Russia's Attitude to the "Armenian Issue" in the Ottoman Empire in the last quarter of the 19th century

In article, the evolution of the "Armenian issue" in the Russian foreign policy agenda is analyzed. The authors has demonstrated how the problem of the Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire was evolving during the last quarter of the 19th century was transforming into a serious international agenda associated with the Eastern question. The necessity of reforming the Armenian vilayets administration was included in various geopolitical contexts of the Russian Empire foreign policy, such as the use of the Black Sea straits, ensuring the security of the Caucasian periphery, maintaining the integrity of the weakening Ottoman Empire. Russian diplomacy came to the need to put pressure on the Sultan under the influence of two factors: on the one hand, the Armenian revolutionary movement intensified and the number of refugees from Turkish Armenia raised, which threatened to destabilize the Caucasus, on the other hand, the British became more active in the Ottoman Empire and the number of their consulates grew, which was also negatively perceived by the Russian side. In the article, a comparative study of the political approaches of Great Britain and Russia to the "Armenian issue" is carried out. For the British in the 1880s this question was not raised, for the Russian central and regional authorities it existed and was connected with the security of the Caucasus. Because of the complexity of the political situation in the Ottoman Empire Russia faced up with a dilemma. Turkey was needed weak, but preserved in its borders. The collapse of a huge and complex state at the very borders gave rise to enormous difficulties for Russia. At the same time, there were implicit talks about the possible connection of Western and Eastern Armenia at a distance future. A. Nelidov was an eager supporter of strengthening links between the two groups of the Armenians, including with the help of the spiritual center - Etchmiadzin. He proposed a whole range of measures, which in modern international relations are called "soft power": strengthening cultural, religious and educational ties.