As long as the Crimea can be kept, then Tsarist Russia will not be afraid of defeat in the Crimean War. At the Paris Peace Conference in 1856, the Great Powers discussed how to make Tsarist Russia lose money.
Britain believes that Tsarist Russia should be allowed to cede Crimea and withdraw from the struggle for hegemony in the Black Sea. As for how the Crimea was to be distributed, it was arranged by the British, French, Turkish, Austrian and the Kingdom of Sardinia.
This can make Tsar Alexander II sweat. Because the Crimea was snatched from the Ottoman Turks by his great-grandmother, Catherine II. At that time, this place had been in the hands of Tsarist Russia for more than 70 years and became the key to Tsarist Russia's struggle for domination of the Black Sea.
If the Crimean peninsula had been lost in his own hands, Alexander II would have been nailed to the pillar of shame in Russian history. For this reason, the preservation of the Crimean peninsula became a key task for Tsarist Russia after the defeat.
Emperor Napoleon III allowed Tsarist Russia to keep the Crimean peninsula
As a defeated country, Tsarist Russia is not qualified to make irresponsible remarks at this spoils sharing conference. In this war, Tsarist Russia sent about 900,000 troops, but lost more than 500,000 troops, and the battle losses were too great, and there was no possibility of continuing the war at all.
It seems that it is about to become a fish on someone else's board, and Tsarist Russia does not give up, and intends to invite Prussia, which has a better relationship with itself, to mediate.
Prussia, at a critical moment in the Crimean War, did not lend a helping hand to Tsarist Russia and therefore did not participate in the war. Britain and France used this as a reason to consider Prussia ineligible to participate in the spoils-sharing convention. Even if Prussia later came up with the Straits Convention and participated in the conference, it did not have a part in their speech.
As for Austria, an old ally of Tsarist Russia, it has already clashed with Tsarist Russia on the issue of interests in the Balkans, and even if he attended the meeting, it is impossible for him to speak on the side of Tsarist Russia.
At that time, Britain, France and other countries forbade Tsarist Russia to continue to have a navy in the Black Sea, returned a large area on the eastern coast of the Black Sea to Ottoman Turkey, and forbade Tsarist Russia to establish any arsenal in the Black Sea. Tsarist Russia reluctantly nodded and agreed to these conditions, but the ownership of the Crimean Peninsula was repeatedly insisted on by Tsarist Russia.
At this time, Napoleon III, the nephew of Napoleon, the emperor of the Tsars, actually stood on the side of Tsarist Russia for the first time. What is the situation in which he strenuously demanded that Tsarist Russia continue to hold Crimea?
- First of all, France has basically no interests in the Black Sea, and restricting Russia's development of a navy in the Black Sea is purely to satisfy British interests. That's why France doesn't care about it.
- Secondly, British control over Ottoman Turkey became more and more apparent. In the long run, Britain will become the next Black Sea hegemon. If Tsarist Russia loses Crimea, it will be tantamount to driving Tsarist Russia out of the Black Sea, and there will be no power in the Black Sea to counterbalance Britain.
- In addition, Napoleon III intended to sell face to Tsarist Russia so that it would have enough strength to continue its struggle with Austria for the Balkans in the future. After all, Austria continues to grow bigger and stronger, and it is one of the main threats to France on land.
In any case, Napoleon III's insistence allowed Tsarist Russia to successfully preserve the Crimean peninsula. As long as the peninsula is in hand, even if Tsarist Russia retains its basic territory, there will always be a chance to make a comeback, and Alexander II finally breathed a long sigh of relief.
Central Asia and the Qing Dynasty became the key to the revival of Tsarist Russia
After the Crimean War, Tsarist Russia was disgraced in Europe. Sensei said that he continued to fight for hegemony in the Black Sea and seized the Balkan Peninsula, and even the Black Sea Fleet was destroyed, and the Crimean Peninsula was almost lost.
Fortunately, with the Crimean Peninsula in hand, everything still has a chance. If this place is in the hands of Britain and France, that is the beginning of the nightmare of Tsarist Russia. After all, strong enemies are watching your every move at home all the time, and you can't use your fists and kicks at all.
Since Europe could no longer play, Alexander II could only adjust his strategic plan and look to the East. He vowed to take back everything that had been lost in the West from the East.
Isn't this? Why did Dongfang offend you, who provoked you, who do you go to? The logic is true, but the reality is that the law of the jungle is the jungle. In front of the strong, if you don't seek development, you can only be destroyed.
Beginning in 1858, Tsarist Russia launched an offensive against the Qing Dynasty and the khanates of Central Asia. Can't deal with Britain and France, and can't you deal with these eastern countries? Even if you haven't offended us, who makes you weak?
- From 1858 to 1860, Tsarist Russia grabbed more than 1 million square kilometers of land in the Outer Northeast from the Qing Dynasty without a single soldier.
- In 1864, after the Battle of Ita, Tsarist Russia seized 440,000 square kilometers of land in the northwest from the Qing Dynasty.
- In 1881, after occupying Ili for 10 years, Tsarist Russia successfully ceded another 70,000 square kilometers of land in the northwest from the Qing Dynasty.
In this way, Tsarist Russia received a total of 1.51 million square kilometers of land in the Qing Dynasty.
In addition, Tsarist Russia was not merciful to the Central Asian khanates, and the Kokand Khanate, the Khiva Khanate, and the Bukhara Khanate fell one after another, and by 1885, Tsarist Russia had occupied a total of 4 million square kilometers of land in Central Asia.
Therefore, after adjusting the strategic direction, Alexander II directly seized 5.51 million square kilometers of land from the east. The entire Balkan Peninsula, which they had always had in mind, was only 550,000 square kilometers, only one-tenth the size of the land they had seized from the East.
Return to the Black Sea and reclaim everything you lost
In the 30 years of cultivation in the East, Tsarist Russia can be regarded as having tasted the sweetness, and a number of land and people have been acquired by Tsarist Russia.
The land could be used for ploughing, grazing, and providing sufficient material reserves for Tsarist Russia. As for the population, it could be placed on the front line by Tsarist Russia, which not only helped Tsarist Russia expand its territory, but also effectively weakened the power of these peoples, helping Tsarist Russia to consolidate its rule over the eastern lands.
After acquiring a large amount of land resources in the East, the reform of serfdom in Tsarist Russia was gradually put on the agenda, although this reform was not sincere to the serfs, but it also enhanced the comprehensive strength of Tsarist Russia to a certain extent.
The trauma of the Crimean War has always been a pain in the heart of Alexander II. Therefore, whenever he had the opportunity, Alexander II would definitely return to the West and be disgraced.
After the Crimean War, Ottoman Turkey did not regain its strength because of its victory. On the contrary, they continued to revolt internally, and their national strength was declining day by day. They themselves were under the control of Britain and France, and under the internal and external difficulties, the reform of Ottoman Turkey made no progress.
In 1876, there was a series of uprisings in the Balkans, which gave Tsarist Russia hope of returning to the Black Sea. So Tsarist Russia raised two banners:
- First, to save the Orthodox believers in the Balkans.
- Second, to save fellow Slavs in the Balkans.
The Russians are mostly East Slavs, and the Balkans are mostly South Slavs, so it is natural for Tsarist Russia to think that the Balkans are also their sphere of influence.
Tsarist Russia made a series of harsh demands on the Ottoman Turks, all of which were rejected by the Ottoman Turks. In April 1877, Tsarist Russia officially declared war on Ottoman Turkey, and the Tenth Russo-Turkish War began.
Because Ottoman Turkey itself had already gone into decline, coupled with the fact that there was no Anglo-French alliance to intervene this time, and Tsarist Russia had obtained huge supplies in the East at the same time, Tsarist Russia easily defeated Ottoman Turkey in this war and completely washed away their shame in the Crimean War.
It does not matter whether there is a victory over Britain and France, the important thing is that through this battle, Tsarist Russia successfully returned to the Black Sea and gained a large number of rights and interests in the Balkans.
At the critical moment, if Britain hadn't sailed its warships to the Bosphorus, Tsarist Russia could have directly occupied Constantinople and extinguished Ottoman Turkey in its last years.
Crimea was the starting point for the conquest of the Black Sea by Tsarist Russia
In the most difficult time, Tsarist Russia still kept Crimea through diplomatic relations. Why is this place so important to Tsarist Russia? Actually, we can analyze the situation of Tsarist Russia.
Before the opening of the Trans-Siberian Railway, Tsarist Russia's plundering of the East could only be done quickly, and it was very difficult to hold the territory of the East for a long time and make great achievements in the East.
Therefore, Tsarist Russia must focus on expanding its territory in the West, and Prussia, Austria, and Tsarist Russia may not have the strength to do it. Not to mention Britain and France, so if Tsarist Russia wanted to expand its territory further, it could only fire at the Kingdom of Sweden and Ottoman Turkey.
At the beginning of the 19th century, in the Napoleonic Wars, Tsarist Russia once reneged on the anti-French alliance, thus defeating the Kingdom of Sweden and seizing Finland. After that, in 1814, the Kingdom of Sweden declared its permanent neutrality and did not participate in the struggle for hegemony.
Russia's work on the Baltic coast came to an end, but the Black Sea region made no progress after the Napoleonic Wars. And the Black Sea coast is a relatively weak force.
Ottoman Turkey is dying, the new forces in the Balkans have not yet risen, and the Caucasus has been beaten by Tsarist Russia. Isn't all this just a preparation for Tsarist Russia to expand its territory in this region?
Therefore, it is impossible for Tsarist Russia to abandon the Crimean Peninsula, which is the place where Tsarist Russia set sail in the Black Sea and is the starting point for Tsarist Russia to complete its dream of hegemony in the Black Sea.
Even now, why does modern Russia have to hold Crimea in its hands? The reason is the same: if you want to restore your former glory on the Black Sea coast, you have to start with Crimea. After all, in Russia's view, there is no one who can fight this circle on the Black Sea coast at present.