Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878 known as one of the most “progressive” and, in essence, it was liberating for most of the Slavic countries of the Balkan Peninsula, under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. In addition to these goals, which enjoyed wide support among all segments of the population of the Russian Empire, the tsarist government had its own interests to strengthen its influence in the Balkans.
The San Stefano Peace Treaty was signed on March 16, 1878 in the eponymous town near Constantinople - the capital of Turkey. This agreement was very beneficial to the Russian Empire, because our country, exhausted by a difficult and financially disadvantageous military company, wanted to quickly formally secure its official benefits from the victory. The Ottoman Empire was forced to agree to all the demands of Russia and sign the San Stefano Treaty, so the Russian-Bulgarian troops occupying the entire European part of the empire were under the capital - Istanbul (Constantinople), and only the intervention of European countries saved it from final defeat.
San Stefano Peace Treaty - basic conditions:
- the treaty recognized the independence of Serbia, Montenegro and Romania and increased their territory;
- Bosnia and Herzegovina formed an autonomous region;
- the main goal of the war was also achieved - the territory of Bulgaria from the Danube to the Aegean Sea and from the Black Sea to Lake Ohrid was completely liberated from the Ottoman Empire and gained independence. She was supposed to be under the protectorate of Russia for 3 years, after which she became completely independent, while maintaining her connection with Russia, which had already provided substantial assistance to her;
- The Turkish empire was supposed to pay a contribution of 1.4 billion rubles, part of which was repaid by territorial concessions: cities and fortresses Kars, Ardagan, Bayazet, Batum, Kars, Dobrudja, part of the Danube Delta and Zmeiny Island (European territory Russia was ceded to Romania);
- Russia obliged the Ottoman Empire to reform the government of Armenia and Albania, which was part of it, and slightly moderate its claims regarding certain territories of Greece.
However, the triumph of Russian diplomacy was short-lived - the governments of Great Britain and its allies were dissatisfied with the results achieved by Russia during the war. The San Stefano Peace Treaty gave Russia, Romania and Bulgaria too much, disrupting the old political system and the distribution of forces. England was afraid of the weakening of Turkey, which was the eternal rival of Russia and a kind of shield that covers the path to the Mediterranean straits, which England wanted to control on its own. The Austrian empire, which has direct borders with Russia in the West, was afraid of strengthening its role among related Slavic peoples who inhabited most of the empire and the emergence of liberation wars following the example of Bulgaria. For Russia there was a threat of the second Crimean War, for which it, weakened by a grueling war and financial instability, was not ready. That is why the Berlin Conference was convened , completely revising the San Stefano Peace Treaty and its terms, reducing many of its points.
Nevertheless, Russia has achieved the main thing - the liberation of Bulgaria and the strengthening of its moral and political authority in the Balkans, although the war has long enough undermined its fighting ability, shook the financial system, temporarily knocking it out of the pan-European big game.
Today, the San Stefano world is celebrated in Bulgaria as the day of national independence and is one of the most popular holidays in this country.