Caring for the sick man? Russian and Greek reactions to the Ottoman reforms (1856–1908)

Abstract

Greece and Russia had had a long and complicated relationship to the Ottoman Empire and especially to its sizable Orthodox Christian minority. The Sick Man of Europe was trying to cure himself quite vigorously from 1856 to 1908 but most contemporary Western and Balkan observers as well as modern historians did not rate Ottoman modernization efforts very high. Unlike their Russian counterparts implemented in the same time period, they are never labeled as ‘Great Reforms’. This article will demonstrate that during Tanzimat and its sequels, even Turkey’s archrival yet similarly dynastic empire supported Ottoman secularization and religious equality short of removing residual Christian Orthodox autonomy. Surprisingly, a very different polity, the ethnocentric Greek nation-state had similar reactions hoping to enable Ottoman Greeks to dominate the Sultan’s realm politically and economically. Russia’s motive was also to extend its influence through the traditional Ottoman institution - the Patriarchate of Constantinople - without destroying the Ottoman Empire or even engaging in conspicuous unilateralism and thereby provoking another war with the other Great Powers. While St Petersburg attempted to steer Ottoman reforms along federative lines advocating broad autonomy for Christian majority provinces, Athens backed Sultan’s direct rule except in ethnically Greek areas like Crete.