The 1833 Bosporus Expedition of the Russian Fleet

Abstract

The Bosphorus expedition of the Russian fleet in 1833 became one of the most successful enterprises of the Russian foreign policy in the region of the Straits. The Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi, concluded as a result of this expedition, represents the peak of the Russian influence in Ottoman Turkey throughout the years of bilateral relations between the two empires. The Treaty’s history, despite it being numerously mentioned in historical works, still harbors many unexplored details and is almost unknown in the European historiography. The documents from the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire contain diplomatic papers of the Russian envoy in Constantinople Apollinary Butenev, and the correspondence of the special commissioner on the Bosphorus Nikolay Muravyov and secret instructions to Colonel Alexander Dugamel from the Russian State Military-historical Archive shed light on the true reasons for the assistance that was provided by the Russian government to the Porte. The history of the conclusion of the Treaty, which gave the Russian fleet unprecedented benefits in the Straits, testifies to the mutual benefit of the agreement and friendly relations between Russia and Turkey that were established as a result of its signing.