For a century the question of who would inherit the estate of the "sick man of Europe" troubled the chanceries of the great powers. (Indeed, an epilogue was being played out on Cyprus as late as 1964.) In 1912 however, the Christian states of the Balkans, taking matters into their own hands, formed an alliance and drove the Turks almost completely out of Europe. Russia had obviously played a role in forming the alliance, and according to the traditional view her policy in 1912 was governed by a sense of "historic mission," ...
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For a century the question of who would inherit the estate of the "sick man of Europe" troubled the chanceries of the great powers. (Indeed, an epilogue was being played out on Cyprus as late as 1964.) In 1912 however, the Christian states of the Balkans, taking matters into their own hands, formed an alliance and drove the Turks almost completely out of Europe. Russia had obviously played a role in forming the alliance, and according to the traditional view her policy in 1912 was governed by a sense of "historic mission," the drive for warm-water ports, and dreams of possessing Constantinople. In reality St. Petersburg pursued a defensive policy: with pressing internal problems in the wake of the 1905 revolution, the czarist government wanted to prevent war but at the same time had to defend its interests in the Black Sea and maintain prestige and influence in the Balkans. Sasonov, the Russian Foreign Minister, was unable to restrain the Balkan allies. Nevertheless, as the author demonstrates, he acted as a responsible statesman, maintained his government's influence in the Balkans, limited Austrian freedom of action, and convinced the British and French of Russia's sincerity and desire for peace.
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