It falls on the period from 1762 to 1796.

At this time, the Seven Years' War was coming to an end in Europe, and Russia was going through a period of rapprochement with Prussia and preparations for the war with Denmark, which was about to unfold. Having come to power, Catherine II managed to remain neutral, stop preparing for war with Denmark, and also weaken and eradicate Prussian influence at her court.

Turkish question

The territories of the Black Sea, the North Caucasus and the Crimea were under the rule of Turkey. In 1768, under a far-fetched pretext (referring to the fact that one of the detachments of the Russian army entered the territory of the Ottoman Empire, pursuing the Poles participating in the uprising of the Bar Confederation), the Sultan of Turkey announced the beginning, which lasted 6 years.

However, Russia won the war, and the territory of the Crimean Khanate formally became independent, but in fact became dependent on Russia. In addition, under the terms of the peace treaty, the northern coast of the Black Sea went to Russia.

In an attempt to return these territories, Turkey unleashed another war (1787 - 1792), which she also lost, and was forced to cede Ochakov and Crimea to Russia. The result of these two wars was a significant expansion of the territory of the Russian Empire: now the border with the Ottoman Empire was moved to the very Dniester. In addition, as a result of skillful manipulations by the empress, who managed to put a pro-Russian ruler on the throne of the Crimean Khanate, the Crimean Khanate also became part of Russia.

Polish question

The formal reason for intervening in the internal affairs of the Commonwealth, which included the Kingdom of Poland, was the demand to equalize the rights of Orthodox and Protestants with Catholics. As a result of pressure from Catherine II, August Poniatowski occupied the Polish throne, which resulted in the discontent of the Polish gentry and the uprising of the Bar Confederation, which was suppressed by Russian troops. Prussia and Austria, realizing that Russian influence in Poland had increased significantly, offered the Russian Empire to divide the Commonwealth.

The first partition took place in 1772, as a result, Russia received part of the Latvian lands and the eastern part of Belarus. The next division occurred after the citizens of the Commonwealth appealed to Russia for help, who opposed the adoption of the Constitution of 1791. As a result of the division approved at the Grodno Seimas in 1793, Russia received the Right-Bank Ukraine and Central Belarus, including Minsk. And, finally, after the uprising of T. Kosciuszko, in 1795, the last, third partition took place, as a result of which the Commonwealth ceased to exist, and Russia expanded its territory by joining Western Belarus, Courland, Lithuania and Volhynia.

Georgian question

King Erekle II of Kartli-Kakheti turned to Russia to protect his state from the encroachments of the Persians and Turks, and the empress agreed, sending a small detachment to Georgia. After that, in 1783, the Russian Empire and the kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti signed an agreement (“Treaty of St. George”), according to which the kingdom became a protectorate of Russia in exchange for military protection.

Swedish question

Sweden, with the support of England, Holland and Prussia, invaded the territory of the Russian Empire, taking advantage of the fact that Russia was at war with Turkey. However, Russia managed to win here too, and as a result, sign the Treaty of Verel with Sweden (1790), according to the terms of which, the borders between the states remained unchanged.

Other countries

The foreign policy of the empress was aimed not only at expanding the territory of the empire, but also at strengthening Russia's position in the international arena. First of all, it normalized relations with Prussia (a union treaty was signed in 1764), which later made it possible to create the so-called Northern System - an alliance of several European states, including Russia and Prussia, against Austria and France.

In October 1782, Russia signed an agreement on cooperation with Denmark. During the Austro-Prussian war (1778 - 1779) Catherine II acted as an intermediary between the parties, essentially dictating her terms of reconciliation, and thereby restoring balance in Europe.

failures

Like almost any politician, Catherine II also had plans that did not materialize. First of all, this is the Greek project - plans to divide the Turkish lands together with Austria, as well as the Persian campaign with the aim of conquering large territories of Persia, and then Constantinople. The latter was not completed due to the death of the empress, although certain steps were taken.

Results and evaluation

The territory during the reign of Catherine II expanded significantly due to the annexed and conquered territories, the colonization of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands began. The position of the empire in Europe was also strengthened through the conclusion of numerous cooperation agreements. However, historians are ambivalent about the foreign policy of the empress. Some argue that the destruction of the sovereignty of the Commonwealth was unacceptable.

They were critical of the methods of Catherine II and her successors, and, later,. Nevertheless, the tasks that Catherine II faced as the ruler of one of the most powerful powers, she successfully solved, even if the means she chose were always adequate and far-sighted.

Foreign policy of Catherine II. Foreign policy issues were paramount for Catherine II. Peter I won for Russia access to the sea in the Baltic. But for the development of trade, for the protection of the borders in the south of Russia, the shores of the Black and Azov Seas were needed. This inevitably had to lead to a clash with the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) - the mistress of the Black Sea. The strengthening of Russia worried the major European countries - England, Austria, France, and they began to make efforts to push Russia and the Ottoman Empire together and thereby weaken both.

Russian-Turkish war 1768 - 1774

In 1768, Turkey, supported by France, began military operations against Russia in Ukraine and the Caucasus. The first Russian-Turkish war in the reign of Catherine II began. In 1770, on the tributaries of the Prut River - Larga and Kagul - commander P.A. Rumyantsev defeated the Turkish army. Brilliant victories were won at sea. Russia did not have its own fleet on the Black Sea. A small Russian squadron under the leadership of Admiral G.A. Spiridova left the Baltic, circled Europe and entered the Mediterranean. Here, A.G. took over the leadership of the hostilities. Orlov. The Russian command went to a military trick. In 1770, the entire Turkish fleet was lured into the cramped Chesme Bay, locked up and set on fire at night. The Turkish fleet burned down in the Chesme Bay overnight. In 1771, Russian troops occupied all the main centers of the Crimea. (The Crimea since 1475 was under the protection of Turkey. For Russia, the Crimea was a "robber's nest" and represented a great danger.) In 1772, the Crimean Khan Shagin-Giray proclaimed the independence of the Crimea from Turkey. This was the first stage in the annexation of Crimea to Russia. Turkey recognized the independence of Crimea; - Russia received the right to unimpeded navigation on the Black Sea and the right to pass through the Bosporus and Dardanelles; - Russia received the right to have its own fleet on the Black Sea; - Georgia was freed from the hardest tribute by young men and girls sent to Turkey; - the rights of Orthodox peoples in the Ottoman Empire (Moldovans, Greeks, Romanians, Georgians, etc.) were expanded. In 1783, Russian troops entered the Crimea without any warning. The Turkish Sultan could not do anything. The Crimean Khanate was liquidated, Crimea became part of Russia. Vast territories of the northern Black Sea region went to Russia. They received the name Novorossiya. G.A., the most talented favorite of Catherine II, was appointed governor of Novorossia. Potemkin. He took up the arrangement of this region and the construction of the Black Sea Fleet.

Georgievsky treatise

In the 90s. 18th century Russia's position in Transcaucasia and the Caucasus began to strengthen. Turkey and Persia also stepped up their expansion into Georgia. Georgia at that time was going through a period of feudal fragmentation and was not a single state. Kakheti and Kartalinia under the rule of Heraclius II united into Eastern Georgia. The Georgian principalities in the west - Imeretia, Mengrelia, Guria each had their own kings or sovereign princes. Turkey and Persia carried out devastating raids on Georgian lands. Kakheti and Kartaliniya paid a shameful tribute to the Persians with beautiful girls, and Imereti, Mengrelia, Guria paid the same tribute to the Turks. The kingdoms were in constant conflict with each other. The small Georgian people, in order to preserve their "I", needed a strong patron. On July 24, 1783, in the fortress of Georgievsk (Northern Caucasus), an agreement was concluded between the Georgian king of Eastern Georgia (Kakheti and Kartalinia) Erekle II and Russia on patronage. The Georgievsky treaty was signed, according to which Eastern Georgia, exhausted under the blows of the Turks, passed under the protection of Russia while maintaining autonomy. Russia guaranteed Eastern Georgia territorial integrity and inviolability of borders. Fearing military clashes with Turkey, Russia refused to conclude the same agreement with the western Georgian principalities. In 1787, Catherine II decided to visit Novorossia accompanied by a brilliant retinue. For 4 years, the tireless G.A. Potemkin turned Novorossiya into a flourishing region. He founded the cities of Kherson, Nikolaev, Yekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk), Nikopol, and Odessa. G.A. Potemkin started agriculture, crafts, created industry. He invited immigrants from other countries, attracted them with low taxes. The first ships of the Black Sea Fleet were built in Kherson. In the convenient bay of Akhtiar, the construction of Sevastopol, the main base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, began. Later, for his labors for the good of the Russian state, he received the title of the Most Serene Prince and an honorary addition to the surname - Potemkin - Tauride. (Tavrida is the ancient name of the Crimea). In Turkey, the journey of Catherine II was regarded as Russia's desire to further expand Russia's borders in the south at the expense of Turkish territories. In 1787, the Turkish Sultan declared war on Russia. The second Russian-Turkish war in the reign of Catherine II began.

Military talent A.V. Suvorov by this time flourished. In July 1789 he defeated the Turks at Focsany, and in August 1789 on the Rymnik River. The victory was close, but it was impossible without the capture of Ishmael. Izmail - a Turkish fortress, built shortly before by the French, with walls 25 meters high, was considered impregnable and was the pride of the Turkish Sultan. In 1790 A.V. Suvorov was ordered to take Ishmael. Near Izmail, his military fate was at stake: A.V. Suvorov was already 60 years old. Commandant Izmail A.V. Suvorov wrote: "24 hours for reflection - freedom, my first shot - already captivity; assault - death." In the early morning of December 11, 1790, Russian troops launched an assault on the fortress. After 6 hours. Ishmael was taken. The way to Istanbul was opened to Russian troops. Brilliant victories were also won at sea. The commander of the young Black Sea Fleet, F.F. Ushakov in 1791 defeated the Turkish fleet at Cape Kaliakria. The Turks hurried to sit down at the negotiating table. In 1791, a peace treaty was concluded in Iasi. According to the Yassy peace treaty: - The Ottoman Empire recognized the Crimea as a possession of Russia; - Russia included the territories between the Bug and Dniester rivers, as well as Taman and Kuban; - Turkey recognized the Russian patronage of Georgia, established by the Treaty of St. George in 1783.

According to the prominent Russian historian V. O. Klyuchevsky, Russian policy towards Turkey in the era of Catherine II was especially clearly reflected in the lack of a political eye, the tendency to look over immediate goals, not thinking about cash. The foreign policy task inherited by Catherine was to advance the territory of the Russian state in the south to its natural limits, to the Black and Azov Seas - and nothing more. But such a goal seemed too modest: the desert steppes, the Crimean Tatars are conquests that will not pay off the gunpowder spent on them. Voltaire jokingly wrote to Catherine II that her war with Turkey could easily end with the transformation of Constantinople into the capital of the Russian Empire. Epistolary courtesy coincided with serious trades in St. Petersburg and sounded like a prophecy.

Portrait of Catherine II. Artist F. Rokotov, 1763

And she developed amazing energy in herself, worked like a real chief of the general staff, entered into the details of military preparations, drew up plans and instructions, hurried with all her might to build the Azov flotilla and frigates for the Black Sea, searched all the nooks and crannies of the Turkish Empire in search of, how to arrange a fuss, a conspiracy or an uprising against the Turks in Montenegro, Albania, among the Minots, in Kabarda; having decided to send a sea expedition to the shores of the Morea (Peloponnese), she asked her ambassador in London to send her a map of the Mediterranean Sea and the Archipelago, and also to get a cannon caster more accurate than ours, “who pour a hundred cannons, and many ten cans are suitable”, trying to raise Transcaucasia, she was perplexed, where is Tiflis, on the Caspian or Black Sea coast, or inland.

The mood changed with changing impressions. “We will give a call that we did not expect,” wrote Catherine II shortly after receiving the news of the break with the Turks (November 1769). “We have cooked a lot of porridge, it will be delicious for someone,” she wrote thoughtfully six months later, when the Turkish war flared up. But the oncoming thought was dispersed by such dashing heads as the Orlov brothers, who only knew how to decide, and not think.

At one of the first meetings of the council, which met on the affairs of the Turkish war of 1768-1774 under the chairmanship of the empress, Grigory Orlov, whom Catherine called Frederick II a hero, similar to the ancient Romans of the best times of the republic, proposed sending an expedition to the Mediterranean Sea. A little later, his brother Alexei, who was recovering in Italy, also indicated the direct goal of the expedition: if you go, then go to Constantinople and free all Orthodox from the heavy yoke, and, according to the word of Peter the Great, drive their unfaithful Mohammedans into the field and into the steppes empty and sandy, on their former dwellings. He himself volunteered to be the leader of the uprising of Turkish Christians. It was necessary to have a lot of faith in providence in order to send a fleet for such a thing, bypassing almost the whole of Europe, which Catherine herself recognized as worthless four years ago. And he was quick to justify the review. Barely a squadron that sailed from Kronstadt (July 1769) under the command Spiridova, entered the open sea, one ship of the latest construction was unfit for further navigation.

Russian-Turkish war 1768-1774. Map

The Russian ambassadors in Denmark and England, who inspected the passing squadron, were struck by the ignorance of the officers, the lack of good sailors, the many sick people, and the despondency of the entire crew. The squadron moved slowly towards the coast of Turkey. Catherine lost her temper with impatience and asked Spiridov for God's sake not to linger, to gather spiritual strength and not to shame her in front of the whole world. Of the 15 large and small ships of the squadron, only eight reached the Mediterranean. When A. Orlov examined them in Livorno, his hair stood on end, and his heart bled: no food, no money, no doctors, no knowledgeable officers, and “if all the services,” he reported to the empress, “were in this order and ignorance, like this sea, then our fatherland would be the poorest. With an insignificant Russian detachment, Orlov quickly raised the Peloponnese, but could not give the rebels a solid military device and, having failed from the approaching Turkish army, left the Greeks to the mercy of fate, annoyed by the fact that Themistocles did not find them in them.

Catherine approved of all his actions. Joining up with another Elphingston squadron that had approached meanwhile, Orlov chased the Turkish fleet and in the Chios Strait near the fortress of Chesme overtook the armada in the number of ships more than twice as strong as the Russian fleet. The daredevil was frightened when he saw "this structure", but the horror of the situation breathed in desperate courage, which was communicated to the entire crew, "to fall or destroy the enemy." After a four-hour battle, when, following the Russian "Evstafiy", the Turkish admiral's ship set on fire by him took off into the air, the Turks took refuge in the Chesme Bay (June 24, 1770). A day later, on a moonlit night, the Russians launched fireships (incendiary ships), and by morning the Turkish fleet crowded in the bay was burned (June 26).

Back in 1768, regarding the expedition to the Peloponnese that had just been undertaken, Catherine II wrote to one of her ambassadors: “If God wills, you will see miracles.” And the miracles had already begun, one thing was obvious: in the Archipelago there was a fleet worse than the Russian one, and Orlov himself wrote about this Russian fleet from Livorno that “if we hadn’t dealt with the Turks, everyone would have been easily passed over.” But Orlov failed to complete the campaign, break through the Dardanelles to Constantinople and return home by the Black Sea, as was supposed.

Surprising naval victories in the Archipelago in the Turkish war were followed by similar land victories in Bessarabia on Larga and Cahul (July 1770). Moldavia and Wallachia are occupied, Bendery is taken; in 1771 they captured the lower Danube from Zhurzhi and conquered the entire Crimea. It seemed that the territorial task of Russian policy in the south was resolved by Catherine II; Frederick II himself considered the annexation of the Crimea to Russia as a moderate condition for peace.

But St. Petersburg politics, too bold in undertakings, was rather timid in calculating the results obtained. Fearing to alarm Europe with such large annexations as the Crimea and the Azov-Black Sea steppes, where Nogai Tatars roamed between the Kuban and the Dniester, Catherine came up with a new combination - all these Tatars should not be annexed to Russia, but only torn off from Turkey and declared independent, or rather, forced to exchange easy dependence on the sultan of the same faith for the patronage of the formidable infidel queen. The Nogai succumbed to the Russian proposal, but the Crimean Khan understood the intricate plan and bluntly called it empty talk and recklessness in his answer to the Russian commissioner.

Crimea was conquered by the troops of Catherine II in 1771 precisely in order to impose Russian freedom on it. Among the Russian peace conditions was the liberation of Moldavia and Wallachia conquered by Russia from Turkey, and Frederick II considered this matter possible. Let us now compare the end of the Turkish war of 1768-1774 with its beginning, to see how little they agree. Two liberations of Christians were undertaken on different European outskirts of the Turkish Empire, Greeks in Morea, Romanians in Moldavia and Wallachia. They abandoned the first because they were unable to fulfill it, they were forced to abandon the second in order to please Austria and finished with the third, they freed the Mohammedans from the Mohammedans, the Tatars from the Turks, which they did not plan when starting the war, and that absolutely no one needed, even themselves released. Crimea, traversed by Russian troops under Empress Anna and now re-conquered, was not worth even one war, and because of it they fought twice.

The foreign policy of Russia under Catherine II was different:

establishing closer relations with European countries;

military expansion of Russia.

The main geopolitical achievements of the foreign policy of Catherine II were:

the conquest of access to the Black Sea and the annexation of Crimea to Russia;

the beginning of Georgia's accession to Russia;

the liquidation of the Polish state, the accession to Russia of all Ukraine (except for the region of Lvov), all of Belarus and Eastern Poland.

During the reign of Catherine II there are a number of wars:

Russian-Turkish war of 1768 - 1774;

capture of the Crimea in 1783;

Russian-Turkish war of 1787 - 1791;

Russian-Swedish war of 1788 - 1790;

Partitions of Poland 1772, 1793 and 1795

The main reasons for the Russian-Turkish wars of the late XVIII century. were:

the struggle for access to the Black Sea and the Black Sea territories;

fulfillment of allied obligations.

The reason for the Russian-Turkish war of 1768 - 1774. was the strengthening of Russian influence in Poland. The war against Russia was started by Turkey and its allies - France, Austria and the Crimean Khanate. The objectives of Turkey and the Allies in the war were:

strengthening the positions of Turkey and allies in the Black Sea;

strike at the expansion of Russia through Poland - to Europe. The fighting was carried out on land and at sea, and A.V. Suvorov and P.A. Rumyantsev.

The most important battles of this war were.

Rumyantsev's victory in the battle at the Pockmarked Grave and Cahul in 1770;

Chesme naval battle in 1770;

A.V.'s victory Suvorov at the Battle of Kozludzha.

The war developed successfully for Russia, was stopped by Russia in 1774 due to the need to suppress the uprising of E. Pugachev. The signed Kuchuk-Kanardzhi peace treaty, which became one of the brightest victories of Russian diplomacy, suited Russia:

Russia received access to the Sea of ​​Azov with the fortresses of Azov and Taganrog;

Kabarda joined Russia;

Russia received a small outlet to the Black Sea between the Dnieper and the Bug;

Moldavia and Wallachia became independent states and passed into the zone of Russian interests;

Russian merchant ships received the right to pass through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles;

The Crimean Khanate ceased to be a vassal of Turkey and became an independent state.

Despite the forced termination, this war was of great political importance for Russia - the victory in it, in addition to broad territorial acquisitions, predetermined the future conquest of the Crimea. Having become an independent state from Turkey, the Crimean Khanate lost the basis of its existence - the centuries-old political, economic and military support of Turkey. Left alone with Russia, the Crimean Khanate quickly fell into the zone of influence of Russia and did not last even 10 years. In 1783, under strong military and diplomatic pressure from Russia, the Crimean Khanate disintegrated, Khan Shahin-Giray resigned, and Crimea was occupied by Russian troops almost without resistance and incorporated into Russia.

The next step in expanding the territory of Russia under Catherine II was the beginning of the inclusion of Eastern Georgia into Russia. In 1783, the rulers of two Georgian principalities - Kartli and Kakheti, signed the Treaty of Georgievsk with Russia, according to which allied relations were established between the principalities and Russia against Turkey and East Georgia came under the military protection of Russia.

Russia's foreign policy successes, the annexation of Crimea and rapprochement with Georgia, pushed Turkey to start a new war - 1787 - 1791, the main goal of which was revenge for the defeat in the war of 1768 - 1774. and the return of the Crimea. A. Suvorov and F. Ushakov became the heroes of the new war. A.V. Suvorov won victories under:

Kinburn - 1787;

Focsani and Rymnik - 1789;

Ishmael, previously considered an impregnable fortress, was taken - 1790

The capture of Ishmael is considered an example of the military art of Suvorov and the military art of that time. Before the assault, on the orders of Suvorov, a fortress was built, repeating Ishmael (a model), on which the soldiers trained day and night to exhaustion to take an impregnable fortress. As a result, the professionalism of the soldiers played its part, came as a complete surprise to the Turks, and Ishmael was taken relatively easily. After that, Suvorov's statement became widespread: "It is hard in teaching - it is easy in battle." The squadron of F. Ushakov also won a number of victories at sea, the most important of which were the battle of Kerch and the battle south of Kaliakria. The first allowed the Russian fleet to enter the Black Sea from Azov, and the second demonstrated the strength of the Russian fleet and finally convinced the Turks of the futility of the war.

In 1791, the Iasi Peace Treaty was signed in Iasi, which:

reaffirmed the main provisions of the Kuchuk-Kainarji peace treaty;

established a new border between Russia and Turkey: along the Dniester - in the west and Kuban - in the east;

legitimized the inclusion of Crimea into Russia;

confirmed the refusal of Turkey from claims to the Crimea and Georgia.

As a result of two victorious wars with Turkey, conducted in the Catherine era, Russia acquired vast territories in the north and east of the Black Sea and became a Black Sea power. The centuries-old idea to achieve access to the Black Sea was achieved. In addition, the sworn enemy of Russia and other European peoples, the Crimean Khanate, which had terrorized Russia and other countries with its raids for centuries, was destroyed. Russian victory in two Russian-Turkish wars - 1768 - 1774 and 1787 - 1791 - in its meaning is equivalent to the victory in the Northern War.

Russian-Turkish war of 1787 - 1791 Sweden tried to take advantage, which in 1788 attacked Russia from the north in order to regain the territories lost during the Great Northern War and subsequent wars. As a result, Russia was forced to simultaneously wage war on two fronts - in the north and south. In the short war of 1788 - 1790. Sweden did not achieve tangible success and in 1790 the Revel Peace Treaty was signed, according to which the parties returned to the pre-war borders.

In addition to the south, another direction of Russian expansion at the end of the 18th century. became the western direction, and the object of claims - Poland - once one of the most powerful European states. In the early 1770s. Poland was in a state of deep crisis. On the other hand, Poland was surrounded by three predatory states that were rapidly gaining strength - Prussia (future Germany), Austria (future Austria-Hungary) and Russia.

In 1772, as a result of the national betrayal of the Polish leadership and the strong military and diplomatic pressure of the surrounding countries, Poland actually ceased to exist as an independent state, although officially it remained so. The troops of Austria, Prussia and Russia entered the territory of Poland, which divided Poland among themselves into three parts - zones of influence. Subsequently, the boundaries between the zones of occupation were revised twice more. These events went down in history as the partitions of Poland:

according to the first partition of Poland in 1772, Eastern Belarus and Pskov were ceded to Russia;

according to the second partition of Poland in 1793, Volhynia passed to Russia;

after the third partition of Poland, which took place in 1795 after the suppression of the national liberation uprising under the leadership of Tadeusz Kosciuszko, Western Belarus and Left-Bank Ukraine went to Russia (the region of Lvov and a number of Ukrainian lands went to Austria, which they were part of until 1918). ).

The Kosciuszko uprising was the last attempt to preserve the independence of Poland. After his defeat, in 1795, Poland ceased to exist as an independent state for 123 years (until the restoration of independence in 1917-1918) and was finally divided between Russia, Prussia (since 1871 - Germany) and Austria. As a result, the entire territory of Ukraine (except for the extremely western part), all of Belarus and the eastern part of Poland went to Russia.

By 1768, a situation had developed in which a war between Russia and Turkey was inevitable. The Russians wanted to get access to the Black Sea, while the Turks wanted to expand their empire at the expense of the Black Sea lands of Russia.

As a result, the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774 broke out. This war was started by the Turks suddenly. The Crimean Khan struck at the southern borders of Russia, and began to advance inland. At this time, large forces of the Turkish army were concentrated on the banks of the Dniester, preparing to make a campaign against Kyiv. In addition, Turkey involved in the war its huge fleet, which operated in the Black Sea. The power of the Turkish army was enormous. There were more Turks than Russians. In addition, the surprise attack factor played a huge role. Russia was not ready for war, as a result, in the early years of the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774. passed with a preponderance of the Ottoman Empire.

The Russian Empress understood that the army needed a hero, a man in whom the soldiers believed. As a result, Rumyantsev P.A., the hero of the Seven Years' War, took command of the Russian army. In September 1769, the Russian army, under the command of Rumyantsev, entered Iasi, Bucharest was later captured. The second grouping of Russian troops was sent to the Don, where they managed to capture the fortresses of Azov and Taganrog.

In July 1770, the first major battle of this war took place. It happened on the banks of the Larga River. Rumyantsev, whose army was several times smaller than the Turkish army, won a glorious victory, which forced the Ottomans to retreat. On 5 July another major victory was won, this time at sea. The Russian fleet, under the command of Spiridov and Orlov, circled Europe and entered the Chesme Bay, where the Turkish fleet was located. The Russians won an important naval victory.

Russian-Turkish war 1768-1774 continued, and in 1772 another significant event happened in it. From Poland, another Russian army was sent to Turkish soil, commanded by Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov. This, still young, commander in 1773 immediately crossed the Danube River and captured the important Turkish fortress Turtukai. As a result of the successful military campaign of Suvorov, Rumyantsev, and also thanks to the victories of the Russian fleet, the Ottoman Empire suffered defeat after defeat and lost its power. The Turks could not resist for a long time, they needed a break. In 1774, Rumyantsev concluded a peace treaty with the Turks. It happened near the town of Kyuchuk-Kaynardzhi. As a result of this peace treaty, Russia received the fortress of Kabarda in the Caucasus, as well as the fortresses of Kerch and Yenikale, which were located on the shores of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov. In addition, the Ottoman Empire transferred to Russia the lands between the southern But and the Dnieper. On this Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774. was finished.

Although a peace treaty was signed between Russia and Turkey, everyone understood that this was more a truce than a peace. Turkey needed a breather, as the Russian troops had inflicted one major defeat after another on the Ottomans during the last three years of the war. Russia needed peace to put down the peasant war led by Pugachev, which began in 1773.