Russo-Turkish Wars
The Russo-Turkish Wars were a series of conflicts between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire spanning from 1676 to 1878. The wars were largely driven by territorial ambitions and religious tensions, notably over lands in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region. The first war, which ended inconclusively with the Treaty of Bakhchisarai in 1681, marked the beginning of a protracted struggle for dominance in the region. Subsequent conflicts saw Russian territorial gains, particularly under leaders like Peter the Great and Catherine the Great, who expanded Russian influence into the Crimea and the Black Sea.
Key treaties throughout the wars, such as the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (1774) and the Treaty of San Stefano (1878), reshaped regional borders and established Russian protectorate roles over Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire. The wars also involved broader European geopolitical dynamics, with various nations taking sides based on their interests, particularly during the Crimean War (1853-1856), which showcased the complexities of alliances and rivalries. The culmination of these conflicts significantly altered the balance of power in Southeast Europe and set the stage for future nationalist movements and further territorial disputes.
Russo-Turkish Wars
At issue: Russian expansion at the expense of the Ottoman Empire
Date: 1676–1878
Locations: The Balkans, Ukraine, Crimea, Transcaucasia
Combatants: Russians vs. Ottomans
Principal commanders: Russian, Peter the Great (1672–1725), Aleksandr V. Suvorov (1729–1800), Mikhail D. Skobelev (1843–1882); Armenian, Mikhail Tarielovich Loris-Melikov (1825?-1882); Ottoman, Ahmed II (1642–1695), Mustafa III (1717–1774), Husnu Suleiman Pasha (1840–1892), Ghāzī ʿOthmān Pasha (1832–1900)
Principal battles: Kars, Sevastopol, Plevna
Result: Russian expansion; the Treaty of San Stefano in 1878 ended the war on terms so beneficial to Russia that Western powers revised them at the Congress of Berlin
Background
Russia and the Ottoman Empire fought numerous wars from 1676 to 1878. The first conflict, which was inconclusive, took place from 1676 to 1681, following Ottoman threats to Ukrainian lands recently annexed by Muscovy. A Turkish siege at Chigirin was relieved by additional Russian and Ukrainian forces, suspending further hostilities. The Treaty of Bakhchisarai (1681) confirmed Russian control of the left bank of the Dnieper River, and Turks claimed sovereignty over the right bank. Five years later, a new war erupted and, after Russian czar Peter the Great assumed power, Russia gained access to the Sea of Azov. There, Peter built the first Russian navy near the mouth of the Don. However, Sultan Ahmed III retook the city, confirmed by the Treaty of Pruth (1711). A new war began in 1735, with Austria joining Russia against the Porte. Russian armies under Irish field marshal Peter Lacy recaptured Azov, and German count Burkhard C. Münnich led offensives in the Crimea and Moldavia. Nevertheless, Austria, which suffered defeat in the Balkans, pressured Russia to accept the Treaty of Belgrade (1739), which forbade Russia from fortifying Azov.
Action
In 1768, Sultan Mustafa III declared war on the Russians when their armies chased Polish rebels into Turkish territories. After Turkish attacks from the Crimea were repulsed, Russia fortified the port of Azov, and in 1770, crushed the Ottoman fleet near the Island of Chios. Armies of Catherine the Great overran the Crimea, installed a khan to her liking, and invaded Moldavia and Wallachia. The resulting Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (1774) was hastened by the outbreak of plague and a major peasant revolt in Russia. That treaty terminated Turkish dominance in the Black Sea, enabling Russian commercial vessels to use the straits at Constantinople. The Turks also conceded to Russia the role of protector of their orthodox Christian subjects.
This success encouraged Catherine’s favorite, Grigory Orlov, whose Greek Project envisioned the breakup of the Ottoman Empire and the restoration of a Byzantine state in the Romanian provinces. Catherine’s annexation of the Crimea led to a new war with Turkey in 1787. Count Aleksandr V. Suvorov, Russia’s heralded general, defeated the Ottomans under Selim III at Fokshan and Rymnik in 1789 and defeated the Turks again at Izmail (1790). The Treaty of Jassy (January 7, 1792) ended the war and confirmed Russian gains.
Under Catherine’s grandson, Alexander I, a new six-year war with the Porte was occasioned by Russian fears of Napoleon’s desire for Balkan lands and by the actions of Selim, who removed pro-Russian officials in Moldavia and Wallachia. The campaigns that began in 1806 were distinguished by Russian generals Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov and by Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration, who contained the Turks across the Danube. The Treaty of Bucharest brought Bessarabia and Georgia to the Russian Empire in 1812.
When the Greeks rose up for independence, Czar Nicholas I aided the British-French fleet that defeated the Turks at Navarino in 1827. Land war broke out the next year when Russian troops advanced across the Danube. Russian Field Marshal Ivan Paskevich seized Kars (1828) and several Turkish fortresses between Transcaucasia and Anatolia, and Field Marshal Hans Diebitsch took Adrianople by terrorizing Turks through the use of Russian cannons. The Treaty of Adrianople (1829) brought few advantages to Russia, although Greek independence was assured.
Britain and France supported the Turks after 1853 owing to their fear of Russia’s southern expansion, the so-called Eastern Question. War erupted when the czar bullied the sultan over a religious dispute in the Holy Land. Hostilities began at sea when the Russian fleet responded to a naval threat and destroyed the wooden Turkish ships near Sinope, in November, 1853, which prompted British and French troops to invade the Crimea. Russian muskets were no match for the rifles of the allies, but under Eduard Ivanovich Todleben, a master of fortifications, Russians bravely defended Sevastopol (1854–1855) in defeat. Turkish troops played a minor role in the Crimea but vigorously contested the Russians in the Caucasus. Russian forces eventually overwhelmed the Turkish fortress at Kars but returned it at the Treaty of Paris (1856). The treaty was humiliating for Russia, which no longer could sail its warships in the Black Sea.
Late in the reign of Czar Alexander II, the last major Russo-Turkish War was fought before 1914. Pan-Slav courtiers influenced the czar to support Slavic rebels in Bulgaria and Bosnia, who were victims of Turkish massacres. The war in 1877 demonstrated that Abdülhamid II, leader of the Ottoman Empire, was not quite the “sick man of Europe,” as imagined. The Turks did experience poor direction from the general staff despite able field commanders like Ḥüsnü Sulaymān Pasha, who defeated the Russians at Staraya Zagora (July, 1877) and Ghāzī ʿOthmān Pasha, who cleverly employed earthworks and trenches to defend against the siege at Plevna. Russians were supported by Montenegrins, Serbs, Rumanians, and Bulgarian volunteers; Turks were aided by German and British officers. Armenian General Mikhail Tarielovich Loris-Melikov distinguished himself against the Turks in Transcaucasia while General Mikhail D. Skobelev defeated Suleiman at the Shipka Pass in the Balkans.
Aftermath
After the nearly five-month Siege of Plevna (1877) ended with Osman’s surrender, Russian forces advanced to the outskirts of Constantinople, where the Turks agreed to armistice by January and a peace treaty in March, 1878, at San Stefano. Russian gains so worried other European powers that they forced some revisions at the Congress of Berlin months later. Nevertheless, Russia secured an autonomous Bulgaria under its protection, independence for Serbia, Montenegro, autonomy for Romania, and acquisitions in South Bessarabia, Kars, Ardahan, and Batum. Russia’s ultimate objective, the Straits at Constantinople, remained elusive.
Resources
Goodwin, Jason. Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire. London: Vintage, 1999.
Jelavich, Barbara. A Century of Russian Foreign Policy: 1814–1914. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1964.
Nicolle, David. Armies of the Ottoman Empire: 1775–1820. London: Osprey Military, 1998.
Palmer, Alan Warwick. The Decline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire. New York: M. Evans, 1993.
Rich, Norman. The Crimean War: A Cautionary Tale. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1991.
Todorov, Nikolai. Bulgaria’s Liberation from Ottoman Oppression. Sofia, Bulgaria: Sofia Press, 1987.
Wieczynski, Joseph L. ed. A Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History. Vol. 32. Gulf Breeze, Fla.: Academic International Press, 1983.