The Dersim uprising of 1916 was an Alevi Kurdish uprising led by Ali Ağa in the region of Dersim. Its causes laid in the Kurdish fear that they would suffer the same fate as the Armenians, as well as the desire to remove the state control in Dersim. This revolt was encouraged by Russian emissaries, who had promised to local chieftains that Dersim would be given independence after Russian occupation.