The Armenian Question, which with some intervals has existed for more than 120 years, is very complex and has many aspects; therefore, it should be studied in a multidisciplinary way. This problem Turkey faces is not merely the study of historical events that happened nearly a century ago. The problem resides in the allegations of genocide which would lead, as some militant circles hope, to the payments of reparations and to cession of some territory to Armenia. Therefore, it is necessary to go beyond the historical perspective and also study the Armenian Question from the vantage points of international relations, law, sociology and psychology. Furthermore, Turkey’s and Azerbaijan’s relations with Armenia are significant components of the Armenian Question. In sum, an interdisciplinary approach is required for the proper analysis of this problem. This book thus intends to give an overall analysis of the Armenian Question by utilizing all these disciplines and is the first book (at least in Turkey) which uses that method.

The tragic events of the First World War, the ebb and flow of the calamities of war in the Eastern Anatolia front, including the relocation and resettlement of some of the Armenian population in specific areas has become a topic construed out of context and abused for political ends to hammer Türkiye and the Turkish people. Retired Ambassador Pulat Y. Tacar has studied this subject extensively from a legal-judicial point of view and has published numerous articles on the subject.

This book, titled “The Truth Will Out,” is a comprehensive compilation of his previously published articles to shed light on one of Türkiye’s foreign policy challenges.

Ambassador Pulat Y. Tacar, a highly seasoned diplomat with a legal background, an emeritus in his career, having countered Armenian allegations and historically distorted narrative against Türkiye and the Turks even at third party inquiries and high-level international platforms, has opted to deal with the allegations from its most vulnerable façade, that of legal, judicial basis.

AVİM has a number of publications on the historical, political, religious aspects of the events of the time. The 44th book published by AVİM and Terazi Publishing, “The Truth Will Out,” is a legalistic reference source that is bound to sustain its validity. As AVİM, we are proud to present this valuable work to readers interested in the subject.

There have been numerous studies on Armenian culture and history in various fields and languages. Studies conducted particularly in academic circles of Western countries have been shaped within the framework of a one-sided narrative and the series of events known as the "Armenian Question" have been presented in a predominantly one-sided manner.

On the other hand, there are also esteemed scholars in Western academia who work based on the idea that there is another side to the issues. The existence of studies in the literature describing the period in question from the perspective of Turks and Azerbaijanis holds tremendous value in terms of providing an objective historical narrative.

The goal of this book, which was prepared with the in-depth studies conducted by academics from Türkiye and Azerbaijan, is to shed light on events related to Armenians that took place in Anatolia and the South Caucasus before, during, and after the First World War. The book assesses the incidents that occurred during that period in Anatolia and South Caucasia through archaeological excavations, archival documents, and cultural assets.

Patriotism Perverted, which was published in Boston in 1934 and authored by an Armenian American historian named K.S. Papazian, criticizes the Dashnaktsutyun/Dashnak Party (Armenian Revolutionary Federation/ARF) and its methods. Papazian criticizes the fact that the actions of the ARF, which initially espoused a form of nationalism diluted with socialism, quickly adopted terrorism and fascism in the actions it carried out in Anatolia and the Caucasus. Papazian refers to this situation as "perverted patriotism" and, by building a narrative on the ARF’s program and citing key figures, he gives important information regarding the heights of ARF’s levels of  radicalization. He mentions that for the sake of this cause, the ARF administrators even resorted to murdering Armenians from their own community by accusing them of treason.

Papazian thus argues that the ARF needs to come to terms with its history that is full of murders, insurrections, and massacres. We hope to draw attention to the contradictions of the unilaterally constructed victimhood perception concerning the Turkish-Armenian controversy by re-introducing this book by Papazian to the readers.

"In 1922, Leonard Ramsden Hartill, an American who conducted agricultural reconstruction works in the Caucasus under the framework of the Near East Relief, met an Armenian man named Ohanus Appressian who had witnessed many ordeals in his life as a former soldier, farmer, and refugee. Appressian was among the many refugees Hartill employed during the work he carried out in the Caucasus. Through his agricultural training, hard work, translation skills, and substantial knowledge of the region, Appressian became indispensable for Hartill, and the two men eventually developed a strong bond of friendship.

Appressian would go on to become a main character in this book at hand. Throughout their time together, Appressian bluntly told Hartill the story of the sufferings, ethnic strife, mutual massacres, and the ugly face of the war in his lands between the Christian Armenians and the Muslim Tatars (Turks). Hartill compiled these recollections of Appressian and personally verified most of them, noticing that many other people in the region shared similar harrowing experiences. After Hartill returned to Indianapolis/US, he published his book titled “Men Are Like That” based on Appressian's recollections."

"Sovyetler Birliği’nin dağılması sonrası, o zamana kadar Batı’nın doğusunda yer alan Türkiye için yeni bir pencere açılmış, şekillenen bir Avrasya oluşumu içinde Türkiye bu kez Doğu’nun da batısı konumuna gelmiştir. Günümüzde büyük yansımaları olan bu gelişmenin öncü adımını, önemli bir kilometre taşını Baku-Tiflis-Ceyhan (BTC) petrol boru hattı oluşturmuştur."

The booklet prepared by AVİM includes the most common topics on the matter of 1915 events such as reasons behind the relocation decision, Ottoman intentions and efforts to prevent excesses against Armenians, forgeries and unreliable sources in the literature on 1915, and misleading comparisons with the Holocaust. The book contains quotes from the various works of internationally known academicians such as Andrew Mango, Bernard Lewis, Edward J. Erickson, Derk Jan der Linde, Feroz Ahmed, Firuz Karemzadeh, Gilles Veinstein, Guenter Lewy, Gwynne Dyer, Justin McCarthy, Jeremy Salt, Kai Ambos, Michael Gunter, M.E. Yapp, Norman Stone, Norman Itzkowitz, Paul B. Henze, Paul Dumont, Robert Zeidner, Sean McMeekin, Stanford Shaw, Steven Katz, Sydney Nettleton, Thiery Zarcone.

The “Armenian Question” has been a controversy for more than a century and ever since its emergence, fake documents, statistics, and visual materials have been part of the controversy. This has now become even more prevalent with the advent of the internet and social media platforms. Today, there are thousands of websites and social media accounts that one way or another contribute to the distribution of fake or misused images in support of the Armenian version of the 1915 events.

This booklet, in the form of a short study, gathers and scrutinizes some of the most common fake and misused images in connection with the Armenian allegations. In case of the misused images, the booklet also presents the original image with brief contextual information as to its origins and how it was misused as part of the propaganda for the Armenian allegations.

“Ermeni Sorunu” yüzyılı aşkın bir süredir tartışılmaya devam eden bir konu olma niteliğini sürdürmektedir ve ortaya çıkışından itibaren sahte belgeler, istatistikler ve görsel malzemeler bu meselenin ayrılmaz bir parçası olmuştur. Şimdilerde ise internetin ve sosyal medya platformlarının yaygın olarak kullanılmasıyla bu durum daha da yaygın hale gelmiştir. Günümüzde binlerce internet sitesi ve sosyal medya hesabı, 1915 olaylarıyla ilgili Ermeni anlatısını desteklemek için öyle ya da böyle sahte veya yanlış kullanılan görsellerin yayılmasına katkıda bulunmaktadır.

Bu kısa çalışma niteliğindeki kitapçık, Ermeni iddialarıyla bağlantılı olarak en yaygın şekilde karşılaşılan sahte veya yanıltıcı görselleri derleyip, bunları mercek altına almaktadır. Ayrıca yanlış kullanılan görsellerin orijinal versiyonları ile bunların kaynaklarına dair kısa bilgiler sunulmakta ve söz konusu görsellerin Ermeni iddialarıyla ilgili propaganda adına nasıl suistimal edildiği gözler önüne serilmektedir.

A letter from Japan reached AVİM on August 2021. The letter in question was sent by Iver Torikian, an Armenian whose family once resided in Istanbul. Torikian stated that he wrote the letter as he wanted the misconceptions in the Turkish-Armenian relations to be questioned.

As AVİM, we published this letter, which reflects the sincere views of a scholar of Armenian origin in a free space/atmosphere/setting and with objectivity, by dividing it into parts that were published within five days. The complete letter can be read in this issue in English and Turkish.

Before this letter reached AVİM in August, I had an opportunity to meet and speak with Gerard Jirair Libaridian, the Armenian Historian who was invited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey to the Antalya Diplomacy Forum as a speaker. During our talk/meeting, with regards to the one-sided Armenian claims, Libaridian shared his thoughts which were reconciliatory and gave a green light for normalization instead of radical views. 

In his remarks concerning the elections on June 20th, 2021 and the conflict with Azerbaijan, Historian Libaridian, who served as an advisor to the former Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, emphasized that Armenia needs to see herself as a part of the region. During his panel speech, Libaridian highlighted those direct negotiations need to be initiated and that steps towards normalization need to be taken between Turkey and Armenia. Additionally, Libaridian expressed that Turkey is ready for normalization, however, that Armenia still has a long way to go. Furthermore, Libaridian underlined that anti-normalization propaganda activities continue in Armenia. Therefore, I would like to state that, while publishing this book, I find it heartening/encouraging to see that many different sources share similar opinions, not the views of a single source.      

Studies regarding the Armenian issue are generally discussed in a one-sided manner. However, it is necessary to act on the basis of valuing all viewpoints in a balanced way. There has been mutual suffering. Nonetheless, the Armenians’ claims of being the sole victims do not match with historical facts and deeply hurt Turkey and the Turkish people. Them accusing Turkey and the Turkey people with claims that have not been legally substantiated is unacceptable. It is a fact that our common history hurts both sides. At this point, the presence of an Armenian viewpoint that expresses both sides being hurt/harmed displays that the subject can be approached in an objective way. Hence, I believe that publishing these objective views of Iver Torikian in a book format will serve the common good of both Turkey and Armenia and contribute to the relations, which we hope will develop.

Ağustos 2021'de AVİM'e Japonya'dan bir mektup ulaşmıştır. Söz konusu mektup, ailesi bir zamanlar İstanbul'da ikamet etmiş bir Ermeni olan İver Torikian tarafından gönderilmiştir. Torikian, mektubu Türk-Ermeni ilişkilerinde yanlış bilinenlerin sorgulanmasını istediği için yazdığını belirtmiştir.

Ermeni asıllı bir araştırmacının özgür bir ortamda ve nesnellik ile samimi görüşlerini yansıtan bu mektubunu AVİM olarak beş güne yayarak bölümler halinde internet sayfamızdan yayınlamıştık. Mektubun tamamını bu yayınımızda hem Türkçe hem de İngilizce olarak okuyabilirsiniz.

Ağustos ayında bu mektup AVİM’e ulaşmadan önce, Haziran 2021’de Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Dışişleri Bakanlığı tarafından düzenlenen Antalya Diplomasi Forumu’nda konuşmacı olarak davet edilen Ermeni Tarihçi Gerard Jirair Liberadian ile tanışma ve görüşme fırsatı buldum. Görüşmemiz sırasında Libaridian da tek yanlı Ermeni iddialarına ilişkin olarak radikal görüşler yerine daha uzlaşmacı ve normalleşmeye yeşil ışık yakan görüşlerini aktarmıştı. 

Ermenistan Cumhurbaşkanı Levon Ter-Petrosyan’ın danışmanlığını yapan Tarihçi Libaridian, 20 Haziran 2021 tarihinde yapılan seçimlere ve Azerbaycan ile yaşanan ihtilafa ilişkin görüşlerinde, Ermenistan’ın kendisini bölgenin bir parçası olarak görmesi gerektiğine dikkat çekmişti. Paneldeki konuşması sırasında doğrudan müzakerelerin başlaması gerektiğini vurgulayan Libaridian, Türkiye ve Ermenistan arasında normalleşme adımlarının atılması gerektiğinin altını çizmişti. Ayrıca Libaridian, Türkiye’nin normalleşmeye hazır olduğunu ancak Ermenistan’ın daha kat etmesi gereken uzun bir yol olduğunu belirtmişti. Libaridian ayrıca, Ermenistan’da normalleşme karşıtı propaganda faaliyetlerinin sürdüğünün altını çizmişti. Dolayısıyla, bu kitabı yayınlarken tek bir bireyin söyledikleri ile değil, pek çok farklı kaynağın da benzer fikirleri savunduğunu görerek cesaretlendiğimi söylemek isterim. 

Ermeni meselesi ile ilgili çalışmalar genellikle tek taraflı olarak ele alınmaktadır. Ancak dengeli bir şekilde tüm görüşlere önem verilmesi temelinde hareket edilmesi gerekmektedir. Karşılıklı acılar yaşanmıştır. Ancak Ermenilerin yalnız kendilerinin mağdur olduklarını öne sürmeleri tarihi gerçeklerle örtüşmemektedir ve Türkiye’yi ve Türk halkını derinden yaralamaktadır. Hukuken kanıtlanmamış iddiaları ile Türkiye’yi ve Türk halkını suçlamaları kabul edilemez bir durumdur. Ortak tarihi geçmişin her iki tarafın da canını yaktığı bir gerçektir. Bu noktada, her iki tarafın da yara aldığını ifade eden bir Ermeni görüşünün olması, konuya objektif yaklaşılabildiğini de göstermiştir. Bu sebeple, Iver Torikian’ın bu nesnel görüşlerini bir kitap halinde yayınlamanın hem Türkiye’nin hem de Ermenistan’ın ortak yararına hizmet ettiğini ve gelişmesini arzuladığımız ilişkilere katkı sağlayacağına inanıyorum. 

The first edition of the book titled Anastas Mikoyan: Bolşevik Bir Ermeni’nin İtirafları (En. Anastas Mikoyan: Confessions of an Armenian Bolshevik), written by Prof. Dr. Gaffar Çakmaklı Mehdiyev, was originally published in Turkish by Cedit Neşriyat in 2019. The revised English translation edition was undertaken by the Center for Eurasian Studies (AVİM) and published in June 2020.

Anastas Mikoyan: Confessions of an Armenian Bolshevik chronicles the life of Anastas Mikoyan, a prominent figure who served in particularly important positions during the Armenian insurrection during the final period of the Ottoman State and Soviet-era Russia. In this four-chapter book, author Mehdiyev aims to reveal the contradictory views of Mikoyan regarding the Armenians’ struggle for independence, the Turkish-Russian-Armenian relations, and Armenian politics during the Soviet Union period. During this endeavor, Mehdiyev predominantly cites from both Russian and Armenian resources.

Mikoyan’s mentioning of the idea of establishing a ‘Great Armenia’ that comprised seven Ottoman provinces from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean as a complete fantasy or his consideration of the regions such as Zangezur and Karabakh needing to be inside the borders of Azerbaijan are just two examples with which readers can start to understand Mikoyan’s way of thinking outlined in this book. More than anything else, the success of the book lays in its contribution to the Armenian review literature by revealing very significant evaluations of Mikoyan regarding the Armenian question and his confessions-disclosures, which could turn Armenian historiography upside down.

Anastas Mikoyan: Confessions of an Armenian Bolshevik is mainly directed at an audience who look forward to having an opportunity to see the Turkish-Russian-Armenian relations during the Soviet Union period from the perspective of a politician, an old Bolshevik, who was barely paid attention to until recently. We hope that all the readers enjoy the revised English edition of Gaffar Çakmaklı Mehdiyev’s book published by Terazi Publishing.

Günümüzde küresel jeopolitiğin önemli noktalarından biri haline gelen Karadeniz’de komşu olan Türkiye ve Ukrayna arasındaki ilişkilerin tarihi yüzyıllar öncesine gitmektedir. 16 Aralık 1991’de, Türkiye’nin Ukrayna’nın bağımsızlığını tanımasını takiben, 3 Şubat 1992’de, iki ülke arasında diplomatik ilişkilerin kurulması günümüzdeki ilişkilerin başlangıç noktasıdır. Ayrıca, 25 Ocak 2011 tarihinde, Türkiye ve Ukrayna arasında Yüksek Düzeyli Stratejik Konsey’in kurulması ve ikili ilişkilerin ‘stratejik ortaklık’ seviyesine taşınması iki ülke ilişkilerinin gelişimi acısından önemli bir aşama olmuştur. Türkiye ve Ukrayna arasındaki dostane iş birliğine dayalı ilişkilerin varlığı her iki ülke için olduğu kadar Geniş Karadeniz Bölgesindeki iş birliğinin geliştirilmesi ve güvenlik ve istikrarın sağlanması acısından da önem taşımaktadır.

Kuşkusuz Türkiye ve Ukrayna arasındaki ilişkilerin daha da güçlendirilmesi; kamuoylarının, fikir önderlerinin, akademisyen, siyasetçi ve devlet adamlarının iki ülkenin tarih, kültür, ekonomi ve siyasetlerini daha yakından ve olgulara dayanan bir gerçekçilikle tanımaları, karşılıklı beklenti ve yaklaşımlarını buna göre belirlemeleriyle mümkün olabilecektir. Bu itibarla, Türk ve Ukraynalı araştırmacı ve akademisyenlerin bilimsel çalışmaları önemli bir gerekliliktir.

Prof. Dr. Ayşegül Aydıngün ve Prof. Dr. İsmail Aydıngün’ün proje yöneticiliğinde Bartın Üniversitesi, Başkent Üniversitesi, Karabük Üniversitesi, Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Taras Şevcenko Kıyiv Ulusal Üniversitesi ve AVİM’den akademisyen ve araştırmacıların Şubat 2019- Haziran 2019 tarihleri arasında ve Ekim 2019’da Ukrayna’da yürüttükleri kapsamlı saha araştırmalarında gerçekleştirilen gözlem ve derinlemesine mülakatlara ve kapsamlı literatür taramasına dayanan Sovyet Sonrası Ukrayna’da Devlet, Toplum ve Siyaset - Değişen Dinamikler, Dönüşen Kimlikler başlıklı bu kitap, Türkiye’de Ukrayna üzerine yapılmış önemli bir çalışma özelliğini taşımaktadır.

Ukrayna, Türkiye-Ukrayna ilişkileri ve Geniş Karadeniz Bölgesi konularında çalışan akademisyen ve araştırmacıların başvurabileceği, birinci elden veri sağlayan ve objektif değerlendirmeler sunan, Ukrayna hakkında Türkçe literatürdeki belki de en kapsamlı kaynak niteliğindeki bu kitabı tüm okurların ilgi ve beğenisine sunmaktan mutluluk duyuyoruz. Bu kitabın, Türkiye ve Ukrayna arasındaki ikili ilişkilerin daha da geliştirilmesine katkıda bulunacağını ümit ediyoruz.

AVIM published the book, containing a selection of documents, entitled “British Documents on Armenian Question (1912-1923)” compiled by Associate Professor Tolga Başak. Tolga Başak’s study contains numerous documents from the National Archives of the United Kingdom, Public Records Office, the Parliamentary Archives, House of Lords Records Office and Oriental and India Office Collection at the British Library as well as from the private papers of the well-known British Statesmen such as David Lloyd George and Bonar Law and makes an important contribution to historians, political scientists and scholars in other fields interested in the Armenian Question.  Tolga Başak’s study contains 367 documents covering the period 12 December 1912—16 June 1923. The author also provides a lengthy introduction chapter to let the readers better grasp the contents of the documents as well as period in which they were written.

Previously Bilal Şimşir published a 4-volume collection of British Documents on the Ottoman Armenians covering 1856-1895 period. Dr Başak’s study can be seen in many ways as a complementary and follow-up study to Bilal Şimşir’s seminal work. The documents discovered by Tolga Başak throws important light onto the role played by Great Britain and other great powers in the emergence and exacerbation of the Armenian Question. In addition Başak’s provides important information on the manner in which the Armenian Question has been used by British Propaganda Office during the war by providing samples from the correspondence of Arnold J. Toynbee among others.

Turkey and Russia, having proximity and a shared destiny with each other due to being historical neighbors, have had many ups and downs throughout history ranging from hostilities and war to friendship, support and cooperation. 

With globalization setting in and after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Turkish-Russian relations grew to become multi-faceted and multidimensional, providing a rich ground for scientific academic studies and research.

History no doubt is still a prominent field. Joint publications, symposiums and conferences on history carried out in the recent period have been concrete indicators of the developing cooperation between Turkey and Russia. Maintaining and developing this cooperation is of vital importance for the future.

As a result of contacts and meetings with the esteemed head and academicians of the Turkish Studies Programme of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Oriental Studies, the idea has emerged to compile a book on the work of some distinguished Turkish and Russian historians and academics, particularly on the history of the Caucasus region. In accordance with this understanding, the Center for Eurasian Studies (AVİM) is pleased to edit this historical academic study in a book.

We are grateful to all the participants for their valuable contributions, all outcome of meticulous academic work. 

We also trust this initiative will help to encourage Turkish and Russian historians and academics to pursue more extensive and comprehensive studies and inspire them to accelerate their work.

This book was rendered possible thanks to the project titled Gürcistan’daki Müslüman Topluluklar: Azınlık Hakları, Kimlik, Siyaset (Muslim Communities in Georgia: Minority Rights, Identity and Politics).

Within the context of this project, the discrimation towards the four Muslim communities in Georgia – Adjarians, Borchali Turks, Meskhetian Turks, and Kists – and its consequent outcomes were analyzed in terms of minority rights, identity and politics. In this context, Georgia’s commitments within the framework of its memberships in international organizations, treaties to which Georgia is a part of, legal arrangements as a result of these treaties and the effects of these arrangements on Muslim minorities were analyzed in comprehensive field researches conducted in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey between September 2015 and March 2016. Interviews were conducted not only with members or leading figures of the said communities but also with officials from government agencies, politicians, NGO specialists and academicians. In this manner, the status of Muslim minorities were analyzed in an objective manner by taking into consideration different opinions and assessments. We present this book, which is the product of intensive hard work and devotion, to all our readers who are interested in the subject.

Armenian Diaspora: Diaspora, State and the Imagination of the Republic of Armenia is the slightly revised version of Dr. Turgut Kerem Tuncel’s doctoral dissertation titled Mayr Hayastan Im Hairenik: Memory and the Politics of Construction of the Armenian Homeland that he defended in June 2014 at Università degli Studi di Trento Sociology and Social Research Doctoral Program. In his book, Dr. Tuncel examines the construction of the Republic of Armenia as a homeland after the collapse of the Soviet Union along the Armenia-Diaspora nexus through the analyses of the Armenian state discourse, the discourses of the major new-generation diaspora organizations in the U.S. and the discourses of the young Armenians, mostly U.S citizens, who undertake volunteer work, internships, and ‘homeland tourism’ programmes in Armenia organized by those organizations.

The book was first published in December 2014. The second edition of this book was launched in August 2015.

“Ermeni Sorunu: Temel Bilgi ve Belgeler”in birinci baskısı yaklaşık bir yıl içinde tükendi. Kitabımıza gösterilen bu rağbetin temelinde Ermeni sorununu tamamen bilimsel açıdan ele alması ayrıca bu sorunu, genelde yapıldığı gibi, sadece tarihi yönden değil, uluslararası ilişkiler, uluslararası hukuk ve psikoloji açılarından da ayrıntılı bir şekilde incelemesi, diğer yandan bu sorunla beraber mütalaa edilmesi gereken Türkiye-Ermenistan ilişkileri ile Karabağ sorunu hakkında da geniş bilgiler içermesi bulunmaktadır. Kitabın bir özelliği de, ülkemizde başka hiçbir yayında topluca bulunmayan, bu soruna ilişkin belgelerin tam metinlerinin ek olarak verilmesidir.

Ermeni sorunu uluslararası ilişkiler yönünden dinamik bir niteliğe sahiptir. Diğer bir deyimle birinci baskıdan bu yana bir yılı biraz geçen bir zaman içinde bazı önemli gelişmeler olmuştur. Bunlar da kitabın ilgili bölümlerine eklenmiştir. Bu haliyle “Genişletilmiş İkinci Baskı” birinci baskıya göre 72 sayfa fazla olup ek sayısı da 71’den 76’ya çıkmıştır.