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ID: 183741

Caring for the sick man? Russian and Greek reactions to the Ottoman reforms (1856–1908) / Vovchenko, Denis

Vovchenko, Denis	Journal Article
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Summary/Abstract

Greece and Russia had had a long and complicated relationship to the Ottoman Empire and especially to its sizable Orthodox Christian minority. The Sick Man of Europe was trying to cure himself quite vigorously from 1856 to 1908 but most contemporary Western and Balkan observers as well as modern historians did not rate Ottoman modernization efforts very high. Unlike their Russian counterparts implemented in the same time period, they are never labeled as ‘Great Reforms’. This article will demonstrate that during Tanzimat and its sequels, even Turkey’s archrival yet similarly dynastic empire supported Ottoman secularization and religious equality short of removing residual Christian Orthodox autonomy. Surprisingly, a very different polity, the ethnocentric Greek nation-state had similar reactions hoping to enable Ottoman Greeks to dominate the Sultan’s realm politically and economically. Russia’s motive was also to extend its influence through the traditional Ottoman institution - the Patriarchate of Constantinople - without destroying the Ottoman Empire or even engaging in conspicuous unilateralism and thereby provoking another war with the other Great Powers. While St Petersburg attempted to steer Ottoman reforms along federative lines advocating broad autonomy for Christian majority provinces, Athens backed Sultan’s direct rule except in ethnically Greek areas like Crete.

Key Words

Ottoman Reforms (1856–1908)

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ID: 124962

Creating Arab nationalism? Russia and Greece in Ottoman Syria and Palestine (1840–1909) / Vovchenko, Denis

Vovchenko, Denis	Journal Article
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2013.

Summary/Abstract

The article discusses Russian and Greek rivalry over the influence in the Patriarchates of Jerusalem and Antioch from the end of the Egyptian occupation to the Young Turk Revolution. While Greece ultimately aimed at including Orthodox Arabs in a Pan-Hellenic nation, Russian private and state actors were motivated by the cultural and political commitment to the defence of Orthodoxy from western inroads. Throughout this period, Russian diplomats were able to continue their traditional partnership with many Ottoman Greek prelates even after the Bulgarian schism of 1872. But when their leadership seemed to be the cause of mass defections from orthodoxy, Russian foreign policy makers from local consuls to the tsar were drawn into supporting the restoration of native Arab control. The article brings fresh archival evidence to put into context the development of some of the earliest modern Arab autonomous institutions. It also contributes to the discussion of the strength of dynastic and religious identities before 1914.

Key Words

Russia ; Jerusalem ; Greek ; Rivalry ; Russian Foreign Policy ; Orthodoxy ;
Young Turk Revolution ; Russian Diplomats

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ID: 192260

In search of a common enemy: Russo-Turkish cooperation and its discontents (1908–1923) / Vovchenko, Denis

Vovchenko, Denis	Journal Article
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Summary/Abstract

The uneasy Putin-Erdogan partnership reminds of the early twentieth-century trends in the Russo-Turkish relations – taking advantage of each other’s dissidents vs cooperating against Western imperialism. Imperial Russia tended to indulge in the former which undermined the latter tendency in its policies in regards to the Young Turk regime who were similarly making irredentist overtures to Russian Muslim minorities. Both sides were also tempted or constrained by their existing or potential Great Power allies. In contrast, the partnership between the Soviets and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk would be more consistent as they minimized meddling in each other’s internal affairs to jointly oppose European encroachments. This article also shines a new archival light on the motivations of the Soviet side while highlighting the less well-known opposition to close cooperation between traditional rival empires on all levels of Soviet leadership. There is no scholarly work focusing on the 1908–1923 period in a single monograph or article (from the Young Turk revolution to the Lausanne negotiations). Looking at both sides of the 1917 divide reveals surprising continuity between the imperial and the Soviet policies despite the earthshattering effects of the First World War.

Key Words

Armenia ; Kemalism ; Comintern ; Balkan Wars ; Turkish Straits ; Young Turks

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