Wars between Russia and Turkey occurred very often in the period from the 17th to the beginning of the 20th centuries. These confrontations were of great importance for world history and Europe. Because the two largest empires in Europe fought among themselves for their interests and this could not but attract the attention of other advanced European powers who were very afraid of allowing a big victory with extensive conquests of one power over the other...
Until the 18th century Russia was mainly fought not so much by Turkey as by its loyal vassal, the Crimean Khanate.
In the mid-18th century, Catherine II ascended the throne of the Russian Empire. The Empress was quite seriously obsessed with the idea of capturing Constantinople and liberating it from Islamic invaders, liberating the Balkans from Turkey and creating a Slavic empire in Asia Minor with its center in Constantinople.
Accordingly, Russia was supposed to become the actual head of Constantinople, and it was a very important trading city in the Mediterranean Sea. Russia chose the Caucasus and Crimea as springboards for an attack on the Ottoman capital, which had to be conquered. Crimea was a province of the Turks, and they had great cultural and religious influence in the Caucasus.
The Crimean Tatars have long tormented the southern lands of Russia with their raids. Christians - Georgians and Armenians - suffered greatly from the Turks in the Caucasus. Russia decided to help them, while also realizing its own interests. The first of the Caucasian peoples to join the Russian Empire were the Orthodox Ossetians in the 18th century, then Georgia was annexed. Later, Armenia and Azerbaijan were conquered from Persia.
In the 18th and 19th centuries. there were many wars between Russians and Turks. Valiantly in the wars of the mid and late 18th century. Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov showed himself. Consider the most ingenious capture of the Izmail fortress, developed and implemented by him.
As a result of the wars with the Ottomans in the 18th century. Russia acquired territories that are now called the Krasnodar Territory and Crimea. One of the outstanding victories of Russian weapons occurred during the Russian-Turkish War in 1774, thanks to the heroic actions of Colonel Platov’s detachment.
S.P. Shiflyar "Storm of Izmail"
The annexation of Crimea was very important, since this territory had an important trade and strategic position, but in addition to everything else, the Crimean Khanate, which had tormented Russia for several centuries with its raids, was eliminated there. On the territory of Crimea, many cities named in Greek were built: Sevastopol, Feodosia, Chersonesus, Simferopol, Evpatoria.
Russo-Turkish wars of the 18th century
Russian-Turkish War 1710-1713(reign of Peter I). Neither side managed to achieve decisive success, but still this war ended rather with the defeat of Russia and as a result we were forced to cede the city of Azov, previously occupied by them, to the Turks.
War 1735-1739(reign of Anna Ioanovna). Results: Russia received the city of Azov, but was unable to win the right to have its own fleet in the Black Sea. Thus, neither side achieved much success either in battles or in diplomatic negotiations.
Russian-Turkish War 1768-1774(reign of Catherine II). Russia won a great victory over the Turks in this war. As a result, the southern part of Ukraine and the North Caucasus became part of Russia. Turkey lost the Crimean Khanate, which did not officially go to Russia, but became dependent on the Russian Empire. Russian merchant ships received privileges in the Black Sea.
Assault on Ochakov. Engraving by A. Berg 1791
War 1787-1792(reign of Catherine II). The war ended in complete victory for Russia. As a result of which we received Ochakov, Crimea officially became part of the Russian Empire, the border between Russia and Turkey moved to the Dniester River. Türkiye renounced its claims to Georgia.
Liberation of Orthodox countries from the Ottoman yoke, war with Turkey 1877-1878.
In 1828, Russia again got involved in a war with Turkey. The result of the war was the liberation of Greece in 1829 from more than three hundred years of Ottoman rule.
Russia played the biggest role in the liberation of the Slavic peoples from the Turkish yoke. This happened during the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878.
This war is remembered for the unprecedented exploits of Russian soldiers, just like crossing the Shipka mountain pass in winter and defending the Bayazet fortress in terrible heat and without water. General Skobelev showed himself very well in this war. Bulgarian militias joined the Russian troops, Romanian troops helped us, as well as other Slavic peoples who were under the patronage of the Ottoman Empire.
A very typical example of the dedication of Russian soldiers was the defense of Shipka, which is worth talking about in more detail. A small Russian detachment, together with Bulgarian militias, held on to the Shipka mountain pass, their total number was 4 thousand people. In order to take possession of this strategic area, the Turkish commander Suleiman Pasha sent a 28,000-strong selected detachment against the defenders of Shipka.
In August 1877, a battle took place between the Russians and the Turks over the Shipka Pass. The Russians stubbornly repulsed the enemy pressure and on the first day of this battle they were joined by the Bryansk regiment of about 2 thousand people.
Our wars fought desperately, but soon the Russian detachment began to suffer greatly from a lack of ammunition and the Turks had already begun to push back the Russians. With the last of their strength, our soldiers began to fight them off with stones and temporarily detained the enemy.
This time was enough for the defenders of Shipka to hold out and wait for reinforcements, with whom they repulsed the Turkish onslaught. After which the Ottomans, having suffered huge losses in this area, no longer acted so decisively. The Russian detachment defending Shipka was commanded by generals Dragomirov and Derozhinsky. In this bloody battle, the first was wounded and the second was killed.
The Turks did not give up in this war either. The Russians took the city of Plevna only the fourth time. After which our army made a successful and completely unexpected crossing of Shipka in winter for the enemies. Russian troops liberated Sofia from the Turks, occupied Adrianople and victoriously moved further east.
Our troops were already not far from defenseless Constantinople, but the English fleet approached this city. Then political actions began rather than military ones. As a result, Alexander II did not dare to capture Constantinople, since the danger of war with the British, French and Austrians, who were very afraid of such a strengthening of Russia, loomed.
As a result, a peace treaty was signed between the Russians and the Turks, according to which the Turkish cities of Kars, Ardahan, Batum, half of Bessarabia (Moldova) went to Russia, Turkey lost Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Romania, and partly Bulgaria.
The last time Russia and Turkey met on the battlefield was in the First World War, and here the Russians defeated the Ottomans. But the result of this treacherous war was the death of such great monarchical empires: Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman. Russia made an invaluable contribution to weakening and eliminating Ottoman expansion in Europe and the Caucasus.
The result of the wars with the Turks was the liberation of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, Georgia, Romania, Bosnia, Montenegro and Moldova from the Ottoman yoke.
Russo-Turkish wars of the 19th century
War of 1806-1812(reign of Alexander I). Russia won this war. According to the peace treaty, Bessarabia (Moldova) became part of the Russian Empire; the border in Europe was moved from the Dniester River to the Prut before its connection with the Danube.
War of 1828-1829(reign of Nicholas I). This confrontation arose during the Greek war for its independence from the Ottoman Empire. The result is a complete victory for Russia. The Russian Empire included most of the eastern coast of the Black Sea (including the cities of Anapa, Sudzhuk-Kale, Sukhum).
The Ottoman Empire recognized the supremacy of Russia over Georgia and Armenia. Serbia received autonomy, Greece became independent from Turkey.
Crimean War 1853-1856(reign of Nicholas I). The Russians confidently crushed the Turks. The successes alerted England and France and they demanded that we stop the seizure of Turkish territories. Nicholas I rejected this demand and in response, France and England entered the war with Russia on the side of the Ottoman Empire, later joined by Austria-Hungary. The Union army won the war.
As a result, Russia returned to Turkey all the territories seized from it in this war, lost part of Bessarabia and was deprived of the right to have a navy in the Black Sea. * Russia regained the right to have a navy in the Black Sea after the defeat inflicted on the French by Prussia in the war of 1870-1871.
Russian-Turkish War 1877-1878(reign of Alexander II). The Russians won a complete victory over the Ottomans. As a result, Russia gained possession of the Turkish cities of Kars, Ardahan and Batum, and regained the part of Bessarabia lost in the previous war.
The Ottoman Empire lost almost all of its Slavic and Christian possessions in Europe. Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Romania and partly Bulgaria became independent from Turkey.
It would seem that in that grandiose battle that took place on the outskirts of the capital in the winter of 1941, every detail was studied, and everything has long been known, however...
Few people know that on one of the sectors of the front, Russian cannons manufactured at the Imperial Gun Factory in Perm back in 1877 played a decisive role. And this happened in the Solnechnogorsk-Krasnaya Polyana defense sector, where the 16th Army, drained of blood by long battles, fought under the command of Konstantin Rokossovsky.
K.K. Rokossovsky turned to G.K. Zhukov with a request for urgent assistance with anti-tank artillery. However, the front commander no longer had it in reserve. The request reached the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Stalin’s reaction was immediate: “I also do not have anti-tank artillery reserves. But in Moscow there is the Military Artillery Academy named after F. E. Dzerzhinsky. There are many experienced artillerymen there. Let them think and report on a possible solution to the problem within 24 hours.”
Indeed, back in 1938, the artillery academy, founded in 1820, was transferred from Leningrad to Moscow. But in October 1941 she was evacuated to Samarkand. Only about a hundred officers and employees remained in Moscow. Training artillery was also transported to Samarkand. But the order had to be carried out.
A happy accident helped. An elderly man worked at the academy who knew well the locations of artillery arsenals in Moscow and in the immediate Moscow region, where worn-out and very old artillery systems, shells and equipment for them were mothballed. One can only regret that time has not preserved the name of this man and the names of all the other employees of the academy, who within 24 hours carried out the order and formed several high-power anti-tank defense fire batteries.
To fight German medium tanks, they picked up old 6-inch caliber siege guns, which were used during the liberation of Bulgaria from the Turkish yoke, and later in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. After its completion, due to severe wear of the barrels, these guns were delivered to the Mytishchi Arsenal, where they were stored in a preserved state. Shooting from them was unsafe, but they could still withstand 5-7 shots.
As for shells, at the Sokolniki artillery warehouse there were a large number of captured English high-explosive fragmentation shells from Vickers of 6 inches caliber and weighing 100 pounds, that is, a little more than 40 kilograms. There were also caps and powder charges captured from the Americans during the Civil War. All this property had been stored so carefully since 1919 that it could well have been used for its intended purpose.
Soon several heavy anti-tank artillery fire batteries were formed. The commanders were academy students and officers sent from the military registration and enlistment offices, and the servants were Red Army soldiers and students of the 8th-10th grades of Moscow special artillery schools. The guns did not have sights, so it was decided to fire only direct fire, aiming them at the target through the barrel. For ease of shooting, the guns were dug into the ground up to the hubs of the wooden wheels.
German tanks appeared suddenly. The gun crews fired the first shots from a distance of 500-600 m. German tank crews initially mistook shell explosions for the effects of anti-tank mines. Apparently, the "mines" were very powerful. If a 40-kilogram shell exploded near a tank, the tank would turn over on its side or stand on its butt. But it soon became clear that they were firing cannons at point-blank range. A shell hit the tower tore it down and threw it tens of meters to the side. And if a 6-inch siege cannon shell hit the forehead of the hull, it would go right through the tank, destroying everything in its path.
The German tank crews were horrified - they did not expect this. Having lost a company, the tank battalion retreated. The German command considered the incident an accident and sent another battalion in a different direction, where it also ran into an anti-tank ambush. The Germans decided that the Russians were using some new anti-tank weapon of unprecedented power. The enemy's offensive was suspended, probably to clarify the situation.
Ultimately, Rokossovsky’s army won on this section of the front for several days, during which reinforcements arrived and the front stabilized. On December 5, 1941, our troops launched a counteroffensive and drove the Nazis to the West. It turns out that the Victory of 1945, at least to a small extent, was forged by Russian gunsmiths back in the 19th century.
RUSSIAN-TURKISH WAR 1877-1878
The beginning of hostilities.
The Russian army in the Balkans, led by the Tsar's brother Nikolai Nikolaevich, numbered 185 thousands of people. The Tsar was also at the army headquarters. The strength of the Turkish army in Northern Bulgaria was 160 thousand people. June 1877 Russian troops crossed the Danube and launched an offensive. The Bulgarian population enthusiastically greeted the Russian army. Bulgarian voluntary squads joined it, showing high fighting spirit. Eyewitnesses said that they went into battle as if they were “on a merry holiday.”Russian troops quickly moved south, hastening to capture the mountain passes through the Balkans and reach southern Bulgaria. It was especially important to occupy the Shipka Pass, from where the most convenient road to Adrianople led. After two days of fierce fighting, the pass was taken. The Turkish troops retreated in disarray. It seemed that a direct path to Constantinople was opening.
Counter-offensive of Turkish troops. Battles on Shipka and near Plevna. However, the course of events suddenly changed dramatically.
7 July, a large Turkish detachment under the command of Osman Pasha, having completed a forced march and ahead of the Russians, occupied the Plevna fortress in Northern Bulgaria. There was a threat of a flank attack. Two attempts by Russian troops to drive the enemy out of Plevna ended unsuccessfully. The Turkish troops, who could not withstand the onslaught of the Russians in open battles, were doing well in the fortresses. The movement of Russian troops through the Balkans was suspended.Russia and the liberation struggle of the Balkan peoples. in spring
An uprising against the Turkish yoke began in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A year later, in April 1876 , an uprising broke out in Bulgaria. Turkish punitive forces suppressed these uprisings with fire and sword. Only in Bulgaria they cut out more 30 thousands of people. Serbia and Montenegro in summer 1876 g. started a war against Turkey. But the forces were unequal. The poorly armed Slavic armies suffered setbacks.In Russia, the social movement in defense of the Slavs was expanding. Thousands of Russian volunteers were sent to the Balkans. Donations were collected throughout the country, weapons and medicine were purchased, and hospitals were equipped. The outstanding Russian surgeon N.V. Sklifosovsky headed the Russian sanitary detachments in Montenegro, and the famous general practitioner S.P. Botkin
- in Serbia. Alexander II contributed 10 thousand rubles in favor of the rebels. There were calls for Russian military intervention from everywhere.However, the government acted cautiously, recognizing 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.
Meanwhile, Serbia was defeated. The Serbian prince Milan turned to the king with a request for help. In October
Russia presented Turkey with an ultimatum: immediately conclude a truce with Serbia. Russian intervention prevented the fall of Belgrade.Through secret negotiations, Russia managed to ensure the neutrality of Austria-Hungary, although at a very high cost. According to the Budapest Convention, signed in January
1877 g., Russiaagreed to the occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austro-Hungarian troops. Russian diplomacy managed to take advantage of the indignation of the world community over the atrocities of the Turkish punitive forces. In March
1877 In London, representatives of the great powers agreed on a protocol in which Turkey was invited to carry out reforms in favor of the Christian population in the Balkans. Türkiye rejected the London Protocol. 12 April, 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, Turkish troops ousted the Russians from Southern Bulgaria. In August, bloody battles for Shipka began. The five thousand strong Russian detachment, which included Bulgarian squads, was led by General N. G. Stoletov. The enemy had a fivefold superiority. Shipka's defenders had to fight back until
14 attacks per day. The unbearable heat increased thirst, and the stream was under fire. At the end of the third day of fighting, when the situation became desperate, reinforcements arrived. The threat of encirclement has been eliminated. A few days later the fighting died down. The Shipka Pass remained in Russian hands, but its southern slopes were held by the Turks.Fresh reinforcements from Russia were arriving at Plevna. Her third assault has begun
30 August. Using thick fog, the detachment of General Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev (1843-1882) secretly approached the enemy and broke through the fortifications with a swift attack. But in other areas, attacks by Russian troops were repulsed. Having received no support, Skobelev’s detachment retreated back the next day. In three assaults on Plevna, the Russians lost 32 thousand, Romanians - 3 thousands of people. The hero of the Sevastopol defense, General E.I. Totleben, came from St. Petersburg. After examining the positions, he said that there was only one way out - complete blockade of the fortress. Without heavy artillery, a new assault could only lead to new needless victims.The fall of Plevna and the turning point during the war. Winter has begun. The Turks held Plevna, the Russians
- Shipka. “Everything is calm on Shipka”- the command reported. Meanwhile, the number of frostbitten cases reached 400 in a day. When a snowstorm broke out, the supply of ammunition and food stopped. From September to December 1877 Russians and Bulgarians lost on Shipka 9500 people are frostbitten, sick and frozen. Nowadays, on Shipka there is a monument-tomb depicting two warriors bowing their heads,- Russian and Bulgarian.At the end of November, food supplies ran out in Plevna. Osman Pasha made a desperate attempt to break through, but was driven back to the fortress.
28 November the garrison of Plevna surrendered. They found themselves in Russian captivity 43 thousands of people led by the most talented Turkish military leader. During the war, a turning point occurred. Serbia began hostilities again. In order not to lose the initiative, the Russian command decided to go through the Balkans without waiting for spring.December the main forces of the Russian army led by General Joseph Vladimirovich Gurko (1828-1901) We started our journey to Sofia through the most difficult Churyak pass. The troops moved day and night along steep and slippery mountain roads. The rain that started turned to snow, a blizzard swirled, and then frosts hit. December 23, 1877 In icy overcoats, the Russian army entered Sofia.Meanwhile, troops under the command of Skobelev must
were to remove the group blocking the Shipka Pass from the fight. Skobelev crossed the Balkans west of Shipka along an icy sloping cornice above the abyss and reached the rear of the fortified Sheinovo camp. 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 a white cap), valued and cherished the life of a soldier. His soldiers went into battle not in dense columns, as was customary then, but in chains and quick runs. As a result of the fighting at Shipka-Sheinovo 27-28 December 20,000 Turkish group capitulated.A few years after the war, Skobelev suddenly died, in the prime of his strength and talent, at the age of
38 years. Many streets and squares in Bulgaria are named after him.The Turks gave up 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 shore of the Sea of Marmara. A detachment under the command of Skobelev occupied the town of San Stefano, a few kilometers from Constantinople. Entering the Turkish capital was not difficult, but, Fearing international complications, the Russian command did not dare to do this.Military operations in Transcaucasia. Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, Nicholas's youngest son, was formally considered the commander of the Russian troops in the Transcaucasian theater of military operations.
I. In fact, the command was exercised by General M. T. Loris-Melikov. In April- May 1877 The Russian army took the fortresses of Bayazet and Ardahan and blocked Kare. But then a series of failures followed, and the siege of Kars had to be lifted.The decisive battle took place in the fall in the Aladzhin Heights area, not far from Kars.
3 October Russian troops stormed the fortified Mount Avliyar - a key point of Turkish defense. In the Battle of Aladzhin, the Russian command used the telegraph for the first time to control troops. On the night of November 6, 1877 the city was taken by Kare. After this, the Russian army reached Erzurum.Treaty of San Stefano.
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 complete independence and significant territorial increments. Southern Bessarabia, seized under the Treaty of Paris, was returned to Russia, and the Kars region in the Caucasus was transferred.The provisional Russian administration that ruled Bulgaria developed a draft constitution. Bulgaria was proclaimed a constitutional monarchy. Personal and property rights were guaranteed. The Russian project was the basis of the Bulgarian Constitution, adopted by the Founding
meeting in Tarnovo in April 1879 G.Berlin Congress. England and Austria-Hungary refused to recognize the terms of the Peace of San Stefano. At their insistence in the summer
1878 The Berlin Congress took place with the participation of six powers (England, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia and Turkey). Russia found itself isolated and was 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 only managed to achieve that Sofia and Varna were included in the autonomous Bulgarian principality. The territory of Serbia and Montenegro was significantly reduced. The Congress confirmed the right of Austria-Hungary to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina. England bargained for 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 darkest page in my career.” The king noted: “And in mine too.”
The Russian public, which did not know about the secret Budapest Agreement, was even more shocked. The failure at the Berlin Congress was entirely attributed to the failures of Russian diplomacy. The indignant speech of Ivan Aksakov, delivered at a meeting of the Moscow Slavic Committee, thundered throughout Russia. The government, which did not tolerate criticism, expelled this old and honored public figure from Moscow.
The Berlin Congress, undoubtedly, did not brighten 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 weapons, the governments of these countries extended Turkish rule over several million Slavs.
And yet the fruits of the Russian victory were only partially destroyed. Having laid the foundations for the freedom of the fraternal Bulgarian people, Russia has written a glorious page in its history. Russo-Turkish War
1877-1878 gg. entered into the general context of the era of Liberation and became its worthy completion.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.
Uprisings against the Turkish yoke in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1875-1878) and Bulgaria (1876) sparked a social movement in Russia in support of the fraternal Slavic peoples. Responding to these sentiments, the Russian government came out in support of the rebels, hoping that if they were successful, they would strengthen their influence in the Balkans. Great 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 it 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 and tried to resolve the conflict diplomatically, but the Porte rejected their proposals. During secret negotiations, Russia managed to obtain guarantees of non-interference from Austria-Hungary in exchange for the Austrian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In April 1877, an agreement was concluded with Romania on the passage of Russian troops through its territory.
After the Sultan rejected a new reform project 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 its Balkan allies, the size of the group reached 300 thousand people. Russia had approximately 100 thousand soldiers in the Caucasus. In turn, the Turks in the European theater had a 186,000-strong force, and in the Caucasus they had approximately 90,000 soldiers. The Turkish fleet almost completely dominated the Black Sea; in addition, the Porte had the Danube flotilla.
In the context of the restructuring of the entire internal life of the country, the Russian government was unable to prepare for a long war, and 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 Russian troops from crossing the Danube. However, these calculations of the Turkish command were disrupted.
In the summer of 1877, the Russian army successfully crossed the Danube. An advance detachment under the command of General Joseph 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 Ardahan, defeated the Anatolian Turkish army during the Battle of Avliyar-Alajin in 1877, and then captured the fortress of Kars in November 1877.
The actions of Russian troops near Plevna (now Pleven) on the western flank of the army were unsuccessful. Due to gross mistakes by the tsarist command, the Turks managed to detain large forces of Russian (and somewhat later Romanian) troops here. Three times Russian troops stormed Plevna, suffering huge losses, and each time without success.
In December, the forty thousand-strong garrison of Plevna capitulated.
The fall of Plevna caused the rise of the Slavic liberation movement. Serbia entered the war again. Bulgarian militias fought heroically in the ranks of the Russian army.
By 1878, the balance of power in the Balkans had changed in favor of Russia. The Danube Army, with the assistance of the Bulgarian population and the Serbian army, defeated the Turks while 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 Bosporus and Constantinople.
In the Caucasus, the Russian army captured Batum and blocked Erzurum.
The ruling circles of Russia faced the specter of a big war with the European powers, for which Russia was not ready. The army suffered heavy losses and experienced supply difficulties. 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 it, Kars, Ardahan, Batum and Bayazet, as well as Southern Bessarabia, were ceded to Russia. Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina received broad autonomy, and Serbia, Montenegro and Romania received independence. In addition, Türkiye was obliged to pay an indemnity of 310 million rubles.
The terms of the treaty caused a negative reaction from Western European states, which feared Russia's enormously increased influence in the Balkans. Fearing the threat of a new war, for which Russia was not prepared, the Russian government was forced to revise the treaty at an international congress in Berlin (June-July 1878), where the San Stefano Treaty was replaced by the Berlin Treaty, which was unfavorable for Russia and the Balkan countries.
The material was prepared based on information from open sources
The Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878 was 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 in Bulgaria was suppressed aroused sympathy for the plight of Christians in the Ottoman Empire in Europe and especially in Russia. Attempts to improve the situation of Christians by peaceful means were thwarted by the stubborn reluctance of the Turks to make concessions to Europe, and in April 1877 Russia declared war on Turkey.
A detachment of Don Cossacks in front of the emperor's residence in Ploesti, June 1877.
During 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 capitulate in 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 Ottoman Empire's withdrawal from the war.
At the Berlin Congress held in the summer of 1878, the Berlin Treaty was signed, which recorded the return to Russia of the southern part of Bessarabia and the annexation of Kars, Ardahan and Batum. The statehood of Bulgaria (conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1396) was restored as the vassal Principality of Bulgaria; The territories of Serbia, Montenegro and Romania increased, and Turkish Bosnia and Herzegovina was occupied by Austria-Hungary.
Emperor Alexander II
Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, Commander-in-Chief of the Danube Army, in front of the main headquarters in Ploesti, June 1877.
A sanitary convoy for transporting the wounded of the Russian army.
Mobile sanitary detachment of Her Imperial Majesty.
Field hospital in the village of Pordim, November 1877.
His Majesty the Emperor Alexander II, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich and Carol I, Prince of Romania, with headquarters officers in Gornaya Studen, October 1877.
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, Prince Alexander of Battenberg and Colonel Skarialin in the village of Pordim, September 1877.
Count Ignatiev among employees in Gornaya Studen, September 1877.
Transition of Russian troops on the way to Plevna. In the background is the place where Osman Pasha delivered his main attack on December 10, 1877.
View of the tents housing wounded Russian soldiers.
Doctors and nurses of the field hospital of the Russian Red Cross, November 1877.
Medical personnel of one of the sanitary units, 1877.
A hospital train carrying wounded Russian soldiers at one of the stations.
Russian battery in position near Corabia. Romanian coast, June 1877.
Pontoon bridge between Zimnitsa and Svishtov from the Bulgarian side, August 1877.
Bulgarian holiday in Byala, September 1877.
Prince V. Cherkassky, head of the civil administration in the lands liberated by the Russians, with his comrades-in-arms in a field camp near the village of Gorna Studena, October 1877.
Caucasian Cossacks from the imperial convoy in front of the residence in the village of Pordim, November 1877.
Grand Duke, heir to the throne Alexander Alexandrovich with his headquarters near the city of Ruse, October 1877.
General Strukov in front of the house of the residents of Gornaya Studena, October 1877.
Prince V. Cherkassky at his headquarters in Gornaya Studen, October 1877.
Lieutenants Shestakov and Dubasov, who blew up the Selfi monitor in the Machinsky branch of the Danube River, June 14-15, 1877. The first holders of the St. George Cross in the Russian-Turkish War, June 1877.
Bulgarian governor from the retinue of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, October 1877.
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich with his adjutant in front of a tent in Pordim, 1877.
Guards Grenadier Artillery Brigade.
His Majesty the Emperor Alexander II, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich and Carol I, Prince of Romania, in Gornaya Studen. The photograph was taken just before the storming of Plevna on September 11, 1877.
General I.V. Gurko, Gorna Studena, September 1877.
A group of generals and adjutants in front of the residence of Alexander II in Pordim, October-November 1877.
The forefront of the Caucasians.
