A. G. Tsypkina, O. V. Selivanova The Trebizond front in 1916 as seen  by the byzantinist F. I. Uspensky

Abstract: Pushing its military penetration in Turkey in 1916, the Russian army captured Trebizond and part of the Pontic region and organized its own system of administration there. In order to better control the regions and preserve the exposed cultural monuments in the newly occupied territories of Asia Minor, several scientific missions were sent for historical, topographical, archaeological purposes. And so, a historical-archaeological expedition was sent to Trebizond under the direction of the academician F. I. Uspensky. The article publishes the manuscripts of F. I. Uspensky’s “Thoughts and observations of an eyewitness on the Trebizond front during the summer of 1916”, written during the expedition and found in the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the 2181 Fond of the history scholar I. N. Borozdin. Uspensky gives his thoughts about the significance of the Caucasian front in World War I and links the success of the Entente with the defeat of Turkey. The authors of the article, without undertaking comprehensive research, compare this point of view with those of modern scholars. The purpose of this article is to introduce in scientific studies this new text, which could serve as an addition to the chapter “The course of military actions” within the section on the “Eastern question” in F. I. Uspensky’s monograph “History of the Byzantine Empire” (5 volumes, 1913-1927). F. I. Uspensky retells the historic events, considering as the “major stake” in World War I the control of the Near East, economically and culturally, accenting above all the importance of cultural influence.

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