Russia and the Eastern Question

This book covers one of the most important and persistent problems in nineteenth-century European diplomacy, the Eastern Question. The Eastern Question was essentially a short hand for comprehending the international consequences caused by the gradual and apparently terminal decline of the Ottoman Empire in Europe. This volume examines the military and diplomatic policies of Russia, as it struggled with the Ottoman Empire for influence in the Balkans and the Caucasus.

The only research monograph in English to cover this subject in such breadth and depth, Russia and the Eastern Question is based on extensive use of Russian archive sources. It makes a significant contribution to our understanding of issues such as the development of Russian military thought, the origins and conduct of the 1828-1829 Russo-Turkish War, the origins and conduct of the 1826-1828 Russo-Persian War and the Treaty of Adrianople. The author also branches out into new territory by considering issues such as the Russian army's use of Balkan irregulars, the reform of the Danubian Principalities (1829 -1834), the ideas of the 'Russian Party' and the little-known subject of Russian public opinion toward the Eastern Question.

Providing a fascinating integration of the various aspects of Russian military thought, war planning and campaign history, diplomacy, imperial expansion, geopolitics and propaganda into a coherent whole, this volume will be of great interest to scholars and students in the fields of nineteenth-century Russian, Ottoman, Balkan, Caucasus and Persian history, European diplomacy and warfare and war and society studies. It will also be of interest to all those concerned with the historical background to the Crimean war and later episodes in the Eastern Question.