What the Russian Empire did to tame the Ottoman Empire: the Russian-Turkish wars

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Since the 16th century, Russia has regularly fought the Ottoman Empire. The reasons for the military conflicts were different: the attempts of the Turks on the possessions of the Russians, the struggle for the Black Sea region and the Caucasus, the desire to control the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. Rarely did it take more than 20 years from the end of one war to the start of the next. And in the overwhelming number of clashes, of which there were officially 12, citizens of the Russian Empire emerged victorious. Here are some episodes.

The first clash and the Astrakhan defeat of the Turks

The Turks, collaborating with the Crimean Khan, first went to Moscow back in 1541. Since then, the clashes did not stop until the collapse of both the Russian and Ottoman empires. In 1569, a huge Turkish army marched to Astrakhan, under the cover of which an attempt was made to build the Volga-Don Canal. So the Turkish fleet decided to gain a foothold in addition to the Azov Sea also in the Caspian. Despite the support of the 50,000-strong Krymchak army, the plans of the Ottomans were thwarted by the professional command of the governor of Serebryany-Obolensky. The blockade of Astrakhan was lifted, and the Russian territory was successfully cleared of the enemy.

Choice of the Ukrainian hetman

The reason for the next Russian-Turkish conflict (1672-1681) was the desire of the Ottoman Empire to control the Right-Bank Ukraine. In 1669, the hetman of Ukraine Doroshenko was declared an Ottoman vassal, after which the Turkish sultan decided to fight with Poland. Anticipating the invasion of the Turks into their own underbelly and enlisting the royal support, the Don Cossacks attacked the enemy in the Crimea and took control of Chigirin. Doroshenko immediately capitulated, and Mehmed decided to fight for the Right-Bank Ukraine. As a result of the battles for Moscow, the left bank remained.

Unsuccessful peace treaty

Clashes with the Ottomans 1735-1739 took place in tandem with the Austrian Empire. The Crimeans did not stop attempting to assassinate the southern Russian lands, and Russia needed access to the Black Sea. Taking advantage of the internecine contradictions in Constantinople, the Russians went to war with the Ottoman Empire. After the initial successes of the Russian commanders, a plague epidemic broke out in the army, supported by insufficient supplies. After forced retreats, the Belgrade Peace Treaty was signed in the fall of 1739. Azov was subscribed to Russia, but ordered to get rid of all the fortifications located there. In addition, the Russians were forbidden to have a Black Sea fleet, and it was ordered to trade using Turkish ships. So a strategic exit to the Black Sea was not obtained.

Brilliant Russian victories of the 18th century

War of 1768-1774 It was declared the Ottoman Sultan for a symbolic reason: the Cossacks pursuing the Poles ended up in the Balta, which belonged to the Turks. The Russians reacted with lightning speed. Orlov transferred the Baltic squadron to the Mediterranean, and soon the Turkish fleet was defeated. In 1770, the army of Rumyantsev at Cahul and Larga defeated the main forces of the Turks with the Krymchaks. A year later, Dolgorukov occupied Crimea, transferring the Crimean Khanate to a Russian protectorate. By 1774, Suvorov and Kamensky defeated the many times superior forces of the Ottomans at the Kozludzha. And the Kyuchuk-Kaynardzhiyskoe peace agreement subscribes Kerch, Kabarda, Azov, Yenikale and Kinburn to Russia, deprives the Turks of the Crimean powers and consolidates the Russians in the Black Sea.

On the eve of the military conflict of 1787-1791, the borders of the Russian Empire already included the Crimea and the Kuban. Istanbul demanded to give up the peninsula, as well as Georgia. From the first clashes, the front shone with brilliant victories for Suvorov and Potemkin. At sea, Ushakov skillfully demonstrated his advantage. At the end of 1790, the Russian army took the impregnable Izmail with an Ottoman army of 35,000. In the Caucasus, Gudovich subdues Anapa. With the Yassy Peace Agreement, Crimea is assigned to Russia, and the border between states is moved to the Dniester. Russia defiantly refuses the due indemnity, sparing the zeroed budget of the Sultan.

19th century conflicts

On the eve of 1806, when the next war between the Turks and the Russians began, the Ottoman Empire forced its loyal vassals to Russia, Moldavia and Wallachia, to resign. At first, Russia, distracted by Napoleon, counted on peaceful outcomes in the current situation. But when the French invasion soon became apparent, Russia went to the elimination of threats along its southern borders. In 1811, the Russians defeated the Turks on the Danube, destroying the main Turkish army with the Slobodzeya operation. Kutuzov forced the Ottomans to abandon Bessarabia for the sake of the Russians, which secured the Bucharest Treaty of 1812.

But already in 1827, the Ottoman sultan refused to recognize the autonomy of Greece, prescribed by the London Convention with the mutual consent of Russia, England and France. Then the united squadron of these states smashed the Turkish fleet in the battle of Navarino. In the spring of 1828, Emperor Nicholas I declared war on the Ottomans directly because of the Porte's refusal to adhere to the bilateral agreements on the Akkerman Convention of 1826.

In the wake of successful advances, Russian troops reached Constantinople, and according to the Adrianople peace, Turkey still had to come to terms with Greek autonomy. In addition, almost the entire eastern coast of the Black Sea (with Anapa, Sudzhuk-Kale, Sukhum) and the Danube delta were withdrawn to Russia. The Ottomans were forced to recognize the supremacy of the Russians over Georgia with a part of present-day Armenia, as well as the autonomy of Serbia. Russia had the right to occupy Moldavia with Wallachia until the full payment of the indemnity by the Turks.

Glory after the Crimean failure

In the Crimean War of 1853-1856. Russia lost a lot of conquered territories, and the Black Sea became neutral. Large-scale military spending led to an economic crisis, but at the same time all these setbacks pushed Russia to reform. And already in 1877, the Russians regained the title of patrons and liberators of Orthodox peoples. The Russian army invaded Turkey after the brutal suppression of the Bulgarians by the Ottomans during the April Uprising.

A series of victorious battles restored the Bulgarian statehood, expanded the territories of Serbia, Montenegro, Romania. Thus, southern Bessarabia, lost after the Paris Peace Agreement, was returned, and Turkey lost its European possessions.

Irregular Cossack units, which in the regular army were considered undisciplined, at one time were able to independently expel the Turks from Azov. Without the assistance of the Russian troops.