The treaty of Unkiar Skelessi and Ottoman Russian relations (1832-1841)

This study examines the Ottoman-Russian relations (1832-1841) by centering the Treaty of Hünkar İskelesi. The rebellion movement of the Egyptian Governor Kavalalı Mehmed Ali Pasha became a direct threat to the existence of the Ottoman Empire with the defeat of the Ottoman army against the Egyptian forces in the Konya War in December 1832. In the face of this situation, the fact that the expected support from England and France could not be received despite the insistent applications of the Sublime Porte, caused Russia, which had been waiting for an opportunity to intervene in Turkey from the beginning of the rebellion, to become the most important actor in the Eastern Question. The process leading to the acceptance of the military aid offered by Russia to the Ottoman Empire created a fierce competition environment among the diplomats operating in the Sublime Porte. One of the issues that the thesis traces is to try to determine the policy followed by the Sublime Porte, who was in the middle of this conflict, between Russia and European states. Russia, whose policy towards the Ottoman Empire was the protection of the weak state of the Empire, followed a very determined policy against Mehmed Ali Pasha, whom it saw as a threat to this situation. In the study, the activities of the diplomats that Russia sent to Istanbul in this period and the success of the instructions given to them were questioned. One of the main findings of the study is that the military aid offered by Russia was used as a provocation by the Sublime Porte in order to mobilize the European states. The negotiation process of the Hünkar İskelesi Treaty, which was signed on July 8, 1833, after the acceptance of military aid, the discussion points, the articles of the treaty and the international effects of the treaty were examined in the study. The Treaty of Hünkar İskelesi was an important gain for Russia's ambitions on the Ottoman Empire and the Straits after the Treaty of Edirne. Another of the main questions of the study was what the benefits Russia gained with the Treaty, to what extent it could benefit from it, and how the Sublime Porte positioned the Treaty in the policy followed in the future. With the Treaty of Hünkar İskelesi, Russia increased its influence in the Sublime Porte and tried to intervene in the relations and decisions taken by the Sublime Porte with England and France by using the alliance. As a requirement of the Treaty, the European states, who were worried about Russia's intervention in case of a possible war, tried to prevent Mehmed Ali Pasha from engaging in a rebellion for the second time. The rapidly changing balances, the reactions to the Treaty of Hünkar İskelesi, and the process leading to the 1841 London Straits Convention, which sentenced the treaty to death, were examined with reference to the primary sources of the period, mainly the Ottoman archives and Russian sources. With this aspect, the study aims to look at the course of the Straits Issue from an international perspective. In the study, besides diplomatic relations, information is given about the Russian military forces hosted in Istanbul for about five months. In addition, it is tried to present different views of the atmosphere of the period by looking closely at the friendship relations established between the statesmen of the two countries, especially the correspondence of Nicholas I and Mahmud II. Key Words: The Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, Ottoman-Russian Relations, The Straits Question, The Revolt of Mehmed Ali Pasha of Egypt, Mahmud II, Nicholas I, Ottoman Diplomacy of 19th Century.