ABSTRACT
Prior to the Constitutional Revolution, Armenian political parties such as the Hnchakian and Dashnaktsutiun used Iranian soil as a base for operations in Ottoman Armenian provinces and did not involve themselves with Iranian politics. Ottoman aggression toward Iran had begun at the end of 1905 when Ottoman troops moved into Vezneh and Lahijan, at the same time that antigovernment protests and sanctuary-seeking were taking place in Tehran. The Hnchakian party, although welcoming constitutionalism in the Ottoman Empire and recognizing the significance and merit of the Young Turks' general principles, remained very cautious of the party and the new regime. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, and especially after Russia's defeat, Russia began to be seen as a decaying nonconstitutional Western empire that had lost to the only constitutional power in Asia.
