Macedonia. How Russia liberated Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro from the Turkish yoke Liberation of Rus' from the Turkish yoke

Exactly 140 years ago - on March 3, 1878 - a peace treaty was signed in San Stefano between the Russian and Ottoman empires, putting an end to the Russian-Turkish war. The result was the appearance of new independent states on the world map - Bulgaria and Montenegro, and international navigation on the Danube was also opened. This date is extremely significant for a number of Balkan states: Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, but the most important anniversary of the signing of the document remains for Bulgarian society. In this state, March 3 is officially considered Independence Day and is a non-working day.

The Ottoman Empire controlled Bulgarian, Serbian, and a number of Montenegrin and Romanian territories since 1382. At the same time, severe restrictions on rights and freedoms were introduced for the Christian part of the population of these lands. Christians were subject to strict taxes, could not fully manage their property, and did not have the right to personal freedom.

In particular, the Turkish authorities could without hesitation take Christian children in infancy to work in the Ottoman Empire, while parents were then prohibited from seeing their sons and daughters. Moreover, at one time the Turks had the right of first night for Christian women who wanted to marry other Christians.

To top it all off, most cities in Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina banned Christians from living on certain lands.

This policy led to a series of protests against Turkish rule in the 19th century. At the end of that century, uprisings of Christian Serbs broke out simultaneously in Bosnia, as well as the April Uprising in Bulgaria in 1875-1876. All these protests were harshly suppressed by Turkey, and the Turks distinguished themselves with particular ruthlessness during the suppression of the April Uprising, when, according to documents, of the 30 thousand of the total number killed during the dispersal of the rebels, only 10 thousand were in one way or another involved in hostilities against the Ottoman Empire, the rest were either relatives or acquaintances of the rebels. In addition to murders, Turkish military and irregular forces were noted for mass looting of Bulgarian homes and rape of Bulgarian women. The painting of the Russian Itinerant artist “Bulgarian Martyrs,” painted in 1877, was dedicated to these events.

Events in the Balkans at that time caused outrage in society around the world. This was facilitated by the articles of the American war correspondent Januarius McGahan, who wrote for a series of reports about the crimes of the Turks against Bulgarians of both sexes.

A number of prominent politicians and creative figures of the late 19th century condemned the policies of Istanbul. Among them were the writers Oscar Wilde, the scientist, politician and revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi.

However, the actions of the authorities of the Ottoman Empire were most indignant in Russian society, in which the issues of oppression of the Slavs on the Balkan Peninsula were traditionally perceived painfully.

The uprising in Bosnia and Bulgaria received widespread press coverage. Fundraising began in Russian Orthodox churches and newspaper editorial offices to help the rebels; public organizations helped accept Bulgarian refugees; in addition, dozens of volunteers went to the Balkans to take part in hostilities against the Ottomans. For some time they tried to abandon a direct war with Turkey, since military reform had not yet been completed in Russia, and the economic situation was not very favorable.

In December 1876, Russia, England, France and Turkey held a conference in Istanbul, where the Russian side demanded that the Turks recognize the autonomy of Bulgaria and Bosnia under the protectorate of the world community. The Ottoman Empire pointedly refused this. And in April of the following year, under pressure from public opinion and a number of politicians, Russia declared war on Turkey.

From the very beginning it was extremely difficult for Russia. With great difficulty, Russian troops crossed the Danube. In addition, Turkish supporters managed to raise an uprising in Abkhazia, Chechnya and Dagestan. As a result, almost the entire Black Sea coast on Abkhaz territory was taken by the Turks by the spring of 1877. To suppress these protests, the Russian authorities were forced to transfer reinforcements from the Far East.

In the Balkans, combat operations were also difficult for the Russian army: the lack of modern weapons and problems with supplying the army with food and medicine affected it. As a result, Russian troops managed to win the key battle of the war and take the city of Plevna only a few months after it began. Nevertheless, Russian troops, with the support of volunteers from among the Bulgarians, Romanians and Serbs, managed to liberate the entire territory of Bulgaria, part of Bosnia and Romania from Turkish rule. The general's units occupied Adrianople (modern Edirne) and came close to Istanbul. The commander-in-chief of the Turkish army, Osman Pasha, was captured by the Russians.

The war found a wide response in Russian society. Many people went to participate in hostilities voluntarily. Among them were famous people, including doctors, Sergei Botkin, writers and.

The commander of the 13th Narva Hussar Regiment of the Russian Army, the son of the great Russian poet and prose writer, also took part in the hostilities.

Stolen Victory

After a series of military failures, Turkey was forced to hastily make peace with Russia. It was signed in the western suburb of Istanbul San Stefano (now called Yeşilköy). On the Russian side, the agreement was signed by the former Russian ambassador to Turkey, Count and head of the diplomatic office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army in the Balkans, Alexander Nelidov. From Turkish - Foreign Minister Savfet Pasha and Ambassador to Germany Saadullah Pasha. The document proclaimed the creation of the independent state of Bulgaria, the principality of Montenegro, and a significant increase in the territories of Serbia and Romania. At the same time, Bulgaria received a number of Turkish territories where the Bulgarians lived before the Ottoman invasion of the Balkans: Bulgarian territory extended from the Black Sea to Lake Ohrid (modern Macedonia). In addition, Russia received a number of cities in Transcaucasia, and the autonomy of Bosnia and Albania was formed.

However, a number of European powers did not agree with the provisions of the document, primarily Great Britain. The English squadron approached Istanbul, and a serious threat of war between the United Kingdom and Russia arose. As a result, a new treaty was concluded in Berlin, called the Berlin Treaty. According to it, Bulgaria was divided into two parts, one proclaimed an independent state with its capital in Sofia, and the second proclaimed autonomy, but within the Ottoman Empire. Also, Serbia and Romania had to abandon some of the acquisitions of the San Stefano Treaty, and Russia was forced to return some of the Transcaucasian acquisitions. However, she retained the historically Armenian city of Kars, which was actively populated by Russian settlers.

Also, under the Berlin Agreement, Austria-Hungary received the right to establish a protectorate over Bosnia and Herzegovina, which eventually became one of the reasons for the First World War.

“The liberation war of 1877-78 is considered by a number of historians to be the fairest, since after the brutal suppression of the April Uprising it was the all-Slavic upsurge that became its driving force. This liberation war was essentially started by the people, and they won it. And the Treaty of San Stefano fixed the independence of Bulgaria within its historical borders. However, Russia’s military victory then turned into a diplomatic defeat for both the Russian Empire and Bulgaria,” he says in a conversation with Gazeta. Ru” Ambassador of Bulgaria to Russia Boyko Kotsev.

According to him, this was due, among other things, to the fact that the Peace of San Stefano was developed by some people, first of all, Count Ignatiev, and another delegation was sent to Berlin for negotiations - led by Count Mikhail Gorchakov. “Being of an advanced age and lacking information from his ambassadors, some of whom were engaged not so much in state affairs as in personal affairs, he was unable to protect the interests of Russia, as a result of which it lost a number of achievements of the war. This also affected Bulgaria, which lost some of its historical lands as a result of the Berlin dictatorship, as we called it, forever. However, we remember those who made their invaluable contribution to the formation of the Bulgarian state, and since then Count Ignatiev, who developed the draft San Stefano Agreement, is considered a national hero of Bulgaria,” concluded Kotsev.

Some historians believe that the reason St. Petersburg signed the Berlin Agreement was Russia's unwillingness to fight with England. As a result of the battles of the war of 1877-1878, 15.5 thousand Russian soldiers and officers, about 3.5 thousand Bulgarian volunteers were killed, in addition, 2.5 thousand militiamen from Serbia and Montenegro were killed.

Bulgarians think differently

Despite the fact that the date of the Treaty of San Stefano is one of the main national holidays in Bulgaria, now people have appeared in the intellectual and political elite of the country who have begun to advocate the removal of references to this event from Bulgarian history textbooks. “In Bulgaria there is a certain layer of people who advocate the broadest cooperation with a number of European countries and the United States, but they prefer to forget about the role of Russia.

I remember well my conversation with one activist. In front of me, she was indignant that in Bulgaria they even dared to erect monuments to Russian soldiers; they, they say, were occupiers and killed Bulgarians, and did not protect them. And when the Russian Patriarch came to Bulgaria, she was literally shaking with anger, shouting: “Kakva is impudent! Kakva impudence!!!" (What impudence - Bulgarian). It turns out that the Patriarch had the “arrogance” to call Russians and Bulgarians a single people.

“They, these Russians, want to occupy Bulgaria again through the church!” she almost shouted. I dared to object that he meant the Slavic brotherhood, and she replied that it doesn’t matter,” traveler and Balkanist Danko Malinovsky, who has Russian and Macedonian roots, told Gazeta.Ru.

Some Bulgarian public figures admit that there are people in the country who do not recognize the significance of the Treaty of San Stefano in Bulgarian history, but emphasize that they are in the minority.

“There are people in Bulgaria, this is about 4% of our society, who are trying to give this event a political and economic flavor, trying to show that Russia then pursued the goal of reaching the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, and was not interested in the liberation of the Bulgarians,” says “ Gazeta.Ru” Chairman of the Bulgarian National Movement “Russophiles” Nikolai Malinov. He emphasized that the vast majority of Bulgarians have a completely different position on this matter. “Let’s not forget that after the liberation of Bulgaria, Russia actually created the Bulgarian fleet and army, created the constitution of our country and laid the foundations of our statehood. Two years after the end of the war of 1877-1878, the Russians left all this to us and simply left without demanding anything in return. And, of course, we have not forgotten this. Today, up to 100 thousand people will come to the Shipka Pass, where one of the key battles of that war took place, to honor the memory of the fallen Russian soldiers and officers, as well as the Bulgarian militia. It is expected that the memorial on Shipka will also be visited,” Malinov added.

By the beginning of the 70s, a significant part of the Balkan Peninsula was still under Turkish rule. In their hands were Bulgaria, Macedonia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Albania, Epirus, Thessaly. Only Greece was officially an independent state. Serbia and Romania recognized the suzerainty of the Turkish Sultan and paid him tribute. Montenegro actually gained independence, but did not have the legal status of an independent state. Liberation from the Turkish yoke and the formation of independent national states was the most urgent and priority task of the Balkan peoples. At the same time, the question of eliminating Turkish domination in the Balkans and, consequently, the fate of all or most of the European possessions of the Ottoman Empire was one of the most pressing problems of international politics.

1. Eastern crisis of the 70s

A brewing political crisis in the Balkans

The disintegration of the Turkish feudal system and the gradual transformation of the Ottoman Empire into a semi-colony of capitalist powers - processes accelerated by the Crimean War - had profound consequences for the enslaved peoples of the Balkan Peninsula. The penetration of capitalist relations was combined with the preservation, and in some cases, the strengthening of the crudest forms of feudal exploitation, intertwined with cruel national and religious oppression. At the same time, the Balkan provinces of the Ottoman Empire encountered obstacles on the path of their economic development from European capital, which had various privileges and destroyed local crafts and manufactures with the competition of its factory goods.

The attempts made by the ruling circles of Turkey during the Tanzimat period to adapt the dilapidated feudal system to the requirements of capitalist development could neither suspend nor even significantly weaken the irreconcilable contradiction between the vital interests of the Balkan peoples and the reactionary Turkish rule. Fear of the liberation movement of non-Turkish peoples also doomed the liberal elements of Turkish society, who tried to prevent the collapse of the empire through partial reforms, to powerlessness. The only major revolutionary factor in the Balkans was the liberation struggle of the oppressed peoples, the goal of which - the creation of independent national states - met the objective needs of the economic development of the Turkish people themselves.

In the 70s, a new stage began in the development of the national movement of the enslaved peoples of the Balkan Peninsula. Its anti-feudal character becomes more pronounced, and the divergence between the masses and the Turkophile trading-thief-robber strata becomes deeper. The emergence of a revolutionary democratic movement among the Bulgarians marked the beginning of their organized struggle for their liberation. From the scattered actions of partisan detachments, the national liberation movement in Bulgaria is coming close to preparing a broad popular uprising.

Created in 1870 in Bucharest by Bulgarian emigrants, the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee considered its main task to organize a popular armed uprising in Bulgaria. One of the leaders of the Central Committee, an outstanding revolutionary, Basil Levsky, sought to involve the broad peasant masses in the struggle, and with enormous energy created an extensive revolutionary organization. After Levski was captured by the Turkish authorities and executed (1873), divisions intensified within the Central Committee. Its chairman, Lyuben Karavelov, who had previously taken an active part in the liberation struggle, took up exclusively educational activities. The committee was actually headed by Hristo Botev, a revolutionary democrat and utopian socialist, whose political views were formed under the influence of the writings of Russian revolutionary democrats and especially N.G. Chernyshevsky. Botev’s articles in the newspapers “Svoboda”, “Nezavisimoe”, “Duma na bolgarskite emigranta” (“Word of the Bulgarian emigrants”) and especially in the newspaper “Zname”, which he published, inspired the Bulgarian people to fight for freedom and called for a nationwide uprising.

Uprisings of 1875-1876 in Bosnia, Herzegovina and Bulgaria

Bosnia and Herzegovina was the scene of constant struggle against the Turkish oppressors. Back in 1853-1858 and 1860-1862. Major uprisings took place here, during which rebel organizers Luka Vukalovich, Peko Pavlovic and others emerged. The harvest failure of 1874, which led to a sharp deterioration in the situation of the masses, served as the impetus for a new upsurge of the liberation struggle.

While the population of cities and villages was starving, the Sultan's government, which had not fulfilled any of its promises made during the Tanzimat period, continued to pursue a policy of national oppression and tax robbery. In 1875, the agiar - feudal tithe - was significantly increased, which further increased the discontent of the peasantry. When Turkish tax collectors in the summer of the same year tried again over several days to collect taxes in one of the districts of Herzegovina, a spontaneous uprising broke out here, quickly sweeping the entire region, and then Bosnia. The rebels wrote in their appeal that they decided to “fight for freedom or die to the last man.” Armed peasants and artisans defeated several Turkish detachments, and part of the Sultan's troops were driven into fortresses and surrounded. New promises of reform made by the Turkish government have not led to reassurance; The participants in the uprising refused to lay down their arms. In September 1875, the population of Stara Zagora in Bulgaria rebelled. The rebels were quickly defeated, but in April 1876 a new, even wider uprising began. The Sultan sent up to 10 thousand well-armed bashi-bazouks (irregular troops). They broke into cities and villages, tortured and killed thousands of people. The areas of the uprising turned into huge ashes. Hristo Botev, who arrived in Bulgaria at the head of an armed detachment he formed on Romanian territory, died in battles with Turkish troops.

The April uprising, the main force of which were peasants and artisans, was an attempt to achieve national liberation and resolve the historical task facing Bulgaria - to end feudalism. This attempt then failed due to the numerical superiority of the Turkish troops and the betrayal of Turkophile elements from among the rural rich - the Chorbajis.

At the end of June 1876, the governments of Serbia and Montenegro demanded that Turkey refuse to send punitive troops to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Turkey did not satisfy their demands, and on June 30, both Slavic states declared war on it.

In several battles, the Montenegrins defeated the Turkish troops sent against them, but the main forces of the Sultan's army, sent against Serbia, achieved success and by the beginning of September they opened their way to Belgrade. Only an ultimatum from the Russian government, supported by a partial mobilization of troops, forced Turkey to suspend military operations.

Great Power Intervention

The outcome of the struggle of the Balkan peoples depended not only on their own efforts, but also on the international situation, on the clash of interests of major European powers in the so-called Eastern question. These states included primarily England, Austria-Hungary and Russia. British diplomacy continued to verbally defend the “integrity” of the Ottoman Empire. But this traditional means of countering Russia’s foreign policy plans also served as a cover for Britain’s own plans for territorial expansion in the Middle East.

For Austria-Hungary, the Eastern question was primarily a Slavic question. The patchwork empire, which forcibly retained millions of Slavs, already for this reason resolutely opposed the liberation movement in the neighboring Balkan regions and the formation of large, independent Slavic states there. After the military defeat of 1866, when Austria's hopes for hegemony in Germany collapsed, Austrian diplomacy intensified its activity in the Balkans. In the ruling camp of the “dual monarchy,” especially among the Hungarian magnates, there were also supporters of cautious actions in the Balkans, who considered it dangerous to increase the Slavic population of Austria-Hungary. But ultimately, the course of expansion and the seizure of Bosnia and Herzegovina prevailed. Austria-Hungary could not implement these plans on its own. Therefore, in her interests there was a new aggravation of the eastern question and a resolution that would combine the partial division of Turkey’s European possessions with the preservation of a sufficiently strong Turkish “dam” against Russian influence on the Balkan Peninsula.

The German government, while preparing an alliance with Austria-Hungary at that time, supported its expansionist aspirations in the Balkans. At the same time, it also pushed Russia to act against Turkey, since it hoped that if Russia focused its attention on the Balkans, as well as in Transcaucasia, and if, as Bismarck put it, “the Russian locomotive would let off steam somewhere away from the German border.” , then Germany will have a free hand in relation to France.

For its part, tsarism, although weakened by the defeat in the Crimean War, did not abandon its policy of conquest in the Balkans and the Middle East. In the post-reform period, the economic motives of this policy became even more important, connected with the colonization of the southern outskirts of Russia, the growth of grain exports through the Black Sea ports, and the penetration of Russian goods into the Middle Eastern countries.

At the same time, the tsarist government sought to take advantage of the sincere sympathy of wide circles of Russian society for the liberation struggle of the Slavic peoples, hoping that a victorious war with Turkey would undermine the growing revolutionary movement in the country and strengthen the autocracy.

An attempt by European powers using diplomatic pressure in 1875-1876. and then at the Constantinople Conference at the end of 1876, forcing the Turkish government to carry out reforms in the Balkan provinces did not bring success. Sultan Abdul Hamid II, confident in the irreconcilability of the contradictions between the powers and encouraged by the support of England, refused to accept the project developed by the conference.

Russo-Turkish War

After the outbreak of the Serbian-Turkish war, the tsarist government accelerated preparations for armed intervention in Balkan affairs.

In the summer of 1876, a meeting between the Russian and Austrian emperors took place in Reichstadt, during which an agreement was reached on the neutrality of Austria-Hungary in the event of a Russian-Turkish war. In March 1877, shortly after the closure of the fruitless Constantinople Conference, the two powers signed a secret convention in Budapest, according to which, in exchange for the neutrality of Austria-Hungary, Russia agreed to its occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A month later, in April 1877, Russia entered into an agreement with Romania, according to which the Romanian government undertook to send troops against Turkey, as well as to allow the Russian army through its territory.

The tsarist government hoped to end the war in one campaign. The strategic goal of the Russian army was to capture all of Bulgaria, the bordering regions of Macedonia and Thrace, and, if possible, the capital of Turkey - Constantinople (Istanbul). The Turkish command initially had an offensive plan designed to capture Romania and deliver a decisive blow to Russian troops in Bessarabia.

But on the eve of the war, this plan, as too risky, was replaced by a new one: it was planned to gradually weaken the Russian army in battle, doom it to immobility, using large fortresses on the Danube for this, and then defeat it.

On April 24, 1877, the Russian government declared war on Turkey. Russia sent an army of 185,000 to the Balkans; These forces were opposed by 160 thousand Turkish soldiers, not counting the almost 60 thousand reserves located in southern Bulgaria and Macedonia. On June 27, 1877, the advanced units of the Russians successfully crossed the largest barrier - the Danube - and with battle captured the main point of enemy defense - the city of Sistov.

The population of Bulgaria enthusiastically greeted their liberator - the Russian army. At the beginning of the war, seven thousand Bulgarian warriors set out from Ploiesti to the front. Bulgarian militias and volunteers of Bulgarian couples fought side by side with Russian soldiers. They showed high morale and heroism in difficult battles. However, the tsarist government was afraid of the wide scope of the people's liberation struggle and tried to control and limit the direct participation of the Bulgarians in the liberation of their homeland.

Along with the Russian units, the troops of Romania, which declared complete independence on May 21, 1877, also took part in the battles. From the west, Montenegro and Serbia led the attack on the Turkish army.

In the Caucasian theater of operations, Russian troops achieved rapid and significant success, taking Kare and threatening Erzurum. But in the Balkans, the advance of the Russian army was delayed for more than four months due to stubborn battles near the large Turkish fortress of Plevna (Pleven). Only after three assaults and a long siege was the fortress taken in early December.

The war revealed the low military-technical level of the tsarist army and the mediocrity of a significant part of the senior command staff. However, the steadfastness and heroism of Russian soldiers when crossing the Balkan passes in harsh winter conditions, in the battles of Shipka and in other battles of this war ultimately brought victory.

In January 1878, the Russian army launched a decisive offensive, penetrated the Maritsa Valley and captured Adrianople (Edirne). Here on January 31 a truce was signed. Then, in accordance with the terms of the truce, continuing to advance towards Constantinople, Russian troops occupied the town of San Stefano, 12 km from the Turkish capital. On March 3, 1878, a peace treaty was signed in San Stefano.

Treaty of San Stefano and Congress of Berlin

According to the Peace of San Stefano, a large independent Bulgarian state was created - “Great Bulgaria”, stretching “from sea to sea” (from the Black Sea to the Aegean) and including both the northern part of the country and the southern regions (Eastern Rumelia and Macedonia ). Turkey recognized the full independence of Romania, Montenegro and Serbia, and also pledged to provide self-government to Bosnia and Herzegovina and carry out broad reforms in other Slavic regions remaining under its rule. To compensate for military costs, Turkey agreed to pay Russia 1,410 million rubles. indemnity and, in the form of partial coverage of this amount, cede Batum, Kara, Ardagan and Bayazet to her. The Izmail district and the areas of the Akkerman district of Bessarabia, taken from it by the Peace of Paris in 1856, went to Russia; Romania received the northern part of Dobruja.

The San Stefano Peace Treaty was not implemented. After Russian troops approached Constantinople, the Western powers launched a noisy campaign, ostensibly in defense of Turkey, but in reality in order to satisfy their own aggressive plans. Disraeli's government sent a military squadron to the Sea of ​​Marmara, carried out a partial mobilization of the fleet and launched chauvinistic propaganda in the country. The ruling circles of England especially sharply objected to Russia's acquisitions in the Transcaucasus and to the creation of a “great Bulgaria,” which they regarded as a Russian outpost in the Balkans.

In turn, Austria-Hungary, which laid claim to the Bosnia and Herzegovina promised to it, openly opposed the terms of the Treaty of San Stefano.

The Prime Minister of Austria-Hungary, Count Andrássy, demanded the convening of a European conference and, in support of his position, began to mobilize in Dalmatia and the Danube regions.

Thus, having won a victory over Turkey, Russia found itself faced with the Anglo-Austrian coalition. The Russian government was not in a position to start a new war. The army was exhausted, supplies of military equipment were spent, and financial resources were sharply reduced. In addition, tsarism, even for reasons of internal politics, could not decide on a major war.

Russia's attempt to create difficulties for England in Afghanistan - by sending a military mission of General Stoletov to Kabul and advancing Russian troops to the Afghan border - did not lead to the desired goal: England did not give up the demand for a revision of the Treaty of San Stefano. The hopes of the tsarist government for diplomatic support from Germany also turned out to be in vain: at the end of February 1878, Bismarck spoke in favor of convening a congress, stipulating that he was only going to play the role of an “honest broker.”

Tsarist Russia, in order to split the coalition that was emerging against it, decided to conclude a backroom deal with its main enemy - England. On May 30, 1878, a secret agreement was signed in London, according to which Russia renounced the plan to create “Greater Bulgaria,” as well as some of its conquests in Asia Minor, and England withdrew its objections to the remaining terms of the Treaty of San Stefano.

At the same time, England managed to get Turkey to sign a convention on June 4, 1878, according to which, in exchange for a promise to help it against Russia, it received the opportunity to occupy the island of Cyprus, populated mainly by Greeks. Thus, England captured the most important strategic point in the eastern Mediterranean. In secret negotiations with Austria-Hungary, England pledged to support its claims to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

These agreements largely determined the balance of power at the European Congress, which was convened after Russia agreed to take part in it.

The International Congress opened on June 13, 1878 in Berlin. Russia, England, Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Italy, Turkey, Iran and the Balkan states were represented there. As a result of intense diplomatic struggle, the powers signed a month later, on July 13, 1878, the Berlin Treaty.

At the Berlin Congress, England and Austria-Hungary, with the support of Germany, achieved a significant change in the terms of the San Stefano Treaty to the disadvantage of the Slavic peoples of the Balkan Peninsula. Instead of “Great Bulgaria”, a virtually independent, but vassal in relation to the Sultan, the Bulgarian Principality was created, territorially limited in the south by the line of the Balkan Mountains. Southern Bulgaria (Eastern Rumelia) was granted partial autonomy within the Ottoman Empire, and Macedonia was completely returned to the rule of the Sultan. The independence of Montenegro, Serbia and Romania was confirmed, but in violation of the national interests of the South Slavs, Austria-Hungary received the right to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina. Austro-Hungarian troops were also introduced into the Novo-Bazarsky sanjak, located between Serbia and Montenegro; this was done in order to prevent the unification of the two Slavic states. Austria-Hungary was also given control over the coast of Montenegro. The articles of the Peace of San Stefano about Dobruja and Bessarabia were confirmed. The amount of indemnity imposed on Turkey was reduced to 300 million rubles. In Asia, Russia received Kare, Ardagan and Batum; Bayazet returned to Turkey.

Thus, the tasks of the national liberation movement of the Balkan peoples were not fully resolved. Regions with a large non-Turkish population remained under Turkish rule (Southern Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Thessaly, Aegean Islands); Bosnia and Herzegovina was occupied by Austria-Hungary. The Berlin Congress, by artificially redrawing the map of the Balkan Peninsula, created numerous reasons for new conflicts in the area and aggravation of the international situation as a whole. Even after their liberation, the Balkan countries remained an arena of rivalry among major European states. European powers interfered in their internal affairs and actively influenced their foreign policy. The Balkans became the powder keg of Europe.

Despite all this, the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. had great positive significance for the Balkan peoples. Its most important result was the elimination of Turkish oppression in most of the territory of the Balkan Peninsula, the liberation of Bulgaria and the formalization of the complete independence of Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro. In this sense, the selfless struggle of the Russian troops, supported by units of the Serbian, Montenegrin and Romanian armies and detachments of Bulgarian volunteers, bore fruit.

2. Balkan states at the end of the 19th century.

Bulgaria in the first nine months after the end of the war was under the control of Russian authorities. In 1879, the Great National Assembly, convened in Tarnovo, adopted the Constitution of Bulgaria. It was a progressive constitution for its time. It proclaimed a constitutional monarchy with a unicameral parliament. Universal suffrage (for men) was introduced, basic bourgeois-democratic freedoms were declared - freedom of speech, press, assembly, etc. Bulgaria's vassal dependence on Turkey was to be expressed only in the formal recognition of the suzerainty of the Sultan and in the payment of an annual tribute.

Romania and Serbia were proclaimed kingdoms: the first in 1881, the second in 1882.

Reunification of Bulgaria with Eastern Rumelia. "Bulgarian crisis" 1885-1886

The Great National Assembly elected Prince Alexander of Battenberg to the princely throne of Bulgaria, on whose candidacy Russia and other great powers agreed. Immediately after arriving in Bulgaria, Battenberg led a struggle against the Tarnovo Constitution, which he called “ridiculously liberal,” and against the liberal cabinet formed in accordance with this constitution. In 1881, taking advantage of the growing reaction in Russia in connection with the assassination of Alexander II and counting on the support of the new tsar, the prince carried out a coup d'etat: he removed the liberal government, arrested its members, and terminated the Tarnovo Constitution. Soon, two Russian generals who arrived from St. Petersburg joined the Bulgarian government. However, relations between Battenberg and the tsarist government deteriorated. The prince contributed to the subjugation of Bulgaria to Austrian influence, and the tsarist representatives sought to establish their own dictatorship in Bulgaria. Meanwhile, influential circles of the Bulgarian bourgeoisie, associated with Austrian capital, waged a struggle against Russian influence.

In particular, the struggle unfolded around railway construction projects in Bulgaria. The government of Tsarist Russia, for strategic reasons, sought to build a railway crossing Bulgaria from north to south. Austrian capital, trying to conquer the Balkan market, was interested in building a road in the direction from Vienna to Constantinople through Belgrade and Sofia. The Austrian project won. This further complicated relations between the tsarist government and Battenberg.

Then the prince resorted to a new political maneuver. He entered into an agreement with the liberal opposition and in 1883 restored the Tarnovo Constitution. Russian generals - members of the Bulgarian government were recalled by the tsar. From that time on, openly hostile relations were established between Battenberg and the tsarist government. The Bulgarian prince began to rely on the support of Austria-Hungary and England.

In September 1885, Bulgarian patriots in Plovdiv, the capital of Eastern Rumelia, overthrew the Turkish governor and announced the reunification of Eastern Rumelia with Bulgaria. Alexander Battenberg, using this revolutionary speech, proclaimed himself the prince of a united Bulgaria.

The reunification of Southern and Northern Bulgaria essentially meant only the correction of the injustice committed against the Bulgarian people at the Berlin Congress. But since this act strengthened the position of Prince Battenberg, the government of Tsarist Russia, contrary to its previous position, reacted sharply negatively to the unification of Bulgaria and protested against the violation of the Berlin Treaty. By order of Alexander III, all Russian officers were recalled from Bulgaria. In fact, there was a break between Russia and Bulgaria.

Soon the “Bulgarian crisis” was complicated by the intervention of other powers. At the instigation of Austria-Hungary, King Milan of Serbia demanded “compensation” from Bulgaria in connection with the increase in Bulgarian territory and, having received a refusal, began a war against Bulgaria. At the Battle of Slivnitsa in November 1885, the Bulgarians defeated the Serbian army. Only the ultimatum presented by Austria-Hungary to Battenberg prevented the transfer of hostilities to Serbian territory. Peace between Bulgaria and Serbia was concluded on the basis of maintaining the previous borders.

Following this, the Austrian and English governments, trying to complicate Russia's position in the Balkans and finally wrest Bulgaria from its influence, achieved an agreement between Turkey and Bulgaria, according to which Eastern Rumelia formally remained a province of Turkey, but the Sultan appointed a Bulgarian prince as governor of this province. Thus, in fact, Türkiye recognized the reunification of Northern and Southern Bulgaria.

In August 1886, conspiratorial officers, backed by tsarist diplomacy, arrested Battenberg and expelled him from the country. A few days later he returned, but Alexander III strongly opposed his restoration to the throne, and Battenberg had to leave Bulgaria forever. In September 1886, General Kaulbars came to Sofia as an emissary of the Tsar, who was supposed to agree with the leadership circles on the candidacy of a new protege of Tsarist Russia for the Bulgarian throne. The rude actions of the tsarist emissary led this time to the official rupture of Russian-Bulgarian relations.

In 1887, Austria-Hungary, with the support of Germany, achieved the election of Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to the Bulgarian princely throne. Istanbulov, who became the head of the Bulgarian government, suppressed the pro-Russian opposition. For a long period, Austro-German influence established itself in Bulgaria. It was largely preserved even after the official “reconciliation” of Prince Ferdinand with the Russian court in 1896.

The “Bulgarian crisis” clearly showed how the situation in the Balkans became more complicated as a result of the intervention of European powers.

Socio-economic development of the Balkan countries

The liberation of the Balkan states from the Turkish yoke had the consequence of accelerating their capitalist development. In Bulgaria, over the course of several years (1880-1885), feudal land tenure was finally abolished: the land was taken away from the Turkish landowners and transferred, albeit for a large ransom, to the peasants. The development of capitalism in the agriculture of the Balkan countries led to the stratification of the countryside and the dispossession of a significant part of the peasantry; Bonded forms of rent - labor and sharecropping - were widespread. In Serbia, over several years, from 1880 to 1887, the number of landless peasants increased from 17 to 22%, and in Bulgaria, 67% of peasants by 1897 owned a little more than a fifth of all cultivated land.

The peasantry, crushed by heavy redemption payments, suffering from state taxes, scarcity of land, and high rents, waged a constant struggle to improve their situation. The largest peasant uprising in the Balkans at the end of the 19th century. there was an uprising of Serbian peasants in the Timok (Zajchar) district in 1883. The armed peasants were supported by workers and artisans and resisted the royal army for several weeks. This uprising, like other peasant uprisings, ended in defeat.

Gradually, industry developed in the Balkan countries, but for the most part these were small enterprises engaged in the processing of agricultural raw materials and employing several dozen workers. The development of industry was seriously hampered by an acute lack of capital and competition from foreign goods. Imports of the Balkan countries consisted almost entirely of finished goods, and exports were mainly agricultural products and raw materials.

Foreign capital entered Bulgaria in the form of government loans; only a tiny fraction of this money was invested in industrial development. The expansion of foreign capital into Serbia and Romania took place mainly in the form of investments in the mining industry. Austro-Hungarian capital was most active in the Balkans at this time. By the end of the century, Serbia had become an agricultural and raw materials appendage of the Austro-Hungarian industry. 90% of Serbian exports went to Austria-Hungary. Only in Romania, which switched to a policy of protectionism in the second half of the 1980s, did industry develop at a somewhat faster pace. Oil production, for example, increased from 16 thousand tons in 1881 to 250 thousand tons in 1900, but in this industry the position of foreign capital was extremely strong from the very beginning.

Greece also remained an agricultural country. 75% of its exports were agricultural goods - currants, tobacco, etc. It did not have its own heavy industry. In the 80s, railway construction intensified, the tonnage of the merchant fleet increased (almost four times over the last two decades of the 19th century), foreign trade turnover increased, and large ports appeared (the population of Piraeus increased from several hundred people to 70 thousand over half a century). But this development was largely the result of an influx of foreign capital, mainly in the form of government loans. Greece's economic and political dependence on the great powers increased enormously. Foreign diplomatic representatives encouraged party feuds, bribed politicians, and sought a change of government.

Using their influence, the great powers prevented the implementation of Greek national demands. After the declaration of Greek independence, a significant territory with a Greek population still remained under Turkish rule. The issue of reunification of these regions with Greece has been the most pressing issue in the political life of the country for many years.

The Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, although Greece did not participate in it, had favorable consequences for the Greeks. Taking advantage of the weakening of Turkey, Greece managed, after long negotiations, to obtain from it in 1881 the concession of Thessaly and the Arta district in Epirus. However, even after this, many more Greeks lived outside the borders of the Greek state than within its borders.

Labor and socialist movement

Given the weak level of capitalist development, the proletariat of the Balkan countries at the end of the century was still small in number. In Serbia in 1900 there were only 10 thousand industrial workers, accounting for approximately 0.3% of its total population. In Bulgaria at the same time, 4.7 thousand workers worked at large enterprises, i.e. 0.1% of the population. In Romania, enterprises with more than 25 workers employed 28 thousand workers, less than 0.5% of the population. In Greece, by the end of the 70s, the number of workers in industrial enterprises and craft workshops was 43 thousand people - 2.5% of the population.

The financial situation of the workers, their life, and working conditions were extremely difficult. The prominent Romanian writer Eminescu described the situation of workers in tobacco factories in this way in 1876: “These long dark days of 12-14 hour labor are not interrupted by either rest or holiday... Even the beast of burden is spared during illness, his strength is taken into account... The situation with a person is different. He can die in peace, there will always be someone else to take his place.”

In the 70-80s, the labor movement in the Balkans was spontaneous and took only its first steps; Participants in numerous strikes, as a rule, put forward purely economic demands. The few socialist circles that emerged during these years aimed at studying and promoting Marxism.

In the early 90s, the first workers' parties were formed in the Balkan countries. The strongest social democratic party in the Balkans was created in Bulgaria in 1891 under the leadership of an outstanding figure in the socialist movement, Dimitar Blagoev. Expelled from Russia by the tsarist government, Blagoev returned to Bulgaria, founded a number of socialist circles and became editor of the newspaper Rabotnik. The Bulgarian Social Democratic Party, led by Blagoev, quickly gained influence among the workers. Blagoev and other socialists introduced the works of Marx and Engels to the Bulgarian workers. In 1891, the Manifesto of the Communist Party was first published in Bulgarian.

In 1892-1893 The Social Democratic Party of Romania was formed. However, its program and activities did not go further than general democratic demands; reformism dominated the party. In 1899, a large group of Social Democratic leaders joined the ranks of the bourgeois-landowner liberal party. The Social Democratic Party suffered a heavy blow and ceased to exist for a time.

The first workers' union in Greece was created by shipbuilders Fr. Saros (Sir) in 1879. At the end of the 19th century. Other workers' organizations also emerged. Since the 70-80s, socialist ideas began to spread in the country. Workers' movement figures P. Drakulis and S. Kalergis played a major role in this. In 1890, Kalergis founded the “Central Socialist Association” and in the same year began publishing the newspaper “Socialist”. Still, at the end of the 19th century. the labor and socialist movement in Greece remained very immature; socialists were strongly influenced by petty-bourgeois ideology.

In Serbia, socialist ideas became widespread back in the 70s. The newspaper Radnik (Worker), published by the revolutionary democrat Svetozar Markovic, published a chapter from Capital on its pages. In 1872, the Manifesto of the Communist Party was also translated into Serbian. During these years, the first trade unions emerged. In 1887, the “Union of Craftsmen” was created, which was soon transformed into the “Union of Craftsmen and Workers”. At first, petty-bourgeois radicals enjoyed significant influence in it, but soon the leadership of the “Union” passed to the socialists. In the mid-90s, socialist newspapers “Sotsial-demokrat”, “Radničke novine” (“Workers’ Newspaper”) and in 1900 “Napred” (“Forward”) began to be created. The socialist played a major role in organizing the Serbian labor movement Andria Bankovich. In 1893, the Union sent its representative to the International Socialist Congress in Zurich.

Uprising in Crete. Greco-Turkish War 1897

Among the Greek population of the areas remaining under the yoke of the Sultan, a movement for reunification with Greece developed. It was especially strong on the island of Crete, where major uprisings had occurred more than once. In 1896, the Greek population of the island again began an armed struggle against Turkish rule, and in February 1897 the rebels proclaimed the annexation of Crete to Greece.

Events in Crete prompted the Greek government to send a detachment of troops there to support the rebels. In response, the Great Powers declared the autonomy of Crete “under the auspices of Europe”; English, French, Italian and Russian troops occupied the island. At the same time, Türkiye opened military operations against Greece. The Greco-Turkish War began. It lasted only one month. Volunteers from various countries arrived to help the Greeks, including Garibaldi’s son, Ricciotti. Thanks to the great superiority of forces and the military unpreparedness of Greece, Türkiye won. Greece had to withdraw its troops from Crete and agree to pay an indemnity to the Turkish government. To ensure the payment of this indemnity, an international commission was created, at the disposal of which all income from Greek customs and revenues from state monopolies (for salt, tobacco, kerosene, matches, etc.) were transferred. Thus, the Greek economy found itself under even tighter foreign control than before.

However, Turkey, despite the defeat of Greece, actually lost its dominance over Crete. Soon after the end of the Greco-Turkish War, the Greek prince George was appointed High Commissioner of Crete at the suggestion of Russia. At the same time, the great powers retained their military units in Crete, which were entrusted with the task of maintaining the status quo, that is, preventing the reunification of the island with Greece.

Do you see this “shoe” written in Arabic script? Second half of the 14th century. Soon almost all of Europe will be under this boot. This is the autograph of a man who can easily be called a barbarian, a vandal, a monster, but is unlikely to be called a scoundrel or an illiterate nomad. No matter how sad it is for the peoples enslaved by this conqueror, Orhan is considered the second of the three founders of the Ottoman Empire, under him the small Turkic tribe finally turned into a strong state with a modern army.
If anyone today doubts that Bulgaria did not give a worthy rebuff to the occupier, they are greatly mistaken. This figure was very educated, well-read, smart and, as befits a traditionally far-sighted, cunning politician of the Eastern style - a wise villain. That's who conquered Bulgaria. It is not possible to accuse the then Bulgarian rulers and people of negligence and weakness, given this balance of power and historical unfavorable circumstances, of frivolously falling under the yoke. History has no subjunctive mood, so what happened, happened.

Here is a rough chronology of events
Sultan Orhan (1324 - 1359) became the ruler of the entire northwestern part of Anatolia: from the Aegean Sea and the Dardanelles to the Black Sea and the Bosphorus. He managed to gain a foothold in continental Europe. In 1352, the Turks crossed the Dardanelles and took the fortress of Tsimpe, and in 1354 they captured the entire Gallipoli Peninsula. In 1359, the Ottomans made an unsuccessful attempt to storm Constantinople.
In 1359, Orhan's son, Murad I (1359–1389), came to power in the Ottoman state, who, having strengthened his dominance in Asia Minor, began to conquer Europe.
In 1362, the Turks defeated the Byzantines on the outskirts of Andrianople and captured the city. Murad I moved the capital of the newly formed Ottoman state to Andrianople in 1365, renaming it Edirne.
In 1362, the rich Bulgarian city of Plovdiv (Philippopolis) came under the rule of the Turks, and two years later the Bulgarian Tsar Shishman was forced to recognize himself as a tributary of the Sultan and give his sister to his harem. After these victories, a stream of Turkic settlers poured from Asia to Europe.
Byzantium turned into a city-state cut off from the outside world without any dependent territories, and also deprived of its previous sources of income and food. In 1373, the Byzantine Emperor John V recognized himself as a vassal of Murad I. The Emperor was forced to sign a humiliating treaty with the Turks, according to which he refused to make up for the losses suffered in Thrace, and to provide assistance to the Serbs and Bulgarians in resisting the Ottoman conquest, and he was also obliged to provide assistance to the Ottomans support in the fight against their rivals in Asia Minor.
Continuing their expansion in the Balkans, the Turks attacked Serbia in 1382 and took the Tsatelitsa fortress, and in 1385 they conquered the Bulgarian city of Serdika (Sofia).
In 1389, a Turkish army under the command of Murad I and his son Bayezid defeated a coalition of Serbian and Bosnian rulers at the Battle of Kosovo. Before the battle on the Kosovo field, Murad I was mortally wounded by the Serbian prince and soon died; power in the Ottoman state passed to his son Bayazid I (1389-1402). After the victory over the Serbian army, many Serbian commanders were killed on the Kosovo field in front of the dying Murad I.
In 1393, the Ottomans captured Macedonia, then the Bulgarian capital Tarnovo. In 1395, Bulgaria was completely conquered by the Ottomans and became part of the Ottoman state. Bulgaria became a transit interest of the Ottomans. Next in line was Constantinople, the citadel of the Byzantine Empire. That's the whole story of how Bulgaria came under the Turkish-Ottoman yoke. The yoke that existed before the liberation of Bulgaria by Russian Tsar Alexander II.

JANUARY 5 – LIBERATION OF THE CAPITAL OF BULGARIA FROM THE TURKS
Notice, by chance, on Easter Eve?
At the end of November 1877, the victory of the Russian army in the Battle of Plevna marked the beginning of the liberation of Bulgaria. A month later, in the brutal winter of 1878, Russian troops under the command of General Joseph Vladimirovich Gurko made a difficult trek through the snow-covered Balkan Mountains. Later, historians compared this campaign of the Russian army with the campaigns of Hannibal and Suvorov, while some added that it was easier for Hannibal, because he did not have artillery.
During bloody battles with the Turkish units of Shukri Pasha, Russian troops liberated Sofia. On January 4, the Kuban Cossacks from the hundred yasaul Tishchenko threw down the Turkish banner from the council. On January 5, all of Sofia was occupied, and the Turkish troops remaining there hastily retreated to the south. As historians write, Russian troops were greeted by the local population on the outskirts of the city with music and flowers. Prince Alexander Dondukov - Korsukov reported to Emperor Alexander II: “The genuine feelings of the Bulgarians towards Russia and the Russian troops are touching.”
And General Gurko noted in the order for the troops: “The capture of Sofia ended the brilliant period of the current war - the transition through the Balkans, in which you don’t know what else to be surprised at: your courage, your heroism in battles with the enemy, or the endurance and patience with which you endured difficult adversity in the fight against mountains, cold and deep snow... Years will pass, and our descendants, who visit these harsh mountains, will solemnly and proudly say: the Russian army passed here, resurrecting the glory of Suvorov and Rumyantsev’s miracle heroes.”
Then the townspeople decided that this January day would become an annual national holiday. Over the years, the decision was forgotten, but in 2005 the Sofia City Hall decided to revive the former tradition in connection with the 125th anniversary of the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke.

Ottoman yoke
The Ottoman yoke lasted almost five hundred years. As a result of the successful Russian-Turkish wars and the uprising of the Bulgarian people, this rule was overthrown in 1878. The yoke is a yoke, but still the country did not freeze, it lived, developed, but not, of course, in the same way as a sovereign state lives and develops.
However, was there, in fact, a yoke or was it a natural movement of history? From the point of view of faith, perhaps, it was precisely the yoke, however, even under the Turks, there were monasteries in Bulgaria. They, of course, did not dominate culturally, but the rulers of Istanbul did not completely ban Christianity, although Christians were still oppressed. For example, every fifth male child in a Bulgarian family joined the army and became a Janissary.
Also, Ottoman rule put an end to the development of Christian temple architecture. Few churches were built, and the few temples erected in the country during this period were small and insignificant. But luxurious mosques were built throughout the country, mainly in the traditional Ottoman style, the characteristic feature of which is a large dome over the prayer hall and an elegant pointed minaret. In parallel, there was a campaign of seizure of fertile lands in favor of Turkish colonists and the Islamization of the population.
On the other hand, Bulgaria lived quite calmly as the “rear” of the Ottoman Empire. Despite the religious and economic pressure, Slavs, Greeks and Armenians lived quite harmoniously there. Over time, the Turks associated themselves less and less with the Turks, and more and more with the Ottomans. As, indeed, are national minorities. More or less, some kind of comparative stability reigned in occupied Bulgaria in the 17th-18th centuries.
During the period of Ottoman rule, Bulgarian cities acquired “oriental” features: in addition to mosques, Turkish baths and shopping arcades appeared in them. Ottoman architecture also influenced the appearance of residential buildings. Thus, thanks to her, an attic, an open veranda and a “minder”, a wooden elevation - a couch on the veranda, so characteristic of Bulgarian residential buildings, appeared.
Since ancient times, Bulgaria and Russia have been connected by common Slavic origins, a common religion and writing, as well as many other factors. And it is not surprising that the Bulgarians, who for centuries dreamed of liberation from Turkish rule, turned their attention to fraternal Orthodox Russia. Moreover, the Sultan established a political balance with the West, and had constant friction only with Russia. In addition, the Ottoman Empire was noticeably weakening, and in 1810 Russian troops appeared in Bulgaria for the first time. In 1828-1829 they went further and stayed longer. The era of five centuries of shame of slavery was ending.
Here are three historical figures of these events:

Captor and liberator with his wife. Maria Alexandrovna is the wife of the Russian Emperor Alexander II. “Emperor Alexander II was a sensitive person, he knew and loved the Bulgarians, and was interested in their past and present. But I was afraid of the Crimean syndrome,” noted Prof. Todev. Prince Gorchakov, chancellor and minister of foreign affairs, had great influence in determining Russian policy. He was for a peaceful solution, for conferences, for actions within the framework of the “European concert”. But the queen, for example, was categorically “in favor of waging war”!!! First ladies are sometimes more decisive and far-sighted than their spouses. Maybe it would be more correct to mention the Tsar-Liberator and the Queen-Liberator? It will be more honest!

Shipka
There have been, are and will be wars in the history of mankind. War is like a book. There is a title, a prologue, a narrative and an epilogue. But in these books there are pages without which the essence of war, this bloodshed, becomes somehow irrational, insufficient for understanding. These pages are about the culmination of the war. All wars have their own pages about the main, decisive battle. There is such a page in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. This is the Battle of Shipka Pass.

The Thracians inhabited this place in ancient times. Many archaeological remains (tombs, weapons, armor, coins) of that period were found in the vicinity of the towns of Shipka and Kazanlak. In the 1st century BC e. the city was conquered by the Romans. When the Turks captured Bulgaria in 1396, they created a garrison in the city of Shipka to guard and control the Shipka Pass. In the vicinity of Shipka and Sheinovo, some of the bloodiest battles were fought in the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878 (defense of Shipka in the war for the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke). The Freedom Monument on Mount Shipka (Stoletov Peak) is dedicated to the memory of the fallen. This is how a locality, having existed for millennia, by the will of history, suddenly becomes not a locality, but a symbol of courage, spirit, and determination. Unfortunately, such glory comes to an area only after it has absorbed the sea of ​​blood of a reasonable person. But as they say - “in war, like in war.”

P.S.
Bulgaria is a small, picturesque Balkan state with a population of nearly eight million and a tragic history. Bulgarians still dream about the ancient Bulgarian kingdom, which once reigned supreme over the Balkan Peninsula. Then there were almost two centuries of Byzantine slavery and five centuries of Turkish yoke. Bulgaria as a state disappeared from the world map for seven hundred years. Russia saved its Orthodox brothers from Muslim slavery at the cost of the lives of almost two hundred thousand of its soldiers. The Russian-Turkish War of 1877 – 1878 is etched in history in golden letters. “There is only one state to which the Bulgarians are indebted for all time, and that is Russia,” says the famous Bulgarian journalist and former Bulgarian ambassador to the Balkans Velizar Yenchev. This is now an unpopular opinion among our political elite, who do not want to admit: for the rest of our lives we must thank Russia for liberating us from the Turks. We were the last in the Balkans to gain freedom. If it were not for the Russian imperial army, we would now be like Kurds and would not even have the right to speak our native language. We have seen only good things from you and are indebted to you to the end of our lives.”
“It was the most emotional war in European history,” says Sofia University history professor Andrei Pantev. — The most honest war, romantic and noble. Russia did not gain anything good from our liberation. The Russians boarded their ships and left for home. All Balkan countries, after liberation from Turkish slavery with the help of Russia, turned AGAINST Russia towards the West. It looks like a parable about a beautiful princess who was saved from a dragon by one knight and kissed by another. At the end of the 19th century, there was even an opinion in Russia: why the hell should we quarrel with the West over these ungrateful Slavs?
Bulgaria has always suffered from the “sunflower syndrome”, always looking for a strong patron and often making mistakes. In two world wars, Bulgaria sided with Germany against Russia. “Over the entire twentieth century, we were declared aggressors three times,” says historian Andrei Pantev. — First in 1913 (the so-called Inter-Allied Balkan War), then in 1919 and 1945. During the First World War, Bulgaria fought in one way or another against three states that participated in the war of liberation against the Turks: Russia, Romania and Serbia. This is a big mistake. What seems pragmatic at the current political moment often turns out to be simply disgusting in the court of history.”
Despite past differences, Bulgaria is our closest sister country. The tree of our friendship has bore bitter fruit more than once, but we have a common written language, a common religion and culture, and a common Slavic blood. And blood, as you know, is not water. For deep reasons, classical memories and heroic legends, the Bulgarians will forever remain our brothers - the last brothers in Eastern Europe.

On Tuesday, Bulgaria celebrated the 137th anniversary of the Liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke. On March 3 (February 19, old style), the Treaty of San Stefano was signed between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, as a result of which Bulgaria gained independence. This day is a national holiday in Bulgaria and the event is widely celebrated throughout the country. The Russian representative was not invited to the celebrations, which provoked a large-scale discussion in Bulgarian society.

RIA News. Lithograph from 1877 "Battle of Shipka on December 28, 1877 during the Russian-Turkish War"

The celebration of the 137th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of San Stefano took place in Bulgaria without Russian officials. “Neither the Administration of the President of Bulgaria, nor the ministerial council, nor the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited Russian politicians to official events,” comments the Bulgarian publication Blitz.

March 3 is a national holiday in Bulgaria, and events dedicated to the Liberation from the Ottoman yoke were held in every city in the country, Vesti.bg reports. Bulgarian Patriarch Neophytos served a memorial service and a thanksgiving prayer service in the Sofia Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky.

RIA News. Temple of Alexander Nevsky in Sofia, built in the 19th century in honor of Russian soldiers who died in battles for the liberation of the Bulgarian people from the Turkish yoke. 1985

An official ceremony of raising the Bulgarian flag and laying a wreath at the Monument of the Unknown Soldier took place on Alexander Nevsky Square in Sofia with the participation of President Rosen Plevneliev.

RIA News. Monument to the Russian Tsar-Liberator Alexander II in the center of Sofia. year 2012

A large-scale procession with a 300-meter Bulgarian flag took place in Stara Zagora, where during the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. There were fierce battles. The ceremonial events took place at the Freedom Monument on Shipka, which was erected in honor of those who fell in the battles for the defense of this pass during the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878. The events were attended by deputies of the Bulgarian parliament, city mayors, representatives of diplomatic missions and non-governmental organizations, ordinary citizens, soldiers of the honor guard company and a military band (about 150 military personnel in total). Wreaths were laid at the freedom monument with military honors. Similar events are held on Shipka every year, and in 2003 Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in them.

The fact that Russian officials were not invited to the celebration of Bulgaria's liberation from the Ottoman yoke as a result of the Russo-Turkish War caused outrage among Bulgarian social media users.

They write angry posts, post photoshopped photos of President Rosen Plevneliev, in which he decides to celebrate without Russia under US pressure, and even write poems in gratitude to the “Russian brothers” for their help in gaining independence.

“The Poles did not invite Russia to events regarding the liberation of Auschwitz by the Red Army, which is why the Israeli Prime Minister did not come to Poland - as a sign of solidarity with the Russian president. Today, our Euro-Atlantic authorities do not invite official Russian representatives to celebrate our Liberation from Ottoman slavery through Russian-Turkish war,” notes historian, associate professor at Sofia University named after St. Kliment Ohridski Darina Grigorov on your Facebook page.

“The increased emphasis on the role of Ukrainian, Romanian and Finnish soldiers who fought for our Liberation is noteworthy. They are presented as almost equal to the Russians, who made up 90% of those who fought. Moreover, Ukrainian troops are inseparable from Russian ones when we talk about the period when the Ukrainian "the nation did not exist. Political correctness does not yet allow us to deny March 3rd, but there have been attempts to manipulate some of its details," writes Dobri Bozhilov, who became famous in his homeland for his open letters to the authorities. “Yesterday, in addition to Sofia and Shipka, there were large-scale celebrations in Stara Zagora. Such mass events, which are mainly an expression of Russophilia (March 3 cannot but be a Russophile holiday), during the mass media and government occupation by anti-Russian and foreign puppets, promise social clashes ", adds Bozhilov.

The fact that the decision not to invite Russian officials to the celebration belongs not to the Bulgarian authorities themselves, but to their American partners, social media users publish photoshopped.
For example:

The US Ambassador to Bulgaria, addressing President Rosen Plevneliev, says: “Rosen, we forbid you to invite Russians to March 3!” “Okay, boss,” Plevneliev replies.

Another photoshop on the topic of attempts to distort history (look for Vladimir Putin):

"1878, liberation of Bulgaria from the Turkish presence by US, EU, NATO troops."

There are these pictures:

"Russian aggressors and Bulgarian separatists in battle with the legitimate Ottoman authorities."

On March 3, Bulgaria celebrates the next anniversary of the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke. On this day in 1878, the Treaty of San Stefano was signed between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, which was supposed to end the Russian-Turkish war between the Russian and Ottoman empires.

The reason for the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. served as an uprising against the Ottoman yoke in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1875-1876) and the April Uprising in Bulgaria (1876), drowned in blood by the Turks. By the end of 1877, after stubborn fighting on the Balkan front, Russian troops liberated Bulgaria, and at the beginning of 1878 they were already on the approaches to Constantinople. On the Caucasian front, Bayazet, Ardahan, and the fortress city of Kars were taken. The Ottoman Empire admitted itself defeated, and in the town of San Stefano on February 19 (March 3, new style), 1878, it signed a peace treaty with the Russian Empire.

Vintage photographs today they tell us how this war of liberation was fought.

Ossetians participated in the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-78 as part of a special military unit.

The first Japanese to set foot on Bulgarian soil, Ili I'm Markov Popgeorgiev, fought during the war
participant in the Russian-Turkish war in the ranks of the Russian army, as part of the First Bulgarian Legion
at the head of a platoon during the siege of Plevna, major general,
Baron Yamazawa Karan (1846-1897)

Ruins of the church in Sofia and Russian troops entering the city

Life GuardsFinnishregiment. Photos for memory with two local children

Officers and non-commissioned officers of the Finnish Life Guards Regiment, participants in the Russian-Turkish War

General Radetsky (center) with a Cossack regiment

Mobile hospital for the Russian army

A Russian Cossack carries a selected homeless Turkish child

Street children in the courtyard of the Russian consulate in Ruse, where they were kept

Russian artillery in positions at Corabia (Romania)

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich with officers

Emperor Alexander II with guards near Plevna

Russian troops in front of Odrin, now Turkish Edirne. On the horizon is not St. Sophia in Constantinople, as everyone wants to think, but the Selimiye Mosque

Turkish heavy artillery on the banks of the Bosphorus

Turkish prisoners of war, Bucharest

During the signing of the San Stefano Peace Treaty. The point was almost reached, as it seemed then

Count Eduard Ivanovich Totleben with officers. San Stefano. 1878

As comrade reports asteroid_belt in the article Stoyan, who does not remember his kinship? , V Many monuments have been erected in memory of those events in Bulgaria. Which is not surprising, given that Bulgaria finally gained independence after almost 500 years of Turkish rule, which lasted from 1396 to 1878.

“Bulgarian, kneel before the Holy Tomb - here lies the Russian Warrior who gave his life for our freedom”, written on one of the monuments.

According to tradition, the main celebrations will take place at the Shipka Pass, where in 1877 Russian troops withstood a bloody months-long struggle on a mountain pass and won one of the key victories.

In 2003, Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the events held on Shipka on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the Liberation. After this, Bulgaria became a full member of NATO on March 29, 2004, and Russian high-ranking officials stopped appearing at commemorative events. In 2011, the Russian Ambassador to Bulgaria, Yuri Nikolaevich Isakov, took part in the festive events in Sofia. But time passes, and in 2015 a scandal broke out in Bulgarian society - representatives of Russia were not invited to the celebrations at all.

At the same time, the congratulations of Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, published by him on Facebook, caused general bewilderment. “Borisov, in relation to the Turkish yoke, used a word unusual for Bulgarians in this context "control" , reports the website rb.ru.

And here is a commentary reaction from one of the Bulgarians, given in the same article :"Slavery, Boyko! Slavery! Yoke! 5 centuries of murder, blood tax, genocide! Not foreign control!"

"The recent head of the Turkish minority organization in Bulgaria, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Lutvi Mestan, directly stated that “Bulgarians have never lived better than during the Ottoman Empire”, and then “uninvited (!) invasion of Russia” life has changed dramatically for the worse", reports KP.ru. A wonderful position, isn't it? It turns out everything was great until the vile Russia came. It’s a pity that the Bulgarians of the 19th century, who liberated their homeland together with Russian troops, were not in the know. I wonder what 21st century Bulgarians think.

And on February 19, 2016, Bulgarian deputies created a commission "to study information about the interference of Russia and Turkey in the internal affairs of Bulgaria", reports the website rus.bg.

In response, at a briefing by Russian Foreign Ministry representative Maria Zakharova, the following statement (quote) followed:

“The absurdity of this situation is expressed in the most absurd name of the commission. History really knows examples of the peculiar so-called “interference” of Russia in the internal affairs of Bulgaria, when a Russian soldier came into the territory of this country with weapons in his hands in order to resist fascism and free his brothers from evil. Earlier - to free the Slavs from the five-century yoke of the same Turkey. We all remember history very well, those who don’t remember can refresh their memory. One can only, of course, wonder what the point is in once again looking for the notorious “hand of Moscow "in a state whose generations owe much of their sovereignty, their sovereign existence to their brothers? The question is not that we begin to reckon and remind ourselves of what the Russian people, the citizens of our country, did for Bulgaria. We would never do this and would not have done. But when such absurd absurd bodies arise, which, without trying to find out anything, assert in advance obviously false things, then, of course, in this situation it is always a good idea to remind about our common common history.

There is a fear that in Bulgarian society, at the instigation of such parliamentarians and politicians, “neo-McCarthyism” may begin. The cynicism of such steps by the initiators also lies in the fact that the notorious Commission was created on the eve of the 138th anniversary of the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke."

It should be noted that p The Bulgarian resident has already called on the EU and NATO "strengthen counteraction to the growing aggression on the part of Russia." And Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov stated that "The main threats to the foreign policy interests of the European Union come from Russia and the terrorist group Islamic State". Sanctions, refusal of the agreed-upon construction of the South Stream branch, periodic desecration of the monument to the Soviet liberating wars, etc. and so on. How soon will “Turkey” disappear from the name of the commission and “suddenly” it will become clear that only the evil Russia is interfering in the internal affairs of Bulgaria? How soon will it “suddenly” become clear that there was no Turkish yoke, and the Bulgarians prospered exceptionally in the Ottoman Empire? How soon will it become clear that the evil Russia, having treacherously attacked the peaceful Ottoman Empire, ruined the life of the Bulgarians?

And finally, How soon will the galloping crowd of Bulgarians be shouting a version of the chant “Muscovites to knives” somewhere in the center of Sofia?

Another accusation against Russia for the occupation of Bulgaria in 1944 was made by the 38-year-old Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria Daniel Mitov on March 1, 2016 in an article published in the newspaper “24 Hours”.

Mitov accused Russian diplomats of unacceptable tone of statements and expressed hope that Bulgaria’s membership in the EU and NATO “can only enrich the mechanisms and conditions of our dialogue with other countries”. In addition, the Minister stated that “The Bulgarian people remember very well both the Russian liberation troops of 1877-1878 and Soviet occupation, which began in 1944."

The reason for Minister Mitov’s article was the quoted statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry on February 25, 2016, which expressed concerns about the creation by the People’s Assembly of Bulgaria of a Temporary Parliamentary Commission to study the facts and circumstances related to allegations of interference by the Russian Federation and Turkey in the internal affairs of Bulgaria.

It is clear that today's Bulgaria is not sovereign. And perhaps most of the population does not support the government’s Russophobic course. But, firstly, this must be actively expressed in some way - they will remain silent, nothing will change. Secondly, with the help of propaganda you can thoroughly rinse the brains of the population in the right direction. Who thought until recently that people would walk around Kyiv? e To A parades with portraits of Bandera?

This is not the first time that Bulgarians have stepped on the Russophobic rake. We remember very well that they fought on the side of our enemies in both the First and Second World Wars. And how they dealt with the proclaimed ideals of the “Orthodox Slavic brotherhood” when they fought with Serbia in 1885, and then again with Serbia in 1913, as well as with Montenegro and Greece.

This policy has never led to anything good for either Bulgaria or the Bulgarian people. I firmly hope that sooner or later, the historical memory of the Bulgarians will be stronger than the Russophobia that is actively instilled in them today. And this memory will make the Bulgarians realize once again that only the friendship of Russians and Bulgarians has always brought them mutual benefit. And this friendship will be revived again and return to the relations between our peoples.