One of the reasons for the Russo-Turkish war. Russian-Turkish wars

This choice was opposed by the French, who had their own candidate for the throne of the Commonwealth - Stanislav Leshchinsky. Having been defeated by Russia and Austria on the Polish question, French diplomacy began to make efforts to quarrel these rivals with Turkey. The French ambassador in Istanbul, Villeneuve, made a big deal of petty misunderstandings between the Russians and the Ottomans. An ally of the Ottoman Sultan, the Crimean Khan, soon defiantly led his troops through the Russian possessions in Transcaucasia, to the theater of the war between the Turks and the Persians. This case overflowed the patience of the Russian government. Seeing that the French intrigues in Istanbul did not stop, the head of Russian diplomacy Osterman demanded immediate negotiations with representatives of the Turkish vizier. The vizier did not send his representatives to these negotiations - and the St. Petersburg government declared war on the Porte, which went on from 1735 to 1739.

Russian-Turkish war 1735-1739. Map

Causes of the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774

The main reason for the Russian Turkish war 1768-1774 again became the struggle of European powers for influence in Poland. After the death of King Augustus III, Russia arranged for him to be chosen as the successor of his client. Stanislav Poniatowski. Since the Catholic party that dominated among the Poles persecuted Orthodox and Protestants, Russian troops were brought into the Commonwealth with the consent of Stanislav Poniatowski. They began to defend the persecuted religious dissidents. The French, dissatisfied with all this (in alliance with whom the Austrians now acted) helped part of the Polish magnates create a political union - the Bar Confederation - for armed resistance to Russia.

France and the Confederates turned to the Turkish Sultan for help. At the suggestion of the French agent Toley, the Poles, hostile to Russia, promised to cede the western part of Ukraine - Volhynia and Podolia - to the Turks in exchange for support. Unable to resist such a tempting offer, the Sultan decided to go to war with Russia.

An accidental border incident helped the Turks to expose themselves as an unfairly offended side. To resist the violence of the gentry, the Ukrainian population created detachments Gaidamakov . Pursuing the enemy after one skirmish not far from the Turkish border, the Gaidamaks were carried away into Ottoman territory and ravaged the town of Balta there. Empress Catherine II, bound by Polish events, did not want a war with the Turks. She ordered to seize and severely punish the perpetrators of the pogrom of Balta. But the sultan, encouraged by the French, did not want to hear any excuses and declared war on Russia, which lasted from 1768 to 1774.

Russian-Turkish war 1768-1774. Map

Causes of the Russo-Turkish War 1787-1791

It was impossible to achieve stable security of the southern borders of Russia without the elimination of predatory Crimean Khanate, whose raids over the previous few centuries cost the Slavs about 4-5 million people killed and taken into slavery. The annexation of the Crimea was one of the main goals of Russia in the war against the Turks of 1768-1774, however, due to the intervention of the Western powers, it could not be achieved at that time. According to the Kuchuk-Kaynardzhiysky peace of 1774, Crimea, previously a vassal of Turkey, received complete independence from it, but did not become part of Russia.

In the independent Crimea, a continuous struggle between the "Russian" and "Turkish" parties immediately began. Khans began to rise and fall almost every year. It became clear that Crimea's "independence" would not last long - it would either have to return under the rule of the Sultan, or submit to Russia. Completing the work that had been thwarted by hostile Europe in 1774, Catherine II in 1783 announced the inclusion of the Crimean Khanate into the Russian Empire. At the same time, Georgia, ravaged by neighboring Muslims, voluntarily became a Russian vassal.

Russian-Turkish war 1787-1791. Storming Ochakov, 1788. Painting by Y. Sukhodolsky, 1853

Causes of the Russo-Turkish War of 1806-1812

After several heavy defeats suffered by Russia, the Turks decided to keep peace with her. In December 1798, the Sultan concluded a close alliance treaty with Emperor Paul, according to which Russia even became something of a patron power of Turkey. The port passed to the position of a Russian semi-vassal. The Ottoman state participated on the side of Russia in the Second Coalition against revolutionary France (see Suvorov's Italian and Swiss campaigns). The Russian fleet received the right of free passage through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles.

However, the power of the Sultan over the provinces of his vast empire had weakened by that time. Several semi-independent pashas rose up in the Balkans, who arbitrarily oppressed and robbed the local Slavs. The violence of the Janissaries in Serbia caused an uprising in 1804 led by Karageorgia. The Serbs expelled the Turks from their land. Fanatical Muslims in Istanbul began to accuse Russia of secretly supporting the Serbian movement.

Russian-Turkish war 1806-1812. Naval battle at Athos, 1807. Painting by A. Bogolyubov, 1853

leading direction foreign policy second half of XIX in. remained eastern question. The Crimean War exacerbated the contradictions in the Balkans and in the Mediterranean region. Russia was very concerned about the insecurity of the borders in the Black Sea region and the inability to defend its interests in the eastern Mediterranean, especially in the straits.

As the national liberation war intensified in the Balkans, a mass movement in support of the South Slavs grew in Russia. A new wave of public indignation arose in connection with the brutal suppression of the April uprising in Bulgaria by the Turkish authorities. Outstanding Russian scientists, writers, artists spoke out in defense of the Bulgarian people - D.I. Mendeleev, N.I. Pirogov, L.N. Tolstoy, I.S. Turgenev, F.M. Dostoevsky, I.S. Isakov, I.E. Repin and others.

In July 1876 The governments of Serbia and Montenegro demanded that Turkey stop the massacre in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, this demand was not satisfied, and on July 30 both Slavic states declared war on Turkey. About 5 thousand Russian soldiers entered the Serbian army. Russian volunteer doctors worked in hospitals in Serbia and Montenegro, among whom were such well-known doctors as N.V. Sklifosovsky, S.P. Botkin.

In an acute international situation, tsarism sought to evade open participation in the conflict that had arisen. Turkey refused to guarantee the rights of the Christian population.

April 12, 1877 Russia declared war Turkey. Events unfolded in the Balkans and Transcaucasia. On the day of the declaration of war, the Russian army crossed the Romanian border and moved to the Danube. On July 7, Russian troops captured the Shipka Pass.

A large military group was thrown against the Russian troops under the command of Suleiman Pasha. One of the heroic episodes of the war began - protection of the Shipka Pass.

In extremely difficult conditions, with the multiple superiority of the enemy forces, the Russian troops repelled the attacks of the Turkish troops.

At the same time, the enemy managed to concentrate large forces in the fortress Plevna located at the intersection of major roads. In November 1977, Plevna surrendered, which was the most important event in the course of the war. After the capture of Plevna by the Russian troops, the final period of the war began.

On December 3, a detachment under the command I.V. Gurko in the most difficult conditions of the mountainous terrain with a 25-degree frost, he overcame the Balkans and liberated Sofia.

Another detachment under the command F.F. Radetzky through the Shipka Pass he reached the fortified Turkish camp of Sheinovo. One of the largest battles of the war took place here, during which the enemy was defeated. Russian troops were moving towards Constantinople.

Events also developed successfully in the Transcaucasian theater of operations. In early May 1877, Russian troops successfully captured the fortresses of Ardagan and Kare.

Negotiations on a peace treaty with Turkey ended February 19, 1878 at San Stefano, near Constantinople. According to the contract Serbia, Romania and Montenegro received full independence. Creation was proclaimed Bulgaria- an autonomous principality, in which Russian troops were located for two years. Turkey committed to reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Northern Dobruja was transferred to Romania. Russia was returning Southern Bessarabia rejected by the Paris Treaty. In Asia, cities retreated to Russia Ardagan, Kars, Batum, Bayazet and a large area up to Saganlung populated mainly by Armenians. The Treaty of San Stefano met the aspirations of the Balkan peoples and was of progressive significance for the peoples of Transcaucasia.

The Western powers could not accept the strengthening of Russian positions in the Balkans and the Caucasus. They refused to accept the terms of the San Stefano Treaty and demanded its revision. Russia was forced to give in.

AT July in Berlin The congress opened in which the European states, acting as a united front, changed the San Stefano Treaty. Southern Bulgaria came under Turkish rule. The territories of independent Serbia, Montenegro and Romania were reduced. Austria-Hungary occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina, England - Cyprus.

Foreign policy of Russia at the end of the 19th century.

In the last quarter of the XIX century. growing contradictions between the great powers: Russia, England, France, Germany and Austria-Hungary. Their confrontation determined the situation in the world, affecting the interests of other states. Late XIX- the beginning of the twentieth century. was marked by the creation of blocs of states.

June 6 1881 was signed by the Austro-Russian-German treaty, which went down in history under the name " Union of the Three Emperors". The treaty fixed the mutual obligations of the parties to remain generally neutral in the event of a war between one of them and a fourth party. In general, this agreement was beneficial to Russia, but was short-lived and easily terminated, which predetermined its weakness.

Despite the conclusion of the treaty, the policy of the Russian government began to acquire more and more anti-German features. In 1887, decrees were issued restricting the flow of German capital into Russia and raising duties on the import of metal, metal products and coal, on products chemical industry etc.

By the end of the 1980s, Russia's contradictions with Austria-Hungary and Germany had become more significant than those with England. In dealing with international issues Russian government started looking for partners. An important prerequisite for such a step was the serious changes in the entire European situation, caused by the conclusion of 1882 Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. In the early 1990s, there were signs of a rapprochement between the members of the Triple Alliance and England. Under these conditions, the rapprochement between Russia and France began, which had not only a political, but also an economic basis. Since 1887, Russia began to regularly receive French loans. August 27 1891. was concluded Russian-French alliance, and in 1892 - a military convention. In January 1894, the treaty was ratified by Alexander III.

The Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 was a war between the Russian Empire and Ottoman Turkey. It was caused by the rise of the national liberation movement in the Balkans and the aggravation of international contradictions in connection with this.

The uprisings against the Turkish yoke in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1875-1878) and Bulgaria (1876) caused social movement in Russia in support of fraternal Slavic peoples. Responding to these sentiments, the Russian government came out in support of the rebels, hoping, if they were successful, to increase their influence in the Balkans. Britain sought to pit Russia against Turkey and take advantage of the weakening of both countries.

In June 1876, the Serbo-Turkish War began, in which Serbia was defeated. To save her from death, Russia in October 1876 turned to the Turkish Sultan with a proposal to conclude a truce with Serbia.

In December 1876, the Constantinople Conference of the Great Powers was convened, which tried to resolve the conflict through diplomacy, but the Porte rejected their proposals. During secret negotiations, Russia managed to obtain guarantees of non-interference from Austria-Hungary in exchange for the occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Austrians. In April 1877, an agreement was concluded with Romania on the passage of Russian troops through its territory.

After the Sultan rejected new project reforms for the Balkan Slavs, developed at the initiative of Russia, on April 24 (April 12, old style), 1877, Russia officially declared war on Turkey.

In the European theater of operations, Russia had 185 thousand soldiers, together with the Balkan allies, the number of the group reached 300 thousand people. In the Caucasus, Russia had about 100,000 soldiers. In turn, the Turks in the European theater had a 186,000-strong group, and in the Caucasus they had about 90,000 soldiers. The Turkish fleet almost completely dominated the Black Sea, in addition, the Port had the Danube Flotilla.

In the context of the restructuring of the entire inner life country, the Russian government was unable to prepare for a long war, the financial situation remained difficult. The forces allocated to the Balkan theater of operations were insufficient, but the morale of the Russian army was very high.

According to the plan, the Russian command intended to cross the Danube, cross the Balkans with a swift offensive and move on the Turkish capital - Constantinople. Relying on their fortresses, the Turks hoped to prevent the Russian troops from crossing the Danube. However, these calculations of the Turkish command were frustrated.

In the summer of 1877, the Russian army successfully crossed the Danube. The advance detachment under the command of General Iosif Gurko quickly occupied the ancient capital of Bulgaria, the city of Tarnovo, and then captured an important passage through the Balkans - the Shipka Pass. Further advance was suspended due to lack of forces.

In the Caucasus, Russian troops captured the fortresses of Bayazet and Ardagan, during the Avliyar-Aladzhin battle of 1877 they defeated the Anatolian Turkish army, and then in November 1877 captured the fortress of Kars.

The actions of the Russian troops near Plevna (now Pleven) on the western flank of the army unfolded unsuccessfully. Due to the gross mistakes of the tsarist command, the Turks managed to detain large forces of Russian (and somewhat later Romanian) troops here. Three times Russian troops stormed Plevna, while suffering huge losses, and each time unsuccessfully.

In December, the 40,000-strong garrison of Plevna capitulated.

The fall of Plevna caused the rise of the liberation movement of the Slavs. Serbia entered the war again. Bulgarian volunteers fought heroically in the ranks of the Russian army.

By 1878 the balance of power in the Balkans had shifted in favor of Russia. The Danube army, with the assistance of the Bulgarian population and the Serbian army, defeated the Turks when crossing the Balkans in the winter of 1877-1878, in the battle of Sheinovo, Philippopolis (now Plovdiv) and Adrianople, and in February 1878 reached the Bosphorus and Constantinople.

In the Caucasus, the Russian army captured Batum and blockaded Erzurum.

Before ruling circles Russia faced the specter of a big war with the European powers, for which Russia was not ready. The army suffered heavy losses, experienced difficulties in supply. The command stopped the troops in the town of San Stefano (near Constantinople), and on March 3 (February 19, old style), 1878, a peace treaty was signed here.

According to him, Kars, Ardagan, Batum and Bayazet, as well as South Bessarabia, departed from Russia. Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina received wide autonomy, and Serbia, Montenegro and Romania - independence. In addition, Turkey pledged to pay an indemnity of 310 million rubles.

The terms of the agreement provoked a negative reaction from the Western European states, who feared Russia's enormously increased influence in the Balkans. Fearing the threat of a new war, for which Russia was not ready, the Russian government was forced to revise the treaty at the international congress in Berlin (June-July 1878), where the Treaty of San Stefano was replaced by the Treaty of Berlin, which was unfavorable for Russia and the Balkan countries.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources

Russian-Turkish war (1877-1878)

The Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878 is a war between the Russian Empire and its allied 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 brutality 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 Osman Pasha's best Turkish army 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 Batumi. 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.

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, in the courts the evidence of non-Muslims (“dhimmi”) against Muslims was not accepted, which effectively deprived Christians of the right to judicial protection from religious persecution.

1860 - in Lebanon, the Druze, with the connivance of the Ottoman authorities, slaughtered 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 - an 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 (English) became widely known in Europe, when over 700 women and children who had taken refuge behind the walls of the monastery chose to blow up the powder magazine, but not 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 (in Great Britain in particular) to the issue of the oppressed position of Christians in the Ottoman Empire.

However little attention the British paid to the affairs of the Ottoman Empire, and however imperfect their knowledge of all the details, enough information leaked from time to time to produce a vague but firm belief that the sultans did not fulfill their "firm promises" made to Europe; that the vices of the Ottoman government were incurable; and that when the time comes for another crisis affecting the "independence" of the Ottoman Empire, it will be absolutely impossible for us to give back to the Ottomans the support we gave earlier during the Crimean War.

Changing the balance of power in Europe

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 has become the main goal of Russian foreign policy. However, it was not so simple - 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.

Immediate causes of the war

The suppression of the uprising in Bulgaria and the reaction of Europe

In the summer of 1875, an anti-Turkish uprising began in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the main reason for which was the exorbitant taxes imposed by the financially bankrupt Ottoman government. Despite some tax cuts, the uprising continued throughout 1875 and eventually sparked the April Uprising in Bulgaria in the spring of 1876.

During the suppression of the Bulgarian uprising, Turkish troops committed massacres of civilians, more than 30 thousand people died; in particular, irregular units, the bashi-bazouks, raged. A propaganda campaign was launched against the pro-Turkish line of the British government, Disraeli, by a number of journalists and publications, accusing the latter of ignoring the cruelties of Turkish irregulars; a special role was played by the materials of the American journalist, married to a Russian citizen, Yanuariy McGahan (English), published in the opposition Daily News (English). In July - August 1876, Disraeli was forced to repeatedly defend the government's policy on the Eastern Question in the House of Commons, as well as to justify the false reports of the British ambassador in Constantinople, Henry Elliot (Sir Henry George Elliot). On August 11 of the same year, during his last debate in the lower house (the next day he was elevated to the peerage), he found himself in complete isolation, being subjected to severe criticism from representatives of both parties.

Publications in the Daily News caused a wave of public indignation in Europe: Charles Darwin, Oscar Wilde, Victor Hugo and Giuseppe Garibaldi spoke out in support of the Bulgarians.

Victor Hugo, in particular, wrote in August 1876 in a French parliamentary newspaper.

It is necessary to draw the attention of European governments to one fact, one very small fact that the governments do not even notice ... An entire people will be exterminated. Where? in Europe... Will there be an end to the torment of this little heroic people?

Public opinion in England was finally turned against the "Turkophile" policy of supporting the Ottoman Empire with the publication in early September 1876 of the pamphlet The Bulgarian Horrors and the Eastern Question by the opposition leader Gladstone. and the Question of the East), which was the main factor in the non-intervention of England on the side of Turkey during the ensuing next year declaration of war by Russia. Gladstone's pamphlet, in its positive part, outlined a program for granting autonomy to Bosnia, Herzegovina and Bulgaria.

In Russia, from the autumn of 1875, a mass movement of support for the Slavic struggle unfolded, embracing all social strata. A sharp discussion unfolded in society: progressive circles justified the liberating goals of the war, conservatives talked about its possible political dividends, such as the capture of Constantinople and the creation of a Slavic federation headed by monarchical Russia.

This discussion was superimposed on the traditional Russian dispute between the Slavophiles and Westernizers, and the former, represented by the writer Dostoevsky, saw in the war the fulfillment of a special historical mission of the Russian people, which consisted in rallying the Slavic peoples around Russia on the basis of Orthodoxy, and the latter, represented by Turgenev, denied the significance religious aspect and believed that the purpose of the war was not the defense of Orthodoxy, but the liberation of the Bulgarians.

The events in the Balkans and in Russia during the initial period of the crisis are the subject of a number of works of Russian fiction.

In Turgenev's poem "Croquet at Windsor" (1876), Queen Victoria was openly accused of condoning the actions of Turkish fanatics;

Polonsky's poem "Bulgarian Woman" (1876) tells of the humiliation of a Bulgarian woman sent to a Muslim harem and living with a thirst for revenge.

The Bulgarian poet Ivan Vazov has a poem "Memories of Batak", which was written from the words of a teenager he met - thin, in rags, he stood with outstretched hand. "Where are you from, little boy?" - “I am from Batak. Do you know Batak? Ivan Vazov sheltered the boy in his house and subsequently wrote beautiful poems in the form of a story by the boy Ivancho about the heroic episode of the struggle of the Bulgarian people against the Ottoman yoke.

Serbia's defeat and diplomatic maneuvering

In June 1876, Serbia, followed by Montenegro, declared war on Turkey (see: Serbo-Montenegrin-Turkish war). Representatives of Russia and Austria officially warned against this, but the Serbs did not attach much importance to this, since they were sure that Russia would not allow them to be defeated by the Turks.

June 26 (July 8), 1876 Alexander II and Gorchakov met with Franz Joseph and Andrassy at the Reichstadt Castle in Bohemia. During the meeting, the so-called Reichstadt Agreement was concluded, which provided that in exchange for supporting the Austrian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia would receive Austria's consent to the return of southwestern Bessarabia, seized from Russia in 1856, and to annex the port of Batumi on the Black sea. In the Balkans, Bulgaria received autonomy (according to the Russian version - independence). During the meeting, the results of which were classified, an agreement was also reached that the Balkan Slavs "in no case can form one large state on the Balkan Peninsula."

In July-August, the Serbian army suffered several crushing defeats from the Turks, and on August 26, Serbia turned to the European powers with a request for mediation to end the war. The joint ultimatum of the powers compelled the Porte to grant Serbia an armistice for a period of one month and start peace negotiations. Turkey, however, put forward very harsh conditions for a future peace treaty, which were rejected by the powers.

On August 31, 1876, Sultan Murad V, declared incompetent due to illness, was deposed and Abdul-Hamid II took the throne.

During September, Russia tried to negotiate with Austria and England on an acceptable variant of a peaceful settlement in the Balkans, which could be presented to Turkey on behalf of all European powers. Things did not work out - Russia proposed the occupation of Bulgaria by Russian troops and the introduction of a united squadron of great powers into the Sea of ​​​​Marmara, and the first did not suit Austria, and the second did not suit Great Britain.

In early October, the truce with Serbia expired, after which the Turkish troops resumed the offensive. Serbia's situation became critical. On October 18 (30), 1876, the Russian ambassador in Constantinople, Count Ignatiev, presented the Porte with an ultimatum to conclude a truce for 2 months, demanding a response within 48 hours; On October 20, in the Kremlin, Alexander II delivered a speech containing similar requirements (the so-called Moscow speech of the emperor), and ordered a partial mobilization - 20 divisions. Porta accepted the Russian ultimatum.

On December 11, the Constantinople Conference, convened at the initiative of Russia, began. A compromise draft solution was worked out granting autonomy to Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina under the united control of the great powers. On December 23, the Porte announced the adoption of a constitution proclaiming the equality of religious minorities in the empire, on the basis of which Turkey announced its refusal to recognize the decisions of the conference.

On January 15, 1877, Russia entered into a written agreement with Austria-Hungary guaranteeing the latter's neutrality in exchange for the right to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina. Other conditions of the previously concluded Reichstadt agreement were confirmed. Like the Reichstadt Agreement, this written agreement was kept in the strictest confidence. For example, even major Russian diplomats, including the Russian ambassador to Turkey, did not know about him.

On January 20, 1877, the Constantinople Conference ended without results; Count Ignatiev declared the responsibility of the Porte if she launched an offensive against Serbia and Montenegro. The Moskovskie Vedomosti newspaper described the outcome of the conference as a "complete fiasco" that "could have been expected from the very beginning."

In February 1877, Russia reached an agreement with Great Britain. The London Protocol recommended that the Porte accept reforms that were truncated even compared to the latest (reduced) proposals of the Constantinople Conference. On March 31, the protocol was signed by representatives of all six powers. However, on April 12, the Porte rejected it, saying that it considered it as interference in the internal affairs of Turkey, "contrary to the dignity of the Turkish state."

Ignoring the united will of the European powers by the Turks gave Russia the opportunity to ensure the neutrality of the European powers in the war with Turkey. Invaluable assistance in this was provided by the Turks themselves, who, by their actions, helped to dismantle the provisions of the Paris Treaty, which protected them from a one-on-one war with Russia.

Russia's entry into the war

On April 12 (24), 1877, Russia declared war on Turkey: after the parade of troops in Chisinau, at a solemn prayer service, Bishop Pavel (Lebedev) of Chisinau and Khotinsky read the Manifesto of Alexander II declaring war on Turkey.

Only a one-campaign war enabled Russia to avoid European intervention. According to reports from a military agent in England, to train an expeditionary army of 50-60 thousand people. London needed 13-14 weeks, and the preparation of the Constantinople position - another 8-10 weeks. In addition, the army had to be transferred by sea, skirting Europe. In none of the Russian-Turkish wars did the time factor play such a significant role. Turkey pinned its hopes on a successful defense.

The plan for the war against Turkey was drawn up as early as October 1876 by General N. N. Obruchev. By March 1877, the project was corrected by the Emperor himself, the Minister of War, Commander-in-Chief, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich Sr., his assistant of headquarters, General A. A. Nepokoichitsky, assistant chief of staff, Major General K. V. Levitsky.

In May 1877, Russian troops entered the territory of Romania.

The troops of Romania, speaking on the side of Russia, began to act actively only in August.

The balance of forces of opponents was developing in favor of Russia, military reforms began to give their positive results. In the Balkans, in early June, Russian troops (about 185 thousand people) under the command of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich (the Elder) concentrated on the left bank of the Danube, with their main forces in the Zimnitsa region. The forces of the Turkish army under the command of Abdul-Kerim-Nadir Pasha were about 200 thousand people, of which about half were garrisons of fortresses, which left 100 thousand for the operational army.

In the Caucasus, the Russian Caucasian army under the command of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich had about 150 thousand people with 372 guns, the Turkish army of Mukhtar Pasha - about 70 thousand people with 200 guns.

In terms of combat training, the Russian army was superior to the enemy, but inferior to him in terms of weapons (Turkish troops were armed with the latest British and American rifles).

The active support of the Russian army by the peoples of the Balkans and Transcaucasia strengthened the morale of the Russian troops, which included the Bulgarian, Armenian and Georgian militia.

The Turkish fleet completely dominated the Black Sea. Russia, having achieved the right to Black Sea Fleet only in 1871, did not have time to restore it by the beginning of the war.

General situation and plans of the parties

There were two possible theaters of military operations: the Balkans and the Transcaucasus. The Balkans were the key, since it was here that one could count on the support of the local population (for the sake of whose liberation the war was fought). In addition, the successful exit of the Russian army to Constantinople led the Ottoman Empire out of the war.

Two natural barriers stood in the way of the Russian army to Constantinople:

The Danube, the Turkish coast of which was thoroughly fortified by the Ottomans. The fortresses in the famous "quadrangle" of fortresses - Ruschuk - Shumla - Varna - Silistra - were the most protected in Europe, if not in the whole world. The Danube was a full-flowing river, the Turkish coast of which was thoroughly swampy, which greatly complicated the landing on it. In addition, the Turks on the Danube had 17 armored monitors that could withstand an artillery duel with coastal artillery, which further complicated the crossing of the river. With competent protection, one could hope to inflict very significant losses on the Russian army.

The Balkan ridge, through which there were several convenient crossings, the main of which was Shipka. The defending side could meet the attackers in well-fortified positions both on the pass itself and at the exit from it. It was possible to bypass the Balkan Range along the sea, but then one would have to take the well-fortified Varna by storm.

The Turkish fleet completely dominated the Black Sea, which made it necessary to organize the supply of the Russian army in the Balkans by land.

The war plan was based on the idea of ​​a lightning victory: the army was supposed to cross the Danube in the middle reaches of the river, in the Nikopol - Svishtov section, where the Turks did not have fortresses, in an area inhabited by Bulgarians friendly to Russia. After the crossing, it was necessary to divide the army into three equal groups: the first - blocks Turkish fortresses in the lower reaches of the river; the second - acts against Turkish forces in the direction of Viddin; the third - crosses the Balkans and goes to Constantinople.

The Turkish plan provided for an active defensive course of action: by concentrating the main forces (about 100 thousand people) in the “quadrangle” of fortresses - Ruschuk - Shumla - Bazardzhik - Silistria, lure the Russians who had crossed to the Balkans, deep into Bulgaria, and then defeat them, attacking them left flank of the message. At the same time, quite significant forces of Osman Pasha, about 30 thousand people, were concentrated in Western Bulgaria, near Sofia and Vidin, with the task of monitoring Serbia and Romania and preventing the Russian army from joining the Serbs. In addition, small detachments occupied the Balkan passages and fortifications along the Middle Danube.

Operations in the European theater of war

Forcing the Danube

The Russian army, by prior agreement with Romania, passed through its territory and in June crossed the Danube in several places. To ensure the crossing of the Danube, it was necessary to neutralize the Turkish Danube flotilla in the place of possible crossings. This task was accomplished by the installation of minefields on the river, covered by coastal batteries. Also deployed on railway light mine boats.

On April 29 (May 11), Russian heavy artillery blew up the flagship Turkish corvette Lutfi Djelil near Brail, who died with the entire crew;

On May 14 (26), mine boats of lieutenants Shestakov and Dubasov sank the Khivzi Rahman monitor.

The Turkish river flotilla was upset by the actions of the Russian sailors and could not prevent the crossing of the Russian troops.

On June 10 (22), the Lower Danube detachment crossed the Danube at Galati and Braila and soon occupied Northern Dobruja.

On the night of June 15 (27), Russian troops under the command of General M. I. Dragomirov crossed the Danube in the Zimnitsa area. The troops were dressed in winter black uniforms to remain unnoticed in the dark, but, starting from the second echelon, the crossing took place under fierce fire. Losses amounted to 1100 people killed and wounded.

On June 21 (July 3), sappers prepared a bridge across the Danube near Zimnitsa. The transfer of the main forces of the Russian army across the Danube began.

The Turkish command did not take active steps to prevent the Russian army from forcing the Danube. The first line on the way to Constantinople was surrendered without serious battles.

Plevna and Shipka

The main forces of the army that crossed the Danube were not enough for a decisive offensive across the Balkan Range. For this, only the advanced detachment of General I.V. Gurko (12 thousand people) was allocated. To secure the flanks, a 45,000-strong Eastern and 35,000-strong Western detachments were created. The rest of the forces were in Dobruja, on the left bank of the Danube or on the way. The forward detachment on June 25 (July 7) occupied Tarnovo, and on July 2 (14) crossed the Balkans through the Khainkoisky pass. Soon the Shipka Pass was occupied, where the created Southern Detachment (20 thousand people, in August - 45 thousand) was advanced. The way to Constantinople was open, but there were no sufficient forces for an offensive in the Trans-Balkan region. The advance detachment occupied Eski Zagra (Stara Zagora), but soon the Turkish 20,000-strong corps of Suleiman Pasha, transferred from Albania, approached here. After a fierce battle at Eski-Zagra, in which the Bulgarian militias distinguished themselves, the advance detachment withdrew to Shipka.

Successes were followed by failures. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich actually lost command of the troops from the moment the Danube was crossed. The Western detachment captured Nikopol, but did not have time to take Plevna (Pleven), where the 15,000th corps of Osman Pasha approached from Vidin. The assaults on Plevna, undertaken on July 8 (20) and July 18 (30), ended in complete failure and fettered the actions of the Russian troops.

Russian troops in the Balkans went on the defensive. The insufficient number of the Russian expeditionary corps had an effect - the command did not have reserves to strengthen the Russian units near Plevna. Reinforcements were urgently requested from Russia, and the Romanian allies were called to help. It was possible to pull up the necessary reserves from Russia only by mid-late September, which delayed the course of hostilities by 1.5-2 months.

Lovcha (on the southern flank of Plevna) was occupied on August 22 (the losses of Russian troops amounted to about 1500 people), but the new assault on Plevna on August 30-31 (September 11-12) also ended in failure, after which it was decided to take Plevna by blockade. On September 15 (27), E. Totleben arrived near Plevna, who was instructed to organize the siege of the city. To do this, it was necessary to take the heavily fortified redoubts of Telish, Gorny and Dolny Dubnyaki, which were supposed to serve as strongholds for Osman in the event of his exit from Plevna.

On October 12 (24), Gurko stormed Gorny Dubnyak, which was occupied after a stubborn battle; Russian losses amounted to 3539 people killed and wounded, Turks - 1500 killed and 2300 captured.

On October 16 (28), Telish was forced to surrender under artillery fire (4,700 people were taken prisoner). The losses of the Russian troops (during the unsuccessful assault) amounted to 1327 people.

Trying to lift the siege from Plevna, the Turkish command decided in November to organize an offensive along the entire front.

On November 10 (22) and November 11 (23) the 35,000-strong Sofia (western) Turkish army was repulsed by Gurko at Novachin, Pravets and Etropol;

On November 13 (25), the Eastern Turkish Army was repulsed by units of the 12th Russian Corps at Trestenik and Kosabina;

On November 22 (December 4), the Eastern Turkish Army defeated the Yeleninsky detachment of the 11th Russian Corps. There were 25 thousand Turks with 40 guns, Russians - 5 thousand with 26 guns. Eastern front The Russian location in Bulgaria was broken, the next day the Turks could be in Tarnovo, capturing huge wagon trains, warehouses and parks of 8 and 11 Russian corps. However, the Turks did not develop their success and all day on November 23 (December 5) were inactive and dug in. On November 24 (December 6), the hastily moved Russian 26th Infantry Division restored the situation, knocking down the Turks near Zlataritsa.

On November 30 (December 12), the Eastern Turkish army, not yet aware of the surrender of Plevna, tried to attack at Mechka, but was repulsed.

The Russian command forbade counterattacking until the denouement near Plevna.

From mid-November, the army of Osman Pasha, squeezed in Plevna by a ring of Russian troops four times superior to it, began to experience a lack of food. At the military council, it was decided to break through the line of taxation, and on November 28 (December 10), in the morning fog, the Turkish army attacked the Grenadier Corps, but after a stubborn battle it was repelled along the entire line and retreated to Plevna, where it laid down its arms. The losses of the Russians amounted to 1,696 people, the Turks, who attacked in dense masses, up to 6,000. 43.4 thousand people were taken prisoner. The wounded Osman Pasha handed over his saber to the commander of the grenadiers - General Ganetsky; he was given field marshal honors for his valiant defense.

Raid through the Balkans

The Russian army, numbering 314 thousand people against over 183 thousand people from the enemy, went on the offensive. The Serbian army resumed hostilities against Turkey. The western detachment of General Gurko (71 thousand people) crossed the Balkans under extremely difficult conditions and occupied Sofia on December 23, 1877 (January 4, 1878). On the same day, the troops of the Southern Detachment of General F.F. Radetsky (detachments of Generals M.D. Skobelev and N.I. Svyatopolk-Mirsky) launched an offensive and in the battle of Sheinovo on December 27-28 (January 8-9) they surrounded and took captured the 30,000th army of Wessel Pasha. On January 3-5 (15-17), 1878, in the battle near Philippopolis (Plovdiv), the army of Suleiman Pasha was defeated, and on January 8 (20), Russian troops occupied Adrianople without any resistance.

Meanwhile, the former Ruschuk detachment also launched an offensive, encountering almost no resistance from the Turks, who were retreating to their fortresses; On January 14 (26) Razgrad was occupied, and on January 15 (27) Osman Bazaar was occupied. The troops of the 14th Corps, operating in Dobruja, on January 15 (27) occupied Hadji-Oglu-Bazardzhik, heavily fortified, but also cleared by the Turks.

This ended the fighting in the Balkans.

Operations in the Asian theater of war

Military operations in the Caucasus, according to Obruchev's plan, were undertaken "to protect our own security and divert enemy forces." The same opinion was shared by Milyutin, who wrote to the Commander-in-Chief of the Caucasian Army, Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich: “The main military operations are planned in European Turkey; on the part of Asiatic Turkey, our actions should be aimed at: 1) to cover the security of our own borders with an offensive - for which it would seem necessary to capture Batum and Kars (or Erzurum) and 2) if possible, divert Turkish forces from the European theater and prevent their organization.

The command of the active Caucasian Corps was entrusted to General of Infantry M.T. Loris-Melikov. The corps was divided into separate detachments according to operational directions. The Akhaltsikhe detachment under the command of Lieutenant-General F.D. Devel (13.5 thousand people and 36 guns) concentrated on the right flank, in the center, near Alexandropol (Gyumri), the main forces were located under the personal command of M.T. Loris-Melikov ( 27.5 thousand people and 92 guns) and, finally, on the left was the Erivan detachment led by Lieutenant General A. A. Tergukasov (11.5 thousand people and 32 guns), the Primorsky (Kobuleti) detachment of General I. D Oklobzhio (24 thousand people and 96 guns) was intended for an offensive along the Black Sea coast to Batum and, if possible, further towards Trebizond. A general reserve was concentrated in Sukhum (18.8 thousand people and 20 guns)

Rebellion in Abkhazia

In May, the highlanders, with the support of Turkish emissaries, raised a rebellion in Abkhazia. After a two-day bombardment by the Turkish squadron and an amphibious landing, Sukhum was abandoned; by June, the entire Black Sea coast from Ochemchira to Adler was occupied by the Turks. June indecisive attempts by the head of the Sukhum department, General P.P. Kravchenko, to recapture the city were not crowned with success. Turkish troops left the city only on August 19, after reinforcements from Russia and units withdrawn from the Primorsky direction approached the Russian troops in Abkhazia.

The temporary occupation of the Black Sea coast by the Turks affected Chechnya and Dagestan, where uprisings also broke out. As a result, 2 Russian infantry divisions were forced to linger there.

Actions in the Caucasus

On June 6, the Bayazet citadel, occupied by a Russian garrison of 1,600 people, was besieged by Faik Pasha's troops (25 thousand people). The siege (called the Bayazet seat) continued until June 28, when it was lifted by the returning detachment of Tergukasov. During the siege, the garrison lost 10 officers and 276 lower ranks killed and wounded. After that, Bayazet was abandoned by the Russian troops.

The offensive of the Primorsky detachment developed extremely slowly, and after the landing of the Turks near Sukhum, General Oklobzhio was forced to send part of the forces under the command of General Alkhazov to help General Kravchenko, because of this, military operations in the Batumi direction until the end of the war took a protracted positional character.

In July-August, there was a long period of inactivity in Transcaucasia, caused by the fact that both sides were waiting for the arrival of reinforcements.

On September 20, upon the arrival of the 1st Grenadier Division, Russian troops went on the offensive near Kars; by October 3, the army of Mukhtar opposing them (25-30 thousand people) was defeated in the battle of Avliyar-Aladzhin and retreated to Kars.

On October 23, Mukhtar's army was again defeated near Erzerum, which was also besieged by Russian troops from the next day.

After that important event Erzerum appeared to be the main goal of the actions, where the remnants of the enemy army were hiding. But here the allies of the Turks were the onset of cold and the extreme difficulty of delivering all kinds of supplies along mountain roads. In the troops standing in front of the fortress, disease and mortality reached terrifying proportions. As a result, by January 21, 1878, when a truce was signed, Erzerum could not be taken.

Conclusion of a peace treaty

Peace negotiations began after the victory at Sheinov, but were greatly delayed due to the intervention of England. Finally, on January 19, 1878 in Adrianople were signed preconditions peace, and a truce was concluded with the definition of demarcation lines for both warring parties. However, the basic terms of peace turned out to be inconsistent with the claims of the Romanians and Serbs, and most importantly, they aroused strong fears in England and Austria. The British government demanded new loans from Parliament to mobilize the army. In addition, on February 1, Admiral Gornby's squadron entered the Dardanelles. In response to this, the Russian commander-in-chief moved troops to the demarcation line the very next day.

The statement of the Russian government that, in view of the actions of England, it was planned to occupy Constantinople, prompted the British to be compliant, and on February 4 an agreement followed, according to which Hornby's squadron was to withdraw 100 km from Constantinople, and the Russians were obliged to return to their demarcation line.

On February 19 (O.S.), 1878, after another 2 weeks of diplomatic maneuvering, the provisional San Stefano Peace Treaty with Turkey was finally signed.

From San Stefano to Berlin

The terms of the Treaty of San Stefano not only alarmed England and Austria, but aroused strong displeasure among the Romanians and Serbs, who felt left out in the division. Austria demanded that a European Congress be convened to discuss the Treaty of San Stefano, and England supported this demand.

Both states began military preparations, which also prompted new measures on the Russian side to counter the threatening danger: new land and sea units were formed, the Baltic coast was prepared for defense, and an observational army was formed near Kyiv and Lutsk. To influence Romania, which had become openly hostile to Russia, the 11th Corps was transferred there, which occupied Bucharest, after which the Romanian troops withdrew to Lesser Wallachia.

All these political complications encouraged the Turks, and they began to prepare for the resumption of the war: the fortifications near Constantinople were strengthened, and all the remaining free troops were drawn there; Turkish and British emissaries tried to stir up an uprising of Muslims in the Rhodope Mountains, hoping to divert part of the Russian troops there.

Such aggravated relations continued until the end of April, until Alexander II accepted the German offer of mediation.

On June 1, meetings of the Berlin Congress chaired by Prince Bismarck opened, and on July 1, the Berlin Treaty was signed, which radically changed the San Stefano Treaty, mainly in favor of Austria-Hungary and to the detriment of the interests of the Balkan Slavs: the size of the Bulgarian state, which gained independence from Turkey, and Bosnia and Herzegovina were transferred to Austria.

A contemporary of these events, historian M.N. congress,” the historian wrote, “and 30 years after the events he asked in bewilderment: “If Russia wanted to remain faithful to the convention with Austria, why forget about it when concluding the San Stefano Treaty?” All that Britain and Austria wanted at the Berlin Congress, Pokrovsky pointed out, was the fulfillment by Russia of the Russian-Austrian convention of January 1877. But the Russian public, which was indignant at the “flawed” Berlin Treaty and the “betrayal” by Austria and Germany, did not know this , because The agreement was kept in the strictest confidence.

The results of the war

Russia returned the southern part of Bessarabia, lost after the Crimean War, and annexed the Kars region, inhabited by Armenians and Georgians.

Great Britain occupied Cyprus; according to an agreement with the Ottoman Empire dated June 4, 1878, in exchange for this, she undertook to protect Turkey from further Russian advances in the Transcaucasus. The occupation of Cyprus was to last as long as Kars and Batumi remained in Russian hands.

The borders established at the end of the war remained in force until the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, with some changes:

Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia merged into a single principality in 1885;

In 1908, Bulgaria declared itself a kingdom independent of Turkey, and Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina, which it had previously occupied.

The war marked the gradual withdrawal of Great Britain from confrontation in relations with Russia. After the fall of the Suez Canal to British control in 1875, the British desire to prevent further weakening of Turkey at all costs began to wane. British policy shifted to protecting British interests in Egypt, which was occupied by Britain in 1882 and remained a British protectorate until 1922. The British advance in Egypt did not directly affect the interests of Russia, and, accordingly, the tension in relations between the two countries gradually weakened.

The transition to a military alliance became possible after the conclusion in 1907 of a compromise on Central Asia, drawn up by the Anglo-Russian agreement of August 31, 1907. From this date, the emergence of the Entente is counted - the Anglo-French-Russian coalition opposing the German-led alliance of the Central Powers. The opposition of these blocs led to the First World War of 1914-1918.

Memory

This war entered Bulgarian history as the "Russian-Turkish War of Liberation". On the territory of modern Bulgaria, where the main battles of this war took place, there are over 400 monuments to Russians who fought for the freedom of the Bulgarian people.

In the capital of the Russian Empire - St. Petersburg - in 1886, in honor of the exploits of the Russian troops who took part and won the war, the Monument of Glory was erected. The monument was a 28-meter column, composed of six rows of cannons recaptured from the Turks during the war. At the top of the column was a genius with a laurel wreath in his outstretched hand, crowning the winners. The pedestal of the monument had a height of about 6½ meters, on all four sides of which bronze plaques were embedded with descriptions of the main events of the war and the names of the military units that took part in it. In 1930, the monument was dismantled and melted down. In 2005, it was restored to its original location.

In 1878, in honor of the victory in the Russian-Turkish war, the Yaroslavl Tobacco Factory became known as the Balkan Star. The name was returned in 1992, at the same time the production of the eponymous brand of cigarettes was launched.

In Moscow (November 28), on December 11, 1887, on the day of the tenth anniversary of the Battle of Plevna, on Ilyinsky Gate Square (now Ilyinsky Square), a monument to the heroes of Plevna was unveiled, erected with voluntary donations from the surviving grenadiers - participants in the Plevna battle.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878(Turkish name: 93 Harbi, 93 war) - a war between the Russian Empire and its allied 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, in the courts the evidence of non-Muslims (“dhimmi”) against Muslims was not accepted, 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 attract attention in Europe ( Russian Empire in particular) to the question 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 has become the main goal of 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 Treaty of Paris, 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.

In Russia, a social movement in defense of the Slavs was expanding. 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. Turkey 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 took care of the soldier's life. 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 Nikolaevich was formally considered the commander of the Russian troops in the Transcaucasian theater of operations, younger son Nicholas I. 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 declared a 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 official 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.

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