The closest official Ottoman view we have of the Armenian Genocide. The report was undoubtedly prepared for Talaat Pasha and meant for his private use. It was not meant for publication and probably only survived because Talaat was assassinated in 1921 and his widow gave the report to a Turkish historian who eventually published it. No such record has been released by Turkish archives to date, though the data presented in the 1917 report can be checked against the available Ottoman records and stands scrutiny.