The Russo-Iranian and Russo-Ottoman wars caused a sentiment of distrust for Christians within the Muslim empires , particularly in the Ottoman Empire , which was amplified by their ongoing losses to the Christians in the Balkans during the decline of the empire . Armenians were often accused of betrayal , leading irregulars opposing the Russian Empire to pillage and attack Armenians , and massacres such as the Hamidian Massacres . Although a number of Armenians preferred Ottoman or Iranian rule , Armenians from within Russia did instigate revolts and feelings of national awakening among Ottoman Armenians . Many moved to Transcaucasia to join the revolutionary organizations that aimed to restore Armenian independence for Ottoman Armenia . This ultimately became one of the factors that led the Ottoman leadership to commit genocide and eliminate all Armenian presence from Ottoman Armenia . The influx of Armenian refugees into Transcaucasia was accelerated drastically as the Armenian Genocide was being carried out starting from 1915 . After the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917 , the Armenian population of Transcaucasia declared the independence of the first Armenian Republic in 1918 . The short-lived republic dealt with war from all side throughout the entirety of its existence . As the Ottoman Empire fell , the partition of the Ottoman Empire was being discussed at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 . The conference agreed that the Ottoman Empire had to surrender all of its territorial claims in Transcaucasia , but the parts of Ottoman Armenia to be awarded to the Armenian Republic was less clear , since its Armenian population had been extinguished during the Armenian Genocide . Additionally , Armenians faced Muslim uprisings in the region ( i.e. , the Kars Republic ) . Finally , in the Treaty of Sèvres , a large part of Ottoman Armenia was awarded to the Armenian Republic , today referred to as '' Wilsonian Armenia '' , which the Ottoman government signed , but was never ratified
Hamidian Massacres
Hamidian massacres
Repatriation of Armenians