CAUSES OF KARABAKH CONFLICT: REGIONAL STRUGLE AND ETHNIC MIGRATIONS

One of the most important problems of the South Caucasus is the Karabakh conflict. One can speak about different dimensions of the conflict and the different stages of the current situation. But in terms of understanding conflict's fundaments it is important to focus especially on the time of about 100-years period from the early 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Ethnic migrations towards the region following Russian politics during this period was important (even decisive) for revealing of this problem in the late 20th century. Russia has strengthened its domination in the Caucasus after success in fight against the Gajars and the Ottomans, and has managed to play well on the ethnic structure of the region in the interest of its own strategy. Russia's efforts for establishing an Armenian state in the Caucasus coupled with imaginations of some Armenian organizations of "great Armenia" made unavoidable ethnic confrontations in the South Caucasus and in Anatolia. The struggle for the Caucasus, in this context the Armenian migration held in South Caucasus especially in the 19th century, Armenian organizations at the end of the 19th century, foundation laying process of the Karabakh conflict in the beginning of the 20th century in the framework of confrontations - all these topics will be in the focus of this study.