Russian-Turkish war of 1828-1829 190 years ago, on September 14, 1829, a peace was signed in Adrianople between Russia and Turkey, which ended the war of 1828-1829. The Russian army won a brilliant victory over the historical enemy, stood at the walls of ancient Constantinople and brought the Ottoman Empire to its knees. However, Russia's acquisitions in the Adrianople peace were insignificant.
The Russian army has put Turkey on the brink of disaster
In the summer of 1829, the Russian army under the command of Diebitsch on the Balkan Front made an unprecedented march through the impenetrable Balkan Mountains, defeated the Turkish army in a number of battles. The Russians took Adrianople. Cossack patrols were visible from the walls of Constantinople. Panic broke out in Istanbul. The Ottoman leadership did not have any opportunities to defend the capital. On the Caucasian front, a separate Caucasian corps under the command of Paskevich-Erivansky defeated the Turks, took the main strategic enemy fortresses in the Caucasus - Kars and Erzurum. That is, the Turkish front in the Balkans and the Caucasus collapsed. The Ottoman Empire for some time completely lost the ability to fight.
Thus, at the walls of Constantinople stood the army of Diebitsch, which could occupy the Turkish capital practically without a fight, the Ottomans did not have combat-ready forces to defend the city. The Russian army launched an offensive in western Bulgaria, liberated the cities of central Bulgaria, crossed the Balkans and was on the outskirts of Sofia. Russian troops could liberate all of Bulgaria. The Black Sea Fleet cruised near the Bosphorus, which controlled the situation off the coast of the Caucasus, Anatolia and Bulgaria, and could support the capture of Constantinople by landing troops. In the Dardanelles zone there was Heyden's squadron, made up of ships of the Baltic Fleet. In such a situation, the Russians could easily take Constantinople, which was demanded by national interests. And then dictate any terms of peace to Turkey, in particular, to take Constantinople-Constantinople, which was planned by Catherine the Great, to give freedom to Bulgaria.
Unsurprisingly, panic broke out in Istanbul. The Sultan's Palace in Eski Saray, where Diebic's headquarters was located, was immediately visited by European diplomats in the capital of the Ottoman Empire. They were unanimous in their aspirations. The ambassadors of the European powers wanted immediate peace talks to prevent the Russians from occupying Constantinople and the straits.
The military historian General A. I. Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky, who was then at the headquarters of the active army (the author of the official history of the Patriotic War of 1812), conveyed the mood of the Russian army. He noted that the capture of Constantinople was not a problem. The city did not have modern fortifications, there was no combat-ready garrison, the townspeople were worried, the capital was on the verge of revolt. At the same time, the Russians could cut the water pipes supplying Constantinople with water and provoke an uprising. Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky emphasized that the army was ready to go to Constantinople and experienced great despondency when they refused to take Constantinople.
Unfinished Victory
Unfortunately, in St. Petersburg they thought differently. Chancellor and Foreign Minister Karl Nesselrode (he held the post of foreign minister of the Russian Empire longer than anyone else, he was engaged in foreign affairs from 1816 to 1856), who constantly feared the discontent of Western Europe, was guided by the position of Austria. And for Vienna, the occupation of Constantinople by the Russians and their victory in the Balkans was like a knife in the heart. The Austrians were afraid that Russia would take dominant positions in the Balkan Peninsula, relying on the Slavic and Orthodox peoples. This dealt a fatal blow to the strategic interests of the Habsburg empire.
The Russian Tsar Nicholas I hesitated. On the one hand, he would be glad to see the Russian flag over the Bosphorus, on the other hand, he was committed to the ideas of the Holy Alliance (Russia, Prussia and Austria), did not want aggravation with "Western partners". In the end, the tsar formed from bureaucrats who were far from understanding the national, strategic interests of Russia, a "Special Committee on the Eastern Question." The committee adopted a resolution drawn up by D. Dashkov: “Russia should wish to preserve the Ottoman Empire, since it could not find a more convenient neighborhood, since the destruction of the Ottoman Empire would put Russia in a difficult position, not to mention the disastrous consequences that it could have for common peace and order in Europe”. This resolution meant the refusal of Petersburg from the fruits of the victory that brought it the victories of the Russian army. Tsar Nicholas did not allow Diebitsch to take Constantinople.
Obviously, this was stupidity and a strategic mistake. The holy alliance, which defended the principle of legitimacy in Europe, was from the very beginning a mistake that bound Russia. Emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I sacrificed the interests of Russia to the interests of Vienna, Berlin and London. The destruction of the Turkish Empire, the old historical enemy of Russia, which the West regularly incited against us, was beneficial to St. Petersburg, in line with national interests. Russia could form more "convenient" neighbors. Give complete freedom to the Balkan peoples, liberate Bulgaria half a century earlier, annex the historical lands of Georgia and Western Armenia. Occupy Constantinople and the straits, turning the Black Sea into a "Russian lake", providing protection of the southwestern strategic direction. Get access to the Eastern Mediterranean.
It is clear that Western Europe would not approve of a solution to the Turkish issue in the interests of Russia. But who in 1829 could have prevented the Russian Empire? Russia recently defeated Napoleon's empire, his "invincible" army, was the most powerful military power in Europe. She was considered the "gendarme of Europe". Turkey could no longer fight, it was defeated to smithereens. France was extremely weakened by Napoleon's wars, economically exhausted, bled out of blood. France and Austria were on the verge of revolutions. In case of hostility from Austria, Russia had every chance to destroy the Habsburg empire - to support the secession of Hungary and the Slavic regions. England had a strong fleet in the Aegean, but it lacked ground forces to counter the Russians and defend Constantinople. Moreover, the British fleet in 1829 could not do what it did in 1854 and 1878, enter the Sea of Marmara. At the entrance to the Dardanelles was the Russian squadron of Heyden. It could have been destroyed, but that automatically meant a war with Russia. And England, not having "cannon fodder" in the form of Turkey, France or Austria, was not ready for it.
Thus, Russia had no real opponents in 1829. However, Petersburg was frightened by the opinion of "enlightened Europe" and refused to solve the age-old problem.
Adrianople
On September 2 (14), 1829, peace was signed in Adrianople. On the part of the Russian Empire, the agreement was signed by the authorized ambassador Aleksey Orlov and the head of the provisional Russian administration in the Danube principalities Fyodor Palen, on the part of Turkey - the chief custodian of the finances of the Ottoman Empire Mehmed Sadyk-effendi and the supreme military judge of the Anatolian army Abdul Kadir-bey. The agreement consisted of 16 articles, a separate act on the advantages of the Moldavian and Wallachian principalities and an Explanatory Act on indemnity.
Russia's acquisitions under this agreement were minimal. The Russian Empire returned to the Porte all the territories in Europe occupied by the Russian army and navy, except for the mouth of the Danube with the islands. At the same time, the right bank of the Danube remained behind the Turks. In the Caucasus, the eastern coast of the Black Sea departed to Russia from the mouth of the Kuban to the pier of St. Nicholas with the fortresses of Anapa, Sudzhuk-kale (future Novorossiysk) and Poti, as well as the cities of Akhaltsykh and Akhalkalaki. The Porta recognized the previous successes of Russia - the transfer of the Kartli-Kakhetian kingdom, Imeretia, Mingrelia, Guria, as well as the Erivan and Nakhichevan khanates to it. Turkey paid Russia an indemnity of 1.5 million Dutch chervonets. Russian subjects had the right to conduct free trade in Turkey and were not subject to the Ottoman authorities' jurisdiction.
The Turks guaranteed the free passage of Russian merchant ships through the Black Sea straits in peacetime. The regime of the straits in wartime was not specified. The Treaty of Adrianople did not concern the passage of Russian warships through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. Although the free right of Russian warships in peacetime was enshrined in the Russian-Turkish agreements of 1799 and 1805. And the Bucharest and Adrianople treaties of 1812 and 1829. were vague, they did not confirm or reject the articles of the agreements of 1799 and 1805. This uncertainty gave a formal pretext for Russia, but it was more profitable for Turkey, which could declare the articles of the 1829 treaty to be exhaustive and decide all issues outside the framework of the Adrianople agreement in its own interests.
Thus, Russia gained very little from its convincing military victory. However, Europe won and Turkey lost a lot. Austria, France and England were pleased: the Russians did not occupy the straits and Constantinople. Turkey confirmed the autonomy of Serbia, the Danube principalities (Moldavia and Wallachia) and Greece. In fact, they gained independence.
As a result, after the death of Catherine the Great, all the wars between Russia and Turkey led to the fact that the Russian Empire had small acquisitions in the Black Sea region. The Ottoman Empire suffered serious losses, but Europe won: Austria (expanding in the Balkans), France and England (financially and economically enslaving Turkey, expanding their sphere of influence in the Middle East) and the Balkan countries that gained freedom.
