Economic nationalism, confiscation, and genocide: A comparison of the Ottoman and Russian empires during World War i

Abstract

This article analyses the development of the Ottoman and Russian governments' economic persecution of the Armenians and lews during World War I. It will chart how this policy moved from boycott to discrimination, into confiscation and outright plunder, resulting in economic ruination for the victims. It identifies the main currents and developments of this ruthless policy and how it affected Armenian and Jewish communities. So far there exists no comparative treatment of the expropriation of Ottoman Armenians and Russian Jews during World War I. This article aims to fill that gap by looking at the confiscation process through a combination of approaches, focussing on the development of the legal process, explaining the ideology of economic nationalism, and concretely demonstrating the policy on the ground.