The meaning of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877 1878. Russian-Turkish wars - briefly
Reasons for the war:
1. Russia's desire to strengthen the position of a world power.
2.Strengthening their positions in the Balkans.
3. Protection of the interests of the South Slavic peoples.
4. Assistance to Serbia.
Occasion:
- Unrest in the Turkish provinces - Bosnia and Herzegovina, which were brutally suppressed by the Turks.
- uprising against the Ottoman yoke in Bulgaria. The Turkish authorities dealt ruthlessly with the rebels. In response, in June 1876, Serbia and Montenegro declared war on Turkey, seeking not only to help the Bulgarians, but also to solve their national and territorial problems. But their small and poorly trained armies were crushed.
The massacres of the Turkish authorities aroused the indignation of the Russian society. The movement in defense of the South Slavic peoples was expanding. Thousands of volunteers were sent to the Serbian army, mostly officers. A retired Russian general, a participant in the defense of Sevastopol, a former military governor of the Turkestan region, became the commander-in-chief of the Serbian army M. G. Chernyaev.
At the suggestion of A. M. Gorchakov, Russia, Germany and Austria demanded equal rights for Christians with Muslims. Russia organized several conferences of European powers, at which proposals were worked out for settling the situation in the Balkans. But Turkey, encouraged by the support of England, answered all proposals either with a refusal or with arrogant silence.
To save Serbia from final defeat, in October 1876, Russia presented Turkey with a demand to stop hostilities in Serbia and conclude a truce. The concentration of Russian troops on the southern borders began.
April 12, 1877 having exhausted all diplomatic possibilities for a peaceful settlement of the Balkan problems, Alexander II declared war on Turkey.
Alexander could not allow the role of Russia as a great power to be questioned again, and her demands ignored.
balance of power :
Russian army, in comparison with the period Crimean War, was better trained and armed, became more combat-ready.
However, the disadvantages were the lack of proper material support, flaw latest types weapons, but most importantly - the lack of command personnel capable of waging a modern war. The emperor's brother, deprived of military talents, was appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian army in the Balkans Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich.
The course of the war.
Summer 1877 the Russian army, by prior agreement with Romania (in 1859, the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia united into this state, which remained dependent on Turkey) passed through its territory and in June 1877 crossed the Danube in several places. The Bulgarians enthusiastically welcomed their liberators. With great enthusiasm went the creation of the Bulgarian militia, commanded by the Russian General N. G. Stoletov. The advance detachment of General I.V. Gurko liberated the ancient capital of Bulgaria, Tarnovo. Encountering little resistance along the way to the south, On July 5, Gurko captured the Shipka Pass in the mountains, through which was the most convenient road to Istanbul.
N. Dmitriev-Orenburg "Shipka"
However, after the first successes followed failures. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich actually lost command of the troops from the moment the Danube was crossed. The commanders of individual detachments began to act independently. The detachment of General N. P. Kridener, instead of capturing the most important fortress of Plevna, as envisaged by the war plan, took Nikopol, located 40 km from Plevna.
V. Vereshchagin "Before the attack. Under Plevna"
Turkish troops occupied Plevna, which turned out to be in the rear of our troops, and endangered the encirclement of the detachment of General Gurko. Significant forces were sent by the enemy to recapture the Shipka Pass. But all attempts by the Turkish troops, who had a fivefold superiority, to take Shipka ran into the heroic resistance of Russian soldiers and Bulgarian militias. Three assaults on Plevna turned out to be very bloody, but ended in failure.
At the insistence of the Minister of War D. A. Milyutin, the emperor decided go to the systematic siege of Plevna, the leadership of which was entrusted to the hero of the defense of Sevastopol, engineer-general E. I. Totleben. Turkish troops, not prepared for a long defense in the conditions of the coming winter, were forced to surrender at the end of November 1877.
With the fall of Plevna, a turning point occurred in the course of the war. In order to prevent Turkey, with the help of England and Austria-Hungary, from gathering new forces by spring, the Russian command decided to continue the offensive in winter conditions. Gurko squad, having overcome mountain passes impassable at this time of the year, in mid-December he occupied Sofia and continued the offensive towards Adrianople. Skobelev detachment, bypassing the positions of the Turkish troops at Shipka along the mountain steeps, and then defeating them, he swiftly launched an attack on Istanbul. In January 1878, Gurko's detachment captured Adrianople, and Skobelev's detachment went to the Sea of Marmara and On January 18, 1878, he occupied the suburb of Istanbul - the town of San Stefano. Only the categorical prohibition of the emperor, who was afraid of European powers interfering in the war, kept Skobelev from taking the capital. Ottoman Empire.
San Stefano Peace Treaty. Berlin Congress.
The European powers were concerned about the success of the Russian troops. England sent a military squadron into the Sea of Marmara. Austria-Hungary began to put together an anti-Russian coalition. Under these conditions, Alexander II stopped further offensive and offered the Turkish Sultan truce, which was accepted immediately.
On February 19, 1878, a peace treaty was signed between Russia and Turkey in San Stefano.
Conditions:
- The southern part of Bessarabia was returned to Russia, and the fortresses of Batum, Ardagan, Kare and the territories adjacent to them joined in Transcaucasia.
- Serbia, Montenegro and Romania, which were dependent on Turkey before the war, became independent states.
- Bulgaria became an autonomous principality within Turkey. The terms of this agreement aroused sharp dissatisfaction with the European powers, who demanded the convening of a pan-European congress to revise the San Stefano Treaty. Russia, under the threat of creating a new anti-Russian coalition, was forced to agree to the idea convocation of congress. This congress took place in Berlin under the chairmanship of the German Chancellor Bismarck.
- Bulgaria was divided into two parts: the northern one was declared a principality dependent on Turkey, the southern one was declared an autonomous Turkish province of Eastern Rumelia.
- The territories of Serbia and Montenegro were significantly curtailed, and Russia's acquisitions in the Transcaucasus were reduced.
And the countries that did not fight with Turkey received an award for their services in defending Turkish interests: Austria - Bosnia and Herzegovina, England - the island of Cyprus.
The meaning and reasons for Russia's victory in the war.
- The war in the Balkans was the most important step in the national liberation struggle of the South Slavic peoples against the 400-year-old Ottoman yoke.
- The authority of Russian military glory was fully restored.
- Significant assistance to the Russian soldiers was provided by the local population, for whom the Russian soldier became a symbol of national liberation.
- The victory was also facilitated by the atmosphere of unanimous support that prevailed in Russian society, an inexhaustible stream of volunteers who, at the cost of their own lives, were ready to defend the freedom of the Slavs.
1The main factors that predetermined the Russian-Turkish war of 1877 - 1878:
the growth of Russia's power as a result of ongoing bourgeois reforms;
the desire to regain positions lost as a result of the Crimean War;
change international environment in the world in connection with the emergence of a single German state - Germany;
the growth of the national liberation struggle of the Balkan peoples against the Turkish yoke.
2. The reason for the new Russian-Turkish war was the anti-Turkish uprising in Bosnia and Serbia in 1875-1876.
3. Military operations developed successfully for Russia both in Europe and in the Caucasus - the war was fleeting and ended within 10 months. The Russian army defeated the Turkish troops in the battle of Plevna (Bulgaria) and the Shipka Pass. The fortresses of Kare, Batum and Ardagan in the Caucasus were taken. In February 1878, the Russian army approached Constantinople (Istanbul), and Turkey was forced to ask for peace and make serious concessions.
4. In 1878, wanting to stop the war, Turkey hastily signed the Treaty of San Stefano with Russia. According to this agreement:
Türkiye granted full independence to Serbia, Montenegro and Romania;
Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina remained part of Turkey, but received wide autonomy;
Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina pledged to pay tribute to Turkey in exchange for the complete demilitarization of these autonomies - Turkish troops were withdrawn from Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Turkish fortresses were destroyed - the actual presence of the Turks in these countries ceased;
Kare and Batum returned to Russia, it was allowed to patronize Bulgarians and Bosnians culturally.
All the leading European countries, including Russia's main ally in Europe in the 1870s, were dissatisfied with the results of the San Stefano Peace Treaty, which sharply strengthened Russia's position. - Germany. In 1878, the Berlin Congress was convened in Berlin on the issue of the Balkan settlement. Delegations from Russia, Germany, England, France, Austria-Hungary, Italy and Turkey took part in the congress. The purpose of the congress was to develop a pan-European solution for the Balkans. Under pressure from the leading countries of Europe, Russia was forced to give in and abandon the San Stefano peace treaty. Instead, the Berlin Peace Treaty was signed, which significantly reduced the results of the victory for Russia. According to the Berlin Treaty:
the territory of the Bulgarian autonomy was reduced by about 3 times;
Bosnia and Herzegovina was occupied by Austria-Hungary and was part of it;
Macedonia and Eastern Romania returned to Turkey.
5. Despite concessions to Russia European countries, victory in the war of 1877 - 1878. was of great historical importance.
the expulsion of Turkey from the European continent began;
Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, and in the future - Bulgaria, were liberated from the 500-year-old Turkish yoke and gained independence;
Russia finally recovered from the defeat in the Crimean War;
the international prestige of Russia and Emperor Alexander II, who was nicknamed the Liberator, was restored;
this war was the last major Russian-Turkish conflict - Russia finally entrenched itself in the Black Sea.
War between Turkey and Russia in 1877-1878. was unleashed as a result of the political crisis that swept Europe in the early 70s of the 19th century.
The main causes and preconditions of the war
In 1875, an uprising against the Turkish sultan broke out in Bosnia and within a few months spread to the territories of Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Bulgaria. The Turkish army was forced to suppress the Slavic resistance, which brought huge human losses for these states.
The forces of the warring parties were unequal; the small Slavic states did not have either a professional army or a material and technical base. To free from Turkish expansion, the help of other, strong states was required; thus, the conflict was drawn into Russian empire.
The Russian government at first acted as an arbiter, trying to try on the sides, however, with the strengthening of the anti-Slavic policy of the Tupetsk Sultan, it was forced to enter into a confrontation with the Ottoman Empire.
Military action in the Turkish war
The Russian emperor tried by all available methods to delay fighting: the reformation of the army, which began in the late 60s, was not yet completed, the military industry worked at a low level and there was an acute shortage of ammunition and weapons.
Despite this, in May 1877, Russia entered into an active military confrontation. The fighting took place in two theaters, the Transcaucasian and the Balkan. Between July and October, the Russian army, together with the military forces of Bulgaria and Romania, won a number of victories on the Balkan front.
At the beginning of 1878, the Allied army was able to overcome the Balkan Mountains and occupy part of southern Bulgaria, where decisive hostilities were unfolding. Under the leadership of the outstanding general M, D. Skoblev, the Russian troops not only held back a large-scale enemy offensive from all fronts, but already in early January 1879 they were able to occupy Adrianople and reach Constantinople.
Significant successes were also achieved on the Transcaucasian front in November 1877, the Russian army stormed the main strategic object of the Ottoman Empire, the Kare fortress. Turkey's defeat in the war became obvious.
Peace treaty and Congress of Berlin
In mid-1878, a peace treaty was concluded between the warring parties in the Constantinopolitan suburb of San Stefano. According to the treaty, the Balkan states received sovereignty and independence from the Ottoman Empire.
The Russian Empire, as a victor, regained Southern Bessarabia, lost during the Crimean War, and also acquired new military bases in the Caucasus Ardagan, Bayazet, Batum and Kara. The possession of these fortresses meant Russia's complete control over the actions of the Turkish government in the Transcaucasian region.
The states of Europe could not come to terms with the fact of strengthening the positions of the Russian Empire on the Balkan Peninsula. In the summer of 1878, a congress was convened in Berlin, in which the sides of the Russian- Turkish war and European countries.
Under the political pressure of Austria-Hungary and England, the Balkan states were forced to give up their sovereignty. Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina actually turned into colonies of European powers. The Ottoman Empire, for the support provided to England, provided the island of Cyprus.
Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878(Turkish name: 93 Harbi, 93 war) - a war between the Russian Empire and its allies Balkan states on the one hand, and the Ottoman Empire on the other. It was caused by the rise of national consciousness in the Balkans. The cruelty with which the April Uprising was crushed in Bulgaria aroused sympathy for the position of the Christians of the Ottoman Empire in Europe and especially in Russia. Attempts to improve the position of Christians by peaceful means were frustrated by the stubborn unwillingness of the Turks to make concessions to Europe, and in April 1877 Russia declared war on Turkey.
In the course of the ensuing hostilities, the Russian army managed, using the passivity of the Turks, to successfully cross the Danube, capture the Shipka Pass and, after a five-month siege, force the best Turkish army of Osman Pasha to surrender at Plevna. The subsequent raid through the Balkans, during which the Russian army defeated the last Turkish units blocking the road to Constantinople, led to the withdrawal of the Ottoman Empire from the war. At the Berlin Congress held in the summer of 1878, the Berlin Treaty was signed, which fixed the return of the southern part of Bessarabia to Russia and the annexation of Kars, Ardagan and Batum. The statehood of Bulgaria was restored (it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1396) as a vassal Principality of Bulgaria; the territories of Serbia, Montenegro and Romania increased, and the Turkish Bosnia and Herzegovina was occupied by Austria-Hungary.
Background to the conflict
[edit] Oppression of Christians in the Ottoman Empire
Article 9 of the Paris Peace Treaty, concluded as a result of the Crimean War, obliged the Ottoman Empire to grant Christians equal rights with Muslims. The matter did not progress further than the publication of the corresponding firman (decree) of the Sultan. In particular, the evidence of non-Muslims (“dhimmi”) against Muslims was not accepted in courts, which effectively deprived Christians of the right to judicial protection from religious persecution.
§ 1860 - in Lebanon, the Druzes, with the connivance of the Ottoman authorities, massacred over 10 thousand Christians (mainly Maronites, but also Greek Catholics and Orthodox). The threat of French military intervention forced Porto to restore order. Under pressure from the European powers, Porta agreed to appoint a Christian governor in Lebanon, whose candidacy was nominated by the Ottoman sultan after agreement with the European powers.
§ 1866-1869 - uprising in Crete under the slogan of uniting the island with Greece. The rebels took control of the entire island except for the five cities in which the Muslims fortified. By the beginning of 1869, the uprising was crushed, but the Porte made concessions, introducing self-government on the island, which strengthened the rights of Christians. During the suppression of the uprising, the events in the monastery of Moni Arkadiou became widely known in Europe ( English), when over 700 women and children who had taken refuge behind the walls of the monastery preferred to blow up the powder magazine, but not to surrender to the besieging Turks.
The consequence of the uprising in Crete, especially as a result of the brutality with which the Turkish authorities suppressed it, was to draw attention in Europe (the Russian Empire in particular) to the issue of the oppressed position of Christians in the Ottoman Empire.
Russia emerged from the Crimean War with minimal territorial losses, but was forced to abandon the maintenance of the fleet on the Black Sea and tear down the fortifications of Sevastopol.
Revising the results of the Crimean War became the main goal of the Russian foreign policy. However, it was not so easy - the Paris Peace Treaty of 1856 provided for guarantees of the integrity of the Ottoman Empire from Great Britain and France. The openly hostile position taken by Austria during the war complicated the situation. Of the great powers, only Prussia maintained friendly relations with Russia.
It was on the alliance with Prussia and its chancellor Bismarck that Prince A. M. Gorchakov, appointed by Alexander II in April 1856 as chancellor, staked. Russia took a neutral position in the unification of Germany, which ultimately led to the creation of the German Empire after a series of wars. In March 1871, taking advantage of the crushing defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian war, Russia, with the support of Bismarck, achieved international agreement to repeal the provisions of the Paris Treaty, which forbade it to have a fleet on the Black Sea.
The remaining provisions of the Paris Treaty, however, continued to operate. In particular, Article 8 gave the right to Great Britain and Austria in the event of a conflict between Russia and the Ottoman Empire to intervene on the side of the latter. This forced Russia to exercise extreme caution in its relations with the Ottomans and coordinate all its actions with other great powers. A one-on-one war with Turkey, therefore, was possible only if carte blanche was received from the rest of the European powers for such actions, and Russian diplomacy was waiting for the right moment.
Start of hostilities. The Russian army in the Balkans, led by the tsar's brother Nikolai Nikolaevich, numbered 185 thousand people. The king was also at the headquarters of the army. The number of the Turkish army in Northern Bulgaria was 160 thousand people.
On June 15, 1877, Russian troops crossed the Danube and launched an offensive. The Bulgarian population enthusiastically welcomed the Russian army. Bulgarian voluntary squads joined its composition, showing high morale. Eyewitnesses said that they went into battle as "to a merry holiday."
Russian troops quickly moved south, in a hurry to take possession of the mountain passes through the Balkans and go to southern Bulgaria. It was especially important to occupy the Shipka Pass, from where the most convenient road to Adrianople went. After two days of fierce fighting, the pass was taken. Turkish troops retreated in disarray. It seemed that a direct path to Constantinople was opening up.
Turkish counteroffensive. Battles on Shipka and near Plevna. However, the course of events suddenly changed dramatically. On July 7, a large Turkish detachment under the command of Osman Pasha, having made a forced march and ahead of the Russians, occupied the Plevna fortress in Northern Bulgaria. There was a threat of a flank strike. Two attempts by Russian troops to dislodge the enemy from Plevna ended in failure. The Turkish troops, who could not withstand the onslaught of the Russians in open battles, sat well in the fortresses. The movement of Russian troops through the Balkans was suspended.
Russia and liberation struggle Balkan peoples. In the spring of 1875, an uprising began against the Turkish yoke in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A year later, in April 1876, an uprising broke out in Bulgaria. Turkish punishers suppressed these uprisings with fire and sword. In Bulgaria alone, they slaughtered more than 30,000 people. Serbia and Montenegro in the summer of 1876 started a war against Turkey. But the forces were unequal. The poorly armed Slavic armies suffered setbacks.
Expanded in Russia social movement in defense of the Slavs. Thousands of Russian volunteers were sent to the Balkans. Donations were collected all over the country, weapons, medicines were bought, hospitals were equipped. The outstanding Russian surgeon N.V. Sklifosovsky led the Russian sanitary detachments in Montenegro, and the well-known general practitioner S.P. Botkin - in Serbia. Alexander II contributed 10 thousand rubles in favor of the rebels. Calls for Russian military intervention were heard from everywhere.
However, the government acted cautiously, realizing Russia's unpreparedness for a major war. Reforms in the army and its rearmament have not yet been completed. They did not have time to recreate the Black Sea Fleet either.
Meanwhile, Serbia was defeated. Serbian Prince Milan turned to the king with a request for help. In October 1876, Russia presented an ultimatum to Turkey: immediately conclude an armistice with Serbia. Russian intervention prevented the fall of Belgrade.
Through tacit negotiations, Russia managed to ensure the neutrality of Austria-Hungary, albeit at a very high price. According to the Budapest Convention, signed in January 1877, Russia
agreed to the occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austro-Hungarian troops. Russian diplomacy managed to take advantage of the indignation of the world community with the atrocities of Turkish punishers. In March 1877, in London, representatives of the great powers agreed on a protocol in which Turkey was asked to carry out reforms in favor of the Christian population in the Balkans. Türkiye rejected the London Protocol. On April 12, the king signed a manifesto declaring war on Turkey. A month later, Romania entered the war on the side of Russia.
Having seized the initiative, the Turkish troops ousted the Russians from southern Bulgaria. In August, bloody battles for Shipka began. The five thousandth Russian detachment, which included Bulgarian squads, was led by General N. G. Stoletov. The enemy had a fivefold superiority. The defenders of Shipka had to fight off up to 14 attacks a day. The unbearable heat increased the thirst, and the stream was under fire. At the end of the third day of fighting, when the situation became desperate, reinforcements arrived. The environmental threat has been eliminated. After a few days, the fighting subsided. The Shipka passage remained in the hands of the Russians, but its southern slopes were held by the Turks.
Fresh reinforcements from Russia were drawn to Plevna. Its third assault began on 30 August. Using thick fog, a detachment of General Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev (1843-1882) secretly approached the enemy and broke through the fortifications with a swift attack. But in other sectors, the attacks of the Russian troops were repulsed. Having received no support, Skobelev's detachment retreated the next day. In three assaults on Plevna, the Russians lost 32 thousand, the Romanians - 3 thousand people. The hero of the Sevastopol defense, General E. I. Totleben, arrived from St. Petersburg. Having examined the positions, he said that there was only one way out - a complete blockade of the fortress. Without heavy artillery, a new assault could only lead to new needless victims.
The fall of Plevna and a turning point in the course of the war. Winter has begun. The Turks held Plevna, the Russians - Shipka. “Everything is calm on Shipka,” the command reported. Meanwhile, the number of frostbite reached 400 per day. When a snowstorm broke out, the supply of ammunition and food was stopped. From September to December 1877, the Russians and Bulgarians lost 9,500 frostbitten, sick and frozen people on Shipka. Nowadays, there is a monument-tomb on Shipka with the image of two warriors bowing their heads - a Russian and a Bulgarian.
At the end of November, food supplies ran out in Plevna. Osman Pasha made a desperate attempt to break through, but was thrown back into the fortress. On November 28, the Plevna garrison surrendered. In Russian captivity were 43 thousand people, led by the most talented Turkish commander. During the war there was a turning point. Serbia again began hostilities. In order not to lose the initiative, the Russian command decided to go through the Balkans without waiting for spring.
On December 13, the main forces of the Russian army, led by General Iosif Vladimirovich Gurko (1828-1901), began their journey to Sofia through the difficult Churyak Pass. Troops moved day and night along steep and slippery mountain roads. The rain that had begun turned into snow, a blizzard swirled, and then frost hit. On December 23, 1877, in icy overcoats, the Russian army entered Sofia.
Meanwhile, the troops under the command of Skobelev were supposed to withdraw from the fight the group blocking the Shipka Pass. Skobelev crossed the Balkans west of Shipka along an icy sloping ledge over a precipice and went to the rear of the fortified camp of Sheinovo. Skobelev, who was nicknamed the "white general" (he had a habit of appearing in dangerous places on a white horse, in a white tunic and white cap), valued and cherished the life of a soldier. His soldiers went into battle not in dense columns, as was customary then, but in chains and quick dashes. As a result of the battles at Shipka-Sheinovo on December 27-28, the 20,000-strong Turkish group capitulated.
A few years after the war, Skobelev died suddenly, in the prime of life and talent, at the age of 38. Many streets and squares in Bulgaria are named after him.
The Turks surrendered Plovdiv without a fight. A three-day battle south of this city ended the military campaign. January 8, 1878 Russian troops entered Adrianople. Pursuing the randomly retreating Turks, the Russian cavalry reached the shores of the Sea of Marmara. A detachment under the command of Skobelev took the place of San Stefano, a few kilometers from Constantinople. It was not difficult to enter the Turkish capital, but, fearing international complications, the Russian command did not dare to do so.
Military operations in Transcaucasia. Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich, the youngest son of Nicholas I, was formally considered the commander of the Russian troops in the Transcaucasian theater of military operations. In fact, the command was carried out by General M.T. Loris-Melikov. In April - May 1877, the Russian army took the fortresses of Bayazet and Ardagan and blockaded Kare. But then a series of setbacks followed, and the siege of Kars had to be lifted.
The decisive battle took place in autumn in the area of the Aladzhin Heights, not far from Kars. On October 3, Russian troops stormed the fortified Mount Avliyar, a key point of Turkish defense. In the battle of Aladzhin, the Russian command for the first time used the telegraph to control troops. On the night of November 6, 1877, Kare was taken. After that, the Russian army went to Erzurum.
San Stefano Peace Treaty. On February 19, 1878, a peace treaty was signed in San Stefano. Under its terms, Bulgaria received the status of an autonomous principality, independent in its internal affairs. Serbia, Montenegro and Romania gained full independence and significant territorial gains. Southern Bessarabia, which had been torn away under the Treaty of Paris, was returned to Russia, and the Kars region in the Caucasus was transferred.
The provisional Russian administration that ruled Bulgaria developed a draft constitution. Bulgaria was proclaimed constitutional monarchy. Individual and property rights were guaranteed. The Russian project was the basis of the Bulgarian constitution adopted Constituent Assembly in Tarnovo in April 1879
Berlin Congress. England and Austria-Hungary refused to accept the terms of the San Stefano Peace. At their insistence, the Berlin Congress was held in the summer of 1878 with the participation of six powers (England, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia and Turkey). Russia found itself isolated and forced to make concessions. The Western powers categorically objected to the creation of a unified Bulgarian state. As a result, Southern Bulgaria remained under Turkish rule. Russian diplomats managed to achieve only that Sofia and Varna were included in the autonomous Bulgarian principality. The territory of Serbia and Montenegro was significantly reduced. Congress confirmed the right of Austria-Hungary to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina. England negotiated for itself the right to lead troops to Cyprus.
In a report to the tsar, the head of the Russian delegation, Chancellor A. M. Gorchakov, wrote: "The Berlin Congress is the blackest page in my service career." The king noted: "And in mine too."
The Congress of Berlin undoubtedly did not embellish the diplomatic history of not only Russia, but also the Western powers. Driven by petty momentary calculations and envy of the brilliant victory of Russian arms, the governments of these countries extended Turkish rule over several million Slavs.
And yet the fruits of the Russian victory were only partly destroyed. Having laid the foundations for the freedom of the fraternal Bulgarian people, Russia has written a glorious page in its history. Russian-Turkish war 1877-1878 entered the general context of the era of Liberation and became its worthy completion.
Similar information.
Causes of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 very varied. If you look into historiography, many historians express different points of view on determining the causes of the war. This war is very interesting to study. It should be noted that this war was the last victorious for Russia. Then the question arises, why then a series of defeats began, why the Russian Empire no longer won wars.
The main battles remained in the memory of the descendants as symbols of this particular Russian-Turkish war:
- Shipka;
- Plevna;
- Adrianople.
You can also note the uniqueness of this war. For the first time in the history of diplomatic relations, a national question became the reason for the outbreak of hostilities. Also for Russia, this war was the first in which the Institute of War Correspondents worked. Thus, all military operations were described on the pages of Russian and European newspapers. In addition, this is the first war where the Red Cross operates, which was created back in 1864.
But, despite the uniqueness of this war, below we will try to understand only the reasons for its start and partly the prerequisites.
Causes and background of the Russo-Turkish war
It is interesting that there are very few works about this war in pre-revolutionary historiography. Few people have studied the causes and preconditions of this war. Later, however, historians began to pay more and more attention to this conflict. Not studying this Russian-Turkish war, most likely, is due to the fact that representatives of the Romanov dynasty were in command during its period. And to delve into their mistakes seems to be not accepted. Apparently this was the reason for the inattention to its origins. It can be concluded that the timely failure to study the successes and failures of the war later led to the consequences in the following wars that the Russian Empire had further.
In 1875, events took place on the Balkan Peninsula, which led to confusion and anxiety throughout Europe. In this territory, that is, the territory of the Ottoman Empire, there were uprisings of the Slavic states that were part of it. These were the uprisings.
- Serb uprising;
- Bosnian uprising;
- Revolt in Bulgaria (1876).
These events led to the fact that European states had thoughts about how to start a military conflict with Turkey. That is, many historians and political scientists represent these uprisings of the Slavic peoples as the first cause of the Russian-Turkish war.
This Russian-Turkish war was one of the first wars where rifled weapons were used, and the soldiers used them very actively. For the army, this military conflict has generally become unique in terms of innovation. This applies to weapons, and diplomacy, and cultural aspects. All this makes the military clash very attractive for the study of historians.
Causes of the war 1877-1878 with the Ottoman Empire
After the uprisings, the national question arises. In Europe, this caused a great resonance. After these events, it was necessary to reconsider the status of the Balkan peoples in the Ottoman Empire, that is, Turkey. Foreign media almost daily printed telegrams and reports on events in the Balkan Peninsula.
Russia, as an Orthodox state, considered itself the patron of all Orthodox Slavic fraternal peoples. In addition, Russia is an empire that sought to strengthen its position on the Black Sea. I also did not forget about the lost one, this also left its mark. That is why it could not remain aloof from these events. In addition, the educated intelligent part of Russian society constantly talked about these unrest in the Balkans, the question arose "What to do?" and "How to proceed?". That is, Russia had reasons to start this Turkish war.
- Russia is an Orthodox state that considered itself the patroness and protector of the Orthodox Slavs;
- Russia sought to strengthen its position in the Black Sea;
- Russia wanted to take revenge for the loss in.
