The Russo-Turkish war

Both Austria and Russia had interests in the Balkans, and the Eastern question Austria was concerned at the increase in Slav nationalism which was destabilising the Ottoman Empire Austria (with it’s significant Slav population) feared what was happening in Slavic communities Russia wished to protect the Orthodox Christians living in the area. Long term origins

The 1870s saw a rise in Pan Slavism (the movement to unite all Slavs as one nation) Many of the intelligensia supported this stance with support growing for this movement By 1877, over a thousand people supported this call for unity.

In mid 1875, Herzegovina, then Bosnia rebelled against the Ottomans By spring of 1876 they were joined by Bulgaria, and later Serbia and Montenegro declared war on Turkey In order to prevent war, land, tax and religious reforms were offered, to be administered by Turkey, which was unacceptable for the Western states Britain was worried that Russia was seeking to extend its own influence for personal gain and the war raged on. Short term origins

Russians continued to support their Slavic counterparts, and pressure grew on Russia to take decisive action The SBC (Slavonic Benevolent Committee), the Orthodox Church, the military and others such as Tolstoy pleaded with the Tsar to do more The Ignatiev initiative instructed the Russian ambassador in Constantinople to tell the Serbs they could rely on Russian support should the war worsen By Autumn 1876, it was clear the Serbs were losing the war, Russia threatened to attack Turkey unless a truce was called, and a six week armistice was granted.

After the armistice ended, Turkey resumed its aggressive stance against the Serbs Alexander II declared war on Turkey after popular opinion drove him to do so in April 1877 Austria promised to remain neutral as long as they could have jurisdiction over Herzegovina and Bosnia Russian intellectuals welcomed the war, which they saw as an opportunity to release fellow Slavs from the tyranny of an imperialist oppressor.

Despite thousands of casualties, the Russian army made advances through the Caucasus and Bulgaria The army was still suffering from weaknesses after the Crimean war, and the reforms suggested by Milyutin had not yet been fully implemented There were exceptions: the engineer section of the army were successful in crossing the Danube and capturing Plevna and the navy enjoyed success in destroying the Turkish fleet In 1878 Turkey agreed to an armistice The course of the war

The Treaty of San Stefano, which drew conflict to a close was signed in March 1879 It stated: Russia was to regain South Bessarabia which was lost during the Crimean War Russia made territorial gains in the Caucasus Turkey was forced to pay war indemnity to Russia The independence of Serbia, Montenegro and Romania were acknowledged Turkey was charged with enacting reforms to benefit Bosnia and Herzegovina. A large Bulgaria was established. The impact of the war

Both Britain and Austria Hungry were concerned at the terms of the treaty; Russia was concerned a larger war in the Balkans may break out as a result The Tsar therefore decided to broker a bigger peace conference in Berlin, after the offer by their Chancellor Bismarck

The Congress of Berlin was held in 1879 Russia retained its right to South Bessarabia and kept the gains in the Caucasus Austria-Hungary was given the right to govern Herzegovina and Bosnia Britain took over the administration of Cyprus Bulgaria became smaller Despite the money and territory Russia gained from the treaty, Russian nationalists were not happy with the treaty, particularly the pan-Slavic groups who felt the concessions made to Britain and Austria-Hungary were unacceptable They saw this as a loss of world status for Russia Alexander II found it difficult to deal with this unrest which may have contributed to his assassination