On October 16, 1853, Russia was declared war by Turkey. It entered the Russian historiography as Crimean, and in the west it is known as the Eastern War.
The beginning of hostilities
Already in early November, the Russian squadron in Sinop Bay successfully destroyed a significant part of the Turkish naval forces. Fifteen Turkish ships were wrecked, and artillery coastal batteries were also blown up. If the Eastern War was only a bilateral conflict between Russia and Turkey, the winner would be obvious. However, the Ottoman port had formidable allies - France and England. The latter, frankly, had their own views of the Turkish territories, since this country was increasingly turning into a dependent semi-colony of the great states of Western Europe. Reactions from the Allies did not have to wait long. Already in December of this year, the Franco-English squadron was off the coast of Crimea, and the Eastern War entered its active phase. The allied forces included almost ninety ships carrying the advanced technologies of that time. England, followed by France, were the first European countries that survived the industrial revolution, which could not be said about the Russian Empire , which was delayed in the feudal era. In order to prevent the Allied ships from landing in Sevastopol, seven ships were flooded in the bay near the city in September 1854, the remains of which did not allow close
approach the shore. A long siege of the city began, which became the main event of the war. The city was taken at the cost of significant losses on both sides only for the twelfth month of the siege, in September 1855.
The second phase of hostilities
However, after the fall of Sevastopol, the Eastern War was not completed. The next goal of the Anglo-French contingent was the city of Nikolaev, at that time the former main base of the Black Sea Fleet, its haven and concentration of shipbuilding factories, artillery warehouses and the entire administrative and economic part. The surrender of Nikolaev would mean virtually a complete loss by Russia of the opportunity to confront opponents at sea and, most likely, a loss of access to the Black Sea coast altogether. Already in the first half of September 1855, a hasty construction of protective fortifications began around the city. Emperor Alexander II himself arrived at the scene (by the way, who ascended the throne just the day before, already during the war). Nikolaev went into a state of siege. An attempt to take this outpost was made by English and French squadrons in October 1855. The Kinburn fortress was wiped off the face of the earth, Ochakov and the Dnieper-Bug estuary were taken. However advancing the adversary
managed to stop in the area of the Voloshskaya spit powerful volleys of artillery batteries. The Eastern
Crimean War entered a phase of stagnation.
The signing of the world and its results
After lengthy negotiations, a peace treaty was signed in Paris. Despite the successful defense of Nikolaev, the Eastern War of 1853-1856 was miserably lost. Under the terms of the peace agreements, both Russia and Turkey were forbidden to have a navy in the sea, and it was also forbidden to create naval bases on the coast. The Black Sea was declared neutral and open to merchant ships of all states, which, of course, was beneficial for Western European trading companies that found new markets for themselves. The Crimean War demonstrated the failure of the empire militarily and economically. Clearly revealed the need for urgent large-scale transformations in the country. The direct consequence of this defeat was the abolition of serfdom and other socio-economic reforms of the 1860s.