The Trebizond Operation through the Eyes of Turkish Historians

Abstract

This year marks the 105th anniversary of the operation conducted during the First World War: during this operation Russian troops, after a series of successful actions on land and at sea, captured the Black Sea port of Trebizond (today Trabzon). The capture of Trebizond helped to improve the basic conditions of the Black Sea Fleet and enabled an unimpeded delivery of reinforcements by sea to the right flank of the Russian army in the Caucasus. As a result, the Russian empire was close to establishing control over a significant part of the Ottoman Turkey’s territory. In the aftermath of the operation, the local Muslim population left Trebizond together with the Turkish army. The Russians, who entered the city without a fight, set for the transforming the city in their own way. Turkish historians, using the material of the Ottoman, Russian, and foreign periodicals, as well as archival documents, have studied in detail the intricacies of the Russians stay in the city, revealing also the damage caused by the war to the cultural and historical heritage of the region. This article provides a brief analysis of selected Turkish studies dedicated to the 100th and 105th anniversary of the Trebizond operation. It also discusses the issue of war refugees and the activities of Russian scientists, who were engaged in the collection of historical monuments in Trebizond during the war.