Podcasts · The Story of Turkey: From Byzantium to the Ottoman Empire to Today — Fexingo History

The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca: Russia's First Step to Empire

17 Sep 2026 · 9:30 · S5 E237

In 1774, the Ottoman Empire signed a treaty that quietly dismantled its grip on the Black Sea and set the stage for centuries of Russian expansion. This episode explores the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, negotiated in the wake of the Russo-Turkish War, where Catherine the Great’s diplomats extracted unprecedented concessions from a weakened Sublime Porte. We trace how this agreement granted Russia the right to intervene in Ottoman internal affairs under the guise of protecting Orthodox Christians, a legal loophole that would justify future invasions. The conversation details the specific territorial losses, including Crimea’s independence (soon followed by annexation), the opening of the Dardanelles to Russian commerce, and the establishment of a Russian consulate in Constantinople. Through the eyes of key figures like Grigory Potemkin and Sultan Mustafa III, we examine how this diplomatic defeat signaled the end of Ottoman military supremacy and the beginning of the 'Eastern Question' in European politics. Listeners will learn about the geopolitical shifts that turned the Black Sea into a Russian lake and understand why historians view 1774 as a pivotal turning point in Middle Eastern history.

#TreatyOfKucukKaynarca #OttomanHistory #RussianEmpire #CatherineTheGreat #GrigoryPotemkin #CrimeanAnnexation #BlackSeaPolitics #SultanMustafaIII #RussoTurkishWar #DardanellesStrait #OrthodoxChristianity #SublimePorte #Geopolitics #MiddleEastHistory #ImperialExpansion #DiplomaticHistory #18thCentury #FexingoHistory

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