During World War I , the Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were systematically exterminated by the government in the Armenian Genocide . According to some estimates , from 1894 to 1923 , about 1,500,000 — 2,000,000 Armenians were killed by the Ottoman Empire . After the decision to exterminate the Armenians was taken by the Ottoman Ministry of Interior and first implemented with the Directive 8682 on February 25 , 1915 , tens of thousands of Russian Armenians joined the Russian army as Armenian volunteer units with a Russian promise for autonomy . By 1917 , Russia controlled many Armenian-populated areas of the Ottoman Empire . After the October Revolution , however , the Russian troops retreated and left the Armenians irregulars one on one with the Turks . The Armenian National Council proclaimed the Republic of Armenia on May 28 , 1918 , thus establishing an Armenian state in the Armenian-populated parts of the Southern Caucasus
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Armenian national liberation movement