This article is dedicated to the initial period of the history of Armenian Protestantism in the Russian Empire. It characterizes the basic principles of Russian confessional policy concerning Armenians, such as the state’s support of the Armenian Apostolic Church and its opposition to Catholic and Protestant propaganda among Armenians. This article discusses the background of the Armenian Protestant movement and reveals that it was due to the activity of American missionaries in the Ottoman Empire and of the Basel Missionary Society in Russian Transcaucasia.