The Turkish Wars.—A full stop was now put to the intellectual development of Russia. Wars were declared with Persia and Turkey; and a long and deadly struggle commenced with the Caucasian mountaineers. The cession of Erivan and Nahitchevan by Persia, of the plain of the Kubañ, of the protectorate of the Danubian principalities, and of the free right of navigation of the Black Sea, the Dardanelles, and the Danube by Turkey only induced him to further prosecute his aim of conquering for Russia a free issue from the Black Sea in the Dardanelles.
In 1830 he converted Poland into a Russian province; in 1849 he aided Austria in quelling the insurrection of the Magyars; and in 1853 he began a war with Turkey which became the Crimean war, and in which, though the allies, Great Britain, France and Sardinia, did not obtain any decided success, Russia suffered immense loss.
Alexander II.—The accession of Nicholas’ son Alexander II. (1855-1881)—one of whose first acts was the conclusion of the peace of Paris (1856), by which Russia lost the right of navigation on the Danube, a strip of territory to the north of that river, and the right of keeping a navy in the Black Sea—was the signal for a general revival of intellectual life in Russia. Obligatory military service for all Russians was introduced in 1874.
The insurrection in Poland was suppressed with extreme severity, and in 1868 the last relics of Polish independence disappeared in the thorough incorporation of the kingdom with the Russian Empire. The subjugation of the Caucasus was completed in 1859. [547] Russian supremacy was established over all the states of Turkestan. In 1876 the administration of the Baltic provinces was merged in that of the central government; but the autonomy of Finland was respected and even extended.
Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878.—In 1877 the Russo-Turkish war broke out. At first the Russian progress was rapid; but the energy displayed by the Turks during the summer, and the resolute defense of Plevna by Osman Pasha from July till December, checked the progress of the Russian army. During the winter, however, she crossed the Balkans, and her vanguard, reaching the Sea of Marmora, stood in view of Constantinople. The armistice signed in January, 1878, was followed in March by the treaty of San Stefano; and after diplomatic difficulties that seemed for a time not unlikely to issue in war between Russia and Great Britain, a Congress of the Great Powers met at Berlin in June, 1878, and sanctioned the cession to Russia of the part of Bessarabia given to Moldavia in 1856, as also of the port of Batoum, of Kars, and of Ardahan.
Rise of Nihilism.—The growth of revolutionary discontent, leading to severe repressive measures, was marked by several murders of high officials, and on March 13, 1881, Alexander II. was killed by the revolutionists.
Reactionary Reign of Alexander III.—The reign of Alexander III. (1881-1894) was in the main characterized, in contrast to the liberal reforms of the last reign, by reactionary steps. Press freedom disappeared completely, and the universities were again suppressed. The Dumas, or representative assemblies, were deprived of all real independence in 1892. Alexander II.’s judicial reforms were partly undone, and the village communities, known as mirs, were brought under the more direct control of the land-owners. Russification was vigorously pursued in Poland and the Baltic provinces, and in 1890 the first steps toward the Russification of Finland were taken.
Alexander III. was not friendly to Germany, but avoided hostilities more serious than those of a tariff war, although the Bulgarian crisis of 1885 subjected their relations to a severe strain. Russia and France now began to draw close together, but a Franco-Russian alliance was not officially admitted till 1896-1897, and its terms were secret. Merv was annexed in 1884, and the occupation of Penjdeh in 1885 nearly led to war with Great Britain. Alexander III. escaped several attempts at assassination, and died of disease in November, 1894.
Russia in the Far East.—After the reign of Alexander III. comes the fateful reign of his son, Nicholas II. In 1896 China granted permission to carry the Siberian railway (begun in 1889) through Manchuria to the far eastern Russian seaport of Vladivostok. In December, 1897, in consequence of the Germans having acquired Kiauchau from China, Russia occupied Port Arthur, and in the following year obtained from China a lease of it and some neighboring territory, although in 1895 she had taken the chief part in preventing Japan from taking it as a prize of victory. She shared in the international expedition to China in 1900, and herself suppressed risings in Manchuria with the utmost cruelty. Professing to be ready, and even anxious to evacuate Manchuria as soon as possible, she was preparing for virtual annexation; but her aggressive action in Korea aroused Japanese opposition, and led to the war of 1904-1905.
By treaty of Portsmouth (1905), which ended this war, Russia lost—for the time being at least—all influence in Manchuria, Korea, and China, and had to cede to Japan Port Arthur and its territory, and also southern Sakhalien.