Smyrna in 1821: A Russian View

Smyrna was a dangerous, tumultuous outpost in 1821, especially for a Russian diplomatic official during the initial months of the Greek War of Independence. This is the most palpable conclusion from the personal diary of the Ionian Greek, Spyridon Iur\u27evich Destunis (1782-1848), who served as Russian consul general in Smyrna from 1818 to 1821. His unpublished diary, one of the richest files in the sizable Destunis collection housed in the Manuscript Section of the Saltykov-Shchedrin State Public Library in Leningrad, appears here in English translation for the first time. It offers an extremely valuable eyewitness account of the almost nonstop disorder and alarm which prevailed in Smyrna in the immediate aftermath of the outbreak of the Greek struggle. The diary merits close attention and scrutiny by historians of the Greek revolution, Ottoman government and society, and the Eastern Question

Eastern Orthodoxy Under Siege in the Ottoman Levant: A View from Constantinople in 1821

Research on Imperial Russia’s contacts and connections with Eastern Orthodox communities in the Levant in the early nineteenth century aroused my interest in how Britain, that other edge of Europe, related to the Ottoman Empire during this tumultuous period. Traders, travelers, envoys, consuls, and others registered their impressions and observations in myriad writings, providing historians with a treasure trove for probing the Eastern Question, the nineteenth-century European dilemma of what to do with the surprisingly resilient Ottoman Empire, still possessing strategic lands and vital waterways in the Near East. Russian and British archival and printed sources widen our perspective on the history of the Eastern Question, transforming what many scholars have portrayed as a largely one-dimensional military, naval, and diplomatic subject into a multi-faceted and more animated picture, with strategic objectives intertwined with commercial, religious, and cultural endeavors. Manuscripts and archives, from Russian and British collections, reveal vivid stories on religion, trade, piracy, rebellion, and intrigue, allowing us to reconstruct the various interactions between the peoples who lived, traveled, traded, and served in the Ottoman Levant

Archival Gleanings on Russian Trade and Consulates in the Near East

Imperial Russia’s maritime access to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean broadened the framework of tsarist influence in the Ottoman Empire during the 19th century. The pursuit of strategic and diplomatic aims in Istanbul, the Straits and the Balkan peninsula, in conjunction with the protection of Eastern Orthodoxy and the extension of trade in the Levant, made the Eastern Question a complex and multi-faceted issue for Imperial Russia. Archival sources on commerce and consulates shed light on the variety of interests which comprised Russia\u27s Eastern Question and deserve more critical examination by scholars of Russian designs in the Near East

Russian Trade Prospects in Smyrna: An 1812 Consular Report

Documents on Russian commerce in the Black Sea and the Levant offer eyewitness description, firsthand observation and authentic information. These qualities, to varying degrees, are evinced in this translated memorandum penned by tsarist vice-consul Carlo A. Marracciny in Smyrna in December 1812 and addressed to Foreign Minister Rumiantsev. The Marracciny report merits attention by scholars of Russia\u27s Eastern policy as a reminder that primary sources on Russian trade, and on wider tsarist aims, in the Near East warrant collection and presentation in an accessible format for students and scholars alike. This particular document might very well become a small piece in a published compendium of Russian records and resources on specific aspects of tsarist interaction with the Ottoman Empire, including the commercial dimension of the Eastern Question

Russia’s Position toward Ottoman Orthodox Christians: An 1816 Instruction from the Foreign Ministry

Documents on tsarist policy in the Near East offer suggestive detail, subtle nuance, and firsthand commentary on the proposed if not actual state of Russo-Ottoman affairs regarding specific issues between the two neighboring autocratic empires. These features, to varying degrees, are manifested in this translated directive of June 1816, from Foreign Minister Karl V. Nessel\u27rode to envoy Grigorii A. Stroganov in Istanbul, dealing with Russia\u27s attitude toward the sultan\u27s Eastern Orthodox subjects in the aftermath of the Congress of Vienna. The Foreign Ministry\u27s instruction merits attention by scholars of lmperial Russia\u27s involvement in the Eastern Question as a reminder that primary sources on particular aspects of the Russo-Ottoman nexus warrant closer scrutiny and critical commentary

The Holy Places: A Russian Travel Perspective

The renowned sacred sites ofJerusalem attracted the curiosity and devotion of countless Russian travelers over the centuries, and many of these pilgrims recorded their impressions and observations of the holy places. 1 This article presents selected passages from the virtually neglected travel account penned by Russian writer and diplomat Dmitrii V. Dashkov (1784-1839), who visited Palestine in 1820. His work provides eyewitness information and telling detail on a variety of topics, including the exact location of the most important shrines in Christianity and the renewed discord among Christian denominations over worship and custodial rights at these consecrated, and contested, sites

Dēmētrios S. Inglezēs: Greek Merchant and City Leader of Odessa

Greek merchant settlement of the northern coast of the Black Sea extends back to classical and Byzantine times. After the founding of Odessa in 1794, Greek and other foreign merchants played a major role in transforming this provincial backwater into one of the leading grain emporiums of Europe, a cosmopolitan city of ethnic diversity and cultural vitality. Dēmētrios Spyridonovich Inglezēs (1773-1844) is a concrete example of the prosperous Greek trader who assimilated to his new environment and engaged in numerous civic endeavors promoting the commercial and urban growth of Odessa during its formative decades. He also retained a sense of Greek identity and participated in the Russian philhellenic movement during the Greek revolt of the 1820s. The experience of this prominent merchant typified that of other successful Greek traders in Odessa and contributes to recent scholarship on that city\u27s Greek community and on the broader theme of historical connections and contacts between Russia and the Greek east in the post-Byzantine era

Reporting from the City: Vignettes from Constantinople in the Dispatches of Lord Strangford during the Eastern Crisis of the 1820s

The tangled web of the Eastern Question became the single most explosive force in European great power politics during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and Constantinople became the epicenter of this contentious dispute in Ottoman-European relations. Eyewitness commentaries by diplomats, travelers, residents, and others who visited this fabled city conveyed images and episodes about various topics, including European interactions with the Ottoman Empire, European designs on contested lands, and Ottoman politics and policy. These scenes and stories not only shed light on the geopolitical heart of the Eastern Question but also reinforce the centrality of this volatile issue in the relationship between the Ottoman Empire and Europe

Storm Warnings in the Straits: Russian-Ottoman Trade Issues

Russian envoys in the Ottoman capital routinely raised storm warnings over commerce and other contentious points in Russian-Ottoman relations. Trade formed part of the precarious balance between conflict and negotiation, as the two adjacent empires competed for lands, peoples and resources along porous frontiers and engaged in risky but profitable commercial exchange. Archival documents from the Russian embassy in Constantinople provide telling detail and firsthand commentary on trade issues, contested borders and related concerns in Russian-Ottoman affairs of the early 19th century. These- sources not only indicate the variety of interests that shaped Russian policy in the eastern Mediterranean but highlight some of the underlying tensions that generated friction in the Russian-Ottoman relationship. Moreover, these records attest to Russia\u27s maritime presence in the Ottoman Levant and to the important but largely neglected facet of trade in the European rivalries that fueled the Eastern Question