The course of military operations of the Crimean War 1853 1856. Crimean War (briefly)
The Eastern or Crimean direction (including the territory of the Balkans) was a priority in Russian foreign policy in the 18th-19th centuries. Russia's main rival in this region was Türkiye, or the Ottoman Empire. In the 18th century, the government of Catherine II managed to achieve significant success in this region, Alexander I was also lucky, but their successor Nicholas I had to face great difficulties, since European powers became interested in Russia’s successes in this region.
They feared that if the empire's successful eastern foreign policy continued, then Western Europe will lose complete control over the Black Sea straits. How the Crimean War of 1853–1856 began and ended, briefly below.
Assessment of the political situation in the region for the Russian Empire
Before the war of 1853−1856. The Empire's policy in the East was quite successful.
- With Russian support, Greece gains independence (1830).
- Russia receives the right to freely use the Black Sea straits.
- Russian diplomats are seeking autonomy for Serbia, and then a protectorate over the Danube principalities.
- After the war between Egypt and the Ottoman Empire, Russia, which supported the Sultanate, seeks from Turkey a promise to close the Black Sea straits to any ships other than Russian ones in the event of any military threat (the secret protocol was in force until 1941).
The Crimean, or Eastern War, which broke out in the last years of the reign of Nicholas II, became one of the first conflicts between Russia and a coalition of European countries. The main reason for the war was the mutual desire of the opposing sides to strengthen themselves on the Balkan Peninsula and the Black Sea.
Basic information about the conflict
The Eastern War is a complex military conflict, in which all the leading powers of Western Europe were involved. Statistics are therefore very important. The prerequisites, causes and general reason for the conflict require detailed consideration, the progress of the conflict is rapid, while the fighting took place both on land and at sea.
Statistical data
Participants in the conflict | Numerical ratio | Geography of combat operations (map) | ||
Russian empire | Ottoman Empire | Forces of the Russian Empire (army and navy) - 755 thousand people (+Bulgarian Legion, +Greek Legion) | Coalition forces (army and navy) - 700 thousand people | The fighting took place:
Military operations also took place in the following waters:
|
Greece (until 1854) | French Empire | |||
Megrelian Principality | British Empire | |||
Abkhazian principality (part of the Abkhazians waged a guerrilla war against the coalition troops) | Sardinian Kingdom | |||
Austro-Hungarian Empire | ||||
North Caucasian Imamate (until 1855) | ||||
Abkhazian Principality | ||||
Circassian Principality | ||||
Some countries occupying leading positions in Western Europe decided to refrain from direct participation in the conflict. But at the same time they took a position of armed neutrality against the Russian Empire. |
Note! Historians and researchers of the military conflict noted that from a logistical point of view, the Russian army was significantly inferior to the coalition forces. The command staff was also inferior in training to the command staff of the combined enemy forces. Generals and officials Nicholas I did not want to accept this fact and was not even fully aware of it.
Prerequisites, reasons and reason for the start of the war
Preconditions for war | Causes of the war | Reason for war |
1.Weakening of the Ottoman Empire:
|
1. Britain needed to bring the weak Ottoman Empire under its control and through it control the operation of the straits. | The reason was the conflict around the Church of the Nativity of Christ located in Bethlehem, in which Orthodox monks conducted services. In fact, they were given the right to speak on behalf of Christians all over the world, which, naturally, Catholics did not like. The Vatican and French Emperor Napoleon III demanded that the keys be handed over to Catholic monks. The Sultan agreed, which infuriated Nicholas I. This event marked the beginning of an open military conflict. |
2. Strengthening the positions of Britain and France in the Black and Mediterranean Seas after the introduction of the provisions of the London Convention on the Straits and after the signing of trade agreements by London and Istanbul, which almost completely subordinated the economy of the Ottoman Empire to Britain. | 2. France wanted to distract citizens from internal problems and redirect their attention to the war. | |
3. Strengthening the position of the Russian Empire in the Caucasus and, in connection with this, complicating relations with Britain, which has always sought to strengthen its influence in the Middle East. | 3. Austria-Hungary did not want the situation in the Balkans to be undermined. This would lead to a crisis in the most multinational and multi-religious empire. | |
4. France, less interested in affairs in the Balkans than Austria, thirsted for revenge after the defeat in 1812-1814. This desire of France was not taken into account by Nikolai Pavlovich, who believed that the country would not go to war because of the internal crisis and revolutions. | 4. Russia wanted further strengthening in the Balkans and in the Black and Mediterranean seas. | |
5. Austria did not want Russia to strengthen its position in the Balkans and, without entering into an open conflict, continuing to work together in the Holy Alliance, in every possible way prevented the formation of new, independent states in the region. | ||
Each of the European states, including Russia, had its own reasons for unleashing and participating in the conflict. Everyone pursued their own specific goals and geopolitical interests. For European countries, the complete weakening of Russia was important, but this was only possible if it fought against several opponents at once (for some reason, European politicians did not take into account Russia’s experience in waging similar wars). |
Note! To weaken Russia, the European powers, even before the start of the war, developed the so-called Palmerston Plan (Palmerston was the leader of British diplomacy) and provided for the actual separation of part of the lands from Russia:
Combat actions and reasons for defeat
Crimean War (table): date, events, outcome
Date (chronology) | Event/result (summary of events that unfolded in different territories and waters) |
September 1853 | Severance of diplomatic relations with the Ottoman Empire. Entry of Russian troops into the Danube principalities; an attempt to reach an agreement with Turkey (the so-called Vienna Note). |
October 1853 | The Sultan's introduction of amendments to the Vienna Note (under pressure from England), Emperor Nicholas I's refusal to sign it, Turkey's declaration of war on Russia. |
I period (stage) of the war - October 1853 - April 1854: opponents - Russia and the Ottoman Empire, without the intervention of European powers; fronts - Black Sea, Danube and Caucasus. | |
18 (30).11.1853 | The defeat of the Turkish fleet in Sinop Bay. This defeat of Turkey became the formal reason for England and France to enter the war. |
Late 1853 - early 1854 | The landing of Russian troops on the right bank of the Danube, the beginning of the offensive on Silistria and Bucharest (the Danube campaign, in which Russia planned to win, as well as gain a foothold in the Balkans and indicate peace terms to the Sultanate). |
February 1854 | Nicholas I's attempt would turn to Austria and Prussia for help, who rejected his proposals (as well as the proposal for an alliance with England) and concluded a secret treaty against Russia. The goal is to weaken its position in the Balkans. |
March 1854 | England and France declare war on Russia (the war has ceased to be simply Russian-Turkish). |
II period of the war - April 1854 - February 1856: opponents - Russia and the coalition; fronts - Crimean, Azov, Baltic, White Sea, Caucasian. | |
10. 04. 1854 | The bombing of Odessa by coalition troops begins. The goal is to force Russia to withdraw troops from the territory of the Danube principalities. Unsuccessfully, the Allies were forced to transfer troops to Crimea and expand the Crimean Company. |
09. 06. 1854 | The entry of Austria-Hungary into the war and, as a consequence, the lifting of the siege from Silistria and the withdrawal of troops to the left bank of the Danube. |
June 1854 | The beginning of the siege of Sevastopol. |
19 (31). 07. 1854 | The capture by Russian troops of the Turkish fortress of Bayazet in the Caucasus. |
July 1854 | Capture of Evpatoria by French troops. |
July 1854 | The British and French land on the territory of modern Bulgaria (the city of Varna). The goal is to force the Russian Empire to withdraw troops from Bessarabia. Failure due to the outbreak of a cholera epidemic in the army. Transfer of troops to Crimea. |
July 1854 | Battle of Kyuryuk-Dara. Anglo-Turkish troops tried to strengthen the position of the coalition in the Caucasus. Failure. Victory for Russia. |
July 1854 | The landing of the Anglo-French troops on the Åland Islands, the military garrison of which was attacked. |
August 1854 | Anglo-French landing on Kamchatka. The goal is to oust the Russian Empire from the Asian region. Siege of Petropavlovsk, Petropavlovsk defense. Failure of the coalition. |
September 1854 | Battle on the river Alma. Defeat of Russia. Complete blockade of Sevastopol from land and sea. |
September 1854 | An attempt to capture the Ochakov fortress (Sea of Azov) by an Anglo-French landing party. Unsuccessful. |
October 1854 | Battle of Balaklava. An attempt to lift the siege from Sevastopol. |
November 1854 | Battle of Inkerman. The goal is to change the situation on the Crimean Front and help Sevastopol. A severe defeat for Russia. |
Late 1854 - early 1855 | Arctic Company of the British Empire. The goal is to weaken Russia’s position in the White and Barents Seas. An attempt to take Arkhangelsk and the Solovetsky Fortress. Failure. Successful actions of Russian naval commanders and defenders of the city and fortress. |
February 1855 | Attempt to liberate Yevpatoria. |
May 1855 | Capture of Kerch by Anglo-French troops. |
May 1855 | Provocations of the Anglo-French fleet at Kronstadt. The goal is to lure the Russian fleet into the Baltic Sea. Unsuccessful. |
July-November 1855 | Siege of the Kars fortress by Russian troops. The goal is to weaken Turkey's position in the Caucasus. The capture of the fortress, but after the surrender of Sevastopol. |
August 1855 | Battle on the river Black. Another unsuccessful attempt by Russian troops to lift the siege from Sevastopol. |
August 1855 | Bombing of Sveaborg by coalition troops. Unsuccessful. |
September 1855 | Capture of Malakhov Kurgan by French troops. Surrender of Sevastopol (in fact, this event is the end of the war; it will end in just a month). |
October 1855 | Capture of the Kinburn fortress by coalition troops, attempts to capture Nikolaev. Unsuccessful. |
Note! The most fierce battles of the Eastern War took place near Sevastopol. The city and strongholds around it were subjected to large-scale bombing 6 times:
The defeats of the Russian troops are not a sign that the commanders-in-chief, admirals and generals made mistakes. In the Danube direction, the troops were commanded by a talented commander - Prince M. D. Gorchakov, in the Caucasus - N. N. Muravyov, the Black Sea Fleet was led by Vice Admiral P. S. Nakhimov, and the defense of Petropavlovsk was led by V. S. Zavoiko. These are the heroes of the Crimean War(an interesting message or report can be made about them and their exploits), but even their enthusiasm and strategic genius did not help in the war against superior enemy forces.
The Sevastopol disaster led to the fact that the new Russian emperor, Alexander II, foreseeing an extremely negative result of further hostilities, decided to begin diplomatic negotiations for peace.
Alexander II, like no one else, understood the reasons for Russia’s defeat in the Crimean War):
- foreign policy isolation;
- a clear superiority of enemy forces on land and at sea;
- backwardness of the empire in military-technical and strategic terms;
- deep crisis in the economic sphere.
Results of the Crimean War 1853−1856
Treaty of Paris
The mission was headed by Prince A.F. Orlov, who was one of the outstanding diplomats of his time and believed that Russia could not lose in the diplomatic field. After long negotiations that took place in Paris, 18 (30).03. 1856 a peace treaty was signed between Russia on the one hand, and the Ottoman Empire, coalition forces, Austria and Prussia on the other. The terms of the peace treaty were as follows:
Foreign policy and domestic political consequences of defeat
The foreign policy and domestic political results of the war were also disastrous, although somewhat mitigated by the efforts of Russian diplomats. It was obvious that
Significance of the Crimean War
But, despite the severity of the political situation inside and outside the country, after the defeat, it was the Crimean War of 1853-1856. and the defense of Sevastopol became the catalysts that led to the reforms of the 60s of the 19th century, including the abolition of serfdom in Russia.
- aggravation of the “Eastern Question”, i.e. the struggle of leading countries for the division of the “Turkish inheritance”;
- the growth of the national liberation movement in the Balkans, the acute internal crisis in Turkey and the conviction of Nicholas I of the inevitability of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire;
- miscalculations in the diplomacy of Nicholas 1, which manifested itself in the hope that Austria, in gratitude for its salvation in 1848-1849, would support Russia, and that it would be possible to agree with England on the division of Turkey; as well as disbelief in the possibility of an agreement between the eternal enemies - England and France, directed against Russia,"
- the desire of England, France, Austria and Prussia to oust Russia from the East, to the desire to prevent its penetration into the Balkans
The reason for the Crimean War of 1853 - 1856:
The dispute between the Orthodox and Catholic churches over the right to control Christian shrines in Palestine. Behind the Orthodox Church was Russia, and behind the Catholic Church was France.
Stages of military operations of the Crimean War:
1. Russian-Turkish War (May - December 1853). The Russian army, after the Turkish Sultan rejected the ultimatum to grant the Russian Tsar the right to patronize the Orthodox subjects of the Ottoman Empire, occupied Moldavia, Wallachia and moved to the Danube. The Caucasian Corps went on the offensive. The Black Sea squadron achieved enormous success, which in November 1853, under the command of Pavel Nakhimov, destroyed the Turkish fleet in the battle of Sinop.
2. The beginning of the war between Russia and the coalition of European countries (spring - summer 1854). The threat of defeat hanging over Turkey pushed European countries to take active anti-Russian actions, which led from a local war to a pan-European war.
March. England and France sided with Turkey (Sardinian). Allied squadrons fired at Russian troops; fortification on the Alan Islands in the Baltic, on Solovki, in the White Sea, on the Kola Peninsula, in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Odessa, Nikolaev, Kerch. Austria, threatening war with Russia, moved troops to the borders of the Danube principalities, which forced the Russian armies to leave Moldavia and Wallachia.
3. Defense of Sevastopol and the end of the war. In September 1854, the Anglo-French The army landed in Crimea, which turned into the main “theater” of the war. This is the last stage of the Crimean War of 1853 - 1856.
The Russian army led by Menshikov was defeated on the river. Alma left Sevastopol defenseless. The defense of the sea fortress, after the sinking of the sailing fleet in the Sevastopol Bay, was taken over by sailors led by admirals Kornilov, Nakhimov Istomin (all died). In early October 1854, the defense of the city began and was captured only on August 27, 1855.
In the Caucasus, successful actions in November 1855, the capture of the Kars fortress. However, with the fall of Sevastopol, the outcome of the war was predetermined: March 1856. peace talks in Paris.
Terms of the Paris Peace Treaty (1856)
Russia lost Southern Bessarabia at the mouth of the Danube, and Kars was returned to Turkey in exchange for Sevastopol.
- Russia was deprived of the right to patronize Christians of the Ottoman Empire
- The Black Sea was declared neutral and Russia lost the right to have a navy and fortifications there
- Freedom of navigation on the Danube was established, which opened the Baltic Peninsula to Western powers
Reasons for Russia's defeat in the Crimean War.
- Economic and technical backwardness (weapons and transport support for Russian armies)
- The mediocrity of the Russian high ground command, which achieved ranks and titles through intrigue and flattery
- Diplomatic miscalculations that led Russia to isolation in the war with the coalition of England, France, Turkey, with the hostility of Austria and Prussia.
- Clear inequality of power
Thus, the Crimean War of 1853 - 1856,
1) at the beginning of the reign of Nicholas 1, Russia managed to acquire a number of territories in the East and expand its spheres of influence
2) the suppression of the revolutionary movement in the West brought Russia the title of “gendarme of Europe”, but did not correspond to its nationality. interests
3) the defeat in the Crimean War revealed the backwardness of Russia; the rottenness of its autocratic-serf system. Revealed mistakes in foreign policy, the goals of which did not correspond to the country’s capabilities
4) this defeat became a decisive and direct factor in the preparation and implementation of the abolition of serfdom in Russia
5) the heroism and dedication of Russian soldiers during the Crimean War remained in the memory of the people and influenced the development of the spiritual life of the country.
The war started by Russia against Turkey for dominance in the Black Sea straits and on the Balkan Peninsula and turned into a war against the coalition of England, France, the Ottoman Empire and Piedmont.
The reason for the war was a dispute over the keys to holy places in Palestine between Catholics and Orthodox Christians. The Sultan handed over the keys to the Bethlehem Temple from the Orthodox Greeks to the Catholics, whose interests were protected by the French Emperor Napoleon III. Russian Emperor Nicholas I demanded that Turkey recognize him as the patron of all Orthodox subjects of the Ottoman Empire. On June 26, 1853, he announced the entry of Russian troops into the Danube principalities, declaring that he would withdraw them from there only after the Turks satisfied Russian demands.
On July 14, Turkey addressed a note of protest against Russia's actions to other great powers and received assurances of support from them. On October 16, Türkiye declared war on Russia, and on November 9, an imperial manifesto followed on Russia’s declaration of war on Turkey.
In the autumn there were minor skirmishes on the Danube with varying success. In the Caucasus, the Turkish army of Abdi Pasha tried to occupy Akhaltsykh, but on December 1 it was defeated by the detachment of Prince Bebutov at Bash-Kodyk-Lyar.
At sea, Russia also initially enjoyed success. In mid-November 1853, a Turkish squadron under the command of Admiral Osman Pasha, consisting of 7 frigates, 3 corvettes, 2 steam frigates, 2 brigs and 2 transport ships with 472 guns, en route to the Sukhumi (Sukhum-Kale) and Poti area for landing, was forced had to take refuge in Sinop Bay off the coast of Asia Minor due to a strong storm. This became known to the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Admiral P.S. Nakhimov, and he led the ships to Sinop.
Due to the storm, several Russian ships were damaged and were forced to return to Sevastopol.
By November 28, Nakhimov’s entire fleet was concentrated near Sinop Bay. It consisted of 6 battleships and 2 frigates, surpassing the enemy in the number of guns by almost one and a half times. Russian artillery was superior to Turkish artillery in quality, as it had the latest bomb cannons. Russian gunners knew how to shoot much better than Turkish ones, and the sailors were faster and more dexterous in handling sailing equipment.
At half past 10 in the morning on November 30, the Black Sea Fleet moved in two columns to Sinop. The right one was headed by Nakhimov on the ship "Empress Maria", the left one was headed by the junior flagship Rear Admiral F.M. Novosilsky on the ship "Paris". At half past one in the afternoon, Turkish ships and coastal batteries opened fire on the approaching Russian squadron. She opened fire only after approaching at an extremely short distance.
After half an hour of battle, the Turkish flagship Avni-Allah was seriously damaged by the Empress Maria's bomb guns and ran aground. Then Nakhimov’s ship set fire to the enemy frigate Fazly-Al-lah. Meanwhile, the Paris sank two enemy ships. In three hours, the Russian squadron destroyed 15 Turkish ships and suppressed all coastal batteries.
Only the steamer "Taif", commanded by the English captain A. Slade, taking advantage of its speed advantage, was able to break out of Sinop Bay and escape the pursuit of Russian sailing frigates.
The Turks' losses in killed and wounded amounted to about 3 thousand people, and 200 sailors led by Osman Pasha were captured. Nakhimov's squadron had no losses in ships, although several of them were seriously damaged. 37 Russian sailors and officers were killed in the battle and 233 were wounded.
Thanks to the victory at Sinop, the Turkish landing on the Caucasian coast was thwarted.
The Allies planned to land the main landing force in Crimea in order to deprive the Russian Black Sea Fleet of its bases. Attacks on the ports of the Baltic and White Seas and the Pacific Ocean were also envisaged.
The Anglo-French fleet concentrated in the Varna area. It consisted of 34 battleships and 55 frigates, including 54 steam ships, and 300 transport ships, on which there was an expeditionary force of 61 thousand soldiers and officers. The Russian Black Sea Fleet could oppose the allies with 14 sailing battleships, 11 sailing and 11 steam frigates. A Russian army of 40 thousand people was stationed in Crimea.
In September 1854, the Allies landed troops in Yevpatoria.
The Russian army under the command of Admiral Prince A.S. Menshikova on the Alma River tried to block the path of the Anglo-French-Turkish troops deep into the Crimea. Menshikov had 35 thousand soldiers and 84 guns, the allies had 59 thousand soldiers (30 thousand French, 22 thousand English and 7 thousand Turkish) and 206 guns.
The Battle of Alma was one of the first where scattered infantry formations were massively used. The superiority of the Allies in weapons also affected this. Almost the entire English army and up to a third of the French were armed with new rifled guns, which were superior to Russian smoothbore guns in rate of fire and range.
Pursuing Menshikov's army, the Anglo-French troops occupied Balaklava on September 26, and on September 29 the Kamyshovaya Bay area near Sevastopol. However, the Allies were afraid to immediately attack this sea fortress, which at that moment was almost defenseless from land. The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Nakhimov, became the military governor of Sevastopol and, together with the chief of staff of the fleet, Admiral V.A. Kornilov began hastily preparing the defense of the city from land. 5 sailing ships and 2 frigates were sunk at the entrance to Sevastopol Bay to prevent the enemy fleet from entering there. The ships that remained in service were supposed to provide artillery support to the troops fighting on land.
The city's land garrison, which also included sailors from sunken ships, numbered 22.5 thousand people. The main forces of the Russian army under the command of Menshikov retreated to Bakhchisarai.
The first bombardment of Sevastopol by allied forces from land and sea took place on October 17, 1854. Russian ships and batteries responded to the fire and damaged several enemy ships. The Anglo-French artillery then failed to disable the Russian coastal batteries.
It turned out that naval artillery was not very effective for firing at ground targets. However, the defenders of the city suffered considerable losses during the bombing. One of the leaders of the city's defense, Admiral Kornilov, was killed.
By the end of 1854, the Allies concentrated more than 100 thousand soldiers and about 500 guns near Sevastopol. They conducted intense shelling of the city fortifications. The British and French launched local attacks with the aim of capturing individual positions; the city’s defenders responded with forays into the rear of the besiegers. In February 1855, the allied forces near Sevastopol increased to 120 thousand people, and preparations began for a general assault.
The main blow was supposed to be delivered to the Malakhov Kurgan, which dominated Sevastopol. The defenders of the city, in turn, especially fortified the approaches to this height, fully understanding its strategic importance. In the Southern Bay, 3 additional battleships and 2 frigates were sunk, blocking the allied fleet’s access to the roadstead. To divert forces from Sevastopol, the detachment of General S.A. Khrulev attacked Evpatoria on February 17, but was repulsed with heavy losses. This failure led to the resignation of Menshikov, who was replaced as commander-in-chief by General Gorchakov. But the new commander also failed to reverse the unfavorable course of events in Crimea for the Russian side.
During the 8th period from April 9 to June 18, Sevastopol was subjected to four intense bombings. After this, 44 thousand soldiers of the allied forces stormed the Ship side. They were opposed by 20 thousand Russian soldiers and sailors. Heavy fighting continued for several days, but this time the Anglo-French troops failed to break through. However, continuous shelling continued to deplete the forces of the besieged.
On July 10, 1855, Nakhimov was mortally wounded. His burial was described in his diary by Lieutenant Ya.P. Kobylyansky: “Nakhimov’s funeral... was solemn; the enemy in whose sight they took place, while paying honor to the deceased hero, remained deeply silent: at the main positions not a single shot was fired while the body was buried.”
In the Caucasus, Russian weapons were successful, somewhat brightening up the bitterness of the Sevastopol defeat. On September 29, General Muravyov’s army stormed Kara, but, having lost 7 thousand people, was forced to retreat. However, on November 28, 1855, the garrison of the fortress, exhausted by hunger, capitulated.
After the fall of Sevastopol, the loss of the war for Russia became obvious. The new Emperor Alexander II agreed to peace negotiations. On March 30, 1856, peace was signed in Paris. Russia returned Kara, occupied during the war, to Turkey and transferred Southern Bessarabia to it. The Allies, in turn, abandoned Sevastopol and other cities of Crimea. Russia was forced to abandon its patronage of the Orthodox population of the Ottoman Empire. It was prohibited from having a navy and bases on the Black Sea. A protectorate of all great powers was established over Moldavia, Wallachia and Serbia. The Black Sea was declared closed to military vessels of all states, but open to international commercial shipping. Freedom of navigation on the Danube was also recognized.
During the Crimean War, France lost 10,240 people killed and 11,750 died from wounds, England - 2,755 and 1,847, Turkey - 10,000 and 10,800, and Sardinia - 12 and 16 people. In total, the coalition troops suffered irretrievable losses of 47.5 thousand soldiers and officers. The losses of the Russian army in killed were about 30 thousand people, and about 16 thousand died from wounds, which gives the total irretrievable combat losses for Russia at 46 thousand people.
Mortality from disease was significantly higher. During the Crimean War, 75,535 French, 17,225 British, 24.5 thousand Turks, 2,166 Sardinians (Piedmontese) died from disease. Thus, the non-combat irretrievable losses of the coalition countries amounted to 119,426 people. In the Russian army, 88,755 Russians died from disease. In total, in the Crimean War, non-combat irrecoverable losses were 2.2 times higher than combat losses.
The result of the Crimean War was the loss of Russia's last traces of European hegemony, acquired after the victory over Napoleon I. This hegemony gradually faded away by the end of the 20s due to the economic weakness of the Russian Empire, caused by the persistence of serfdom, and the emerging military-technical backwardness of the country from other great powers.
Causes of the war: in 1850, a conflict began between France, the Ottoman Empire and Russia, the reason for which was disputes between the Catholic and Orthodox clergy regarding the rights to the Holy Places in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Nicholas I was counting on the support of England and Austria, but he miscalculated.
Progress of the war: in 1853, Russian troops were introduced into Moldova and Wallachia, met with a negative reaction from Austria, which took a position of unfriendly neutrality, demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops and moved its army to the border with Russia. In October 1853, the Turkish Sultan declared war on Russia.
The first stage of the war - November 1853 - April 1854: Russian-Turkish campaign. November 1853 – Battle of Sinop. Admiral Nakhimov defeated the Turkish fleet, and in parallel there were Russian actions in the Caucasus. England and France declared war on Russia. The Anglo-French squadron bombarded Russian territories (Kronstadt, Sveaborg, Solovetsky Monastery, Kamchatka).
Second stage: April 1854 - February 1856 Russia against the coalition of European powers. September 1854 - the allies began landing in the Evpatoria area. Battles on the river Alma in September 1854, the Russians lost. Under the command of Menshikov, the Russians approached Bakhchisarai. Sevastopol (Kornilov and Nakhimov) was preparing for defense. October 1854 - the defense of Sevastopol began. The main part of the Russian army undertook diversionary operations (the battle of Inkerman in November 1854, the offensive at Yevpatoriya in February 1855, the battle on the Black River in August 1855), but they were not successful. August 1855 - Sevastopol was captured. At the same time, in Transcaucasia, Russian troops managed to take the strong Turkish fortress of Kars. Negotiations began. March 1856 - Paris peace. Part of Bessarabia was torn away from Russia; it lost the right to patronize Serbia, Moldova and Wallachia. The most important thing is the neutralization of the Black Sea: both Russia and Turkey were prohibited from keeping a navy in the Black Sea.
There is an acute internal political crisis in Russia, due to which reforms have begun.
39. Economic, socio-political development of Russia at the turn of the 50-60s. XiX century Peasant reform of 1861, its content and significance.
In the 50s, the need and hardships of the masses noticeably worsened, this happened under the influence of the consequences of the Crimean War, the increasing frequency of natural disasters (epidemics, crop failures and, as a consequence, famine), as well as the increasing oppression from the landowners and the state in the pre-reform period. Recruitment, which reduced the number of workers by 10%, and requisitions of food, horses and fodder had a particularly severe impact on the economy of the Russian village. The situation was aggravated by the arbitrariness of the landowners, who systematically reduced the size of peasant plots, transferred peasants to households (and thus deprived them of land), and resettled serfs to worse lands. These acts assumed such proportions that the government, shortly before the reform, was forced to impose a ban on such actions by special decrees.
The response to the worsening situation of the masses was the peasant movement, which in its intensity, scale and forms was noticeably different from the protests of previous decades and caused great concern in St. Petersburg.
This period was characterized by mass escapes of landowner peasants who wanted to enlist in the militia and thus hoped to gain freedom (1854-1855), unauthorized resettlement to war-ravaged Crimea (1856), a “sober” movement directed against the feudal system of wine farming (1858-1859 ), unrest and escapes of workers during the construction of railways (Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod, Volga-Don, 1859-1860). It was also restless on the outskirts of the empire. In 1858, Estonian peasants took up arms in their hands (“Machtra War”). Major peasant unrest broke out in 1857 in Western Georgia.
After the defeat in the Crimean War, in the context of a growing revolutionary upsurge, the crisis at the top intensified, manifested, in particular, in the intensification of the liberal opposition movement among part of the nobility, dissatisfied with military failures, the backwardness of Russia, who understood the need for political and social changes. “Sevastopol hit stagnant minds,” wrote the famous Russian historian V.O. Klyuchevsky about this time. The “censorship terror” introduced by Emperor Nicholas I after his death in February 1855 was virtually swept away by a wave of glasnost, which made it possible to openly discuss the most pressing problems facing the country.
There was no unity in government circles on the issue of the future fate of Russia. Two opposing groups formed here: the old conservative bureaucratic elite (head of the III department V.A. Dolgorukov, Minister of State Property M.N. Muravyov, etc.), which actively opposed the implementation of bourgeois reforms, and supporters of reforms (Minister of Internal Affairs S.S. Lanskoy, Ya.I. Rostovtsev, brothers N.A. and D.A. Milyutin).
The interests of the Russian peasantry were reflected in the ideology of the new generation of revolutionary intelligentsia.
In the 50s, two centers were formed that led the revolutionary democratic movement in the country. The first (emigrant) was headed by A.I. Herzen, who founded the “Free Russian Printing House” in London (1853). Since 1855, he began publishing the non-periodical collection “Polar Star”, and since 1857, together with N.P. Ogarev, the newspaper “Bell”, which enjoyed enormous popularity. Herzen's publications formulated a program of social transformation in Russia, which included the liberation of peasants from serfdom with land and for ransom. Initially, the publishers of Kolokol believed in the liberal intentions of the new Emperor Alexander II (1855-1881) and placed certain hopes on wisely carried out reforms “from above.” However, as projects for the abolition of serfdom were being prepared, illusions dissipated, and a call to fight for land and democracy was heard loudly on the pages of London publications.
The second center arose in St. Petersburg. It was headed by leading employees of the Sovremennik magazine N.G. Chernyshevsky and N.A. Dobrolyubov, around whom like-minded people from the revolutionary democratic camp rallied (M.L. Mikhailov, N.A. Serno-Solovyevich, N.V. Shelgunov and others). The censored articles of N.G. Chernyshevsky were not as frank as the publications of A.I. Herzen, but they were distinguished by their consistency. N.G. Chernyshevsky believed that when the peasants were liberated, the land should be transferred to them without ransom; the liquidation of autocracy in Russia would occur through revolutionary means.
On the eve of the abolition of serfdom, a demarcation emerged between the revolutionary-democratic and liberal camps. Liberals, who recognized the need for reforms “from above,” saw in them, first of all, an opportunity to prevent a revolutionary explosion in the country.
The Crimean War presented the government with a choice: either to preserve the serfdom that existed in the country and, as a consequence of this, ultimately, as a result of a political, financial and economic catastrophe, lose not only the prestige and position of a great power, but also threaten the existence of the autocracy in Russia, or to carry out bourgeois reforms, the primary of which was the abolition of serfdom.
Having chosen the second path, the government of Alexander II in January 1857 created a Secret Committee “to discuss measures to organize the life of the landowner peasants.” Somewhat earlier, in the summer of 1856, in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, comrade (deputy) minister A.I. Levshin developed a government program for peasant reform, which, although it gave serfs civil rights, retained all the land in the ownership of the landowner and provided the latter with patrimonial power on the estate. In this case, the peasants would receive allotment land for use, for which they would have to perform fixed duties. This program was set out in imperial rescripts (instructions), first addressed to the Vilna and St. Petersburg governors-general, and then sent to other provinces. In accordance with the rescripts, special committees began to be created in the provinces to consider the case locally, and the preparation of the reform became public. The Secret Committee was renamed the Main Committee for Peasant Affairs. The Zemstvo Department under the Ministry of Internal Affairs (N.A. Milyutin) began to play a significant role in preparing the reform.
Within the provincial committees there was a struggle between liberals and conservatives over the forms and extent of concessions to the peasantry. Reform projects prepared by K.D. Kavelin, A.I. Koshelev, M.P. Posen. Yu.F. Samarin, A.M. Unkovsky, differed in the political views of the authors and economic conditions. Thus, the landowners of the black earth provinces, who owned expensive land and kept peasants in corvee labor, wanted to retain the maximum possible amount of land and retain workers. In the industrial non-black earth obroch provinces, during the reform, landowners wanted to receive significant funds to rebuild their farms in a bourgeois manner.
The prepared proposals and programs were submitted for discussion to the so-called Editorial Commissions. The struggle over these proposals took place both in these commissions and during the consideration of the project in the Main Committee and in the State Council. But, despite the existing differences of opinion, in all these projects it was about carrying out peasant reform in the interests of the landowners by maintaining landownership and political dominance in the hands of the Russian nobility, “Everything that could be done to protect the benefits of the landowners has been done,” - Alexander II stated in the State Council. The final version of the reform project, which had undergone a number of changes, was signed by the emperor on February 19, 1861, and on March 5, the most important documents regulating the implementation of the reform were published: “Manifesto” and “General Provisions on Peasants Emerging from Serfdom.”
In accordance with these documents, peasants received personal freedom and could now freely dispose of their property, engage in commercial and industrial activities, buy and sell real estate, enter the service, receive an education, and conduct their family affairs.
The landowner still owned all the land, but part of it, usually a reduced land plot and the so-called “estate settlement” (a plot with a hut, outbuildings, vegetable gardens, etc.), he was obliged to transfer to the peasants for use. Thus, Russian peasants received liberation with land, but they could use this land for a certain fixed rent or serving corvee. The peasants could not give up these plots for 9 years. For complete liberation, they could buy the estate and, by agreement with the landowner, the allotment, after which they became peasant owners. Until this time, a “temporarily obligated position” was established.
The new sizes of allotments and payments of peasants were recorded in special documents, “statutory charters.” which were compiled for each village over a two-year period. The amounts of these duties and allotment land were determined by “Local Regulations”. Thus, according to the “Great Russian” local situation, the territory of 35 provinces was distributed into 3 stripes: non-chernozem, chernozem and steppe, which were divided into “localities”. In the first two stripes, depending on local conditions, “higher” and “lower” (1/3 of the “highest”) allotment sizes were established, and in the steppe zone - one “decreed” allotment. If the pre-reform size of the allotment exceeded the “highest” one, then pieces of land could be produced, but if the allotment was less than the “lowest” one, then the landowner had to either cut off the land or reduce duties. Cut-offs were also made in some other cases, for example, when the owner, as a result of allocating land to the peasants, had less than 1/3 of the total land of the estate left. Among the cut-off lands there were often the most valuable areas (forest, meadows, arable land); in some cases, landowners could demand that peasant estates be moved to new locations. As a result of the post-reform land management, stripes became characteristic of the Russian village.
Statutory charters were usually concluded with an entire rural society, the “world” (community), which was supposed to ensure mutual responsibility for the payment of duties.
The “temporarily obligated” position of the peasants ceased after the transfer to redemption, which became mandatory only 20 years later (from 1883). The ransom was carried out with the assistance of the government. The basis for calculating redemption payments was not the market price of land, but the assessment of duties that were feudal in nature. When the deal was concluded, the peasants paid 20% of the amount, and the remaining 80% was paid to the landowners by the state. The peasants had to repay the loan provided by the state annually in the form of redemption payments for 49 years, while, of course, accrued interest was taken into account. Redemption payments placed a heavy burden on peasant farms. The cost of the purchased land significantly exceeded its market price. During the redemption operation, the government also tried to get back the huge sums that were provided to landowners in the pre-reform years on the security of land. If the estate was mortgaged, then the amount of the debt was deducted from the amounts provided to the landowner. The landowners received only a small part of the redemption amount in cash; special interest notes were issued for the rest.
It should be borne in mind that in modern historical literature, issues related to the implementation of the reform are not fully developed. There are different points of view about the degree of transformation during the reform of the system of peasant plots and payments (currently these studies are being carried out on a large scale using computers).
The reform of 1861 in the internal provinces was followed by the abolition of serfdom on the outskirts of the empire - in Georgia (1864-1871), Armenia and Azerbaijan (1870-1883), which was often carried out with even less consistency and with greater preservation of feudal remnants. Appanage peasants (belonging to the royal family) received personal freedom based on decrees of 1858 and 1859. “Regulations of June 26, 1863.” the land structure and conditions for the transition to redemption in the appanage village were determined, which was carried out during 1863-1865. In 1866, a reform was carried out in the state village. The purchase of land by state peasants was completed only in 1886.
Thus, peasant reforms in Russia actually abolished serfdom and marked the beginning of the development of the capitalist formation in Russia. However, while maintaining landownership and feudal remnants in the countryside, they were unable to resolve all the contradictions, which ultimately led to a further intensification of the class struggle.
The response of the peasantry to the publication of the “Manifesto” was a massive explosion of discontent in the spring of 1861. The peasants protested against the continuation of the corvee system and the payment of dues and plots of land. The peasant movement acquired a particularly large scale in the Volga region, Ukraine and the central black earth provinces.
Russian society was shocked by the events in the villages of Bezdna (Kazan province) and Kandeevka (Penza province) that took place in April 1863. Peasants outraged by the reform were shot there by military teams. In total, over 1,100 peasant unrest occurred in 1861. Only by drowning the protests in blood did the government manage to reduce the intensity of the struggle. The disunited, spontaneous and devoid of political consciousness protest of the peasants was doomed to failure. Already in 1862-1863. the scope of the movement was significantly reduced. In the following years it declined sharply (in 1864 there were fewer than 100 performances).
In 1861-1863 During the period of intensification of the class struggle in the countryside, the activity of democratic forces in the country intensified. After the suppression of peasant uprisings, the government, feeling more confident, attacked the democratic camp with repression.
Peasant reform of 1861, its content and significance.
The peasant reform of 1861, which abolished serfdom, marked the beginning of the capitalist formation in the country.
Main reason Peasant reform resulted in a crisis of the feudal-serf system. Crimean War 1853–1856 revealed the rottenness and impotence of serf Russia. In the context of peasant unrest, which especially intensified during the war, tsarism moved to abolish serfdom.
In January 1857 A Secret Committee was formed under the chairmanship of Emperor Alexander II “to discuss measures to organize the life of the landowner peasants,” which at the beginning of 1858. was reorganized into the Main Committee for Peasant Affairs. At the same time, provincial committees were formed, which began developing projects for peasant reform, considered by the Editorial Commissions.
February 19, 1861 In St. Petersburg, Alexander II signed the Manifesto on the abolition of serfdom and the “Regulations on peasants emerging from serfdom,” consisting of 17 legislative acts.
The main act - “General Regulations on Peasants Emerging from Serfdom” - contained the main conditions of the peasant reform:
1. peasants received personal freedom and the right to dispose of their property;
2. the landowners retained ownership of all the lands they owned, but were obliged to provide the peasants with “homestead residence” and field allotment “to ensure their livelihood and to fulfill their duties to the government and the landowner”;
3. For the use of allotment land, peasants had to serve corvee or pay quitrent and did not have the right to refuse it for 9 years. The size of the field allotment and duties should have been recorded in the statutory charters of 1861, which were drawn up by landowners for each estate and verified by the peace intermediaries;
-peasants were given the right to buy out an estate and, by agreement with the landowner, a field allotment; until this was done, they were called temporarily obligated peasants.
The “general situation” determined the structure, rights and responsibilities of peasant public (rural and volost) government bodies and the court.
4 “Local Regulations” determined the size of land plots and the duties of peasants for their use in 44 provinces of European Russia. The first of them is “Great Russian”, for 29 Great Russian, 3 Novorossiysk (Ekaterinoslav, Tauride and Kherson), 2 Belarusian (Mogilev and part of Vitebsk) and part of Kharkov provinces. This entire territory was divided into three stripes (non-chernozem, chernozem and steppe), each of which consisted of “localities”.
In the first two bands, depending on the “locality,” the highest (from 3 to 7 dessiatines; from 2 3/4 to 6 dessiatines) and the lowest (1/3 of the highest) amounts of per capita taxes were established. For the steppe, one “decreed” allotment was determined (in the Great Russian provinces from 6 to 12 dessiatines; in Novorossiysk, from 3 to 6 1/5 dessiatines). The size of the government tithe was determined to be 1.09 hectares.
Allotment land was provided to the “rural community”, i.e. community, according to the number of souls (men only) at the time of drawing up the charter documents who had the right to the allotment.
From the land that was in the use of peasants before February 19, 1861, sections could be made if the peasants' per capita allotments exceeded the highest size established for a given “locality”, or if the landowners, while maintaining the existing peasant allotment, had less than 1/3 of the estate's land left. Allotments could be reduced by special agreements between peasants and landowners, as well as upon receipt of a gift allotment.
If peasants had plots of less than a small size, the landowner was obliged to cut off the missing land or reduce duties. For the highest spiritual allotment, a quitrent was established from 8 to 12 rubles per year or corvee - 40 men's and 30 women's working days per year. If the allotment was less than the highest, then the duties were reduced, but not proportionally.
The rest of the “Local Provisions” basically repeated the “Great Russian Provisions”, but taking into account the specifics of their regions.
The features of the peasant reform for certain categories of peasants and specific areas were determined by 8 “Additional Rules”: “Arrangement of peasants settled on the estates of small-scale owners, and on benefits to these owners”; “People of the Ministry of Finance assigned to private mining plants”; “Peasants and workers serving work at Perm private mining plants and salt mines”; “Peasant peasants serving work in landowner factories”; "The peasants and courtyard people in the Land of the Don Army"; "Peasant peasants and courtyard people in the Stavropol province"; "Peasant peasants and courtyard people in Siberia"; "People who emerged from serfdom in the Bessarabian region."
The Manifesto and “Regulations” were published on March 5 in Moscow and from March 7 to April 2 in St. Petersburg. Fearing the dissatisfaction of the peasants with the conditions of the reform, the government took a number of precautions: it redeployed troops, sent members of the imperial retinue to places, issued an appeal from the Synod, etc. However, the peasants, dissatisfied with the enslaving conditions of the reform, responded to it with mass unrest. The largest of them were the Bezdnensky and Kandeevsky peasant uprisings of 1861.
As of January 1, 1863, peasants refused to sign about 60% of the charters. The purchase price of the land significantly exceeded its market value at that time, in some areas -
2–3 times. In many regions, peasants sought to receive gift plots, thereby reducing allotment land use: in the Saratov province by 42.4%, Samara - 41.3%, Poltava - 37.4%, Ekaterinoslav - by 37.3%, etc. The lands cut off by the landowners were a means of enslaving the peasants, since they were vitally necessary for the peasant economy: watering place, pasture, haymaking, etc.
The peasants' transition to ransom lasted for several decades, on December 28, 1881. a law on compulsory redemption was issued on January 1, 1883, the transfer to which was completed by 1895. In total, by January 1, 1895, 124 thousand redemption transactions were approved, according to which 9,159 thousand souls in areas with communal farming and 110 thousand households in areas with household farming were transferred to redemption. About 80% of buyouts were mandatory.
As a result of the peasant reform (according to 1878), in the provinces of European Russia, 9860 thousand souls of peasants received an allotment of 33728 thousand dessiatines of land (on average 3.4 dessiatines per capita). U115 thousand. landowners were left with 69 million dessiatines (an average of 600 dessiatines per owner).
What did these “average” indicators look like after 3.5 decades? The political and economic power of the tsar rested on the nobles and landowners. According to the 1897 census in Russia there were 1 million 220 thousand hereditary nobles and more than 600 thousand personal nobles, to whom the title of nobility was given, but not inherited. All of them were owners of land plots.
Of these: about 60 thousand were small-scale nobles, each had 100 acres; 25.5 thousand - average landowners, had from 100 to 500 acres; 8 thousand large nobles, who had from 500 to 1000 dessiatines: 6.5 thousand - the largest nobles, who had from 1000 to 5000 dessiatines.
At the same time, there were 102 families in Russia: princes Yusupov, Golitsyn, Dolgorukov, counts Bobrinsky, Orlov, etc., whose holdings amounted to more than 50 thousand dessiatines, that is, about 30% of the landowners' land fund in Russia.
The largest owner in Russia was Tsar Nicholas I. He owned huge tracts of so-called cabinet and appanage lands. Gold, silver, lead, copper, and timber were mined there. He rented out a significant part of the land. The king's property was managed by a special ministry of the imperial court.
When filling out the questionnaire for the census, Nicholas II wrote in the profession column: “Master of the Russian land.”
As for peasants, the average allotment of a peasant family, according to the census, was 7.5 dessiatines.
The significance of the peasant reform of 1861 was that it abolished feudal ownership of workers and created a market for cheap labor. The peasants were declared personally free, that is, they had the right to buy land, houses, and enter into various transactions in their own name. The reform was based on the principle of gradualism: within two years, statutory charters were to be drawn up, defining the specific conditions for the liberation of peasants, then the peasants were transferred to the position of “temporarily obligated” until the transition to redemption and in the subsequent 49-year period, paying the debt to the state that bought the land for peasants from landowners. Only after this should land plots become the full property of the peasants.
For the liberation of peasants from serfdom, Emperor Alexander II was called the “LIBERER” by the people. Judge for yourself, what was more here - truth or hypocrisy? Note that of the total number of peasant unrest that occurred throughout the country in 1857–1861, 1340 out of 2165 (62%) protests occurred after the announcement of the 1861 reform.
Thus, the peasant reform of 1861 was a bourgeois reform carried out by serf owners. This was a step towards turning Russia into a bourgeois monarchy. However, the peasant reform did not solve the socio-economic contradictions in Russia, preserved landownership and a number of other feudal-serf remnants, led to a further aggravation of the class struggle, and served as one of the main reasons for the social explosion of 1905–1907. XX century.
The causes of the war lay in the contradictions between 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 Turkey’s inheritance can and should be divided. In the upcoming conflict, the Russian emperor counted on the neutrality of Great Britain, to 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 the suppression of the Hungarian revolution. However, Nikolai’s calculations turned out to be wrong: England itself was pushing Turkey towards war, thus trying to weaken Russia’s position. Austria also did not want Russia to strengthen 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, there was no talk about access to holy places, since all pilgrims enjoyed them on equal rights. The dispute over the Holy Places cannot be called a far-fetched reason for starting a war.
STEPS
During the Crimean War there are two stages:
Stage I of the war: November 1853 - April 1854. Turkey was Russia's enemy, and military operations took place on the Danube and Caucasus fronts. In 1853, Russian troops entered the territory of Moldavia and Wallachia and military operations on land were sluggish. In the Caucasus, the Turks were defeated at Kars.
Stage II of the war: April 1854 - February 1856 Concerned that Russia would completely defeat Turkey, England and France, in the person of Austria, delivered an ultimatum to Russia. They demanded that Russia refuse to patronize the Orthodox population of the Ottoman Empire. Nicholas I could not accept such conditions. Türkiye, 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 a fortress to the Ottomans, receiving in exchange Sevastopol, Balaklava and other Crimean cities captured from it.
The Black Sea was declared neutral (that is, open to commercial traffic and closed to military vessels in peacetime), with Russia and the Ottoman Empire prohibited from having 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 Moldova.
Russia was deprived of the protectorate over Moldavia and Wallachia granted to it by the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace of 1774 and the exclusive protection of Russia over the Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire.
Russia pledged not to build fortifications on the Åland Islands.
During the war, the participants in the anti-Russian coalition failed to achieve all their goals, but managed to prevent Russia from strengthening in the Balkans and deprive it of the Black Sea Fleet.