The more they were oppressed. the more firmly they were resolved to cling to these ideals. and hoped that someday their freedom would come. And at last that day came at the end of the First World War. though only after a terrible carnage that almost cost them their national existence. . During that war most of the Armenians in the Asiatic provinces of the Ottoman Empirein historic Armeniawere deported and massacred. In this holocaust. about 1 million Armenians lost their lives. and several hundred thousands of the survivors escaped to the Caucasus. the northern part of Armenia. There they felt free. They took their destiny into their hands and proclaimed their national independence. That was on May 28. 1918. At the time the country was still waging war against the Turks. and its population consisted mostly of refugees. Under such difficult circumstances. the independence of the new state was most precarious. In the midst of insurmountable difficulties the leaders of the new state struggled hard and managed to carry on for more than 2 years.
Keywords matched
deported Asiatic refugees