Empty the Land · Episode 3 of 12 · 21 min
Circassians, Armenians, and Deportation as a Weapon
In the contested borderlands of the Russian and Ottoman empires, removal stopped being a way to move people and became a way to end them. The episode covers the Circassian expulsion of 1864, the Armenian genocide of 1915, in which deportation itself became the mechanism of killing, and an echo in 2023, when more than 100,000 Armenians left Nagorno-Karabakh within about two weeks.
Who's who
- Nikolai YevdokimovRussian general who executed the plan to clear the western Caucasus
- Talaat PashaOttoman interior minister, chief architect of the Armenian deportations
- Henry Morgenthau Sr.U.S. ambassador who cabled of a campaign of race extermination
- Ilham AliyevAzerbaijan's president, who ordered the 2023 offensive
- Nikol PashinyanArmenia's prime minister, who initialed the 2025 peace text
- Walter RichmondHistorian of the Circassian genocide
- Taner AkçamHistorian of the Armenian genocide
- Ronald Grigor SunyHistorian of the Armenian genocide
Where it happens
- Western Caucasus, RussiaHomeland of the Circassians, cleared in 1864
- Black Sea coastEmbarkation point for Circassians shipped to the Ottoman Empire
- Deir ez-Zor, SyriaTerminus of the Armenian death marches
- Nagorno-Karabakh, AzerbaijanArmenian-populated enclave emptied in September 2023
- Lachin corridorOnly road from Karabakh to Armenia, blockaded 2022-23
Timeline
- May 1864Russia ends the Caucasus war as mass expulsion of Circassians peaks
- April 1915Ottoman authorities arrest Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople
- May 1915Tehcir Law authorizes deportation of suspect populations
- December 2022Azerbaijan begins blockading the Lachin corridor
- September 2023Azerbaijan's offensive; over 100,000 Karabakh Armenians flee
- November 2023ICJ orders Azerbaijan to ensure safe return
Still debated
Circassian expulsion and death figures vary widely, and only Georgia recognizes the 1864 events as genocide while Russia rejects the label. Armenian death tolls run from 600,000 to 1.5 million, and Turkey's official position rejects the genocide designation.