Initially, Russia began to fight Turkey for control of the Black Sea straits and influence in the Balkans. The Russian army started the war very successfully. In November, through the efforts of Nakhimov, the Russian fleet defeated the Turkish in the Battle of Sinop. This event gave rise to intervention in the war between France and England, under the pretext of protecting Turkish interests. This defense eventually grew into an open aggression of the Europeans against Russia. For France and England did not want the strengthening of the Russian state.
In 1854, these countries officially declared war on the Russian Empire. The main hostilities of the Crimean War in Crimea unfolded. The allies landed in Evpatoria and launched an offensive on the naval base - Sevastopol. The heroic defense of the city was led by the outstanding Russian naval commanders Kornilov and Nakhimov. Under their command, the city, poorly protected from land, was turned into a real fortress. After the fall of the Malakhov Kurgan, the defenders of the city left Sevastopol. Russian troops managed to take the Turkish fortress of Kars, which slightly balanced the scales of the Allies and the Russian Empire. After this event, peace negotiations began. The peace was signed in Paris in 1856. The Paris peace deprived Russia of the opportunity to have a fleet on the Black Sea, and the country also lost part of Bessarabia, the mouth of the Danube, and lost the right of patronage over Serbia.
The defeat in the Crimean War raised many questions in the Russian society about its causes. The government found itself at a historic fork in the road, and had to make a choice in which direction Russia would go. The Crimean War became a kind of catalyst for further reforms in the Russian empire and innovative transformations.
When was the Crimean War?
Chronology of the Crimean War of 1853-1856 The Crimean (Eastern) War between Russia and a coalition of countries comprising Great Britain, France, Turkey and the Kingdom of Sardinia lasted from 1853 to 1856 and was caused by the clash of their interests in the Black Sea basin, the Caucasus and the Balkans.
Where and how did the Crimean War begin?
The Crimean War of 1853-1856 began. On October 4 (16), 1853, the Crimean War began, the war between Russia and the coalition of Great Britain, France, Turkey and Sardinia for domination in the Middle East. By the middle of the XIX century. Great Britain and France drove Russia out of the Middle East markets and brought Turkey under their influence.
Crimean war stages. Crimean War of 1853-56 Its reasons, stages, results.
REASONS The reasons for the war lay in the contradictions between the European powers in the Middle East, in the struggle of European states for influence on the weakening Ottoman Empire, which was engulfed in the national liberation movement. Nicholas I said that the inheritance of Turkey can and should be divided. In the upcoming conflict, the Russian emperor counted on the neutrality of Great Britain, which he promised after the defeat of Turkey new territorial acquisitions of Crete and Egypt, as well as the support of Austria, as gratitude for Russia's participation in suppressing the Hungarian revolution. However, Nikolai's calculations turned out to be wrong: England itself pushed Turkey to war, thus trying to weaken the position of Russia. Austria also did not want to strengthen Russia in the Balkans. The reason for the war was a dispute between the Catholic and Orthodox clergy in Palestine about who would be the guardian of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and the temple in Bethlehem. At the same time, it was not about access to the holy places, since all pilgrims used them on equal terms. The dispute over the Holy Places cannot be called a far-fetched reason to unleash a war. STAGES Two stages can be distinguished during the Crimean War: Stage I of the war: November 1853 - April 1854. Turkey was the enemy of Russia, and military operations took place on the Danube and Caucasian fronts. 1853 Russian troops entered the territory of Moldova and Wallachia, and military operations on land went sluggishly. In the Caucasus, the Turks were defeated at Kars. II stage of the war: April 1854 - February 1856 Concerned that Russia would completely defeat Turkey, England and France, in the person of Austria, they delivered an ultimatum to Russia. They demanded that Russia refuse to patronize the Orthodox population Ottoman Empire... Nikolai I could not accept such conditions. Turkey, France, England and Sardinia united against Russia. RESULTS Results of the war: - On February 13 (25), 1856, the Paris Congress began, and on March 18 (30) a peace treaty was signed. - Russia returned the city of Kars with the fortress to the Ottomans, receiving in exchange the seized Sevastopol, Balaklava and other Crimean cities. - The Black Sea was declared neutral (that is, open for commercial and closed for military ships in peacetime), with the prohibition of Russia and the Ottoman Empire to have military fleets and arsenals there. - Navigation along the Danube was declared free, for which the Russian borders were moved away from the river and part of Russian Bessarabia with the mouth of the Danube was annexed to Moldavia. - Russia was deprived of the protectorate over Moldavia and Wallachia, granted to it by the Kuchuk-Kainardzhiysk peace of 1774, and the exclusive patronage of Russia over the Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire. - Russia pledged not to build fortifications on the Aland Islands. During the war, the members of the anti-Russian coalition failed to achieve all their goals, but they managed to prevent the strengthening of Russia in the Balkans and deprive it of the Black Sea Fleet.
At first, success was variable. The main milestone was the Battle of Sinop in November 1853, when the Russian admiral, the hero of the Crimean War, PS Nakhimov, completely defeated the Turkish fleet in the Sinop Bay for several hours. In addition, all coastal batteries were suppressed. The Turkish naval base lost more than fifteen ships and over three thousand people only killed, all coastal fortifications were destroyed. The Turkish fleet commander was taken prisoner. Only one fast ship with an English adviser on board was able to escape the bay.
The losses of the Nakhimovites were much smaller: not a single ship was sunk, several of them were damaged and went to be repaired. Thirty-seven people were killed. These were the first heroes of the Crimean War (1853-1856). The list is open. However, it is this brilliantly planned and no less brilliantly conducted naval battle in Sinop Bay that is literally inscribed in gold on the pages of the history of the Russian fleet. And right after that, France and England became more active, they could not allow Russia to win. War was declared, and immediately alien squadrons appeared in the Baltic near Kronstadt and Sveaborg, which were attacked. In the White Sea, British ships bombarded the Solovetsky Monastery. The war began in Kamchatka as well.
The Crimean War, or, as it is called in the West, the Eastern War, was one of the most important and decisive events of the middle of the 19th century. At this time, the lands of the invading Ottoman Empire were in the center of the conflict between the European powers and Russia, and each of the warring parties wanted to expand their territories by annexing foreign lands.
The war of 1853-1856 was called the Crimean, since the most important and intense hostilities took place in the Crimea, although military clashes went far beyond the peninsula and covered large territories of the Balkans, the Caucasus, as well as the Far East and Kamchatka. At the same time, tsarist Russia had to fight not just with the Ottoman Empire, but with a coalition where Turkey was supported by Great Britain, France and the Kingdom of Sardinia.
Causes of the Crimean War
Each of the parties who took part in the military campaign had their own reasons and claims that prompted them to enter this conflict. But on the whole, they were united by one single goal - to take advantage of Turkey's weakness and establish themselves in the Balkans and the Middle East. It was these colonial interests that led to the outbreak of the Crimean War. But to achieve this goal, all countries followed different paths.
Russia was eager to destroy the Ottoman Empire, and its territories were mutually divided between the claiming countries. Russia would like to see Bulgaria, Moldova, Serbia and Wallachia under its protectorate. And at the same time, she was not against the fact that the territories of Egypt and the island of Crete would go to Great Britain. It was also important for Russia to establish control over the straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, connecting the two seas: the Black and Mediterranean.
With the help of this war, Turkey hoped to suppress the national liberation movement that swept the Balkans, as well as to take the very important Russian territories of the Crimea and the Caucasus.
England and France did not want to strengthen the position of Russian tsarism in the international arena, and sought to preserve the Ottoman Empire, since they saw in her a constant threat to Russia. Having weakened the enemy, the European powers wanted to separate the territories of Finland, Poland, the Caucasus and Crimea from Russia.
The French emperor pursued his ambitious goals and dreamed of revenge in a new war with Russia. Thus, he wanted to take revenge on his enemy for the defeat in the military campaign of 1812.
If we carefully consider the mutual claims of the parties, then, in fact, the Crimean War was absolutely predatory and aggressive. It was not for nothing that the poet Fyodor Tyutchev described it as a war of cretins with scoundrels.
The course of hostilities
Several important events preceded the start of the Crimean War. In particular, it was the issue of control over the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Bethlehem, which was decided in favor of the Catholics. This finally convinced Nicholas I of the need to start military operations against Turkey. Therefore, in June 1853, Russian troops invaded the territory of Moldova.
The answer from the Turkish side was not long in coming: on October 12, 1853, the Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia.
The first period of the Crimean War: October 1853 - April 1854
By the beginning of hostilities, the Russian army numbered about a million people. But as it turned out, its armament was very outdated and significantly inferior to the equipment of Western European armies: smoothbore guns against rifled weapons, sailing fleet against ships with steam engines. But Russia hoped that it would have to fight with an approximately equal Turkish army, as it happened at the very beginning of the war, and could not assume that it would be opposed by the forces of a united coalition of European countries.
During this period, hostilities were conducted with varying degrees of success. And the most important battle of the first Russian-Turkish period of the war was the Battle of Sinop, which took place on November 18, 1853. The Russian flotilla under the command of Vice Admiral Nakhimov, heading for the Turkish coast, found large enemy naval forces in the Sinop Bay. The commander decided to attack the Turkish fleet. The Russian squadron had an undeniable advantage - 76 cannons firing explosive shells. It was this that decided the outcome of the 4-hour battle - the Turkish squadron was completely destroyed, and the commander Osman Pasha was taken prisoner.
Second period of the Crimean War: April 1854 - February 1856
The victory of the Russian army in the Battle of Sinop greatly worried England and France. And in March 1854, these powers, together with Turkey, formed a coalition to fight the common enemy - the Russian Empire. Now a powerful military force fought against her, several times superior to her army.
With the beginning of the second stage of the Crimean campaign, the territory of hostilities expanded significantly and covered the Caucasus, the Balkans, the Baltic, Far East and Kamchatka. But the main task of the coalition was the intervention in Crimea and the seizure of Sevastopol.
In the fall of 1854, the combined 60,000th corps of the coalition forces landed in the Crimea near Evpatoria. And the first battle on the Alma River was lost by the Russian army, so it was forced to retreat to Bakhchisarai. The garrison of Sevastopol began to prepare for the defense and defense of the city. The glorious admirals Nakhimov, Kornilov and Istomin stood at the head of the valiant defenders. Sevastopol was turned into an impregnable fortress, which was defended by 8 bastions on land, and the entrance to the bay was blocked with the help of sunken ships.
349 days lasted heroic defense Sevastopol, and only in September 1855, the enemy captured the Malakhov Kurgan and occupied the entire southern part of the city. The Russian garrison moved to the northern part, but Sevastopol never surrendered.
Results of the Crimean War
The military actions of 1855 weakened both the allied coalition and Russia. Therefore, the continuation of the war was out of the question. And in March 1856, the opponents agreed to sign a peace treaty.
According to the Paris Treaty, Russia, like the Ottoman Empire, was prohibited from having a navy, fortresses and arsenals on the Black Sea, which meant that the country's southern borders were in danger.
As a result of the war, Russia lost a small part of its territories in Bessarabia and the mouth of the Danube, but lost its influence in the Balkans.
Video Crimean War 1853 - 1856
Crimean war the course of the war. Crimean war: reasons, participants, table of main events, outcome
The Crimean War is one of the most important events in the history of Russia in the 19th century. The largest world powers opposed Russia: Great Britain, France, the Ottoman Empire. The reasons, episodes and results of the Crimean War of 1853-1856 will be briefly discussed in this article.
Original interconnection of events
So, the Crimean War was predetermined some time before its actual start. So, in the 40s, the Ottoman Empire deprived the Russian of access to the Black Sea straits. As a result, the Russian fleet was locked in the Black Sea. Nicholas I took this news extremely painfully. It is curious that the significance of this territory has been preserved to this day, already for the Russian Federation. In Europe, meanwhile, they expressed dissatisfaction with aggressive Russian policies and growing influence in the Balkans.
Causes of the war
The prerequisites for such a large-scale conflict have been accumulating for a long time. Let's list the main ones:
- The Eastern question is escalating. The Russian Emperor Nicholas I strove to finally resolve the "Turkish" issue. Russia wanted to strengthen its influence in the Balkans, it wanted the creation of independent Balkan states: Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania. Nicholas I also planned the seizure of Constantinople (Istanbul) and the establishment of control over the Black Sea straits (Bosphorus and Dardanelles).
- The Ottoman Empire suffered many defeats in wars with Russia; it lost the entire Northern Black Sea region, Crimea, and part of the Transcaucasus. Greece separated from the Turks shortly before the war. Turkey's influence was falling, she was losing control over the dependent territories. That is, the Turks sought to recoup their previous defeats, to reclaim the lost lands.
- The French and British were worried about the steadily growing foreign policy influence of the Russian Empire. Shortly before the Crimean War, Russia defeated the Turks in the war of 1828-1829. and according to the Adrianople Peace Treaty of 1829 received from Turkey new lands in the Danube Delta. All this led to the growth and strengthening of anti-Russian sentiments in Europe.
End of the Crimean War
The Crimean War was unleashed between the Russian Empire, on the one hand, and a coalition of the Ottoman Empire, Britain and France, on the other, in October 1853 and ended on February 1, 1856 with the signing of an agreement in Paris and the complete defeat of the Russian Empire. The Egyptian army, which opposed the Russian Empire, also took part in the hostilities. As for the prerequisites for the start of the war, on July 3, 1853, Russian troops occupied Moldova and Wallachia (which were under the protectorate of Russia under the terms of the Treaty of Adrianople) in order to protect the sacred lands of Palestine and the Greek Church. Then the Ottoman Sultan Abdul-Mezhdid decided to bring his army into a state of full combat readiness in order to resist the aggressor who encroached on the great Ottoman Empire if necessary. army in the Russian war ”, which was published in 1932. The Turks entered the Crimea in 1475, and the peninsula became part of the Ottoman Empire. Since then, Russia has been waiting for the right moment to invade the territory of the Ottoman Empire. When Sultan Abdul-Mezhdid realized that the danger of war was looming over his empire, he asked Khedive Abbas, the Vice-Sultan of Egypt, to provide military support. Ottoman Sultan dispatches a fleet of 12 ships equipped with 642 cannons and 6,850 sailors under the leadership of the Emir of the Egyptian fleet, Hasan Basu al-Iskandarani. Also, Vice Sultan Abbas equips his land army under the leadership of Salim Fathi Bashi, which has more than 20 thousand guns in its arsenal. So in October 1854, the Ottoman Empire officially declared war on Russia.
The opinion that the war began because of a religious conflict and "protection of the Orthodox" is fundamentally wrong. Since wars have never started because of different religions or infringement of some interests of co-religionists. These arguments are only a pretext for conflict. The reason is always the economic interests of the parties.
Turkey by that time was the "sick link in Europe". It was becoming clear that it would not last long and would soon collapse, so the question of who inherits its territory was gaining more and more relevance. Russia, on the other hand, wanted to annex Moldavia and Wallachia with an Orthodox population, as well as in the future to seize the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits.
The beginning and end of the Crimean war
In the Crimean War of 1853-1855, the following stages can be distinguished:
- Danube Campaign. On June 14, 1853, the emperor issued a decree on the beginning of a military operation. On June 21, the troops crossed the border with Turkey and on July 3 entered Bucharest without firing a single shot. At the same time, small military skirmishes began at sea and on land.
- Sinop battle. On November 18, 1953, a huge Turkish squadron was completely destroyed. This was the largest Russian victory in the Crimean War.
- Allied entry into the war. In March 1854 France and England declared war on Russia. Realizing that it is impossible to cope with the leading powers alone, the emperor withdraws his troops from Moldavia and Wallachia.
- Blocking from the sea. In June-July 1854, a Russian squadron of 14 battleships and 12 frigates was completely blocked in the Sevastopol Bay by the Allied fleet, numbering 34 battleships and 55 frigates.
- The landing of the allies in the Crimea. On September 2, 1854, the allies began to land in Evpatoria, and already on the 8th of the same month inflicted a fairly large defeat on the Russian army (a division of 33,000 people), which was trying to stop the movement of troops to Sevastopol. The losses were small, but they had to retreat.
- Destruction of a part of the fleet. On September 9, 5 ships of the line and 2 frigates (30% of the total number) were sunk at the entrance to the Sevastopol bay in order to prevent the Allied squadron from breaking into it.
- Attempts to deblock. On October 13 and November 5, 1854, Russian troops made 2 attempts to lift the blockade of Sevastopol. Both were unsuccessful, but without major losses.
- Battle of Sevastopol. From March to September 1855, there were 5 bombings of the city. There was another attempt by the Russian troops to get out of the blockade, but it failed. On September 8, Malakhov Kurgan was taken - a strategic height. Because of this, Russian troops left the southern part of the city, blew up rocks with ammunition and weapons, and also flooded the entire fleet.
- The surrender of half of the city and the flooding of the Black Sea squadron produced a strong shock in all circles of society. For this reason, Emperor Nicholas I agreed to an armistice.
Participants in the war
One of the reasons for Russia's defeat is the numerical superiority of the allies. But actually it is not. The ratio of the ground part of the army is shown in the table.
As you can see, although the allies had an overall numerical superiority, this was not reflected in every battle. Moreover, even when the ratio was approximately parity or in our favor, the Russian troops still could not succeed. However, the main question remains not why Russia did not win, having no numerical superiority, but why the state was unable to supply more soldiers.
Important! In addition, the British and the French caught dysentery during the march, which greatly affected the combat capability of the units.
The ratio of the forces of the fleet in the Black Sea is shown in the table:
The main naval force was ships of the line - heavy ships with a huge number of guns. The frigates were used as fast and well-armed hunters who hunted for transport ships. A large number of small boats and gunboats in Russia did not give superiority at sea, since their combat potential is extremely small.
Heroes of the Crimean War
Command errors are cited as another reason. However, most of these opinions are expressed after the fact, that is, when the critic already knows what decision had to be made.
- Nakhimov, Pavel Stepanovich. Most of all he showed himself at sea during the Battle of Sinop, when he sank a Turkish squadron. He did not participate in land battles, since he did not have the appropriate experience (he was still a naval admiral). During the defense, he served as governor, that is, he was engaged in equipping the troops.
- Kornilov, Vladimir Alekseevich. Proved himself as a brave and active commander. In fact, he invented the tactics of active defense with tactical sorties, laying minefields, and mutual assistance of land and naval artillery.
- Menshikov, Alexander Sergeevich. It is on him that all accusations of the lost war are poured. However, firstly, Menshikov personally supervised only 2 operations. In one, he retreated for quite objective reasons (the numerical superiority of the enemy). In another he lost due to his own miscalculation, but at that moment his front was no longer decisive, but auxiliary. Secondly, Menshikov also gave quite rational orders (the sinking of ships in the bay), which helped the city to hold out longer.
Reasons for defeat
Many sources indicate that the Russian troops were losing because of the fittings, which the Allied armies had in large numbers. This is an erroneous point of view, which is duplicated even in Wikipedia, so it needs to be analyzed in detail:
- The Russian army also had fittings, and there were also enough of them.
- The fittings were fired at 1200 meters - just a myth. Indeed, long-range rifles were adopted much later. On average, the choke fired at 400-450 meters.
- The fittings were fired very accurately - also a myth. Yes, their accuracy was more accurate, but only by 30-50% and only at 100 meters. With increasing distance, the superiority dropped to 20-30% and below. In addition, the rate of fire was 3-4 times inferior.
- During major battles of the first half of the 19th century, the smoke from gunpowder was so thick that visibility was reduced to 20-30 meters.
- The accuracy of a weapon does not mean the accuracy of the fighter. It is extremely difficult to teach a person even from a modern rifle to hit a target from 100 meters. And it is even more difficult to shoot at the target from the choke, which did not have today's sighting devices.
- During combat stress, only 5% of soldiers think about aiming.
- The main losses were always brought by artillery. Namely, 80-90% of all killed and wounded soldiers were from cannon shelling.
The Crimean War is a controversial event in history. In fact, it does not bring victories and defeats to any of the parties involved, but this war, rich in battles, still excites the minds of historians. Today we will not delve into historical and political disputes, but simply recall the most unusual incidents of those years.
The Battle of Sinop: The First Propaganda.
Joseph Goebbels, perhaps the most famous military propagandist, could boldly adopt the techniques and methods of the Crimean War. And perhaps he did ... One thing is clear - it was during these years that the first large-scale use of propaganda, newspaper ducks and the now popular method of distorting facts was recorded.
It all began with the Sinop naval battle on November 30, 1853. The Russian squadron under the command of Vice Admiral Nakhimov swiftly defeated the numerically superior Turkish squadron and ensured the dominance of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea. The Turkish fleet was defeated within hours. The day after the Battle of Sinop, English newspapers vied with each other about the atrocities of Russian sailors: they say the ruthless military were shooting the wounded Turks floating in the sea. In fact, such a "sensation" had no real basis.
First shots: war in photography.
"From Moscow to Brest
There is no such place
Wherever we roam in the dust.
With a watering can and a notebook
Or even with a machine gun
We passed through the fire and cold ... "
These lines about the profession of correspondents and photographers were folded during the Great Patriotic War... But for the first time, photographs began to be widely used to cover military operations precisely during the Crimean War. Particularly famous are the photographs of Roger Fenton, who is considered the first war photographer. There are 363 of his photographs from the battles of the Crimean War, which were subsequently purchased by the Library of Congress and are now available on the Internet.
Defense of the Solovetsky Monastery: not even the seagulls were harmed.
In the spring of 1854, news arrived from Arkhangelsk to the Solovetsky Islands: soon the famous monastery would be attacked by enemy forces. Church values are urgently sent to Arkhangelsk, and the monastery is preparing for defense. Everything would be fine, but the monks were not used to fighting and did not stock up on weapons: after examining the arsenal by the brethren, only old, unsuitable guns and crossbows and pistols were found. With such weapons, and against the British fleet ...
Insignificant, but more reliable weapons arrived from Arkhangelsk: 8 cannons with shells.
On July 6, two British sixty-gun frigates Brisk and Miranda approached the Solovetsky Monastery. Trying to enter into negotiations, the foreign team hung signal flags on the masts. However, the monks, unfamiliar with the naval charter, were silent, and two signal shots from the ship were perceived as the beginning of hostilities. And the monks struck back: one of the cannonballs of the return volley hit the English frigate, damaged it and forced it to leave for the cape.
The unexpected resistance and refusal to surrender angered the British: the next day, cannonballs fell from their ships onto the monastery. The shelling of the monastery continued for almost nine hours. British ships fired about 1800 nuclei and bombs. According to historians, they would be enough to destroy several cities. But it was all in vain. By evening, the resistance of the monks forced the English ships to cease hostilities.
Summing up the battle, the defenders were surprised by the complete absence of human casualties. Not even the seagulls, which inhabited the monastery walls, were harmed. Only a few buildings were slightly damaged. Moreover, an unexploded core was found behind one of the icons of the Mother of God, which completely approved the defenders in the providence of God.
French trophies: the captive bell.
The "foggy" bell in Chersonesos is the hallmark of Sevastopol. It was cast in 1776 from captured cannons captured from the enemy during the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, and installed in the Chersonesos monastery. The bell settled in Sevastopol by order of Emperor Alexander I in 1983. It was intended to warn sailors of danger.
After Russia lost in the Crimean War of 1853-1856, the bell was taken to France along with other trophies. The "captive" bell hung in the Notre-Dame Cathedral for almost 60 years and returned to Russia only after repeated urgent demands of the Russian government.
In 1913, during diplomatic negotiations, President Poincaré returned the signal bell as a sign of friendship with Russia; on November 23, the "prisoner" arrived in Sevastopol, where he was temporarily installed on the belfry of the Church of St. Vladimir. The Chersonese bell not only summoned monks to the service, it served as a sound beacon: in the fog, its voice warned ships in the sea about the proximity of the rocky coast.
By the way, his further fate is also interesting: in 1925, many monasteries were abolished, and the bells were removed for melting. The signal bell was the only one that was lucky in view of its great "importance for the safety of sailors." At the suggestion of the Office for the Safety of Navigation in the Black and Azov Seas, it was installed on the shore as a sound beacon.
Russian sailors: the third one does not light a cigarette.
When the British and the allies besieged Sevastopol in the Crimean War, they already had choke guns in service (the first analogs of rifled weapons). They fired accurately, and because of this, a sign was born in the fleet - "the third one does not light a cigarette." Our sailor will light a pipe, but the Englishman has already noticed the light. The sailor gives another light, the Englishman is already at the ready. Well, the third sailor received a bullet from a choke gun. Since then, there has even been a belief among our sailors: if you light the third one, you will get a mortal wound.
Theater of War: Almost World War.
In its grandiose scale, the width of the theater of military operations and the number of mobilized troops, the Crimean War was quite comparable to the world one. Russia defended itself on several fronts - in the Crimea, Georgia, the Caucasus, Sveaborg, Kronstadt, Solovki and Kamchatka. In fact, our homeland fought alone, with insignificant Bulgarian forces (3,000 soldiers) and a Greek legion (800 people) on our side. An international coalition of Great Britain, France, the Ottoman Empire and Sardinia, with a total number of more than 750 thousand, was approaching us from the opposite bank.
Peace Treaty: Orthodox Christians Without Russia.
The peace treaty was signed on March 30, 1856 in Paris at an international congress with the participation of all the warring powers, as well as Austria and Prussia.
Under the terms of the treaty, Russia returned Kars to Turkey in exchange for Sevastopol, Balaklava and other cities in the Crimea captured by the allies; the mouth of the Danube and part of southern Bessarabia were inferior to the Moldavian principality. The Black Sea was declared neutral, Russia and Turkey could not keep a navy there. Russia and Turkey could only contain 6 steam vessels of 800 tons each and 4 vessels of 200 tons each for guard duty. The autonomy of Serbia and the Danube principalities was confirmed, but the supreme power of the Turkish sultan over them remained. The earlier adopted provisions of the London Convention of 1841 on the closure of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles for warships of all countries, except Turkey, were confirmed. Russia pledged not to build military fortifications on the Aland Islands and in the Baltic Sea.
The patronage of Turkish Christians was transferred to the hands of the "concert" of all the great powers, that is, England, France, Austria, Prussia and Russia. The treatise deprived our country of the right to defend the interests of the Orthodox population on the territory of the Ottoman Empire.
The Crimean War or the Eastern War (1853-1856) is a war between the Russian Empire and the coalition of Great Britain, France, the Ottoman Empire and Sardinia for domination in the Black Sea basin, the Caucasus and the Balkans.
Briton Roger Fenton became one of the world's first war photographers, documenting the events of 1855. There are no hostilities in the photographs; they mainly consist of portraits of the coalition servicemen.
26 photos
NATO leaders and their aide-de-camp, 1855. (Photo by Roger Fenton Crimean War photograph collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division):
Ships in the Cossack Bay, 1855. (Photo Photo by Roger Fenton | Getty Images):
Balaklava, Ukraine. A harbor full of sailing ships. (Photo Photo by Roger Fenton | Roger Fenton | Getty Images):
British and French soldiers are drinking near Sevastopol. (Photo Photo by Roger Fenton | Getty Images):
This is Roger Fenton's mobile photo lab, whose pictures we are looking at. In it, he showed negatives. His assistant is visible in the frame. (Photo by Photo by Hulton Archive | Getty Images):
Captain of the Royal Artillery. (Photo by Roger Fenton Crimean War photograph collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division):
Colonel Braunrigg and two captured Russian boys. (Photo by Roger Fenton Crimean War photograph collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division):
Construction site near Balaklava harbor. (Photo by Roger Fenton Crimean War photograph collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division):
Colonel of the Halliwell Coalition drinking drinks. (Photo Photo by Roger Fenton | Roger Fenton | Getty Images):
British officer at Balaklava during the Crimean War, 1855. (Photo Photo by Roger Fenton | Roger Fenton | Getty Images):
Soldiers and officers of the 8th hussar regiment of the Russian Imperial Army. (Photo by Roger Fenton Crimean War photograph collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division):
Coalition military meeting, 1855. (Photo Photo by Roger Fenton | Getty Images):
A group of Tatars in Balaklava. (Photo by Roger Fenton Crimean War photograph collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division):
Ships in Balaklava harbor, tent camp and Genoese fortress. (Photo by Roger Fenton Crimean War photograph collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division):
This is the English war photographer Roger Fenton. A portrait in a soldier's uniform. (Photo by Photo by Marcus Sparling | Getty Images):
Another member of the press is Sir William Howard Russell (1820-1907), a war correspondent for The Times. (Photo Photo by Roger Fenton | Getty Images):
Lieutenant General Sir John Campbell (seated) and Captain Hume. (Photo by Roger Fenton Crimean War photograph collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division):
Artillery of British troops. (Photo Photo by Roger Fenton | Hulton Archive | Getty Images):
Dragoons in the Crimea, 1855. (Photo Photo by Roger Fenton | Hulton Archive | Getty Images):
Coalition fleet in Balaklava. (Photo Photo by Roger Fenton | Getty Images):
British infantry camp at Balaklava during the Crimean War, 1855. (Photo Photo by Roger Fenton | Hulton Archive | Getty Images):
The hussars are preparing food. (Photo Photo by Roger Fenton | Getty Images):
Mortar men during the siege of Sevastopol. (Photo Photo by Roger Fenton | Getty Images):
Portrait of the coalition captains with a cannon. (Photo by Roger Fenton Crimean War photograph collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division):
Spent cannonballs on the battlefield in Balaklava. (Photo Photo by Roger Fenton | Getty Images):
British soldiers during the Crimean War. (Photo Photo by Roger Fenton | Getty Images):
Interesting video “From the Scythians to the present day. How the map of Crimea has changed over 3 thousand years.
Also see "Cave cities of Crimea" and "Ancient Heraklion - a lost city under water".
The path of humanity largely depends on the little things. If on October 19, 1847, the Orthodox bishop thought a little ... If the Catholics walked a little slower that day ... Then, perhaps, the world would not know Leo Tolstoy. And serfdom would be canceled later. And thousands of soldiers would not have died in the Crimean War, who had never heard of the accidental skirmish in Bethlehem
|
ILLUSTRATION: IGOR KUPRIN |
Bethlehem is a restless place today. One of the cities most revered by Christians, since the time of the Crusades, it has been shaken by conflicts between the followers of Jesus, who are not able to divide his temples. First of all, this concerns the Basilica of the Nativity of Christ. Now it belongs to Orthodox Greeks and Armenians. Catholics, who own the tiny side-chapel of the Manger in the cave in the church, are allowed into the central temple only at Christmas. Western Christians, of course, do not like this, but recently they have tempered their ambitions, but the Greeks and Armenians cannot divide the sacred space in any way.
The last conflict occurred on December 28, 2011 in preparation for the celebration of the birth of Christ. Clerics of the Jerusalem Patriarchate and the Armenian Apostolic Church started a scuffle in the cathedral. The fight began because of a dispute over who should clean which part of the temple. About 100 clergymen first shouted mutual curses, and then began to beat each other with mops and heavy objects. The fighters were separated only by the arriving police. Christmas 1997 was also darkened. Then the parishioners - Catholics and Orthodox Christians - entered into a squabble. After some time, a miracle appeared in the basilica - Christ, depicted on one of the walls of the temple, wept. Many believers attributed the Savior's grief to the parishioners' lack of reverence in the holy place. As history testifies, it was lost almost two centuries ago.
FIGHT AT THE ALTAR
The story, which entailed a series of diplomatic demarches and ended with the war of England, France and Turkey against Russia, began in Bethlehem on the evening of October 19, 1847. The Greek Bishop Seraphim, accompanied by the monastery doctor, hurried to the bedside of the sick parishioner. But on one of the narrow, crooked streets in the center of the city, he ran into a group of Franciscan monks. The distance between the houses was so small that someone would have to give way. However, neither the Orthodox nor the Catholics wanted to do this. A verbal squabble began. In the end, the angry Franciscans took up sticks and stones. Seraphim tried to hide in the Basilica of the Nativity of Christ, where at that time the Armenian clergy conducted an evening service, which was attended by many Catholics. Together with the Franciscans who burst into the temple, the Latins attacked the Greek bishop and the praying Armenians. The Turkish police arrived in time to restore order with difficulty. The case went public, and Sultan Abdul-Majid convened a commission to investigate the incident. It was established that the Catholics were guilty for starting the scuffle.
On this, it would seem, the plot ended, but the President of the French Republic Louis-Napoleon intervened in the matter. During this time, he hatched plans for a coup d'état, wanting to become the dictator of France, and was very interested in supporting the Catholic clergy. Therefore, Louis declared himself a "knight of faith" and declared that he would by all means protect the interests of unjustly offended Western Christians in the Holy Land. So, he demanded the return to the Catholics of the churches that belonged to them during the era of the Crusades. First of all, it was about the keys to the Church of the Nativity of Christ in Bethlehem, where a fight between Catholics and Orthodox took place. At first, Russian diplomats saw the incident as having no of great importance... At first, the subject of the dispute was not even clear: was it about real keys that unlock doors, or just a symbol? In London, too, the incident was considered "a completely insignificant matter." Therefore, at first, Russian diplomats decided not to interfere, but to wait to see how events would develop.
BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP SEA
The final demands of Louis Napoleon were formulated in July 1850 in a note from the French envoy, General Jacques Opik, addressed to the Grand Vizier of Porte Mehmed Ali Pasha. Opik demanded the return to his fellow believers of the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the tomb of the Mother of God in Gethsemane and part of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. In response, the Russian envoy to Constantinople, Vladimir Titov, in a special memorandum addressed to the Grand Vizier, objected that the rights of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church to holy places are undeniably older, since they date back to the times of the Eastern Roman Empire. In addition, the Russian diplomat presented Porte with a dozen Turkish firmans (decrees) confirming the pre-emptive rights of Orthodox Christians to Middle Eastern shrines. The Turkish sultan found himself in a difficult position. In search of a way out of this situation, he assembled a commission, including Christian and Muslim theologians, as well as viziers, which was to make a judgment on this issue. It soon became apparent that, despite the arguments of the Greeks, most of the secular members of the commission (who were educated, as a rule, in France) were inclined in favor of satisfying the demands of the Catholics.
|
INTRIGUE Louis Napoleon Bonaparte with his demarches he deliberately went to aggravate relations with St. Petersburg. The fact is that after the coup on December 2, 1851, which made the head of the French Republic de facto its dictator, Louis needed a war with the Russian tsar to consolidate his political position. “The possibility of a war with Russia,” wrote the historian Eugene Tarle, “[Louis-Napoleon] seized on primarily because ... coup d'état will certainly give battle to the new regime in the near future. War and only war could not only cool the revolutionary mood for a long time, but also finally bind the command (both the highest and the lowest, up to non-commissioned officers) army, shine a new empire and strengthen the new dynasty for a long time. " In 1852, Louis-Napoleon proclaimed himself emperor, which further exacerbated France's relations with Russia. Illustration: GETTY IMAGES / FOTOBANK.COM |
The longer the commission worked, the greater the clouds thickened over the Orthodox. Russia had to react somehow. And then Emperor Nicholas I intervened in the matter. In September 1851, he wrote a letter to Sultan Abdul-Majid, in which he expressed bewilderment, why should Turkey undertake to change the centuries-old order of ownership of Palestinian shrines behind the back of Russia and at the request of a third power? The Tsar's intervention frightened the Sultan in earnest. It was in vain that the French envoy, Monsignor de Lavalette, threatened that the republican fleet would blockade the Dardanelles - Abdul-Majid remembered the landing of a Russian landing in Constantinople in 1833 and decided not to tempt fate to ruin relations with his mighty northern neighbor.
But the Turks would not be Turks if they gave up the double game. So, on the one hand, a new commission was assembled, which by February 1852 had prepared a firman that secured the status of holy places and the priority rights to them of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church. The claims of the Catholics in it were called baseless and unjust. But, on the other hand, the Turkish Foreign Ministry at the same time sent a secret letter to France, in which it announced that the Ottomans would give the Catholics the three main keys to the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem. However, de Lavalette considered this concession too small. In March 1852, he arrived from vacation in the Turkish capital on the ninety-cannon frigate Charlemagne to confirm the seriousness of his intentions: de Lavalette demanded either amendments to the firman issued to the Orthodox, or the provision of new benefits to Catholics. From that moment on, a purely religious, "holy place" dispute turned into a political question: it was a question of who will retain the predominant influence in the Christian Middle East - for Russia or France.
TURKISH TIPS
Panic began in the Sultan's palace. It would seem that the situation was a dead end, but the Turks continued to seek salvation in new tricks. According to Turkish law, a firman concerning religious issues was not considered to have entered into force if the appropriate procedure for its announcement was not carried out: it was required to send to Jerusalem an authorized person for public reading of the firman in the presence of the governor of the city, representatives of three Christian churches (Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Catholic) , mufti, Muslim judge and city councilors. After that, the document had to be registered in court. So, Abdul-Majid once again hid his head in the sand and decided not to divulge the firman, which he secretly informed the French, wishing to win their favor. But in St. Petersburg, they soon unraveled the Sultan's games to delay the procedure for adopting the document. Russian diplomats put pressure on the grand vizier. In the end, in September 1852, he sent the Sultan's emissary Afif-bey to Jerusalem, who supposedly had to carry out the necessary procedure within two weeks. But by hook or by crook he delayed the target date. The Russian side in this performance was represented by the Consul General, State Councilor Constantin Basili, a Greek in the imperial service. Basili was a skillful diplomat, but he was tired of Afif Bey's evasions, and in violation of Eastern diplomatic etiquette, he directly asked:
When will the firman be read?
Afif Bey replied that he did not see the need for this.
I don't understand you, is there anything wrong? Basili asked.
My role, Afif Bey began to evade, is limited to the execution of the written orders contained in the instructions given to me. It does not say anything about the firman.
Sir, - objected the Russian consul, - if your ministry does not keep the word given to our imperial mission, it will be a regrettable fact. Perhaps you do not have written instructions, but, undoubtedly, you have oral instructions, because the firm exists, and everyone knows about it.
In response, Afif-bey tried to shift the responsibility onto the shoulders of the governor of Jerusalem, Hafiz Pasha - they say, it is in his competence how to dispose of the firman. But the governor also washed his hands, declaring that he had nothing to do with it, although the firm really exists and needs to be announced. In general, the Turks behaved quite in the spirit of Eastern diplomacy. Realizing that the Ottoman officials deliberately walk in circles and that waiting for the announcement of the firman is useless, Basili left Jerusalem in October 1852 in frustrated feelings. Soon, the Russian Foreign Ministry sent an angry dispatch to Istanbul threatening a break in relations. She made the Sultan think about it: the severing of diplomatic ties with Russia was not yet into his hands.
And he came up with a new trick! Firman was announced at the end of November 1852 in Ieru Salim and registered in court, but with severe violations of the ceremonial. So it was not completely clear whether it had become an official document or not.
Nevertheless, when France learned about the announcement of the firman, its diplomats announced preparations to send a military squadron to the Middle East. In this situation, the Turkish viziers continued to recommend that the Sultan enter into an alliance with Paris and open the doors of churches to Catholics. In this situation, the French fleet can become the defender of the Port if relations with St. Petersburg deteriorate. The Sultan listened to this opinion, and at the beginning of December 1852 Turkey announced that the keys to the large doors of the Bethlehem Temple and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem should be confiscated from the Greek clergy and handed over to the Catholic. Petersburg took it as a slap in the face and began to prepare for war.
FATAL CONFIDENCE
Nicholas I did not doubt the victorious outcome of a possible war with Turkey, and this was his main political miscalculation. The tsar was quite confident in his power, guaranteed by the coalition with England, Austria and Prussia, which took shape during the anti-Napoleonic wars. He could not even imagine that the allies would act in their own interests and would easily go for betrayal, taking the side of France and Turkey. The Russian emperor did not take into account that it was not about European affairs, but about the Middle East, in which each of the great powers was for itself, concluding short-term alliances with other countries as needed. The main principle here was - to grab a piece for yourself, and more. The Europeans feared that the northern colossus would crush Turkey and seize the Balkans for itself, and then, you see, Constantinople and the straits. Such a scenario did not suit anyone, especially England and Austria, which regard the Balkans as a sphere of their interests. In addition, the establishment of Russia on the lands belonging to Turkey jeopardized the calmness of the British in India.
|
PEACE TREATY The Eastern War ended with the Paris Peace Treaty, signed on March 18, 1856. Despite the defeat, Russia's losses were minimal. Thus, St. Petersburg was ordered to abandon the patronage of Orthodox Christians in Palestine and the Balkans, and also to return to Turkey the fortresses of Kars and Bayazet, captured by Russia during previous wars. In exchange, England and France gave Russia all the cities that were occupied by their troops: Sevastopol, Balaklava and Kerch. The Black Sea was declared neutral: both the Russians and the Turks were forbidden to have a navy and fortresses there. Neither England nor France received any territorial gains: their victory was mainly psychological. The main thing that the allies managed to achieve was guarantees that none of the powers participating in the negotiations would attempt to seize Turkish territories. So Petersburg was deprived of the opportunity to influence Middle Eastern affairs, which Paris and London have always desired. Nicholas I died in 1855 from the flu. Many historians believe that the king sought death, unable to bear the shame of defeat in the war. Illustration: DIOMEDIA |
But the Russian autocrat decided to rattle his weapons and in December 1852 ordered the 4th and 5th army corps in Bessarabia, which threatened the Turkish possessions in Moldavia and Wallachia (Danube principalities), to be put into combat readiness. In this way, he decided to give more weight to the extraordinary embassy headed by Prince Alexander Menshikov, which arrived in Istanbul in February 1853 to understand the intricacies of Turkish diplomacy. And again the sultan did not know which side to lean on. At first, he orally accepted the demands of the Russian side to preserve the status quo of Palestinian shrines, but after a while he refused to formalize his concessions on paper. The fact is that by this time he had received guarantees of support from France and England in the event of a war with St. Petersburg (British and French diplomats came to a secret agreement that in the event of an alliance between England and France, "both of these countries will be omnipotent"). Menshikov returned home in May 1853 with nothing. On June 1, Russia broke off diplomatic relations with the Porte. In response, a week later, at the invitation of the Sultan, the Anglo-French fleet entered the Dardanelles. At the end of June, Russian troops invaded Moldavia and Wallachia. The last attempts to resolve the matter peacefully did not lead to anything, and on October 16, 1853, Turkey declared war on Russia. And in March 1854 England and France joined it. This is how the Crimean War (1853-1856) began. Neither Austria nor Prussia came to Russia's aid. On the contrary, Vienna demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Danube principalities, threatening to join the anti-Russian coalition. Military success was on the side of the Tsar's opponents. In 1855, the Allies took Sevastopol. In the spring of 1856, the Paris Peace Treaty was signed. According to its annexes, the rights to Palestinian shrines were transferred to Catholics. Only 20 years later, after a new, already victorious, Russian-Turkish war, the former order was restored, and the churches of the Holy Land were returned under the control of the Orthodox Church.