Bulgaria owes its liberation from Ottoman rule to Russia and should therefore demonstrate gratitude. Count Nikolay Ignatiev – Russian diplomat and Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, played an especially prominent role by supporting the Bulgarians’ political and economic independence and the restoration of a large Bulgarian state. He negotiated these terms in the Treaty of San Stefano (which ended the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878 and enshrined autonomy to the Principality of Bulgaria) and stood up to Western powers against the dismemberment of Bulgarian territories.
Summary
Guided by moral duty and pan-Slavic sentiment, Russia waged war against the Ottoman Empire in 1877-1878 in order to liberate Bulgaria. The Bulgarians should be grateful to the Russians as opposed to the West, which acted against the cause of Bulgarian independence.
Disproof
One of numerous Russian attempts at historical revisionism.
The article presents a one-sided and distorted interpretation of Russia’s liberation of Bulgaria. According to the historical record, the Russian authorities were not guided by altruistic motives and brotherly feelings but by the pursuit of imperialist interests (including access to the Turkish Straits, establishment of dominating control over the Balkans), while the military personnel that took part in the war was not solely composed of Russians but by significant numbers of other nationalities such as Ukrainians and Finns.