Why did the Young Turk government suspect Ottoman Armenians of supporting Russia?

The Young Turk government’s suspicion that Ottoman Armenians were supporting Russia stemmed from a combination of long-standing geopolitical tensions, nationalist ideology, and the specific pressures of World War I.

• Geopolitical Context: For decades, the Ottoman Empire and Russia were frequent adversaries, with Russia often positioning itself as a protector of Christian minorities within Ottoman lands to expand its influence. This created a persistent perception among Ottoman authorities that Armenians were a "foreign element" prone to conspiring with the tsarist enemy.1234
• Wartime Recruitment: As World War I began, both the Ottoman and Russian empires attempted to recruit local Armenians to fight in their respective campaigns. When the Young Turk government proposed that the Armenian political party, the Dashnaktsutyun, convince both Russian and Ottoman Armenians to fight for the Ottoman Empire, the party refused, stating that subjects would remain loyal to their respective states. The Young Turks viewed this refusal as an act of treachery.5
• Military Fronts: Because Armenians lived along the Russian-Ottoman front, the government feared they would act as a "fifth column." The presence of Armenian volunteer units fighting on the Russian side further fueled these suspicions, leading the Young Turk leadership to characterize the Armenian population as a national security threat that required deportation.516