Before the Armenian genocide Kars was majority (84%) Armenian, and was one of the centers of the Armenian life in the Russian Empire. After the Armenian genocide and the victory of the Entente, Kars was retained by the First Armenian Republic under the direct control, hosting the massive amount of refugees. Sadly in 1920 it was taken by Atatürk’s forces with the Bolshevik help and the whole population either fled or was massacred. From 60.000 to 98.000 Armenians were murdered.
Now the city is nearly the sole representative of Armenian architecture in Turkey, which retained its unique look.
Sadly, the city isnt doing good economically, which is why there are 270.000 people from Kars in Istanbul along, which is more than three times of the city’s current population
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Before the Armenian genocide Kars was majority (84%) Armenian, and was one of the centers of the Armenian life in the Russian Empire. After the Armenian genocide and the victory of the Entente, Kars was retained by the First Armenian Republic under the direct control, hosting the massive amount of refugees. Sadly in 1920 it was taken by Atatürk’s forces with the Bolshevik help and the whole population either fled or was massacred. From 60.000 to 98.000 Armenians were murdered.
Now the city is nearly the sole representative of Armenian architecture in Turkey, which retained its unique look.
Sadly, the city isnt doing good economically, which is why there are 270.000 people from Kars in Istanbul along, which is more than three times of the city’s current population