It is well known that World War I and the October Revolution, as well as the new international balance of power that emerged from these two major events, were destined to change the fate of the entire world. It also, in some way, influenced a small segment of Hellenism living in regions of the Upper Caucasus.
The Greek presence in these areas had already, with the outbreak of the war, a long-standing history in those southern territories of the Russians. From the time of the Crimean War (1853-1856) and shortly thereafter, during the Russo-Turkish War of 1878, Greeks from the provinces of Argyroupolis, Trapezus, and Sebasteia of Pontus had migrated and settled mainly in the regions of Kars and Ardagh, which after the war were ceded to Russia.
The purpose of this work is to record the tragic conditions under which the Greeks of Kars were forced to leave dramatically and to identify the specific causes that led to this. The research was primarily based on documents from the Historical Archive of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Benaki Museum, and some from the Archive of A.A. Pallis, which is housed at the National Research Foundation.
Additionally, material was used from the newspapers 'Epoch' of Trapezus and 'Free Pontus' of Batumi. Furthermore, material was gathered from a series of interviews conducted by the researcher with individuals who experienced the events of the 'Exodus'.
[Excerpt from the preface text]
