ԲՈՒԼԱՆԸՔ ԳԱՎԱՌԻ ԿՈՓ ԳՅՈՒՂԻ ԲՆԱԿԻՉՆԵՐԻ ԽՆԴՐԱԳՐԵՐԸ՝ ՈՒՂՂՎԱԾ ՄԿՐՏԻՉ Ա. ԽՐԻՄՅԱՆ ԿԱԹՈՂԻԿՈՍԻՆ (1892—1907 ԹԹ.)

<jats:p>SUMMARY This study is based on a comparison of multiple sources: handwritten petitions from the archive of Catholicos of All Armenians Mkrtich Khrimian (1892–1907), stored in the Matenadaran; documents from the National Archives of Armenia; materials published in the appendix to the Tbilisi-based newspaper “Hambavaber”, as well as Armenian, Russian, and Ottoman-Turkish primary sources, information from reference books, and scientific publications. The extensive archive of Khrimian Hayrik, comprising about 8,000 items of manuscript material, provides an exceptional opportunity to reconstruct the socio-demographic picture of the Armenian population of the Bulanik district, in particular the village of Kop (Kop/Bulanık). A study of the petitions shows that 46 families from the village of Kop alone appealed to Khrimian Hayrik, represented by a total of 48 applicants, two of whom were spouses. Additional information about one family is contained in a village certificate issued on the occasion of their conversion to Christianity. Only 11 of these 46 families are known to have a total of 96 members, which averages out to 8.7 people per family. Based on the average figures, it can be concluded that at least 401 people from Kop appealed to the Catholicos with requests for material assistance, provision of means of subsistence, help in resettlement, mediation in legal disputes, release of relatives from prison, and other petitions. According to data published in the appendix to the newspaper “Hambavaber”, the names and surnames of 48 children from Kop who survived the genocide and were placed in various shelters have been established. The youngest of them was 3 years old, the oldest was 15. Documents from the National Archives of Armenia have made it possible to restore the names and surnames of at least 44 natives of the village of Kop who survived the Genocide, 39 of whom were men. The same sources mention three underage orphans and two volunteers. Thus, comparing various types of sources made it possible to reconstruct the names of the senior members of at least 90 Armenian families in the village of Kop, as well as information about 48 orphans. The multifaceted picture obtained makes it possible to present the pre-genocide demographic structure and social life of the village, as well as to record the “voices” of those people who later became victims of the 1915 Genocide. In conclusion, it should be emphasized that the list we have compiled is not based on data from a new census. The article presents only the names of those individuals who are mentioned in written sources and were born in the village of Kop prior to the Armenian Genocide of 1915.</jats:p>