Russia's Relationship with Byzantium and its Legacy: The Russo-Ottoman Wars
The ideological difference between the Ottomans and the Russians inevitably resulted in warfare, but their first conflicts had nothing to do with religion or Russia’s status as the Third Rome. Their first conflicts were in the Steppes and Ukraine and were fought due to the status of the Crimean Khanate, one of the successors of the Mongol Golden Horde, as an Ottoman vassal. Russia ultimately won these wars and drove the Crimeans back, even annexing the Khanate in 1783.
They next fought in a succession crisis over Ukraine and the Cossack throne. This conflict was directly caused by both Ottoman and Russian expansion against Poland. This war ultimately ended in a Russian victory and the establishment of a formal border at the Dnieper River.
Russia’s next wars against the Turks were intertwined with European politics during the reign of Peter the Great. Russia was a member of the Holy League, a coalition of Christian powers against the Turks from 1686 and fought against them in Crimea and Azov. The ultimate result was Peter’s annexation of Azov and access to a port. However, Azov was quickly lost when the deposed Charles XII of Sweden convinced the Ottomans to attack Russia again.
The next major Russo-Turkish war began in 1768 and was heavily linked with the Partitions of Poland. The Polish nationalists allied with the Ottomans but were quickly defeated. Russia formed an alliance with Britain, and the two nations crushed the Ottoman army and the Ottoman navy. Russia gained land along the Black Sea and money, but, most importantly, its legacy as the heir of Byzantium gained a boost. It was recognized as the protector of all of the Orthodox subjects of the Ottoman Empire.
This peace didn’t even last a decade - Russia’s annexation of Crimea strained it. In 1787, the Turks demanded a Russian evacuation of Crimea on threat of war, but Russia refused to bow to Turkish wishes. The result was a war between a Russo-Austrian alliance and the Muslim empire. The Ottomans managed to win some early victories, overrunning the Banat, but they were quickly overwhelmed. The Russians moved across Moldavia and Austria captured Belgrade in Serbia. To add to the Ottoman troubles, Russia achieved naval victories in the Black Sea and captured Izmail in Anatolia. The end result was the changing of the European frontier to the River Dniester.
A war between the Turks and Russia was initiated by Napoleonic French pressure in 1806 and lasted until 1812. Despite Russia’s numerous other wars at that time, General Kutuzov defeated the Turks on the River Danube. Russia took advantage of their victory to annex Bessarabia.
The Russians began to lean into their positions as the heirs of the Byzantine Empire during the 1839 war. Russia began that war by attacking the Ottoman vassal of Moldavia and defeating them at the Battle of Chisinau in September. While the Ottomans managed to utilize the element of surprise to win a skirmish at Tulcea soon after, this was quickly undone by two victories at Galati and Tulcea, where the Russian General Pyotr Chicherin distinguished himself.
This period was followed by a long period of stalemate. Russian generals began to lose land due to miscommunication, most notably allowing the Fall of Ardahan. The Ottoman victor there, Abdi Pasha, soon followed the Russians and won another victory at Akhaltisikhe. However, the Battle of Iasi ended in a Russian victory. The end of the year saw an ambush of Chicherin’s force, but that general revealed his cunning by winning a victory before retreating from Tulcea, reasoning that the city could not necessarily be held. He would move forward against Tulcea in May 1840 before backtracking to counter a renewed Turko-Moldavian assault on Chisinau in September.
April 1840 also saw a Russian victory at the Battle of Izmail, and this army launched a campaign across Anatolia that met with limited success.
Meanwhile, in Europe, many Russian armies united and won a decisive victory at Kizylyar in July 1841. This army advanced against the Ottomans in the Balkans. It quickly moved across Bulgaria, winning victories at Silistre and Varna in 1843.
The end of the war occurred in July 1844. The Russians merely annexed a few small border territories, but their main victory was the establishment of another Orthodox state. This new nation was the allied Tsardom of Bulgaria.
The last Russo-Turkish War began in July 1879, but, because both the Ottomans and Russia were occupied with other conflicts, major fighting was averted. Instead, the war consisted of a series of minor skirmishes. Russia managed to annex a few small border territories, but their overall gains were very minor.
There was briefly a threat of another Russo-Turkish War after the Stockholm Meeting, but this was averted by diplomatic compromise and threats. Tsar Nicholas noted that the Turks would almost certainly lose a war against Russia without aid (which wasn’t forthcoming due to the Meeting) and were barely holding on to their European territories anyway. In the end, Russia bought Thrace and the Anatolian coastline for a massive sum of money. They subsequently set up the Tsardom of Constantinople in their new territories. This Tsardom stood aloof from the many Balkan Wars and the Great Ottoman Collapse, although it did fight alongside Russia a bit during World War II against the Turkish Marxist Republic and earned territory from it. Constantinople was held in personal union with Russia and became a focal point of the Unspoken War.
They next fought in a succession crisis over Ukraine and the Cossack throne. This conflict was directly caused by both Ottoman and Russian expansion against Poland. This war ultimately ended in a Russian victory and the establishment of a formal border at the Dnieper River.
Russia’s next wars against the Turks were intertwined with European politics during the reign of Peter the Great. Russia was a member of the Holy League, a coalition of Christian powers against the Turks from 1686 and fought against them in Crimea and Azov. The ultimate result was Peter’s annexation of Azov and access to a port. However, Azov was quickly lost when the deposed Charles XII of Sweden convinced the Ottomans to attack Russia again.
The next major Russo-Turkish war began in 1768 and was heavily linked with the Partitions of Poland. The Polish nationalists allied with the Ottomans but were quickly defeated. Russia formed an alliance with Britain, and the two nations crushed the Ottoman army and the Ottoman navy. Russia gained land along the Black Sea and money, but, most importantly, its legacy as the heir of Byzantium gained a boost. It was recognized as the protector of all of the Orthodox subjects of the Ottoman Empire.
This peace didn’t even last a decade - Russia’s annexation of Crimea strained it. In 1787, the Turks demanded a Russian evacuation of Crimea on threat of war, but Russia refused to bow to Turkish wishes. The result was a war between a Russo-Austrian alliance and the Muslim empire. The Ottomans managed to win some early victories, overrunning the Banat, but they were quickly overwhelmed. The Russians moved across Moldavia and Austria captured Belgrade in Serbia. To add to the Ottoman troubles, Russia achieved naval victories in the Black Sea and captured Izmail in Anatolia. The end result was the changing of the European frontier to the River Dniester.
A war between the Turks and Russia was initiated by Napoleonic French pressure in 1806 and lasted until 1812. Despite Russia’s numerous other wars at that time, General Kutuzov defeated the Turks on the River Danube. Russia took advantage of their victory to annex Bessarabia.
The Russians began to lean into their positions as the heirs of the Byzantine Empire during the 1839 war. Russia began that war by attacking the Ottoman vassal of Moldavia and defeating them at the Battle of Chisinau in September. While the Ottomans managed to utilize the element of surprise to win a skirmish at Tulcea soon after, this was quickly undone by two victories at Galati and Tulcea, where the Russian General Pyotr Chicherin distinguished himself.
This period was followed by a long period of stalemate. Russian generals began to lose land due to miscommunication, most notably allowing the Fall of Ardahan. The Ottoman victor there, Abdi Pasha, soon followed the Russians and won another victory at Akhaltisikhe. However, the Battle of Iasi ended in a Russian victory. The end of the year saw an ambush of Chicherin’s force, but that general revealed his cunning by winning a victory before retreating from Tulcea, reasoning that the city could not necessarily be held. He would move forward against Tulcea in May 1840 before backtracking to counter a renewed Turko-Moldavian assault on Chisinau in September.
April 1840 also saw a Russian victory at the Battle of Izmail, and this army launched a campaign across Anatolia that met with limited success.
Meanwhile, in Europe, many Russian armies united and won a decisive victory at Kizylyar in July 1841. This army advanced against the Ottomans in the Balkans. It quickly moved across Bulgaria, winning victories at Silistre and Varna in 1843.
The end of the war occurred in July 1844. The Russians merely annexed a few small border territories, but their main victory was the establishment of another Orthodox state. This new nation was the allied Tsardom of Bulgaria.
The last Russo-Turkish War began in July 1879, but, because both the Ottomans and Russia were occupied with other conflicts, major fighting was averted. Instead, the war consisted of a series of minor skirmishes. Russia managed to annex a few small border territories, but their overall gains were very minor.
There was briefly a threat of another Russo-Turkish War after the Stockholm Meeting, but this was averted by diplomatic compromise and threats. Tsar Nicholas noted that the Turks would almost certainly lose a war against Russia without aid (which wasn’t forthcoming due to the Meeting) and were barely holding on to their European territories anyway. In the end, Russia bought Thrace and the Anatolian coastline for a massive sum of money. They subsequently set up the Tsardom of Constantinople in their new territories. This Tsardom stood aloof from the many Balkan Wars and the Great Ottoman Collapse, although it did fight alongside Russia a bit during World War II against the Turkish Marxist Republic and earned territory from it. Constantinople was held in personal union with Russia and became a focal point of the Unspoken War.
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