Tsarist Russia's policy towards the Turkish Straits

The methods of passage through the Turkish Straits, which have recently come to the fore with the Russia-Georgia war, the Crimean war between Russia and Ukraine, and the current Russia-Ukraine war, still maintain their place on the agenda despite the Montreux Straits Convention. The issue of passage through the Turkish Straits is not limited to the countries neighboring the Black Sea, but has become a topic of interest to all globalizing countries of the world today. In our study, in order to understand Russia's policy towards the Turkish Straits, it is necessary to look at the period when these policies were formed, the Tsarist Russia period. Tsarist Russia saw the Turkish Straits as the most suitable place due to its policy of reaching the warm seas. The way to achieve this goal was to take the Turkish Straits under its influence or to establish dominance over the Turkish Straits. Tsarist Russia developed strategies according to the conditions of the period in order to realize this policy. Since the Baltic Sea was covered with ice for most of the year and was not very suitable for trade, Tsarist Russia turned to the Black Sea and the Turkish Straits, which were the closest ways to trade with Europe, which was an important trade center of the period. Due to the Ottoman Empire's dominance over the Black Sea and the Turkish Straits, it entered into a struggle with the Ottoman Empire. Although Tsarist Russia had completed its unity until the 18th century, it was not in a position to confront the Ottoman Empire both economically and militarily. In the 18th century, Tsarist Russia showed developments both economically and militarily and reached a level where it could struggle with the Ottoman Empire. It even reached a level where it could protect the Ottoman Empire from time to time. Tsarist Russia sometimes tried to establish influence over the Ottoman Empire in order to seize the Turkish Straits. Sometimes it made an alliance with the Ottoman Empire and obtained privileges regarding the Straits, and sometimes it fought against the Ottoman Empire, and received privileges regarding the Straits from the Ottoman Empire with the agreements signed as a result of the wars. The growth of Tsarist Russia and its expansion southward attracted the attention of the European great powers, and they became involved in the Straits issue due to Tsarist Russia's hindering their own interests. After the 18th century, the Turkish Straits took an important place in Europe's international relations. In our study, the continuity and changes in the policy of Tsarist Russia towards the Turkish Straits were examined.