M ir was signed in San Stefano on February 19 (March 3), 1878. Count N.P. Ignatiev even gave up some of the Russian demands in order to end the matter precisely on February 19 and please the tsar with the following telegram: "On the day of the liberation of the peasants, you freed the Christians from the Muslim yoke."

The San Stefano peace treaty changed the entire political picture of the Balkans in favor of Russian interests. Here are its main terms. /281/

Serbia, Romania and Montenegro, previously vassal to Turkey, gained independence.

Bulgaria, previously a disenfranchised province, acquired the status of a principality, although vassal in form to Turkey (“paying tribute”), but in fact independent, with its own government and army.

Turkey undertook to pay Russia an indemnity of 1,410 million rubles, and on account of this amount it ceded Kapc, Ardagan, Bayazet and Batum in the Caucasus, and even South Bessarabia, torn from Russia after the Crimean War.

Official Russia noisily celebrated the victory. The king generously poured awards, but with a choice, falling mainly into his relatives. Both Grand Dukes - both "Uncle Nizi" and "Uncle Mikhi" - became field marshals.

Meanwhile, England and Austria-Hungary, reassured about Constantinople, launched a campaign to revise the Treaty of San Stefano. Both powers took up arms especially against the creation of the Bulgarian Principality, which they correctly regarded as an outpost of Russia in the Balkans. Thus, Russia, having just with difficulty mastered Turkey, who had a reputation as a "sick man", found herself in the face of a coalition from England and Austria-Hungary, i.e. coalitions of "two big men". For a new war with two opponents at once, each of which was stronger than Turkey, Russia had neither the strength nor the conditions (a new revolutionary situation was already brewing within the country). Tsarism turned to Germany for diplomatic support, but Bismarck declared that he was ready to play only the role of an "honest broker", and proposed to convene an international conference on the Eastern question in Berlin.

On June 13, 1878, the historic Berlin Congress opened[ 1 ]. All his affairs were handled by the "big five": Germany, Russia, England, France and Austria-Hungary. The delegates of another six countries were extras. A member of the Russian delegation, General D.G. Anuchin, wrote in his diary: "The Turks are sitting like chumps."

Bismarck presided over the congress. The British delegation was led by Prime Minister B. Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield), a long-term (from 1846 to 1881) leader of the Conservative Party, which still honors Disraeli as one of its founders. France was represented by Minister of Foreign Affairs W. Waddington (an Englishman by birth, which did not prevent him from being an Anglophobe), Austria-Hungary was represented by Minister of Foreign Affairs D. Andrassy, ​​once a hero of the Hungarian revolution of 1849, convicted for this by an Austrian court on death penalty, and now the leader of the most reactionary and aggressive forces of Austria-Hungary. The head of the Russian / 282 / delegation was formally considered the 80-year-old Prince Gorchakov, but he was already decrepit and ill. In fact, the delegation was led by the Russian ambassador in London, the former chief of gendarmes, ex-dictator P.A. Shuvalov, who turned out to be a much worse diplomat than a gendarme. Evil tongues assured him that he happened to confuse the Bosphorus with the Dardanelles.

The Congress worked for exactly one month. Its final act was signed on July 1 (13), 1878. During the congress, it became clear that Germany, worried about the excessive strengthening of Russia, did not want to support it. France, which had not yet recovered from the defeat of 1871, gravitated toward Russia, but was so afraid of Germany that it did not dare to actively support Russian demands. Taking advantage of this, England and Austria-Hungary imposed decisions on the Congress that changed the Treaty of San Stefano to the detriment of Russia and the Slavic peoples of the Balkans, and Disraeli did not act like a gentleman: there was a case when he even ordered an emergency train for himself, threatening to leave the Congress and thus disrupt his work.

The territory of the Bulgarian principality was limited to only the northern half, and southern Bulgaria became an autonomous province of the Ottoman Empire under the name "Eastern Rumelia". The independence of Serbia, Montenegro and Romania was confirmed, but the territory of Montenegro was also reduced in comparison with the agreement in San Stefano. Serbia, on the other hand, slaughtered part of Bulgaria in order to quarrel them. Russia returned Bayazet to Turkey, and collected not 1410 million, but only 300 million rubles as an indemnity. Finally, Austria-Hungary negotiated for itself the "right" to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina. Only England seemed to have received nothing in Berlin. But, firstly, it was England (together with Austria-Hungary) who imposed all the changes in the San Stefano Treaty, which were beneficial only to Turkey and England, which stood behind her back, to Russia and the Balkan peoples, and secondly, the British government a week before the opening The Berlin Congress forced Turkey to cede Cyprus to him (in exchange for the obligation to protect Turkish interests), which the Congress tacitly sanctioned.

The positions of Russia in the Balkans, won in the battles of 1877-1878. at the cost of the lives of more than 100 thousand Russian soldiers, were undermined in the debates of the Berlin Congress in such a way that the Russian-Turkish war turned out to be for Russia, although won, but unsuccessful. Tsarism never managed to reach the straits, and Russia's influence in the Balkans did not become stronger, since the Berlin Congress divided Bulgaria, cut Montenegro, transferred Bosnia and Herzegovina to Austria-Hungary, and even quarreled with Serbia and Bulgaria. The concessions of Russian diplomacy in Berlin testified to the military and political inferiority of tsarism and, paradoxically as it looked after the war won /283/, the weakening of its authority in the international arena. Chancellor Gorchakov, in a note to the tsar on the results of the Congress, admitted: "The Berlin Congress is the blackest page in my official career." The king added: "And in mine too."

The speech of Austria-Hungary against the Treaty of San Stefano and Bismarck's unfriendly brokerage towards Russia worsened the traditionally friendly Russian-Austrian and Russian-German relations. It was at the Berlin Congress that the prospect of a new alignment of forces was outlined, which would eventually lead to the First World War: Germany and Austria-Hungary against Russia and France.

As for the Balkan peoples, they benefited from the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. much, although less than what would have been received under the Treaty of San Stefano: this is the independence of Serbia, Montenegro, Romania and the beginning of an independent statehood of Bulgaria. The liberation (albeit incomplete) of the “Slav brothers” stimulated the rise of the liberation movement in Russia itself, because now almost none of the Russians wanted to put up with the fact that they, as the well-known liberal I.I. Petrunkevich, "yesterday's slaves were made citizens, and they themselves returned home as slaves."

The war shook the positions of tsarism not only in the international arena, but also within the country, exposing the ulcers of the economic and political backwardness of the autocratic regime as a consequence incompleteness"great" reforms of 1861-1874. In a word, like the Crimean War, the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. played the role of a political catalyst, accelerating the maturation of a revolutionary situation in Russia.

Historical experience has shown that war (especially if it is ruinous and even more unsuccessful) exacerbates social contradictions in the antagonistic, i.e. ill-ordered society, aggravating the misery of the masses, and hastening the maturation of the revolution. After the Crimean War, the revolutionary situation (the first in Russia) developed three years later; after the Russian-Turkish 1877-1878. - by the next year (not because the second war was more ruinous or shameful, but because the sharpness of social contradictions by the beginning of the war of 1877-1878 was greater in Russia than before the Crimean War). The next war of tsarism (Russian-Japanese 1904-1905) already entailed a real revolution, since it turned out to be more ruinous and shameful than even the Crimean War, and social antagonisms are much sharper than during not only the first, but also the second revolutionary situations . Under the conditions of the world war that began in 1914, two revolutions broke out in Russia one after the other - first a democratic one, and then a socialist one. /284/

Historiographic reference. War 1877-1878 between Russia and Turkey is a phenomenon of great international significance, because, firstly, it was conducted because of the Eastern question, then almost the most explosive of the issues of world politics, and, secondly, it ended with the European Congress, which redrawn the political map in the region, then perhaps the "hottest", in the "powder magazine" of Europe, as diplomats spoke of it. Therefore, the interest in the war of historians from different countries is natural.

In pre-revolutionary Russian historiography, the war was portrayed as follows: Russia disinterestedly seeks to liberate the “Slav brothers” from the Turkish yoke, and the selfish powers of the West prevent it from doing this, wanting to take away Turkey’s territorial inheritance. This concept was developed by S.S. Tatishchev, S.M. Goryainov and especially the authors of the official nine-volume Description of the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878. on the Balkan Peninsula" (St. Petersburg, 1901-1913).

For the most part, foreign historiography depicts the war as a clash of two barbarities - Turkish and Russian, and the powers of the West - as civilized peacekeepers who have always helped the Balkan peoples to fight against the Turks with intelligent means; and when the war broke out, they stopped Russia from beating Turkey and saved the Balkans from Russian rule. This is how B. Sumner and R. Seton-Watson (England), D. Harris and G. Rapp (USA), G. Freitag-Loringhoven (Germany) interpret this topic.

As for Turkish historiography (Yu. Bayur, 3. Karal, E. Urash, etc.), it is saturated with chauvinism: the yoke of Turkey in the Balkans is passed off as progressive guardianship, the national liberation movement of the Balkan peoples - for the inspiration of European powers, and all wars , which led the Brilliant Porte in the XVIII-XIX centuries. (including the war of 1877-1878), - for self-defense against the aggression of Russia and the West.

More objective than others are the works of A. Debidur (France), A. Taylor (England), A. Springer (Austria)[ 2 ], where the aggressive calculations of all the powers participating in the war of 1877-1878 are criticized. and the Berlin Congress.

Soviet historians for a long time did not pay attention to the war of 1877-1878. proper attention. In the 1920s, M.N. wrote about her. Pokrovsky. He sharply and witty denounced the reactionary policy of tsarism, but underestimated the objectively progressive consequences of the war. Then, for more than a quarter of a century, our historians were not interested in that war /285/, and only after the second liberation of Bulgaria by the force of Russian arms in 1944, the study of the events of 1877-1878 resumed in the USSR. In 1950, P.K. Fortunatov "The War of 1877-1878. and the Liberation of Bulgaria” - interesting and bright, the best of all books on this subject, but small (170 pages) - this is only a brief overview of the war. Somewhat more detailed, but less interesting is the monograph by V.I. Vinogradova[ 3 ].

Labor N.I. Belyaeva[ 4 ], although great, is emphatically special: a military-historical analysis without due attention not only to socio-economic, but even to diplomatic subjects. The collective monograph “The Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878”, published in 1977 on the 100th anniversary of the war, edited by I.I. Rostunov.

Soviet historians studied the causes of the war in detail, but in covering the course of hostilities, as well as their results, they contradicted themselves, equals sharpening the aggressive goals of tsarism and the liberation mission of the tsarist army. The works of Bulgarian scientists (X. Khristov, G. Georgiev, V. Topalov) on various issues of the topic are distinguished by similar advantages and disadvantages. A generalizing study of the war of 1877-1878, as fundamental as the monograph by E.V. Tarle about the Crimean War, still not.

1 . For details about it, see: Anuchin D.G. Berlin Congress // Russian antiquity. 1912, nos. 1-5.

2 . Cm.: Debidur A. Diplomatic history of Europe from the Vienna to the Berlin Congress (1814-1878). M., 1947. T 2; Taylor A. Struggle for supremacy in Europe (1848-1918). M., 1958; Springer A. Der russisch-tiirkische Krieg 1877-1878 in Europa. Vienna, 1891-1893.

3 . Cm.: Vinogradov V.I. Russian-Turkish war 1877-1878 and the liberation of Bulgaria. M., 1978.

4 . Cm.: Belyaev N.I. Russian-Turkish war 1877-1878 M., 1956.

The results of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878 were very positive for Russia, which managed to return not only part of the territories lost during the Crimean War, but also its position in international politics.

The results of the war for the Russian Empire and not only

The Russo-Turkish War officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of San Stefano on February 19, 1878.

As a result of the hostilities, Russia not only received part of Bessarabia in the south, which it lost due to the Crimean War, but also the strategically important Batum region (in which the Mikhailovsky fortress was soon erected) and the Karr region, the main population of which were Armenians and Georgians.

Rice. 1. Mikhailovskaya fortress.

Bulgaria became an autonomous Slavic principality. Romania, Serbia and Montenegro became independent.

Seven years after the conclusion of the Treaty of San Stefano, in 1885, Romania united with Bulgaria, they became a single principality.

Rice. 2. Map of the distribution of territories under the Treaty of San Stefano.

One of the important foreign policy consequences of the Russian-Turkish war was that the Russian Empire and Great Britain emerged from a state of confrontation. This was greatly facilitated by the fact that she received the right to send troops to Cyprus.

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A comparative table of the results of the Russian-Turkish war will give a clearer idea of ​​what the terms of the San Stefano Treaty were, as well as the corresponding terms of the Berlin Treaty (signed on July 1, 1878). The need for its adoption arose due to the fact that the European powers expressed their dissatisfaction with the original conditions.

Treaty of San Stefano	Berlin treatise
Turkey undertakes to pay a significant indemnity to the Russian Empire	Contribution reduced
Bulgaria became an autonomous principality with an obligation to pay tribute annually to Turkey	Southern Bulgaria remained with Turkey, only the northern part of the country gained independence
Montenegro, Romania and Serbia have significantly increased their territories, gained full independence	Montenegro and Serbia received less territory than under the first treaty. The condition of independence was kept
4. Russia received Bessarabia, Kars, Bayazet, Ardagan, Batum	England sends troops to Cyprus, the Austro-Hungarian Empire occupies Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bayazet and Ardagan remained with Turkey - Russia refused them

Rice. 3. Map of the distribution of territories according to the Berlin Treaty.

The English historian A. Taylor noted that after 30 years of wars, it was the Treaty of Berlin that established peace for 34 years. He called this document a kind of watershed between two historical periods. Report Evaluation

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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 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 became the main goal of the 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 by the publication in early September 1876 of the pamphlet The Bulgarian Horrors and the Question of the East by the leader of the opposition Gladstone, which was the main factor in the non-intervention of England on the side of Turkey with 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, in the person of the writer Dostoevsky, saw in the war the fulfillment of a special historical mission of the Russian people, which consisted in rallying around Russia. Slavic peoples on the basis of Orthodoxy, and the second, represented by Turgenev, denied the importance of the religious aspect and believed that the goal 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 the 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, the army should have been divided into three equal groups: the first - blocks the 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. The eastern front of the Russian location in Bulgaria was broken through, the very next day the Turks could be in Tarnovo, capturing huge carts, warehouses and parks of the 8th and 11th 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.

On this fighting in the Balkans were completed.

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 Erzurum, which next day was also besieged by Russian troops.

After this important event, the main goal of the actions was Erzurum, 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, preliminary peace conditions were signed in Adrianople, and an armistice 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 Kiev 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, formalized by the Anglo-Russian Treaty 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 1877-1878 (briefly)

Russian-Turkish war 1877-1878 (briefly)

As the main reason for the outbreak of hostilities, historians single out an increase in national self-consciousness in the Balkan countries. This kind of sentiment in society was associated with the so-called April Uprising, which took place in Bulgaria. The ruthlessness and cruelty with which this rebellion was suppressed forced the European states (together with the Russian Empire) to show sympathy for the brothers in faith who were in Turkey.

So, on the twenty-fourth of April 1877, Russia declares war on the Port. Archbishop Pavel at a prayer service after the Chisinau solemn parade reads the manifesto of Alexander II, who announced the beginning of the war against the Ottoman Empire. Already in May of the same year, Russian troops entered the Romanian land.

The military reform of Alexander II also affected the preparedness and organization of the troops. The Russian army consisted of almost seven hundred thousand people.

The army's move to Romania was made to eliminate the Danubian fleet, which controlled most of the Danube crossings. A small Turkish river flotilla was unable to fight back, and very soon the Dnieper was forced by Russian troops, which was the first step towards Constantinople. As the next important step, we can single out the siege of Plevna, which capitulated on the tenth of December. After that, the Russian troops, consisting of three hundred thousand people, were preparing for the offensive.

In the same period, Serbia resumes operations against the Porte, and on December 23, 1877, a detachment of General Romeiko-Gurko makes a raid through the Balkans, thanks to which Sofia was taken.

On the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth of December, an important battle takes place at Sheinovo, the result of which is the defeat of the Turkish army of thirty thousand.

The main tasks of the Asian direction of the Russian-Turkish war were to ensure the security of the borders and the desire to break the concentration of the Turks on the European border.

Historians are accustomed to consider the beginning of the Caucasian campaign the Abkhazian rebellion, which took place in May 1877. In the same period, the city of Sukhum was abandoned by the Russians and it was only possible to return it in August. During the Transcaucasian operations, Russian troops captured many strongholds and fortresses. However, in the second half of the summer of 1877, hostilities "froze" in anticipation of reinforcements.

Beginning in the fall, Russian troops adhered exclusively to siege tactics. For example, they took the city of Kars, the capture of which never took place due to a truce.

The most famous foreign policy event under Emperor Alexander II was the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, which ended successfully for our country.
The so-called eastern question remained open - the struggle of the Slavic peoples of the Ottoman Empire for independence. At the end of the Crimean War, the foreign policy climate on the Balkan Peninsula worsened. Russia was concerned about the weak protection of the southern borders near the Black Sea, and the inability to protect its political interests in Turkey.

Causes of the war

On the eve of the Russian-Turkish campaign, most of the Balkan peoples began to express dissatisfaction, as they were in almost five hundred years of oppression over the Turkish sultan. This oppression was expressed in economic and political discrimination, the imposition of foreign ideology and the widespread Islamization of Orthodox Christians. Russia, being an Orthodox state, in every possible way supported such a national upsurge of the Bulgarians, Serbs and Romanians. This became one of the main factors that predetermined the start of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. Also, the situation in Western Europe. Germany (Austria-Hungary), as a new strong state, began to claim dominance in the straits of the Black Sea, and tried in every possible way to weaken the power of England, France and Turkey. This coincided with the interests of Russia, so Germany became its leading ally.

Occasion

The conflict between the South Slavic population and the Turkish authorities in 1875-1876 served as a stumbling block between the Russian Empire and the Turkish state. More precisely, these were anti-Turkish uprisings in Serbia, Bosnia, and, later, Montenegro joined. The Islamic country suppressed these protests with the most cruel methods. The Russian Empire, acting as the patron of all Slavic ethnic groups, could not ignore these events, and in the spring of 1877 declared war on Turkey. It was with these actions that the conflict between the Russian and Ottoman empires began.

Events

In April 1877, the Russian army crossed the Danube River and went to the side of Bulgaria, which at the time of the action still belonged to the Ottoman Empire. By the beginning of July, the Shipka Pass was occupied practically without much resistance. The response of the Turkish side was the transfer of the army led by Suleiman Pasha to take these territories. It is here that the most bloody events of the Russian-Turkish war unfold. The fact is that the Shipka Pass was of great military importance, control over it provided free advance of the Russians to the north of Bulgaria. The enemy significantly outnumbered the forces of the Russian army both in armament and in human resources. On the Russian side, General N. Stoletov was appointed commander-in-chief. By the end of 1877, the Shipka Pass was taken by Russian soldiers.
But, despite heavy defeats, the Turks were in no hurry to surrender. They concentrated the main forces in the Plevna fortress. The siege of Plevna turned out to be a turning point in the course of all armed battles of the Russian-Turkish war. Here luck was on the side of the Russian soldiers. Also on the side Russian Empire Bulgarian troops fought successfully. The commanders-in-chief were: M.D. Skobelev, Prince Nikolai Nikolaevich and the Romanian King Carol I.
Also at this stage of the Russian-Turkish war, the fortresses of Ardagan, Kare, Batum, Erzurum were taken; fortified area of ​​the Turks Sheinovo.
At the beginning of 1878, Russian soldiers approached the capital of Turkey, Constantinople. The formerly mighty and warlike Ottoman Empire was unable to resist the Russian army and in February of that year requested peace negotiations.

Results

The final stage of the Russian-Turkish conflict was the adoption of the San Stefano peace treaty on February 19, 1878. Under its terms, the northern part of Bulgaria received independence (an autonomous principality), and the independence of Serbia, Montenegro, and Romania was confirmed. Russia received the southern part of Bessarabia with the fortresses of Ardagan, Kars and Batum. Turkey also pledged to pay indemnities to the Russian Empire in the amount of 1.410 billion rubles.

Only Russia was satisfied with the result of this peace treaty, while it categorically did not suit everyone else, in particular, Western European countries (England, Austria-Hungary, etc.). Therefore, in 1878, the Congress of Berlin was organized, at which all the conditions of the previous peace treaty were revised. The Macedonian Republic and the eastern region of Romania were returned to the Turks; England, which did not take part in the war, received Cyprus; Germany got part of the land that belonged to Montenegro under the San Stefano Treaty; Montenegro was also completely deprived of its own navy; some Russian acquisitions passed to the Ottoman Empire.

The Berlin Congress (tract) significantly changed the initial alignment of forces. But, despite some territorial concessions to Russia, the result for our country was victory.