Russo-Turkish Wars Worksheets
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Summary
- Causes of the Wars
- Timeline of the Wars
- Early Conflicts (16th–17th Centuries)
- 18th Century Wars
- 19th Century Wars
- 20th Century and Final Phase
Key Facts And Information
Let’s find out more about the Russo-Turkish Wars!
The Russo-Turkish Wars were a series of conflicts between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire that took place from the 16th century to the early 20th century. The two empires fought mainly for land, trade routes, and influence in areas such as the Black Sea, the Balkans, Ukraine, and the Caucasus. Over the centuries, Russia gradually became stronger while the Ottoman Empire began to weaken. By the early 20th century, both empires had collapsed, leaving behind the modern countries we know today, such as Turkey, Armenia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Serbia.
Russo-Turkish Wars
Causes of the Russo-Turkish Wars
- The Russo-Turkish Wars were not just one war but a long series of conflicts between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire over several centuries. These wars happened because both sides wanted power, land, and influence in the same regions.
- Control of Land and Trade: Russia wanted to reach the Black Sea so its ships could trade all year long, even in winter. The Ottoman Empire already controlled most of the land around the Black Sea and wanted to keep it. Because both sides wanted control over the same land, they often went to war.
- Religious Differences: The Ottoman Empire followed Islam, while Russia followed Christianity (Orthodox). Many Christians lived under Ottoman rule, and Russia said it wanted to protect them. This made the Ottomans angry because they saw Russia’s actions as a way to interfere with their empire.
- Desire for More Power: Both empires wanted to be powerful. Russia wanted to grow larger and become stronger in Europe and Asia. The Ottoman Empire, on the other hand, was getting weaker and tried hard not to lose more land.
- Problems in the Balkans: The Balkans is a region in southeastern Europe that includes countries like Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece. Many people there were Christians and wanted to be free from Ottoman rule. Russia supported them because it wanted to weaken the Ottomans and gain new allies in the area.
- Competition in Europe: Other strong countries, like Britain, France, and Austria, became involved because they wanted to protect their own interests. They did not want Russia or the Ottomans to become too powerful. This made the wars even more complicated.
Timeline of the Russo-Turkish Wars
- 1568–1570 – First Russo-Turkish War; Russia keeps Volga, Ottomans gain trading rights
- 1571 – Crimean Tatars burn Moscow
- 1572 – Battle of Molodi; Russia defeats Crimean Tatars
- 1672–1681 – Wars over Ukraine; Treaty of Bakhchisarai sets border along the Dnieper
- 1686–1700 – Russia captures Azov and gains Black Sea access (Treaty of Constantinople)
- 1735–1739 – Russia fights Ottomans; Treaty of Belgrade allows Russian port near Azov
- 1768–1774 – Russia defeats Ottomans; Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca gives Black Sea access and Crimean independence
- 1787–1792 – Russia wins under Suvorov and Potemkin; Treaty of Jassy confirms Crimea
- 1806–1812 – War during Napoleonic era; Russia gains Bessarabia (Treaty of Bucharest)
- 1828–1829 – War during Greek independence; Treaty of Adrianople grants Caucasus lands to Russia
- 1853–1856 – Crimean War; Treaty of Paris limits Russian Black Sea presence
- 1877–1878 – War during Balkan uprisings; Treaty of San Stefano and Congress of Berlin grant independence/autonomy to Balkan states
- 1914–1918 – World War I; Russia occupies northeastern Turkey and Western Armenia
- 1917 – Russian Revolution collapses Russian army
- 1918 – First Republic of Armenia takes Kars; Baku Commune established
- 1920–1921 – Armenia and Azerbaijan join Soviet Union; Treaty of Moscow sets border
- 1923 – Republic of Turkey established; Ottoman Empire ends
Early Conflicts (16th–17th Centuries)
- The first Russo-Turkish War took place from 1568 to 1570, during the time of Ivan the Terrible of Russia and Sultan Selim II of the Ottoman Empire. The war began after Russia conquered Kazan and Astrakhan, which gave it control of the Volga River. The Ottomans wanted to stop Russia from expanding south, so they sent an army to attack Astrakhan in 1569.
- However, Ottoman soldiers died in the steppes from hunger and exhaustion, and their fleet was destroyed by a storm in the Sea of Azov. A peace treaty followed, confirming Russia’s control over the Volga River but giving the Ottomans some trading rights. During this time, the Crimean Khanate, which was under Ottoman rule, continued to attack Russia. In 1571, Crimean Tatars even burned Moscow, but the next year, in 1572, Russia defeated them at the Battle of Molodi.
- About a century later, another major conflict started. This time, it was over Ukraine, a region both empires wanted to control. Russia had taken Left-bank Ukraine (the land east of the Dnieper River) after fighting Poland in the Russo-Polish War (1654–1667). Meanwhile, the Ottoman Empire took Right-bank Ukraine with the help of Petro Doroshenko, a Ukrainian leader who supported the Turks. Many Ukrainians disliked Doroshenko’s ties with the Ottomans and chose Ivan Samoilovich as their new leader in 1674.
- In 1676, Russian troops captured the town of Chigirin and removed Doroshenko from power. The Ottomans tried to take it back in 1677 but failed. The next year, in 1678, they managed to capture Chigirin after a fierce battle, but their push into the northeast stopped there. After years of fighting, both sides signed the Treaty of Bakhchisarai in 1681, which set the border between Russia and the Ottoman Empire along the Dnieper River.
- Later, Russia joined the Holy League, an alliance with Austria, Poland, and Venice, to fight the Ottomans in 1686. Under Peter the Great, Russia launched several campaigns against the Crimean Khanate in 1687 and 1689, and later the Azov campaigns in 1695 and 1696. These campaigns were successful, and Russia captured the fortress of Azov, giving it access to the Sea of Azov. In 1700, the Treaty of Constantinople officially ended the war and confirmed Russia’s control of Azov.
18th Century Wars
- In the 18th century, the wars between Russia and the Ottoman Empire became larger and more serious. Both sides wanted to control trade and land around the Black Sea, the Balkans, and the Caucasus. Russia had grown stronger under rulers like Peter the Great and later Catherine the Great, while the Ottoman Empire was starting to weaken.
- The first war of this period was the Russo-Turkish War of 1735–1739. Russia wanted to stop the Crimean Tatars, allies of the Ottomans, from raiding its southern lands, and it also wanted access to the Black Sea. Russian forces captured several fortresses, including Azov, but many soldiers died from disease and harsh conditions. In the end, the Treaty of Belgrade (1739) gave Azov back to the Ottomans, but Russia was allowed to build a port nearby.
- A few decades later, the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 broke out during the time of Catherine the Great. This war began when Russia sent troops into Poland, which the Ottomans saw as a threat. Russian forces defeated the Ottomans both on land and at sea, including a famous victory at the Battle of Chesma in 1770, where the Russian navy destroyed the Ottoman fleet.
Europe before the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774
- When the war ended, the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (1774) gave Russia many advantages. Russia gained access to the Black Sea, the right to trade freely, and the power to protect Orthodox Christians living in the Ottoman Empire. It also made the Crimean Khanate independent from Ottoman rule, though Russia later took full control of Crimea in 1783.
- The Ottomans tried to recover their losses by starting another war in 1787, but this time, Russia was even stronger. Russian armies, led by famous generals like Alexander Suvorov and Grigory Potemkin, won major victories. Suvorov’s forces captured key cities, and Russian ships defeated the Ottoman navy again.
- The war ended with the Treaty of Jassy (1792), which confirmed that Crimea belonged to Russia and set the new border along the Dniester River. By the end of the 18th century, the Ottoman Empire had lost much of its power in Eastern Europe, while Russia had become a major empire with direct access to the Black Sea.
19th Century Wars
- During the 19th century, several major wars weakened Ottoman control. The first began in 1806, when the Ottoman Empire, influenced by Napoleon’s France, declared war on Russia. Although Russia was already fighting several other wars at the time, General Kutuzov led the Russian army to victory on the Danube River in 1811. The resulting peace treaty gave Russia control of Bessarabia.
- By the 1820s, the Ottoman Empire could no longer maintain its military strength. The Greek War of Independence (1821–1829) showed how weak Ottoman control had become. When the Greeks rebelled, European powers, Britain, France, and Russia, intervened. After the Battle of Navarino (1827) and the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829, Russia’s army crossed the Balkan Mountains, took Adrianople (modern Edirne), and forced the Ottomans to recognise Greek independence. The Ottomans also lost control of parts of the Black Sea coast in the Caucasus to Russia.
- In 1853, Russia destroyed the Ottoman fleet at Sinop. This event alarmed Britain and France, who feared Russia’s growing power and possible control over trade routes to India. Their intervention led to the Crimean War (1853–1856). Although the Ottomans were supported by the Western powers, the war exposed their military and technological backwardness. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris (1856), which forced Russia to give up its ambitions for the Ottoman capital, Constantinople, and the Bosphorus Straits.
- After the Crimean War, the Ottoman Empire attempted reforms to modernise its army and administration. Sultan Mahmud II had earlier destroyed the corrupt Janissaries in 1826, but progress remained slow. Later sultans, like Abdülaziz, used new wealth from trade and taxation to modernise and build European-style palaces, though corruption and mismanagement continued.
- Despite some reforms, nationalism grew and led to a new series of revolts. In 1875, an uprising in Herzegovina spread to Bosnia and Bulgaria. The Ottoman army crushed these revolts, most famously in the Batak Massacre (1876), where thousands of Bulgarians were killed. News of the killings shocked Europe and gave Russia a reason to get involved again.
- In 1877, another Russo-Turkish War began. The Ottoman armies were defeated. Russian and Bulgarian troops defended the Shipka Pass and captured Plevna after a long siege. Russian forces then crossed the Balkan Mountains, reached the outskirts of Constantinople, and captured Kars in the Caucasus. Facing possible invasion of his capital, the Ottoman sultan accepted peace.
- The Treaty of San Stefano (1878) granted independence to Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro, and gave Bulgaria almost complete autonomy. However, other European powers feared that Russia had gained too much influence. The treaty was revised at the Congress of Berlin (1878), led by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Bulgaria’s territory was reduced, and the British took control of Cyprus. By the end of the 19th century, Russia had gained Kars, Ardahan, and parts of Armenia, while the Ottoman Empire continued to lose land and power.
20th Century and Final Phase
- During the early months of World War I, the Ottoman Empire, led by Enver Pasha, tried to attack Russia in the east to secure a victory. The Ottoman army was defeated at the Battle of Sarikamish on 2 January 1915, by the Russian general Nikolai Yudenich. The defeat was caused mainly by harsh winter weather and poor planning, as the Russians were actually preparing to evacuate Kars. After this loss, the Ottoman eastern defences collapsed, and the Russian army advanced as far west as Erzincan.
- In 1916, the Russians won another major battle at Erzurum and captured all of Western Armenia. After this campaign, the front stayed mostly stable until the Russian Revolution in 1917. The revolution caused the Russian army to collapse, leaving only small Armenian units to defend the territory. In April 1918, the newly declared First Republic of Armenia took control of Kars.
- At the same time, in March 1918, the Baku Commune was established in what is now Azerbaijan. This area was later taken over by the Ottoman Islamic Army of the Caucasus, then briefly by the Triple Entente, and finally by the Bolsheviks. The defeat of the Ottomans on multiple fronts forced them to surrender and withdraw their forces.
- By 1920, both Armenia and Azerbaijan became part of the Soviet Union, and the Soviet-Turkish border was officially established under the Treaty of Moscow (1921). The collapse of these empires led to the rise of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the formation of the Soviet Union from former Russian territories. This was the end of centuries of conflict between Russia and the Ottoman Empire and the beginning of a new political era in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and the Middle East.
Frequently Asked Questions About The Russo-Turkish Wars
- What were the Russo-Turkish Wars?
They were a long series of military conflicts fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire from the 1500s to the early 1900s, mainly over territory, influence, and control of key regions like the Balkans and the Black Sea.
- How many Russo-Turkish Wars were there?
Historians generally count twelve major wars, though smaller clashes and diplomatic confrontations also occurred between them.
- Which war was the most significant?
The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 is often seen as the most important. It led to major Ottoman losses, the independence of several Balkan states, and the Treaty of Berlin, which reshaped southeastern Europe.