Russian-Ottoman Relations Under the Berlin Conference 1, 1878

Abstract

      Russia tried to interfere in the internal affairs of the Ottoman state and gain Ottoman lands to extend its empire to the warm waters of the Mediterranean, and because of that it worked to undermine the Ottoman power from stirring up the nationalist aspirations of the Christian subjects of the Sublime Porte: The Slavs in the Balkans, the Armenians in Anatolia and other minorities. In the second half of the nineteenth century, international relations witnessed political, economic and diplomatic competition to share the Ottoman Empire’s property. Russia tried to weaken the Ottoman Empire, divide its possessions, and expand Russian influence on the shores of the Black Sea through diplomatic means and the many wars to achieve what Russian want. The Treaty of Berlin eliminated Russia’s victories in its war with the Ottoman Empire, and it ends Russia’s oppression and also disappointed it, which was expecting the latter to stand by its side in that treaty. Berlin is the main factor of Russian-German hostility, which was one of the reasons for the outbreak of WWI in 1914 later. On the other hand, the Ottoman Empire turned from the ranks of the subordinate superpowers to the ranks of the dependent state, and the pillars of resistance collapsed, in which the internal and external dangers it faced. The Ottoman Empire reached the peak of its glory and power during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. After that, the weakness began, and revolutions multiplied, and the intervention of the great powers in the affairs of the state led to its exhaustion. The disasters did not end with the conclusion of the Treaty of Berlin, as crises provoked by those countries followed to eliminate what remained of their possessions and influence. So, one can conclude that Berlin Conference, 1878 was one of the main reasons for the WWI. It must also be carefully studied as a real turning point in European diplomatic history.