What was the main result of the Crimean War. Causes of the Crimean War

Crimean War answered the long-standing dream of Nicholas I to take possession of the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits. Russia's military potential was quite realizable in the conditions of a war with the Ottoman Empire, however, Russia could not wage a war against the leading world powers. Let's talk briefly about the results of the Crimean War of 1853-1856.

Progress of the war

The main part of the battles took place on the Crimean peninsula, where the allies were successful. However, there were other theaters of war where success accompanied the Russian army. Thus, in the Caucasus, Russian troops captured the large fortress of Kars and occupied part of Anatolia. In Kamchatka and the White Sea, English landing forces were repulsed by garrisons and local residents.

During the defense of the Solovetsky Monastery, the monks fired at the Allied fleet from guns made under Ivan the Terrible.

Completing this historical event was the conclusion of the Paris Peace, the results of which are reflected in the table. The date of signing was March 18, 1856.

The Allies failed to achieve all their goals in the war, but they did stop the rise of Russian influence in the Balkans. There were other results of the Crimean War of 1853-1856.

The war destroyed financial system Russian Empire. So, if England spent 78 million pounds on the war, then Russia’s expenses amounted to 800 million rubles. This forced Nicholas I to sign a decree on the printing of unsecured credit notes.

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Alexander II also revised his policy regarding railway construction.

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Consequences of the war

The authorities began to encourage the creation of a railway network throughout the country, which did not exist before the Crimean War. The experience of combat did not go unnoticed. It was used during the military reforms of the 1860s and 1870s, where the 25-year conscription was replaced. But main reason for Russia there was an impetus for the Great Reforms, including the abolition of serfdom.

Unlucky for Britain military campaign led to the resignation of the Aberdeen government. The war became a litmus test that showed the corruption of the English officers.

IN Ottoman Empire the main result was the bankruptcy of the state treasury in 1858, as well as the publication of a treatise on freedom of religion and equality of subjects of all nationalities.

For the world, the war gave impetus to the development of the armed forces. The result of the war was an attempt to use the telegraph for military purposes, the beginning of military medicine was laid by Pirogov and the involvement of nurses in caring for the wounded, barrage mines were invented.

After the Battle of Sinop, the manifestation of “information war” was documented.

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The British wrote in the newspapers that the Russians were finishing off the wounded Turks floating in the sea, which did not happen. After the Allied fleet was caught in an avoidable storm, Emperor Napoleon III of France ordered weather monitoring and daily reporting, which was the beginning of weather forecasting.

What have we learned?

The Crimean War, like any major military clash of world powers, made many changes in both the military and socio-political life of all countries participating in the conflict.

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Crimean War 1853-1856, also Eastern War- war between Russian Empire and a coalition consisting of the British, French, Ottoman Empires and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The fighting took place in the Caucasus, in the Danube principalities, in the Baltic, Black, White and Barents seas, as well as in Kamchatka. They reached their greatest tension in Crimea.

By the middle of the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire was in decline, and only direct military assistance from Russia, England, France and Austria allowed the Sultan to twice prevent the capture of Constantinople by the rebellious vassal Muhammad Ali of Egypt. In addition, the struggle of the Orthodox peoples for liberation from the Ottoman yoke continued (see Eastern Question). These factors led to the emergence of Russian Emperor Nicholas I's thoughts in the early 1850s on the separation of the Balkan possessions of the Ottoman Empire, inhabited by Orthodox peoples, which was opposed by Great Britain and Austria. Great Britain, in addition, sought to oust Russia from the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus and from Transcaucasia. The Emperor of France, Napoleon III, although he did not share the British plans to weaken Russia, considering them excessive, supported the war with Russia as revenge for 1812 and as a means of strengthening personal power.

During a diplomatic conflict with France over control of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Russia, in order to put pressure on Turkey, occupied Moldavia and Wallachia, which were under Russian protectorate under the terms of the Treaty of Adrianople. The refusal of the Russian Emperor Nicholas I to withdraw troops led to the declaration of war on Russia on October 4 (16), 1853 by Turkey, followed by Great Britain and France.

During the ensuing hostilities, the Allies managed, using the technical backwardness of the Russian troops and the indecisiveness of the Russian command, to concentrate quantitatively and qualitatively superior forces of the army and navy on the Black Sea, which allowed them to successfully land an airborne corps in the Crimea, inflict Russian army a series of defeats and, after a year-long siege, capture the southern part of Sevastopol - the main base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Sevastopol Bay, the location of the Russian fleet, remained under Russian control. On the Caucasian front, Russian troops managed to inflict a number of defeats Turkish army and capture Kars. However, the threat of Austria and Prussia joining the war forced the Russians to accept the peace terms imposed by the Allies. The humiliating Treaty of Paris, signed in 1856, required Russia to return to the Ottoman Empire everything captured in southern Bessarabia and the mouth of the Danube River and the Caucasus. The Empire was prohibited from having a combat fleet in the Black Sea, which was declared neutral waters. Russia stopped military construction in the Baltic Sea and much more.

The Crimean War is an armed conflict between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, supported by England, France and the Kingdom of Sardinia. Each country in this war had its own motives and goals, and it expected different results. Unfortunately, Russia’s hopes in this war were not fortunate enough to come true for a number of reasons. These reasons will be given later. Now let's figure out where this confrontation arose and what the warring parties wanted to achieve.

When considering the issue, it is important to take into account the chronological framework of the war. It lasted for 1853 By 1856 year. The causes of the conflict were Russia’s desire, due to the weakening of the Ottoman Empire, to take away part of its territories, in particular the Crimea and the Caucasus.

The interests of England and France in this matter are very clear - they simply did not want to strengthen Russia’s position, and therefore these countries provided support to Turkey in this confrontation.

The interests of the Sardinian kingdom were very unclear, because the state did not receive any benefits from the war. Most likely, this newly created state simply sought to earn international authority in this way.

Results.
Before moving directly to the consequences, you need to understand how this three-year war turned out for Russia. In this conflict, the Russian Empire was defeated.

What are the reasons for this result? First of all, they consist in the fact that Russia, technically and militarily, at that time was very far behind the Western world, and especially from the advanced countries of Europe, such as England and France, which were opponents Tsarist Russia in the Crimean War. Moreover, the strength Western countries were united, and this made the coalition against Russia stronger.

Also, among the main factors that led to the defeat in the Crimean War, researchers cite the lack of a wide network on the territory of Russia railways, which could help provide the army with everything necessary in as soon as possible. And so, it often happened that soldiers on foreign soil were starving, there was not enough food, ammunition, equipment, and medicine. It also greatly complicated the transport of the wounded and medical personnel, as well as the delivery of reinforcements, which very often could have decided the issue in favor of Russia, but due to the fact that reinforcements were delayed, many battles were lost.

The main result was the signing of the Paris Peace Treaty, under its terms Turkey received back part of its territories, and the Russian Empire lost a significant share of influence in the Black Sea. The Black Sea itself was recognized as a neutral zone. The important thing was that in the war Russia lost a large share of its material and human resources.

Consequences of the Crimean War.
But, nevertheless, in this in a rare case the positive consequences of defeat outweighed the negative ones. Of course, any war brings ruin and human casualties to the state, but in the case of the Crimean War, the loss gave the country an impetus for further development in various areas.

First of all, the transformation affected the army. Army recruitment was canceled for 25 years, in exchange, general military service was introduced for men from 21 of the year. The length of service in the army has been reduced from 25 up to 6 years, and in the navy - up to 7 years of service. Such transformations contributed to the fact that the empire’s army became more mobile and capable, which, of course, could not but affect the country’s defense capability. It has become easier for Russia to repel enemy attacks and fight with a renewed army.

The officer training system also underwent reorganization. New ones were created educational establishments, where the highest and lowest studied officers. This reform made it possible to improve the military organization in the army.

The economic sphere, namely heavy industry, could not be affected by the transformation. This sphere has taken the path active development. It is important to note that the construction of new railways was an important part of government policy in this area.
Even in the political sphere, the Crimean War had important consequences. For example, this clearly accelerated the already brewing crisis of autocracy. In order to somehow weaken this process, Emperor Alexander set about reorganizing the system of local government - Zemstvos and Zemstvo institutions were created in cities. These were kind of pro-organs local government, although their functions were greatly limited by state power.

Also, in order to defuse the tense situation after the Crimean War, the authorities carried out an educational reform, gave universities the right to autonomy, and began creating schools and gymnasiums.

But no matter how much tsarism tried to stop the crisis of absolutism in the country, the Crimean War gave it a strong impetus, and it was impossible to stop the process. Discontent spread to the peasant strata, who no longer had the strength to endure slave labor, and to the intelligentsia, who did not support the feudal-serf system in the Russian Empire, which had reached its zenith.

Plus, the loss greatly affected Russia’s foreign policy position, and most importantly, at the international level it showed the empire’s lag behind the countries of the Western world. Since this period, an era of reforms and changes has begun in the country.

CRIMEAN WAR

1853-1856

Plan

1. Prerequisites for the war

2. Progress of military operations

3. Actions in Crimea and defense of Sevastopol

4.Military actions on other fronts

5.Diplomatic efforts

6. Results of the war

Crimean (Eastern) War 1853-56 was fought between the Russian Empire and the coalition of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), France, Great Britain and Sardinia for dominance in the Middle East, the Black Sea basin, and the Caucasus. The Allied powers no longer wanted to see Russia on the world political stage. New war served as an excellent opportunity to achieve this goal. Initially, England and France planned to wear out Russia in the fight against Turkey, and then, under the pretext of protecting the latter, they hoped to attack Russia. In accordance with this plan, it was planned to launch military operations on several fronts, separated from one another (on the Black and Baltic seas, in the Caucasus, where they placed special hope on the mountain population and on the spiritual leader of the Muslims of Chechnya and Dagestan-Shamil).

BACKGROUND OF THE WAR

The reason for the conflict was a dispute between the Catholic and Orthodox clergy over the ownership of Christian shrines in Palestine (in particular, regarding the issue of control over the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem). The prelude was the conflict between Nicholas I and the French Emperor Napoleon III. The Russian emperor considered his French “colleague” illegal, because The Bonaparte dynasty was excluded from the French throne by the Congress of Vienna (a pan-European conference during which the borders of European states were determined after Napoleonic wars). Napoleon III, aware of the fragility of his power, wanted to divert the attention of the people with a war against Russia that was popular at that time (revenge for the War of 1812) and at the same time satisfy his irritation against Nicholas I. He came to power with the support of catholic church, Napoleon also sought to repay his ally by defending the interests of the Vatican in the international arena, which led to a conflict with the Orthodox Church and directly with Russia. (The French referred to a treaty with the Ottoman Empire regarding the right to control Christian holy sites in Palestine (in 19th century territory Ottoman Empire), and Russia - on the decree of the Sultan, which restored the rights Orthodox Church in Palestine and gave Russia the right to defend the interests of Christians in the Ottoman Empire). France demanded that the keys to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem be given to the Catholic clergy, and Russia demanded that they remain with the Orthodox community. Turkey, which was in a state of decline in the mid-19th century, did not have the opportunity to refuse either side, and promised to fulfill the demands of both Russia and France. When the typical Turkish diplomatic ploy was exposed, France brought a 90-gun steam battleship under the walls of Istanbul. As a result of this, the keys to the Church of the Nativity were transferred to France (i.e. the Catholic Church). In response, Russia began mobilizing the army on the border with Moldavia and Wallachia.

In February 1853, Nicholas I sent Prince A.S. Menshikov as ambassador to the Turkish Sultan. with an ultimatum to recognize the rights of the Orthodox Church to holy places in Palestine and to provide Russia with protection over Christians in the Ottoman Empire (who made up approximately a third of the total population). The Russian government counted on the support of Austria and Prussia and considered an alliance between Great Britain and France impossible. However, Great Britain, fearing the strengthening of Russia, agreed to an agreement with France. The British Ambassador, Lord Stradford-Radcliffe, convinced the Turkish Sultan to partially satisfy Russia's demands, promising support in the event of war. As a result, the Sultan issued a decree on the inviolability of the rights of the Orthodox Church to holy places, but refused to enter into an agreement on protection. Prince Menshikov behaved defiantly at meetings with the Sultan, demanding full satisfaction of the ultimatum. Feeling the support of its Western allies, Türkiye was in no hurry to respond to Russia’s demands. Without waiting for a positive response, Menshikov and the embassy staff left Constantinople. Trying to put pressure on the Turkish government, Nicholas I ordered troops to occupy the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia subordinate to the Sultan. (Initially, the plans of the Russian command were bold and decisive. It was planned to carry out the “Bosphorus Expedition”, which included equipping landing ships to reach the Bosphorus and connect with the rest of the troops. When the Turkish fleet went to sea, it was planned to defeat it and then proceed to the Bosphorus. Breakthrough Russian stage in the Bosphorus threatened the capital of Turkey, Constantinople. In order to prevent France from supporting the Ottoman Sultan, the plan provided for the occupation of the Dardanelles. Nicholas I accepted the plan, but after listening to the next anti-arguments of Prince Menshikov, he rejected it. Subsequently, other active offensive plans were rejected. The emperor's choice settled on another faceless plan, refusing any active action. The troops, under the command of Adjutant General Gorchakov, were ordered to reach the Danube, but the Black Sea Fleet was to avoid military action to remain on its shores and avoid battle, allocating only cruisers. surveillance of enemy fleets. With such a demonstration of force, the Russian emperor hoped to put pressure on Turkey and accept its terms.)

This caused a protest from the Porte, which led to the convening of a conference of commissioners from England, France, Prussia and Austria. Its result was the Vienna Note, a compromise on all sides, which demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Danube principalities, but gave Russia the nominal right to protect Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire and nominal control over the holy places in Palestine.

The Vienna Note was accepted by Nicholas I, but rejected Turkish Sultan, who succumbed to the promised military support of the British ambassador. Porta proposed various changes to the note, which caused a refusal from the Russian side. As a result, France and Britain entered into an alliance with each other with obligations to defend Turkish territory.

Trying to use the favorable opportunity to “teach a lesson” to Russia with someone else’s hands, the Ottoman Sultan demanded to clear the territory of the Danube principalities within two weeks, and after these conditions were not met, on October 4 (16), 1853, he declared war on Russia. On October 20 (November 1), 1853, Russia responded with a similar statement.

PROGRESS OF MILITARY ACTIONS

The Crimean War can be divided into two stages. The first was the Russian-Turkish company itself (November 1853 - April 1854) and the second (April 1854 - February 1856), when the Allies entered the war.

STATE ARMED FORCES RUSSIA

As subsequent events showed, Russia was not organizationally and technically ready for war. The combat strength of the army was far from what was listed; the reserve system was unsatisfactory; due to the intervention of Austria, Prussia and Sweden, Russia was forced to keep a significant part of the army on the western border. The technical lag of the Russian army and navy has acquired alarming proportions.

ARMY

In the 1840-50s, the process of replacing outdated smooth-bore guns with rifled ones was actively underway in European armies. At the beginning of the war, the share of rifled guns in the Russian army was approximately 4-5% of total number; in French - 1/3; in English - more than half.

FLEET

WITH early XIX century, European fleets replaced outdated sailing ships with modern steam ones. On the eve of the Crimean War, the Russian fleet ranked 3rd in the world in terms of the number of warships (after England and France), but was significantly inferior to the Allied fleets in terms of the number of steam ships.

BEGINNING OF MILITARY ACTIONS

In November 1853 on the Danube against 82 thousand. army of General Gorchakov M.D. Türkiye nominated almost 150 thousand. Omar Pasha's army. But the Turkish attacks were repulsed, and Russian artillery destroyed the Danube flotilla of Turkey. The main forces of Omar Pasha (about 40 thousand people) moved to Alexandropol, and their Ardahan detachment (18 thousand people) tried to break through the Borjomi Gorge to Tiflis, but was stopped, and on November 14 (26) defeated near Akhaltsikhe 7 -thousand detachment of General Andronnikov I.M. November 19 (December 1) the troops of Prince Bebutov V.O. (10 thousand people) near Bashkadyklar defeated the main 36 thousand. Turkish army.

At sea, Russia also initially enjoyed success. In mid-November, the Turkish squadron was heading to the area of ​​Sukhumi (Sukhum-Kale) and Poti for landing, but due to a strong storm it was forced to take refuge in Sinop Bay. The commander became aware of this Black Sea Fleet Vice Admiral P.S. Nakhimov, and he led his ships to Sinop. On November 18 (30), the Battle of Sinop took place, during which the Russian squadron defeated the Turkish fleet. The Battle of Sinop went down in history as the last major battle of the era. sailing fleet.

The defeat of Turkey accelerated the entry of France and England into the war. After Nakhimov's victory at Sinop, the British and French squadrons entered the Black Sea under the pretext of protecting Turkish ships and ports from attacks from the Russian side. On January 17 (29), 1854, the French emperor presented an ultimatum to Russia: withdraw troops from the Danube principalities and begin negotiations with Turkey. On February 9 (21), Russia rejected the ultimatum and announced the severance of diplomatic relations with France and England.

On March 15 (27), 1854, Great Britain and France declared war on Russia. On March 30 (April 11), Russia responded with a similar statement.

To forestall the enemy in the Balkans, Nicholas I ordered an offensive in this area. In March 1854, the Russian army under the command of Field Marshal I.F. Paskevich. invaded Bulgaria. At first, the company developed successfully - the Russian army crossed the Danube at Galati, Izmail and Brailaa and occupied the fortresses of Machin, Tulcea and Isaccea. But later the Russian command showed indecisiveness, and the siege of Silistria began only on May 5 (18). However, the fear of entering the war was on the side of the Austrian coalition, which, in alliance with Prussia, concentrated 50 thousand. army in Galicia and Transylvania, and then, with the permission of Turkey, entered the latter’s possessions on the banks of the Danube, forcing the Russian command to lift the siege, and then at the end of August completely withdraw troops from this area.