On October 16, 1853, war was declared on Russia by Turkey. It entered Russian historiography as the Crimean War, and in the West it is known as the Eastern War.
Start of hostilities
Already in early November, the Russian squadron in Sinop Bay successfully destroyed a significant part of the Turkish naval forces. Fifteen Turkish ships were destroyed, as well as coastal artillery batteries were blown up. If the Eastern War were only a bilateral conflict between Russia and Turkey, the winner would be obvious. However, the Ottoman port had formidable allies - France and England. The latter, to put it bluntly, had their own views on Turkish territories, since this country was increasingly turning into a dependent semi-colony of the great states of Western Europe. It didn't take long for the Allies to react. Already in December of this year, the French-English squadron was off the coast of the Crimea, and the Eastern War entered its active phase. The allied forces had almost ninety ships carrying the advanced technology of the time. England, followed by France, were the first European countries to experience an industrial revolution, which could not be said about the Russianempire. In order to prevent the allied ships from landing in Sevastopol, seven ships were sunk in the bay near the city in September 1854, the remains of which did not allow close
come to the shore. A long siege of the city began, which became the main event of the war. The city was taken at the cost of significant losses on both sides only in the twelfth month of the siege, in September 1855.
Second phase of hostilities
However, after the fall of Sevastopol, the Eastern War was not completed. The next target of the Anglo-French contingent was the city of Nikolaev, which at that time was the main base of the Black Sea Fleet, its haven and the concentration of shipbuilding plants, artillery depots and the entire administrative and economic part. The surrender of Nikolaev would mean a virtually complete loss of Russia's ability to resist opponents at sea and, most likely, the loss of access to the Black Sea coast in general. Already in the first half of September 1855, a hasty construction of defensive fortifications began around the city. Emperor Alexander II himself arrived on the spot (by the way, he ascended the throne just the day before, already during the war). Nikolaev went into a state of siege. An attempt to take this outpost was made by the English and French squadrons as early as October 1855. The Kinburn fortress was wiped off the face of the earth, Ochakov and the Dnieper-Bug estuary were taken. However, the advance of the enemy
managed to stop in the area of the Voloshskaya Spit with powerful volleysartillery batteries. The Eastern Crimean War entered a phase of stagnation.
The signing of peace and its results
After lengthy negotiations in Paris, a peace treaty was signed. Despite the successful defense of Nikolaev, the Eastern War of 1853-1856 was lost miserably. Under the terms of the peace agreements, both Russia and Turkey were forbidden to have a navy at sea, and it was also forbidden to establish naval bases on the coast. The Black Sea was declared neutral and open to merchant ships of all states, which, of course, was beneficial for Western European trading companies that found new markets for themselves. The Crimean War demonstrated the failure of the empire militarily and economically. The need for urgent large-scale reforms in the country was clearly revealed. A direct consequence of this defeat was the abolition of serfdom and other social and economic reforms of the 1860s.
