Armenia

Ancient Christian state in the Caucasus, divided between Russia and Turkey in the 19th century. Armenians were massacred by the Turks and Kurds (1895-97, 1909) and sided with Russia during World War I, for which the Turks deported 1,750,000 Armenians to the Syrian and Mesopotamian deserts in 1915; more than half died. After the war Armenia became independent before being divided between Turkey and the Soviet Union. Declaring its independence in October 1991, in 1993 Armenia occupied Ngorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan before a cease-fire was agreed (1994).