In 1639, Armenia was divided between the Ottoman Turkey and Persia. Liberation ideas were ripening in Armenia and in the Armenian communities, ruined due to the Turkish-Persian wars.

Programs of national liberation were elaborated (I. Ori, H. Emin, Sh. Shahamirian, H. Arghutian). Attempts were made to find allies in Europe. Finally, at the beginning of the 19th century, the Armenian people cherished their hopes for liberation with Russia.

In 1828, by the Treaty of Turkmenchay, Eastern Armenia became part of the Russian Empire. A new administrative unit called “Armenian Oblast (Province)” (1828-1848) was formed on the territory of Yerevan and Nakhijevan Khanates.

In 1836, a religious charter (Polozhenie) forbade the Armenian Church to be engaged in political activities, leaving it only the spiritual and educational spheres.

The Exhibition presents:

• documents and photographs, presenting the historical events of that period: the division of Armenia and the role of the church and Armenian communities in the absence of statehood
• maps and documents, bearing witness to the results of the liberation movements in the 18th century, and the Russian-Turkish and Russian-Persian wars in the first half of the 19th century
• examples of the old Armenian printing that started in the 16th century, published in Venice, Amsterdam, Constantinople, Etchmiadzin and elsewhere
• original documents, concerning the historical events; portraits and personal belongings of prominent figures.