Russian Policies Of Balkan On The Eve Of The First World War Studies (1905-1914)

Building a Russian Empire was a spirit banner of the Russian people. When Czar Peter the Great came into power, Russia started her history as a large country. Besides domestic reformation, foreign policy was an important means to realize her dream of an empire. The Russian policies on Europe were the most in her foreign strategies. However, Russia was an interior country and the Balkan had her unique geographically strategic position. So the policies of the Balkan became important ones of the Russian foreign strategies on Europe. The successive Czars carried on the basic foreign policies after Czar Peter the Great, except for some ways and means. Russia, as a big country, established and implemented her policies on the Balkans, which had somewhat effect on the historic development of the Balkans and the whole Europe.From Czar Peter the Great to the end of 19th century, Russia got close to the Black Sea by war on the Balkans. The Black Sea is the main path to Southern Russia and the utmost importance of Russian development and safety. From Czar Peter the Great, the successive Czars thought it as"historic mission"to capture the Black Straits and Constantinople. In the following 200years, Russia established her advantageous position and gained a great deal of land around the Black Sea. However, Russia did not accomplish her"historic mission"owing to the invasion of Turkey and other large countries. the Crimean,which broke out in the middle of 19th century ,was a mark that Russia lost her superiority in Europe. Due to the domestic trouble and foreign invasion, Russia began to change her policies on the Balkans that diplomat was the dominant while the military was the supplementary. With the continuous failures in the Balkans, Russia turned to Fast East and Central Asia, but she did not give up the Balkans completely. In1897, Russia signed an agreement with Austria-Hungary to maintain the present situations in the Balkans."Oriental problem remains in suspense"and the Balkans kept peace for nearly 10 years, which did not mean the Balkans were forgotten. On the contrary, with the changed of international situation, the large states fought for superiority more and more intensely. Russia failed in the war against Japan and diplomatic polities on the Balkans, and besides, domestic crisis was deepened. So Russian foreign diplomatic policies were obligated to focus on the Balkans.Austria-Hungary belonging to Bosnia-Herzegovina was a mark that the policies broke down which were to maintain and co-operate the Balkans, which made the situation worse on the Balkans and the Balkans trend to unite together. Russia progressively established new foreign policies to support the Balkan Allied Nations. However, the aim of the allied nations diverged from that of Russia, which hid the danger of the Russian policies on the Balkans. After beating Turkey, the allied nations increased their disputation and contradiction of partition territory. So the allied nations faced crisis. Russia did as much she could to support the allied nations, but she did not have clear and identical standards. Her contradictory policies made the allied nations lose faith in Russia in the end. The civil war between nations was to break out and the situations of the Balkans got worse. Before long, on the Balkans man met with the First World War.In nearly ten years before the First World War, I think, Russian policies on the Balkans carried out were not only her failures in foreign policies but also the important cause of making the First World War break out. To this opinion, internal and external scholars have ever paid attention, while they have got few attainments. Therefore my thesis"Russian policies on the Balkans before the First World War"will attempt to look into the a number of relations of the Russian policies on the Balkans and the eruption of the First World War, which, I think, has not only some academic value of researching the origin of the First World War from all sides, but also some practical significance of constructing institution of keeping the world peace and development.