Following the outbreak of World War I , mutual distrust between Turks and Armenians reached almost intolerable levels when , in early 1915 , Turkey was invaded both by the British at Gallipoli and Russia from the east . The Russian thrust into Van Vilayet , spearheaded by Russo-Armenian units , was quickly blamed by the Ottoman leadership on alleged collaboration by the Van Armenians , and extreme measures against the mostly defenceless Armenian populace were authorized , resulting in massacres , the siege of Van , and eventually , the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Ruth A. Parmelee