How did Russia's defeat to Ottoman Empire led to Armenian Genocide?

Answer 1

Russia was not defeated by the Ottomans in World War I, it withdrew from the war because of losses primarily on the Eastern Front with the German Empire (Second Reich).

The way that the Russians are involved in the Armenian Genocide is tangential and requires an understanding of Ottoman history in the late 1800s. The Ottoman Empire in this period was decrepit and ineffective. That, combined with a strong rise of nationalism among the various peoples in the Ottoman Empire resulted in numerous minorities within the Ottoman Empire asserting independence. These minorities were ethno-religious groups and had been organized by the Ottomans as Millets. There was a Greek Orthodox Millet, an Eastern Orthodox Millet, a Jewish Millet, etc. All of the Millets rose up in one part of the Empire or another, resulting in the Yugoslav States, Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania. The only Millet that did not rise up against the Ottomans was the Armenians.

While the Ottoman Empire was weak, it was not powerless and moved to crush many of these Millet uprisings. Seeing a common history in Eastern Orthodoxy, Russia reached out to protect Serbia and Montenegro when they fought for independence. Russia similarly reached out to help the Bulgarians. (Britain and France helped out the Greeks for other reasons). There was a fear among the Ottomans that the Armenians were going to leverage the Russians for assistance in their own attempt for independence based on shared Christian religion as the Russians had helped the Serbs and Bulgarians. The theoretical Armenian State would take up the eastern third of Anatolia. Even though the Armenians never sought out Russian aide or assistance, the Ottoman authorities decided to work proactively and ethnically cleanse much of eastern Anatolia of Armenians to prevent an Armenian state. This ethnic cleansing is the Armenian Genocide.