political parties. The efforts of these groups were not immediately successful; the revolutionists' fight against the Ottoman regime took place against incredibly sever odds: they lacked sufficient manpower, materials, and economic strength to combat the powerful forces of the Ottoman Turks. They did, however, contribute to the ultimate disintegration of the corrupt Ottoman regime and server to further Armenian nationalism. Because of the concern of most Armenian political leaders with the socio-economic theories of the day lead them to connect their own revolutionary movement with that of international socialism, Nalbandian examines the relationship of the Armenian parties to other nineteenth-century revolutionary movements in Western Europe, Russia, and the Balkans. The author, drawing upon research she has done in Soviet Armenia and in Armenian centers in the United States, Europe, and the Near East, presents an organized survey and interpretation of nineteenth-century Armenian politics as an aid to understanding current international alignments. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1963.


About the Author
Louise Nalbandian was a historian and professor in the History Department of CSU Fresno from 1964 to 1974.