RUSSIAN IMPERIALISM IN THE BALKANS DURING THE FIRST BALKAN WAR OF 1912 – 1913

Oleh    MASHEVSKYI; Oleh  KONDRATENKO

doi:10.24919/2519-058X.24.264741

Authors

Oleh MASHEVSKYI PhD hab. (History), Рrofessor, Head of Department of Modern and Contemporary History of Foreign Countries, Faculty of History Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5251-2089
Oleh KONDRATENKO PhD hab. (Politology), Assosiate Professor, Leading Researcher of the Department of Theoretical and Applied Problems of Political Science of the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies NAS of Ukraine, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1905-934X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24919/2519-058X.24.264741

Abstract

The Russian Empire sought to use the formation of the Balkan League (Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Montenegro) in order to weaken the Ottoman Porte before and during the First Balkan War of 1912 – 1913. Due to Russia’s ambitions, such steps were motivated, in order to establish control over the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits, Constantinople, as well as in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean regions. The purpose of the research is to do historical analysis of the causes / events of the First Balkan War of 1912 – 1913 and the efforts, which were made in order to implement the Russian Empire’s ambitions during it, whose interests collided with the interests of other Great Powers that sought to establish control over the Balkans, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean region, as well as manipulation of the Balkan peoples' aspirations for this purpose. The methodology of research is based on the principles of historicism, systematicity and scientificity. The following approaches have been used in the course of the study: historical political and historical systemic, as well as methods of macro historical analysis. The scientific novelty consists in updating the study of historical events related to the clash of geopolitical interests of big states in the Balkans, the Black and Mediterranean Seas. The Conclusions. During the First Balkan War of 1912 – 1913, the contradictions between the big states concerning the influence on the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits intensified. The Russian Empire, taking advantage of the Ottoman Porte weakening, tried to influence the course of its confrontation with the Balkan League in order to achieve the expansion of its presence. The tsarist government, emphasizing the support of the Slavic peoples, at the same time tried to hinder the advance of the Bulgarian army to the Ottoman capital in every possible way, since it claimed to subjugate Constantinople and the Straits at a convenient opportunity. In the same way, St. Petersburg reacted very unkindly to the aspirations of Greece to strengthen its own positions in the direction of these strategic points. However, in addition to Russia, Austria-Hungary, the German Empire, as well as Britain and France claimed influence in these regions, which made it impossible to determine the leading subject of influence in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, and became one of the important reasons for the beginning of World War I.

Key words: Balkan Wars, Russian Empire, Ottoman Empire, Balkan League, Bosphorus, Dardanelles, Great Powers, geopolitical interests.

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