The main reasons for Russia's defeat in the Crimean War. Reasons for the defeat of the Crimean War

Military conflicts are not uncommon for imperialist states, especially when their interests are affected. The Crimean War of 1853, or the Eastern War, was the decisive event of the mid-19th century. Let us briefly consider its causes, participants, course and consequences of the bloody confrontation.

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Background and participants in the war

Among the many factors that led to the escalation of the conflict, competent historians highlight the main list.

Ottoman Empire – the power and greatness of the Ottomans wavered in the New Age. 1820-1830 became decisive for a multinational country. Defeats from the Russian Empire, France and the suppression of internal manifestations of patriotism led to an unstable situation. Greece, like the kingdom of Egypt, raised an uprising and achieved independence. The Ottoman Porte was saved from actual collapse by foreign aid. In return, a huge state lost the opportunity to independently conduct foreign policy.

Great Britain b was a trading empire, its interests extended to every corner of the world, Turkey was no exception. The events of the Crimean War were ahead of the signed analogue of the “free trade zone,” which made it possible to import and sell British goods without duties or customs duties.

This situation destroyed Turkish industry, the government became a puppet. The situation was so favorable that the English Parliament did not want the collapse of the empire and in every possible way prevented Russian reinforcement in the Black Sea and in the Balkans. Anti-Russian information propaganda was carried out.

French society of that time burned with revenge for the defeats of Napoleonic times. In addition to economic decline, under the rule of King Napoleon III, the state lost some of its colonial influence. To distract people from their problems, the press actively voiced calls for a military conflict in alliance with England.

The Sardinian kingdom had no political or territorial claims to Russia. However a difficult situation in the foreign policy arena required a search for allies. Victor Emmanuel II responded to France's offer to join the Crimean War; upon completion, the French side pledged to help unify the Italian lands.

Austria: dictated some obligations for the Russian Empire. However the Austrian government was not satisfied with the growth of the Orthodox movement on the Balkan Peninsula. The national liberation movement would lead to the collapse of the Austrian Empire. The reasons for the defeat of the Russian Empire in the Crimean War will be discussed below.

Why did the Crimean War start?

Historians identify several objective and subjective reasons:

1. Rivalry between European countries and Russia for control of Turkey.
2. The desire of the Russian side to receive access to the Dardanelles and Bosphorus Straits.
3. The policy of unification of the Balkan Slavs.
4. Decline of the Omani Empire in internal and foreign policy.
5. Self-confidence when dealing with complex issues.
6. The Crimean War of 1853 as a refutation that Europe is not capable of presenting a united front.
7. An autocratic form of government that led to a series of bad decisions.
8. Confrontation between Catholic and Orthodox dioceses on the issue of “Palestinian shrines”.
9. France's desire to destroy the established alliance of the Napoleonic conquests.

The reason for the Crimean War

Nicholas I did not recognize the legitimacy of the French monarch; official correspondence took unacceptable liberties. She became offensive to Napoleon III. He took steps to return Christian shrines to the Catholic Church, which Russia did not like.

In response to notes of protest being ignored The Russian army sent troops into the territory of Moldova and Wallachia. The subsequent Vienna Note was intended to calm the raging monarchs, but the causes of the Crimean War were too serious.

With the support of the British side, the Turkish Sultan demands the withdrawal of troops, which is refused. In response, the Ottoman Empire declares war on Russia, which takes similar steps.

Attention! Many consider the religious reason for the start of the Crimean War to be only a formal pretext for escalation conflict situation In the centre of Europe.

Crimean War campaigns

October 1853 – April 1854

The outdated weapons of the Russian Empire were compensated by the number of personnel. Tactical maneuvers were based on confrontation with numerically equal Turkish troops.

The course of hostilities took place from with varying success, but fortune smiled on the Russian squadron of Admiral Nakhimov. In Sinop Bay, he discovered a significant concentration of enemy ships and decided to attack. Firepower advantage made it possible to disperse enemy forces and capture the enemy commander.

April 1854 – February 1856

The conflict has ceased to be local; it has spread to the Caucasus, the Balkans, the Baltic and even Kamchatka. Russia was deprived of access to the sea, which led to the Crimean War of 1853–1856. The defense of Sevastopol became the culmination of the confrontation.

In the fall of 1854, coalition forces landed in the Evpatoria region. The Battle of the Alma River was won, A Russian army retreated to Bakhchisarai. At this stage, not a single soldier voiced the reasons for the Crimean War, everyone hoped for an easy victory.

The garrison of the Sevastopol fortress under the command of General Nakhimov, Kornilov and Istomin turned into a formidable force. The city was protected by 8 bastions on land and a bay blocked by sunken ships. Almost whole year(1856) the proud defenders of the Black Sea port held the defense; Malakhov Kurgan was abandoned under enemy pressure. However, the northern part remained Russian.

Many local confrontations are combined into one name: the Crimean War. The collision map will be presented below.

Danube Campaign

The first move in the Crimean War was made by the Russian corps under the command of Prince Gorchakov. He crossed the Danube to quickly occupy Bucharest. The population welcomed the liberators; the received note about the withdrawal of troops was ignored.

Turkish troops began shelling of Russian positions, Having broken through the enemy's defenses, the siege of Silistria began in March 1854. However, due to the danger of Austria entering the war, the withdrawal of troops from the liberated principalities began.

Participants in the Crimean War launched a landing in the Varna area with the aim of capturing Dobruja. However, cholera that raged during the campaign prevented the implementation of the plan.

Caucasian Theater

A series of defeats for the Turkish troops forced them to moderate their warlike ardor, but the Crimean Defensive War of 1853–1856. quickly flowed into the sea plane.

On November 5, 1854, an important battle of steam ships took place, the Vladimir captured the Pervaz-Bahri. This event foreshadowed the bloodless capture of the Ottoman steamer Mejari Tejat.

In 1855 it became a success capture of Kars fortress, General Muravyov continued the siege until the enemy surrendered; the reasons for the defeat were obvious. As a result, the Russian army gained control over a vast area, including Ardahan, Kazyman, Olty.

Important! The defense of Sevastopol consisted of continuous defensive battles Russian troops. As a result of six allied bombings, the city's infrastructure was destroyed. Daily losses from enemy fire amounted to 900-1000 people per day.

The French lost 53 transport ships and several battleships.

Signing of the peace treaty

The results of the Crimean War were documented within the framework of the Paris Agreement, which prescribed:

1. Put away Navy , fortifications and arsenals from the Black Sea. This applied to Turkey and Russia.
2. The Russian side renounced part of its possessions in Bessarabia and the mouth of the Danube, i.e., it lost secret control over the Balkans.
3. The protectorate over Moldavia and Wallachia was annulled.

The consequences of Russia's defeat in the Crimean War are the suspension of its expansionary policy and the development of the Black Sea Fleet.

The reasons for the defeat of the Russian Empire in the Crimean War are as follows:

• moral and technical Russia's lag behind Western powers;
• undeveloped infrastructure, which led to disruption of logistics and troop replenishment;
• rear corruption, embezzlement as an endemic phenomenon in state apparatus authorities;
• the defense of Sevastopol became tragic due to the shortcomings of the commander-in-chief;

Results Crimean War

Top 7 interesting facts about the Crimean War

Among the incredible kaleidoscope of events, the following stand out:

1. The first use of propaganda as a tool of influence on public opinion. The occasion came after the Battle of Sinop, when English newspapers vividly described Russian atrocities.
2. Appeared profession of war photographer, Roger Fenton took 363 photographs of the everyday life of Allied soldiers.
3. Defense Solovetsky Monastery did not lead to human casualties, “domestic” seagulls also did not suffer from the term “Crimean War”. Interesting fact- out of 1,800 cannonballs and bombs of the Anglo-French squadron, only a few damaged buildings.
4. The “foggy” bell of Chersonesus was taken to France as a war trophy. He was held captive for more than 60 years, until the causes of the Crimean War were forgotten in 1913.
5. Russian sailors came up with new sign , according to which the third person to smoke will be seriously injured. This is due to the shooting characteristics of the first rifled rifles in the Allied army.
6. Interesting facts indicate the global scale of military operations. The abundance of conflict theaters is striking in terms of geography and mass scale.
7. Orthodox population Ottoman Empire was deprived of protection from the Russian Empire.

Causes and results of the Crimean War of 1853-1856

Crimean War (1853 - 1856)

Conclusion

The results of the Crimean War showed the strength of spirit of the Russian people, their desire to defend the interests of the country. On the other hand, every citizen became convinced of the insolvency of the government, the weakness and expressiveness of the autocrat.

In total, states occupying 75% of the land took part in this war; the war was fought on the territory of countless seas and oceans. In fact, it could be called a “World” War. Unless without large-scale mobilization.

Oddly enough, the name of the war does not quite reflect its goals or timing. It bears the name of the bloodiest and most difficult section of this war. In European history, this war is known as the “Eastern” - which also only partially reflects the essence.

Russian Emperor Nicholas I saw the weakness of the Ottoman ports, and sought to capture the straits Bosphorus And Dardanelles- this would strengthen the military and economic position of the Russian Empire. In addition, the Emperor of the Russian Empire, as the bearer of the title, was the “patron” of all Orthodox Christians. Including in Turkey. The entire year of 1853 was a time of triumph for the Russian Empire - victory in the Caucasus and the European front.

Nicholas I

France and Great Britain entered the war in view of the urgent Eastern Question.

So what is the reason for Russia's defeat? There are several factors that brought the war to this conclusion. Now we will look at each in detail:

1. Technical lag of the army.

After the Napoleonic Wars, the nature of war began to change due to the development of technology, scientific thought and military science. The Russian army was large even by today's standards - 1,365,000 people. Of course, the modernization of such a colossus was titanic challenging task and required a lot of time and resources. As a result, this played a cruel joke on Russian soldiers - for example, the firing range of Russian artillery did not exceed the firing range of English muskets. Of course, Russian muskets were absolutely not comparable to English ones in terms of range.

This is how a French soldier describes the state of the Russian army in his letter:

“Our major says that according to all the rules of military science, it’s high time for them (the Russians) to capitulate. For each of their guns, we have five guns, for each soldier - ten. And you should have seen their guns! Probably, those of our grandfathers who stormed the Bastille , and that was the best weapon. They have no shells. Every morning their women and children go out to open field between the fortifications and collect the cannonballs in bags."

In addition, the war itself is also widely known for the fact that it was the first to use promising developments of that time, revolutionary for those times: water mines, cone-shaped shells for artillery (instead of cannonballs), rifles with rifled barrels , ships made of metal and steam powered. Also, there was a lag of Russia in the fleet - the battle near Sinop was the last battle in history between sailing ships, in which Russian ships won a victory over the Turkish fleet. Although there were 3 Russian steamships there, the main strength of the Russian fleet was sailing ships. In general, of course there were modern weapons, and the allies did not modernize their armies 100%. However, if the number, for example, of modern guns in the army of the Russian Empire reached only 5-8%, then among the French it was up to 35%, and among the British in general over 50%. In addition, there was a possibility of the capture of St. Petersburg, and all new weapons arrived there first. Accordingly, much simply did not reach Crimea and Sevastopol.

2. Failures in the diplomatic field.

Russia assumed an allied position between Austria and Prussia. In fact, the position was very “cold” on the verge of open confrontation.

3. Poor development of transport infrastructure.

Russia had an extremely weak network railways. Everything, absolutely all supplies to the Crimean troops were carried out using horse-drawn transport and convoys. Due to the enormous distances, workload and weather, the supply “caravans” did not reach their destination at all - the livestock died, and a significant part of the supplies was eventually plundered. Such supply interruptions ultimately resulted in the fact that the number of non-combat losses in the Russian army in peacetime reached 3.5%.

4. A little excessive arrogance of Nicholas I.

Nicholas I was a patriot and a very arrogant person. These 2 qualities together gave a sad result - inspired by the successes in suppressing the Hungarian uprising in the Austrian Empire in 1849, he sincerely believed that the army of the Russian Empire was the most advanced and strongest. And therefore, less time and money could be devoted to modernizing the army. Arrogance was also manifested in the very decision of the war with Turkey - the emperor sincerely believed that:

1. The army of the Russian Empire is capable of crushing the army of the Ottoman port to smithereens (here he was right).
2. Due to their superior military power and political strength, Great Britain and France will not be able/willing to provide direct military support to Turkey.
3. Even if France and Great Britain go to war with Russia, its allies - Austria and Prussia - will come to its aid. (in reality, there was no illusory opportunity for the Republic of Ingushetia itself to fight Austria and Prussia)

5. Much fewer resources.

Contrary to popular stereotypes, economic and demographic superiority was by no means on the side of the Russian Empire. Because it is correct to count not only the territories of the “metropolises” (all of Russia is one big metropolis), but also the territories of the colonies and dominions, from which resources were also drawn. And in this case, it turns out that on the side of the alliance were the territories of modern India, Australia, Canada, most of Africa, France, Great Britain, Turkey, the entire Balkan Peninsula, the entire Southeast Asia. As a result, it turned out that the Russian Empire was opposed by half the globe. As a result, the coalition had a tangible advantage in all respects.

6. Unfriendly population of Crimea.

Then the bulk of the population of Crimea were Crimean Tatars. They were very friendly towards the Turks and their allies - they saw the Turks as political and religious patrons. The Tatars assisted the coalition forces in finding forage, water, provided knowledge of the area, and served as scouts.

However, if the Russian Empire did not have its strengths, then defeat would have resulted in severe indemnities and territorial losses. Our country has suffered more terrible defeats (for example, defeat in Livonian War, with a similar scenario ).

At peace diplomatic negotiations, the Russian Empire occupied the position of a defeated, but not destroyed state. We will now try to highlight several positive factors that negated the possibility of complete and catastrophic defeat.

1. Features of the territorial location of Russia.

Although Russia had large land areas, its entire territory was unified, while the territory of Great Britain was larger and spread across the entire planet. There were no land routes, which greatly narrowed the number of possible attack sites and made it possible to prepare fortified defenses. This ultimately led to the fact that of the 4 directions of attack of the coalition forces: Far East(Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky), Crimean Peninsula, Arkhangelsk, Baltic Sea, only the attack on Crimea was effective.

2. Diplomatic failures of the coalition and lack of clear goals.

Although Austria and Prussia did not participate in the war on the side of the Russian Empire, they also did not participate on the side of the coalition. In fact, as is known, the coalition included 4 states - Great Britain, the Ottoman Empire, French Empire and Sardinia-Piedmont.

3. Poor development of transport infrastructure.

During the large-scale landing in Crimea, the lack of railways hit the coalition forces hard - they could not afford to move far from the ports through which they received supplies. They also had to use horse-drawn transport, which negated the possibility of strategic strikes deep into the territory of the Russian Empire.

4. Underestimation by the coalition command of the forces of the Russian army, overestimation of its own forces and the absence of a direct unified command.

Although the army of the Russian Empire suffered from a lack of modern weapons, still a small part of the soldiers were armed with modern weapons. Russian “plastuns” became famous. These were fighters who moved at a crawl, used modern rifles and struck the enemy from afar - the forerunner of the tactics of the Boers and modern snipers. The ingenuity of Russian officers is also underestimated - they quickly adapted to military realities. For example, they did not get involved in a obviously losing battle on sailing ships, but simply sank their fleet near the Sevastopol Bay, thereby eliminating access to it for the enemy fleet. The coalition forces lacked a unified command; French and English generals often conflicted with each other, which made it impossible to create complex tactical plans.

What conclusion can ultimately be drawn from the result of this war?

Perhaps there are many, but there is one important one:

Reluctance to modernize the army can result in disastrous results for any country. Of course, technical backwardness can to some extent be covered up by the courage of the soldiers. But let there be courage and a good weapon than just courage.

Russia's defeat can be explained by three groups of reasons or factors.

The political reason for Russia's defeat during the Crimean War was the unification of the main Western powers (England and France) against it, with the benevolent (for the aggressor) neutrality of the rest. This war demonstrated the consolidation of the West against a civilization alien to them.

The technical reason for the defeat was the relative backwardness of the Russian army's weapons.

The socio-economic reason for the defeat was the preservation of serfdom, which is inextricably linked with the limitation of industrial development.

Crimean War in the period 1853-1856. claimed the lives of over 522 thousand Russians, 400 thousand Turks, 95 thousand French and 22 thousand British Soviet Military Encyclopedia. T. I. M., 1977. P. 487..

In terms of its grandiose scale - the width of the theater of military operations and the number of mobilized troops - this war was quite comparable to the world war. Defending on several fronts - in Crimea, Georgia, the Caucasus, Sveaborg, Kronstadt, Solovki and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky - Russia acted alone in this war. It was opposed by an international coalition consisting of Great Britain, France, the Ottoman Empire and Sardinia, which inflicted a crushing defeat on our country.

The defeat in the Crimean War led to the fact that the country's authority in the international arena dropped extremely. Destruction of remnants battle fleet on the Black Sea and the liquidation of the fortress on the coast opened the southern border of the country to any enemy invasion. In the Balkans, Russia's position as a great power has been shaken due to a number of restrictive restrictions. According to the articles of the Paris Treaty, Turkey also abandoned its Black Sea fleet, but the neutralization of the sea was only an appearance: through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, the Turks could always send their squadrons there from the Mediterranean Sea. Soon after his accession to the throne, Alexander II dismissed Nesselrode: he was an obedient executor of the will of the former sovereign, but was not suitable for independent activity. Meanwhile, Russian diplomacy was faced with the most difficult and important task - to achieve the abolition of the humiliating and difficult articles of the Paris Treaty for Russia. The country was in complete political isolation and had no allies in Europe. M.D. was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs instead of Nesselrode. Gorchakov. Gorchakov was distinguished by his independence of judgment, he knew how to accurately correlate Russia's capabilities and its specific actions, and brilliantly mastered the art of diplomatic play. In choosing allies, he was guided by practical goals, and not by likes and dislikes or speculative principles.

Russia's defeat in the Crimean War ushered in the era of the Anglo-French redivision of the world. Having knocked the Russian Empire out of world politics and secured their rear in Europe, the Western powers actively used the gained advantage to achieve planetary domination. The path to the successes of England and France in Hong Kong or Senegal lay through the destroyed bastions of Sevastopol. Soon after the Crimean War, England and France attacked China. Having achieved a more impressive victory over him, they turned this giant into a semi-colony. By 1914, the countries they captured or controlled accounted for 2/3 of the world's territory.

The main lesson of the Crimean War for Russia was that in order to achieve its global goals, the West is without hesitation ready to combine its power with the Muslim East. IN in this case, to crush the third center of force - Orthodox Russia. The Crimean War also frankly exposed the fact that when the situation at the Russian borders worsened, all the allies of the empire smoothly moved into the camp of its opponents. At the western Russian borders: from Sweden to Austria, as in 1812, there was a smell of gunpowder.

The Crimean War clearly demonstrated to the Russian government that economic backwardness leads to political and military vulnerability. Further economic lag behind Europe threatened with more serious consequences.

At the same time, the Crimean War served as a kind of indicator of the effectiveness of the military reforms undertaken in Russia during the reign of Nicholas I (1825 - 1855). Distinctive feature This war had poor troop management (on both sides). At the same time, the soldiers, despite the terrifying conditions, fought exceptionally courageously See Smolin N.N. The role of the moral factor of the Russian army during the Crimean War. 1853-1856 // Diss. Ph.D. ist. sciences, spec. 07.00.02. M, 2002. under the leadership of outstanding Russian commanders: P.S. Nakhimova, V.A. Kornilova, E.I. Totleben and others.

The main task of Russian foreign policy in 1856 - 1871 was the struggle for the abolition of the restrictive articles of the Paris Peace. Russia could not accept a situation in which its Black Sea border remained unprotected and open to military attack. The economic and political interests of the country, as well as the security interests of the state, required the cancellation of the neutralization of the Black Sea. But this task had to be solved in conditions of foreign policy isolation and military-economic backwardness not through military means, but through diplomacy, using the contradictions of the European powers. This explains the major role of Russian diplomacy during these years.

In 1857 - 1860 Russia managed to achieve diplomatic rapprochement with France. However, the very first diplomatic initiatives of the Russian government on the very narrow issue of Turkey carrying out reforms for Christian peoples in the Balkan provinces showed that France did not intend to support Russia.

At the beginning of 1863, an uprising broke out in Poland, Lithuania, Western Belarus. The rebels demanded independence, civil equality and the allocation of land to the peasants. Soon after the events began, on January 27, an agreement was reached between Russia and Prussia on mutual assistance in suppressing the uprising. This convention sharply worsened Russia's relations with England and France.

The result of these international events was a new balance of power. Mutual alienation between Russia and England increased even more. The Polish crisis interrupted the rapprochement between Russia and France. There was a noticeable improvement in relations between Russia and Prussia, in which both countries were interested. The Russian government abandoned its traditional course in Central Europe, aimed at preserving a fragmented Germany.

In the spring of 1854, Britain and France declared war on the Russian Empire. This was the beginning of a radical change in the Crimean War. It was from this moment that the account of the end and decline of the once powerful Russian Empire began

Overestimation of power

Nicholas I was convinced of the invincibility of the Russian Empire. Successful military operations in the Caucasus, Turkey and Central Asia gave rise to the Russian emperor's ambitions to secede the Balkan possessions of the Ottoman Empire, as well as faith in the power of Russia and its ability to claim hegemony in Europe. Baron Stockmar, friend and educator of Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, wrote in 1851: “When I was young, Napoleon ruled over the continent of Europe. Now it looks like the Russian Emperor has taken Napoleon’s place and that, at least for several years, he, with other intentions and other means, will also dictate laws to the continent.” Nikolai himself thought something like this. The situation was aggravated by the fact that he was always surrounded by flatterers. The historian Tarle wrote that at the beginning of 1854 in the Baltic states, in noble circles, a poem in numerous copies was distributed in German, in the first stanza of which the author addressed the king with the words: “You, from whom not a single mortal disputes the right to be called greatest man, which the earth has only seen. The vain Frenchman, the proud Briton bow before you, burning with envy - the whole world lies in prostration at your feet.” It is not surprising, therefore, that Nicholas I was burning with ambition and eager to implement his plans, which cost Russia thousands of lives.

Rampant embezzlement

A common story has become about how Karamzin was asked in Europe to tell in a nutshell about the situation in Russia, but he didn’t even need two words, he answered with one: “They are stealing.” By the middle of the 19th century the situation had not changed better side. Embezzlement in Russia has acquired total proportions. Tarle quotes a contemporary of the events of the Crimean War: “In the Russian army, which was stationed in Estland in 1854–1855 and was not in contact with the enemy, great devastation was caused by starvation typhus that appeared among the soldiers, since the commanding staff stole and left the rank and file to starve to death.” In no other European army was the situation so dire. Nicholas I knew about the scale of this disaster, but could not do anything about the situation. Thus, he was stunned by the case of the director of the office of the disabled fund, Politkovsky, who stole more than a million rubles from the budget. The scale of corruption during the Crimean War was such that Russia was able to restore the treasury deficit only 14 years after the signing of the Treaty of Paris.

Backwardness of the army

One of the fatal factors in the defeat of the Russian Empire in the Crimean War was the backwardness of the weapons of our army. It appeared back on September 8, 1854, during the battle on the Alma River: the Russian infantry was armed with smooth-bore rifles with a firing range of 120 meters, while the British and French had rifled rifles with a firing range of up to 400 meters. In addition, the Russian army was armed with guns of various calibers: 6-12-pound field guns, 12-24-pound and pound siege unicorns, 6, 12, 18, 24 and 36-pound bomb guns. Such a number of calibers significantly complicated the supply of ammunition to the army. Finally, Russia had practically no steam ships, and sailing ships had to be sunk at the entrance to Sevastopol Bay, which was obviously a last resort measure to deter the enemy.

Negative image of Russia

During the reign of Nicholas I Russian empire began to claim the title of “gendarme of Europe.” In 1826-1828, the Erivan and Nakhichevan khanates went to Russia, next year, after the war with Turkey, the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the mouth of the Danube were annexed to Russia. Russia's advance in Central Asia also continued. By 1853, the Russians came close to the Syr Darya.

Russia also showed serious ambitions in Europe, which could not but irritate the European powers. In April 1848, Russia and Türkiye abolished the autonomy of the Danube principalities with the Baltiliman Act. In June 1849, with the help of a 150,000-strong Russian expeditionary army, the Hungarian revolution in the Austrian Empire was suppressed. Nicholas I believed in his power. His imperial ambitions turned Russia into a bogeyman for advanced European powers. The image of aggressive Russia became one of the reasons for the unity of Britain and France in the Crimean War. Russia began to lay claim to hegemony in Europe, which could not help but unite the European powers. The Crimean War is considered to be “pre-world war”.

Russia defended itself on several fronts - in Crimea, Georgia, the Caucasus, Sveaborg, Kronstadt, Solovki and the Kamchatka front. In fact, Russia fought alone, with insignificant Bulgarian forces (3,000 soldiers) and the Greek legion (800 people) on our side. Having turned everyone against itself, showing insatiable ambitions, in fact Russia did not have the reserve power to resist England and France. During the Crimean War, Russia did not yet have the concept of propaganda, while the British made full use of their propaganda machine to whip up a negative image of the Russian army.

Diplomacy failure

The Crimean War showed not only weakness Russian army, but also the weakness of diplomacy. The peace treaty was signed on March 30, 1856 in Paris at an international congress with the participation of all the warring powers, as well as Austria and Prussia. The peace conditions were frankly unfavorable for Russia. Under the terms of the treaty, Russia returned Kars to Turkey in exchange for Sevastopol, Balaklava and other cities in Crimea captured by the Allies; ceded to the Moldavian principality the mouth of the Danube and part of southern Bessarabia. The Black Sea was declared neutral, but Russia and Turkey could not maintain a navy there. Russia and Turkey could only maintain 6 steam ships of 800 tons each and 4 ships of 200 tons each for patrol duty.

The autonomy of Serbia and the Danube principalities was confirmed, but the supreme power of the Turkish Sultan over them was preserved. The previously adopted provisions of the London Convention of 1841 on the closure of the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits to military vessels of all countries except Turkey were confirmed. Russia pledged not to build military fortifications on the Åland Islands and in the Baltic Sea. The patronage of Turkish Christians was transferred to the hands of the “concern” of all the great powers, that is, England, France, Austria, Prussia and Russia. Finally, the treaty deprived our country of the right to protect the interests of the Orthodox population on the territory of the Ottoman Empire.

Ignorance of Nicholas I

Many historians associate main reason defeat in the Crimean War with the figure of Emperor Nicholas I. Thus, the Russian historian Tarle wrote: “As for his weaknesses as the leader of the empire’s foreign policy, one of the main ones was his deep, truly impenetrable, comprehensive, so to speak, ignorance.” . The Russian emperor did not know life in Russia at all, he valued discipline with a stick, and he suppressed any manifestation of independent thinking. Fyodor Tyutchev wrote about Nicholas I: “In order to create such a hopeless situation, the monstrous stupidity of this unfortunate man was needed, who during his thirty-year reign, being constantly in the most favorable conditions, did not take advantage of anything and missed everything, managing to start a fight under the most impossible circumstances.” Thus, we can say that the Crimean War, which turned into a disaster for Russia, was caused by the personal ambitions of the emperor, prone to adventure and seeking to maximally expand the boundaries of his power.

Shepherd's Ambition

One of the main reasons for the Crimean War was the conflict between the Orthodox and Catholic churches in resolving the issue of “Palestinian shrines.” Here the interests of Russia and France collided. Nicholas I, who did not recognize Napoleon III as a legitimate emperor, was confident that Russia would only have to fight a “sick man,” as he called the Ottoman Empire. With England Russian Emperor hoped to reach an agreement, and also counted on Austrian support. These calculations of the “shepherd” Nicholas I turned out to be erroneous, and “ crusade“turned out to be a real disaster for Russia.

• aggravation of the “Eastern Question”, i.e. the struggle of leading countries for the division of the “Turkish inheritance”;
• the growth of the national liberation movement in the Balkans, the acute internal crisis in Turkey and the conviction of Nicholas I of the inevitability of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire;
• miscalculations in the diplomacy of Nicholas 1, which manifested itself in the hope that Austria, in gratitude for its salvation in 1848-1849, would support Russia, and that it would be possible to agree with England on the division of Turkey; as well as disbelief in the possibility of an agreement between the eternal enemies - England and France, directed against Russia,"
• the desire of England, France, Austria and Prussia to oust Russia from the East, to the desire to prevent its penetration into the Balkans

The reason for the Crimean War of 1853 - 1856:

Dispute between Orthodox and Catholic churches for the right to control Christian shrines in Palestine. Behind Orthodox Church Russia stood, and France stood behind the Catholic one.

Stages of military operations of the Crimean War:

1. Russo-Turkish War(May - December 1853). Russian army after rejection Turkish Sultan An ultimatum on granting the Russian Tsar the right to patronize Orthodox subjects of the Ottoman Empire occupied Moldavia, Wallachia and went to the Danube. The Caucasian Corps went on the offensive. The Black Sea squadron achieved enormous success, which in November 1853, under the command of Pavel Nakhimov, destroyed the Turkish fleet in the battle of Sinop.

2. The beginning of the war between Russia and the coalition of European countries (spring - summer 1854). the threat of defeat hanging over Turkey pushed European countries to active anti-Russian actions, which led from a local war to a pan-European war.

March. England and France sided with Turkey (Sardinian). Allied squadrons fired at Russian troops; fortification on the Alan Islands in the Baltic, on Solovki, in the White Sea, on the Kola Peninsula, in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Odessa, Nikolaev, Kerch. Austria, threatening war with Russia, moved troops to the borders of the Danube principalities, which forced the Russian armies to leave Moldavia and Wallachia.

3. Defense of Sevastopol and the end of the war. In September 1854, the Anglo-French The army landed in Crimea, which turned into the main “theater” of the war. This final stage Crimean War 1853 - 1856.

The Russian army led by Menshikov was defeated on the river. Alma left Sevastopol defenseless. The defense of the sea fortress, after the sinking of the sailing fleet in the Sevastopol Bay, was taken over by sailors led by admirals Kornilov, Nakhimov Istomin (all died). In early October 1854, the defense of the city began and was captured only on August 27, 1855.

In the Caucasus, successful actions in November 1855, the capture of the Kars fortress. However, with the fall of Sevastopol, the outcome of the war was predetermined: March 1856. peace talks in Paris.

Terms of the Paris Peace Treaty (1856)

Russia lost Southern Bessarabia at the mouth of the Danube, and Kars was returned to Turkey in exchange for Sevastopol.

• Russia was deprived of the right to patronize Christians of the Ottoman Empire
• The Black Sea was declared neutral and Russia lost the right to have a navy and fortifications there
• Freedom of navigation on the Danube was established, which opened the Baltic Peninsula to Western powers

Reasons for Russia's defeat in the Crimean War.

• Economic and technical backwardness (weapons and transport support Russian armies)
• The mediocrity of the Russian high ground command, which achieved ranks and titles through intrigue and flattery
• Diplomatic miscalculations that led Russia to isolation in the war with the coalition of England, France, Turkey, with the hostility of Austria and Prussia.
• Clear inequality of power

Thus, the Crimean War of 1853 - 1856,

1) at the beginning of the reign of Nicholas 1, Russia managed to acquire a number of territories in the East and expand its spheres of influence

2) suppression revolutionary movement in the West brought Russia the title of “gendarme of Europe”, but did not correspond to its nationality. interests

3) the defeat in the Crimean War revealed the backwardness of Russia; the rottenness of its autocratic-serf system. Revealed mistakes in foreign policy, the goals of which did not correspond to the country’s capabilities

4) this defeat became a decisive and direct factor in the preparation and implementation of the abolition of serfdom in Russia

5) the heroism and dedication of Russian soldiers during the Crimean War remained in the memory of the people and influenced the development of the spiritual life of the country.

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