Several nationalist groups used violence against an Ottoman Empire in apparent decline . One was the Armenian Revolutionary Federation ( in Armenian '' Dashnaktsuthium '' , or " The Federation " ) , a revolutionary movement founded in Tiflis ( Russian Transcaucasia ) in 1890 by Christapor Mikaelian . Many members had been part of Narodnaya Volya or the Hunchakian Revolutionary Party . The group published newsletters , smuggled arms , and hijacked buildings as it sought to bring in European intervention that would force the Ottoman Empire to surrender control of its Armenian territories . On August 24 , 1896 , 17-year-old Babken Suni led twenty-six members in capturing the Imperial Ottoman Bank in Constantinople . The group demanded European intervention in order to stop the Hamidian massacres and the creation of an Armenian state , but backed down on a threat to blow up the bank . An ensuing security crackdown destroyed the group
Hamidian massacres
Hamidian massacres
History of terrorism