Russo-Turkish War Of 1877-1878

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The Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 practically led to the Bulgarian Liberation from the Ottoman rule. This war caused the re-establishment of the Bulgarian state. 139 years ago, in a tiny town near Istanbul (Turkey) named San Stefano, a peace treaty was signed bringing Bulgaria back to the political map. The Ottoman Empire was forced to give back to Bulgaria most of its territory conquered by it in the 14th century. The treaty was a result of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, known in Bulgaria as the Liberation War. Russia moved to declare war on the Ottoman Empire in the spring of 1877 using as an occasion the atrocities against the Bulgarian population during the April Uprising of 1876. At the time, both the United States and Europe were able to read about the April Uprising events described by US journalist Januarius MacGahan, working for British newspapers (MacGahan's grave in his hometown in New Lexington, Ohio, identifies him as "the Liberator of Bulgaria). However, the San Stefano Treaty was not final and its clauses were revised at the Congress of Berlin, which took place a couple of months later in 1878. It ended with the redistribution back to the Ottoman Empire of certain Bulgarian-populated territories that the previous treaty had given to the Principality of Bulgaria, most notably Macedonia. The Congress of Berlin (June 13 - July 13, 1878) was a meeting of the European Great Powers' and the Ottoman Empire's leading statesmen. In the wake of the Russian-Turkish War, 1877-78, the meeting's aim was to reorganize the countries of the Balkans. Otto von Bismarck, who led the Congress, undertook to balance the distinct interests of Britain, Russia and Austria-Hungary. The congress was aimed at the revision of the Treaty of San Stefano and at keeping Constantinople in Ottoman hands. March 3 was honored for the first time in 1880, on the occasion of the Enthronement of Russian Emperor Alexander the Second. This war was multinational. There were many different national participants in it. The Bulgarian volunteers’ troops, the Russian, Belorussian, Ukrainian, Finnish and Romanian soldiers took active part fighting against the Ottomans. This war led to the Bulgarian freedom.