117. Russian Bear

Just as, after the Second World War, the Western European powers were grateful to Russia for using its colossal military force to ensure the defeat of Hitler’s Germany, while still being frightened of that military, so in the 1850s, those same powers were grateful for the role Russia played in bringing down Napoleon, while feeling nervous about the huge military power it had used.

By that time, Russia’s threat was growing again. The Tsar, Nicholas I, saw himself as the protector of Orthodox Christians and Slavs. Everywhere. That included the 14 million inside the Ottoman (Turkish) empire. When he issued a demand to be officially granted authority to provide such protection, and that demand was rejected, Russia and Turkey slid quickly to war.

The Western Powers watched aghast. Despite their ancient rivalry, even France and Britain, pulled together in the face of this Russian action. Gradually, and against the resistance of many, even at the top of government, the two nations found themselves compelled towards war.

It was finally declared, by both Britain and France, in March 1854. Setting the stage for what would come to be known as the Crimean War.

Illustration: Ivan Aivazovsky’s 1853 The Battle of Sinop (Wikimedia Commons)
Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.