London Straits Convention. An attempt to reach a diplomatic agreement between Russia and England
Nikolai Pavlovich, despite the tough policy of Palmerston, still tried to achieve a diplomatic agreement between Russia and England on the "sick man". By the time 1841 approached, when the deadline for the end of the Unkar-Iskelesi treaty was approaching, St. Petersburg had two ways - to seek the conclusion of an agreement for a new term, or to withdraw from the treaty, having received diplomatic compensation. In 1839, the throne in the Ottoman Empire was taken by Abdul-Majid I. He was a weak-minded young man who was under the full influence of the British ambassador to Constantinople. You couldn't rely on his word. In addition, England and France put pressure on the Sultan, and although the conflict between Turkey and Egypt continued, the European powers supported Constantinople.
Then Nikolai said that he would refuse the Unkar-Iskelesi treaty if the conference of European powers guarantees the closure of the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits for warships of all countries, and if an agreement is concluded limiting the seizures of the governor of Egypt, Muhammad Ali. The Russian emperor knew that the French patronized and even helped the Egyptian pasha in his seizures, planning to get Egypt and Syria into his sphere of influence. This did not suit England. Therefore, London supported the idea of St. Petersburg.
On June 24, 1839, Muhammad's son Ali Ibrahim Pasha defeated the Turkish army. The Turkish fleet went over to the side of Muhammad Ali and sailed to Alexandria. However, this time the European coalition was against Egypt. After overcoming numerous disputes, Great Britain, Russia, France, Austria and Prussia joined against the Egyptian conquests. Turkish troops supported the Anglo-Austrian forces. Muhammad Ali's troops suffered a series of defeats, and he abandoned the capture. Egypt remained a part of the Ottoman Empire, lost all conquests, but Muhammad Ali received Egypt in hereditary possession, it was also assigned to his heirs.
In July 1840, Russia, England, Austria and Prussia concluded an agreement between themselves, which guaranteed the integrity of Turkey. The straits were closed for the passage of warships. The "ancient rule" of the Ottoman Empire was restored, according to which the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles were declared closed to warships of all states in peacetime. The Sultan could only let through light warships, which were at the disposal of the embassies of friendly countries. France was dissatisfied with this agreement, there was even talk of a war with England, but a year later was forced to join it (London Straits Convention 1841).
Nicholas was pleased, he felt that he had driven a strong wedge between England and France. In addition, the government changed in England: the liberal (Whig) Lord Melbourne to the conservative (Tory) Robert Peel (head of government in 1841-1846). George Aberdeen (Aberdeen) became the foreign minister instead of the Russophobe Palmerston. Peel and Aberdeen, being in opposition, did not approve of Palmerston's aggressive policy towards Russia. In addition, Aberdin was at one time an active supporter of D. Canning, who prepared a joint statement by Russia and England against Turkey in the liberation of Greece, and was considered a "friend of Russia." The Russian ambassador in London Brunnov considered Aberdeen to be created for Russian virtues, so strong was his faith in this politician (this naive faith will be destroyed in 1854, when Aberdeen's government declares war on Russia). This gave Emperor Nicholas reason to hope for a successful outcome of the negotiations with London. He planned a trip to England to negotiate a direct agreement to partition the Ottoman Empire.
The trip was completed only in 1844. At this point, the British wanted to get support in the fight against French intrigues in North Africa. The French captured Algeria and were approaching Morocco. Nikolai wanted to probe the ground for an agreement on Turkey. The Russian emperor was in England from May 31 to June 9, 1844. Queen Victoria of England, the court, the aristocracy and the upper bourgeoisie received the Russian emperor well and competed in courtesies.
Nicholas wanted to conclude an alliance with England directed against France and Turkey, or at least an agreement on the possible division of the Ottoman Empire. On one of the days of his stay in England, the emperor began a conversation with Aberdin about the future of Turkey. According to Baron Shkokmar, a trusted advisor to Queen Victoria, Nikolai said: “Turkey is a dying man. We can strive to keep her alive, but we will not succeed. She must die and she will die. This will be a critical moment … . Russia will be forced to take military measures, and Austria will do the same. France wants a lot in Africa, the East and the Mediterranean. England will not stand aside either. The tsar also raised the question of the future of Turkey in a conversation with R. Pil. The head of the British government hinted at what London sees in its share - Egypt. According to him, England will never allow Egypt to have a strong government that can close trade routes to the British. In general, the British showed interest in Nikolai's proposal. Subsequently, the question of Turkey was raised again. But it was not possible to agree on anything specific. Nikolai had to postpone the Turkish question.
The British thoroughly probed Nicholas's plans for the future of the Middle East, gave hope, but did not sign any agreements. London was going to get Egypt, but the British were not going to cede any lands to Russia. The British, on the contrary, dreamed of taking from Russia what it had conquered earlier - the Black Sea and Caucasian territories, Crimea, Poland, the Baltic States and Finland. In addition, with respect to the same Turkey, Britain had its own plans, which went much further than the plans of St. Petersburg. At the same time, the Russian-British negotiations of 1844 were supposed to besiege France, which was strengthening its positions in the Middle East.
The British could not agree to an alliance with Russia, since this violated their strategic interests. Unfortunately, this was not understood in Russia. Considering that it's all about personalities, and if you can't agree with one, then you can find a common language with another minister. Information went to London about the consequences of the Russian protectionist tariff, which prevented the sale of British goods not only in Russia, but also in many regions of Asia. The British consuls in Constantinople, Trebizond and Odessa reported on the success of the development of Russian trade in the Black Sea region. Russia became a serious economic competitor to Great Britain in Turkey and Persia. It was impossible to allow Russia to strengthen at the expense of the Ottoman possessions, since this further strengthened its position in the South. The division of Turkey with the participation of Russia was unacceptable. Russia was geographically closer to Turkey and had the best military capabilities. The beginning of the division could lead to the complete seizure of the Balkan (European), Caucasian Turkish possessions and straits by Russia. In the future, Russia could lay claim to most of Asia Minor (Anatolia), promote its interests in Persia and India.
Salvation of Austria
In 1848, a revolutionary wave rose again in Europe. In France, King Louis-Philippe abdicated and fled to Great Britain. France was proclaimed a republic (Second Republic). Unrest also swept the Italian and German states, Austria, in which the national movements of Italians, Hungarians, Czechs and Croats became more active.
Nikolai Pavlovich was delighted with the fall of Louis-Philippe, whom he considered a "usurper" who was enthroned by the revolution of 1830. However, he was not pleased with the March revolution in Austria, the situation in the states of the German Confederation, Prussia. "Almighty" Metternich was dismissed and fled Vienna. In Austria, censorship was abolished, the National Guard was created, Emperor Ferdinand I proclaimed the convocation of a constitutional assembly to adopt a constitution. An uprising broke out in Milan and Venice, the Austrians left Lombardy, the Austrian troops were also expelled by the rebels from Parma and Modena. The Kingdom of Sardinia has declared war on Austria. An uprising began in the Czech Republic, the Czechs proposed transforming the Austrian Empire into a federation of equal nations while maintaining the unity of the state. The revolution was actively developing in Hungary. The first all-German parliament, the Frankfurt National Assembly, raised the issue of uniting Germany on the basis of a common constitution. The revolution was approaching the borders of the Russian Empire.
However, the conservative forces soon began to take over. In France, the Minister of War, General Louis-Eugene Cavaignac, drowned the June uprising of June 23-26, 1848 in blood. The situation in the state has stabilized. In Austria, they were able to bring down the first wave of the revolution, but in Hungary the situation became critical. The Austrian emperor humbly begged Russia to provide assistance against the Hungarian revolution. The Russian army crushed the Hungarian rebels in one swift campaign.
This quick and crushing victory for Russia was the strategic mistake of St. Petersburg. First, it showed Western Europe the power of the Russian army, causing a wave of fear and Russophobia. For revolutionaries and liberals of all shades, the most hated ruler of Europe was the Russian emperor Nikolai Pavlovich. When in the summer of 1848 Russian troops suppressed the Hungarian uprising, Nicholas I appeared before Europe in an aura of such gloomy and enormous power that fear gripped not only revolutionaries and liberals, but some of the conservative leaders. Russia has become a kind of "gendarme of Europe". This fear, which was specially fueled, conjured up in the imagination pictures of the future "Russian invasion", which was represented as the invasion of Attila's troops, with a new migration of peoples, "the death of the old civilization." The "Wild Cossacks" who were supposed to destroy European civilization were the epitome of horror for educated Europeans. In Europe, it was believed that Russia possessed "an overwhelming military force."
Secondly, it was completely in vain that the lives of Russian soldiers were paid for the mistakes of Vienna, this war was not in the national interests of Russia. Thirdly, in the national interests of Russia was the destruction of the Austrian Empire (the "sick man" of Europe), Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the liberation of the Italian and Slavic regions. Instead of one strong competitor in the Balkan Peninsula, we would get several states hostile to each other. Fourthly, in St. Petersburg they thought that Vienna would be grateful for this Russian deed and Austria would be Russia's ally in the Balkans. Nicholas believed that in the person of Austria he received a reliable ally in case of complications in the Middle East. The obstacle in Metternich's face was removed. Within a few years, these illusions will be brutally destroyed.
Emperor Nicholas confesses to this huge mistake in 1854. In a conversation with a native of Poland, Adjutant General Rzhevussky, he asked him: "Which of the Polish kings, in your opinion, was the stupidest?" Rzhevussky did not expect such a question and could not answer. “I’ll tell you,” the Russian emperor continued, “that the most stupid Polish king was Jan Sobieski because he freed Vienna from the Turks. And the stupidest of the Russian sovereigns is me, because I helped the Austrians to suppress the Hungarian rebellion. "
Nicholas was calm and for the northwestern flank - Prussia. Frederick William IV (reigned 1840 - 1861) in the first years of his reign was under the strong influence of Nicholas, who took care of him and taught him. The Prussian king was an intelligent, but impressionable man (he was called a romantic on the throne) and stupidly acting in practice. Russia personified for Prussia protection against revolutionary influences from France.
Ominous signs
Incident of 1849. More than a thousand Hungarians and Poles, participants in the Hungarian Revolution, fled to the Ottoman Empire. Some of them were participants in the Polish uprising of 1830-1831. Many entered the military service of the Turks, these were commanders who had great combat experience, they strengthened the military potential of Turkey. The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry sent a note to Porte demanding their issuance. At the same time, Nicholas sent a letter to Sultan Abdul-Majid I with the same demand. Austria also supported this demand. The Turkish sultan asked the British and French ambassadors for advice, both strongly advised to refuse. The British and French squadrons pointedly approached the Dardanelles. Turkey did not betray the revolutionaries. Neither Russia nor Austria was going to fight, the extradition case ended in nothing. In Turkey, this event was regarded as a great victory over the Russians. This incident was used in Constantinople, Paris and London for an anti-Russian campaign.
Conflict with France. On December 2, 1851, a coup d'état took place in France. By decree of the President of the Republic, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (nephew of Napoleon I), the Legislative Assembly was dissolved, most of its deputies were arrested by the police. The uprising in Paris was brutally suppressed. All power was in the hands of Louis Napoleon. A year later, he was proclaimed emperor of the French under the name of Napoleon III.
Nicholas I was delighted with the coup d'état in France. But he categorically did not like the fact that Louis Napoleon put on the imperial crown. The European powers immediately recognized the new empire, which was a surprise for St. Petersburg. The Russian emperor did not want to recognize the title of emperor for Napoleon, a dispute arose about the word address ("good friend" or "dear brother"). Nikolai expected that Prussia and Austria would support him, but he was mistaken. Russia found itself in an isolated position, having made an enemy, in fact, from scratch. Emperor Nicholas at the Christmas military parade in December 1852, realizing that he had been deceived (from Austria and Prussia through diplomatic channels there were reports that they would support Nicholas's decision), directly told the Prussian ambassador von Rochow and the Austrian ambassador von Mensdorff that his allies “deceived and deserted."
The offense of Napoleon III served as the impetus for France to consider Russia an enemy. The coup of December 2, 1851 did not make the position of Louis Napoleon stable. Many in the circle of the new monarch believed that the "revolution" had only been driven underground, a new uprising was possible. A successful military campaign was needed that would rally society around the monarch, tie the commanding staff of the army to him, cover the new empire with glory and strengthen the dynasty. Of course, for this the war had to be victorious. Allies were needed.
Napoleon III.
The question of "holy places". The Eastern question was the one that could rally Europe before the “Russian threat”. Back in 1850, Prince-President Louis Napoleon, wishing to win over the sympathies of the Catholic clergy, decided to raise the issue of restoring France as the patroness of the Catholic Church in the Ottoman Empire. On May 28, 1850, the French ambassador to Constantinople, General Opik, demanded from the Sultan the pre-emptive rights of Catholics to churches both in Jerusalem and in Bethlehem, guaranteed by the old treaties. The Russian embassy opposed such a step, defending the exclusive right of the Orthodox.
The question of holy places quickly acquired a political character, there was a struggle between Russia and France against the Ottoman Empire. In fact, the dispute was not over the right to pray in these churches, this was not forbidden to either Catholics or Orthodox Christians, but the matter was essentially small and old legal disputes between the Greek clergy and the Catholic. For example, on the question of who will repair the roof of the dome in the Jerusalem temple, who will own the keys to the Bethlehem temple (he did not lock these keys), which star to install in the Bethlehem cave: Catholic or Orthodox, etc. The pettiness and emptiness of the like controversy, even from a purely religious point of view, was so obvious that the highest hierarchs of both churches were rather indifferent to this dispute. Pope Pius IX showed complete indifference to this "problem", and Moscow Metropolitan Philaret showed no interest in the matter either.
For two whole years, from May 1851 to May 1853, the French ambassadors to Constantinople Lavalette (appointed instead of Opik) and Lacourt, who replaced him in February 1853, occupied Western Europe with this ecclesiastical and archaeological history. On May 18, 1851, barely arriving in Constantinople, Lavalette handed the Sultan a letter from Louis Napoleon. The head of France categorically insisted on the observance of all the rights and advantages of the Catholic Church in Jerusalem. The letter was in a clearly hostile tone towards the Orthodox Church. Louis-Napoleon insisted that the rights of the Roman Church to the "Holy Sepulcher" are based on the fact that the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem in the 11th century. To this, the Russian ambassador Titov responded with a special memorandum transmitted to the grand vizier. It said that long before the Crusades, Jerusalem belonged to the Eastern (Orthodox) Church, as it was part of the Byzantine Empire. The Russian ambassador put forward another argument - in 1808, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was badly damaged by fire, it was restored at the expense of Orthodox donations.
The French ambassador suggested to the Sultan that it is more profitable for Turkey to recognize the validity of France's demands, since St. Petersburg's claims are more dangerous. On July 5, 1851, the Turkish government officially informed Lavalette that the Sultan was ready to confirm all the rights that France has in the "holy places" on the basis of previous agreements. Lavalette dug up the 1740 agreement that was most beneficial to the French. Petersburg immediately responded, recalling the Kuchuk-Kainardzhiyskiy peace treaty of 1774. Under this agreement, the privileges of the Orthodox Church in the "holy places" were undeniable.
Russian Emperor Nicholas decided to use the dispute over the "holy places" in order to begin a radical revision of Russian-Turkish relations. In his opinion, the moment was favorable. Nikolai sent Prince Gagarin to Istanbul with a message to the Sultan. Sultan Abdul-Majid was in disarray. The matter was getting serious. In Europe, they are already talking about the confrontation between France and Russia, Nicholas and Louis Napoleon. The provocation from Paris was a success. The issue of "repairing the roof" and "keys to the temple" was decided at the level of the imperial ministers and emperors. The French minister Drouin de Louis insisted, arguing that the French Empire could not yield on this issue, since this was a grave damage to the cause of Catholicism and to the honor of France.
At this time in Russia in the military circles the question of the capture of Constantinople was being worked out. It was concluded that the capture of the city and the straits is possible only with a surprise attack. The preparation of the Black Sea Fleet for the landing operation will quickly become known to the British. From Odessa, news travels for two days to Constantinople, from there - 3-4 days to Malta, the British base. The Russian fleet, having appeared at the Bosphorus, would have met resistance not only by the Ottomans, but also by the English fleet, and possibly the French. The only way to take Constantinople was to send the fleet in "normal", peacetime, without arousing suspicion. In the summer of 1853, an airborne detachment was trained in the Crimea, numbering about 18 thousand people with 32 guns.
Last attempt to negotiate with England
As it seemed to Nicholas, in order to resolve the issue with Turkey, it was necessary to come to an agreement with England. Austria and Prussia seemed loyal allies. France alone will not dare to start a struggle, especially in conditions of internal instability. It was necessary to come to an agreement with England. Nicholas again raised the topic of the "sick man", already in a conversation with the British ambassador Hamilton Seymour on January 9, 1853. He offered to conclude an agreement. Constantinople was supposed to be a kind of neutral territory, not belonging to either Russia, or England, or France, or Greece. The Danube principalities (Moldavia and Wallachia), already under the protection of Russia, as well as Serbia and Bulgaria, retreated into the Russian sphere of influence. England was offered to receive Egypt and Crete when distributing the Ottoman inheritance.
Nikolai repeated this proposal in subsequent meetings with the British ambassador, in January-February 1853. This time, however, the British were attentive but showed no interest. Petersburg's proposal met with a hostile reception in London. Already on February 9, 1853, a secret dispatch of the English Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs John Rossell to the Ambassador to Russia Seymour followed. The UK's response was categorically negative. From that time on, the question of the war was finally resolved.
England was not going to share Turkey with Russia. As already noted, the geographical position of Russia and its land military power made the partition of the Ottoman Empire dangerous for England. The transfer of the Danube principalities, Serbia and Bulgaria to the control of the Russian Empire, even temporary control over the straits (which guaranteed the invulnerability of Russia in the Black Sea region), could provoke the complete capture of Turkey. The British thought quite logically, they themselves would have acted that way. Having occupied Asia Minor from the Caucasus to the Bosphorus, having secured a strong rear in the Caucasus and the Balkans, where Moldova, Wallachia, Serbia and Montenegro would have become Russian provinces, Petersburg could safely send several divisions in a southern direction and reach the southern seas. Persia could easily be subjugated to Russian influence, and then the road opened to India, where there were many dissatisfied with British rule. The loss of India for Britain meant the collapse of its global plans. In this situation, even if Russia gave England not only Egypt, but also Palestine, Syria (and this is a conflict with France), Mesopotamia, the strategic superiority would be for the Russians. Possessing a powerful land army, Russia, if desired, could take away their possessions from the British. Considering all this, London, not only refuses Nicholas's proposal, but also sets a course for war with Russia.
