The Bosphorus Strait on the world map is a strait between the black and marble seas - a strait between Europe and Asia. Black Sea Straits

Russia considered the annexation of Istanbul and the Straits to be a well-deserved prize following the victory in World War I. However, the British and French did everything possible to prevent this from happening. The Russian General Staff was also unable to carry out the operation to capture the Straits.

For some reason, the idea was firmly ingrained in the Russian patriotic consciousness that, as a result of winning the First World War, Russia should have received the Bosporus and Dardanelles, as well as “Constantinople” (Constantinople, Istanbul). Russia's Entente allies, France and England, never made such a legal promise; everything was limited to oral agreements or some memorandums (compare the degree of legal elaboration of treaties on the post-war system at the Yalta Conference in 1945).

The Bosporus and Dardanelles straits are 190 km apart and are separated by the Sea of ​​Marmara (an area of ​​11.5 thousand km). The straits connect the open sea (Mediterranean) with the closed sea (Black). A sea vessel traveling from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea enters the Bosphorus, on the banks of which the former capital of Turkey, Istanbul, is located. A rather narrow (in some places its width reaches 750 m) strait, about 30 km long, off its Asian shores formed the Golden Horn Bay, 12 km long and up to 33 m deep.

Passing the Bosphorus, the ship enters the Sea of ​​Marmara, and after some time it is met by another strait - the Dardanelles. It has a length of 60 km, a width of 1.3 km at its narrowest part, and 7.5 km at its widest part and separates the Gallipoli Peninsula, which belongs to the European continent, and the northwestern coast of Asia Minor.

The Bosporus and Dardanelles straits have always been strategically significant for Russia. For the south of the huge empire, they were the only exit from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, which at the end of the 19th century was the center of world civilization and trade. The struggle for the straits is one of the oldest problems in international relations, which remains relevant to this day.

The Russian intelligentsia also understood the impossibility of obtaining the Straits. Above is one of the maps (by clicking on it and other maps you can see them in an enlarged size), issued in 1915 in Russia. It depicts the redrawing of the borders of Europe following the results of the First World War won by the Entente. It is clearly visible that the Straits on the map are Turkish. But Russia would have to acquire East Prussia, the territory of present-day Slovakia, and eastern Galicia. Poland would also become part of eastern Germany.

Chronologically, one can trace the main discussions at the level of diplomacy and the actions of the General Staff regarding the Straits and the future of Turkey.
On September 26, 1914, Russian Foreign Minister Sazonov sent an official note to the governments of France and England, which outlined the Russian government’s point of view on the issue of the goals of the Entente during the war that began in the Balkans. It stated that “the Turks must remain in Constantinople and its environs,” but Russia must receive guarantees of free passage through the straits. There were no direct claims to the straits and adjacent Turkish territory at that time. They arose at the state level after Turkey came out on the side of Germany.

On February 25, 1915, British and English warships bombarded the Ottoman forts at the entrance to the Dardanelles Strait and began the Dardanelles Operation. France and England did not inform Russia about the preparation of this operation; Petrograd learned about it through intelligence channels from Paris.

France and England involved Greece in the operation. which caused an extremely negative reaction in Petrograd - there were fears that Athens would demand Constantinople as a reward. If the planned operation was successful, the Straits would in any case come under the control of England and France, which forced Russia to demand from its allies official assurances that the Straits would be transferred to it after the war and Constantinople. Even direct threats from the Russian Foreign Minister Sazonov were used. With the permission of the Tsar, he directly hinted to the members of the Entente that Russia could conclude a separate peace with Germany and Austria-Hungary.

(This map and below are various plans for the reconstruction of Europe on the part of Germany)

The threats had an effect, and on March 12, 1915, London, with an official note, guaranteed the transfer to Russia of the city of Constantinople with the surrounding territories, which included the western coast of the Bosphorus and the Sea of ​​Marmara, the Gallipoli Peninsula, Southern Thrace along the Enos - Media line, and in addition the eastern coast of the Bosphorus and the Sea of ​​Marmara to the Gulf of Ismit, all the islands of the Sea of ​​Marmara, as well as the islands of Imbros and Tenedos in the Aegean.

The British did not consider their promise to Russia about the transfer of the Straits to be serious. Lord Bertie, the British ambassador in Paris, wrote about these agreements in his diary:

“December 17th. I also talked with Gray about the situation in France, about American mediation, about the future of Belgium, about Italy, etc. I pointed out Russian claims regarding Constantinople and the straits. Gray said that we must fulfill the promises we have made, namely, that Russia must receive the right of free passage for its warships from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and back in peacetime, while in wartime participants in the war will enjoy equal rights. I noticed that if the Turks left Constantinople, a situation would be created that would be completely different from the one under which all these promises were made; that the rights and privileges accorded to Russia cannot be denied to Romania, which has its border on the Black Sea, or to Bulgaria. The correct solution would be the following: Constantinople is transformed into a free city, all forts on the Dardanelles and Bosphorus are destroyed, and the Suez Canal regime is applied to the Dardanelles and Bosphorus under a European guarantee. Gray doubts Russia's agreement to such terms. In general, the question of the disposal of Constantinople and the straits will be a stumbling block when the time comes to discuss such subjects.

February 22...I hope that public opinion in England and abroad will force the powers to reject in principle the Russian point of view about the rights of Muscovites in relation to Constantinople and the straits between the Black and Mediterranean seas. I am afraid that Gray does not take as strong a position on this issue as I would like; I mean internationalization along the lines of the Suez Canal regime; this would not satisfy Izvolsky (Russian Ambassador to France - BT) and his master. Our newest and largest ship, the Queen Elizabeth in the Dardanelles; We have very large forces there.

February 26...There is growing suspicion here regarding Russia's intentions regarding Constantinople. They consider it expedient for England and France (in this matter England is placed outside France) to occupy Constantinople before Russia, so that the Muscovite does not have the opportunity to completely independently decide the question of the future of this city and the straits - the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus.

Russia's withdrawal from the war, or, worse, its reorientation toward Germany, threatened the collapse of the Entente. A split arose in English ruling circles on this issue. Winston Churchill proposed limiting ourselves to general assurances to the Russians of sympathy for the issues raised; Bonar Law asserted that “if Russia has everything she wants, the result will be the alienation of Italy and the Balkan states.” They were objected to by Sir Edward Gray, who pointed out that if England did not support Russia in matters of the straits, then Germany would support it, and then a separate peace between them was inevitable. “It is absurd,” said Gray, “that such a gigantic empire as Russia should be doomed to have ports blocked by ice for a large part of the year, or ports such as those on the Black Sea that are closed in the event of any war.”

As a result, Gray's opinion prevailed in the British cabinet. He was also supported by Lloyd George, who believed that for Constantinople and the straits the Russians would be ready to make huge concessions on other issues. “The Russians are so eager to take control of Constantinople that they will be generous with concessions in all other places.”

Russia had every reason not to trust the British and French. And to guarantee its interests in the Straits, it had to launch a “counter” operation - from the east of Istanbul. The situation could be explained briefly: whichever member of the Entente is the first to capture Istanbul and the Straits will belong to him at the end of the war. Already in 1915, the Russian General Staff began to develop an operation to land troops on the western shore of the Black Sea.

For the success of the operation, the most important circumstance for the Russians would be the possession of the Bulgarian city of Burgas. Nicholas II generally considered it very desirable for Bulgaria to enter the war on the side of the Entente and negotiated with the Bulgarian Tsar on this matter. Admiral Bubnov described his conversation with Nicholas II regarding Burgos in the fall of 1915: “This Bulgarian port was of great importance for the Bosphorus operation, of which the Sovereign was an ardent supporter. The fact is that Burgas was the only port near the Bosphorus where it was possible to land a large landing force, without which our General Staff and, in particular, General. Alekseev, categorically did not consider it possible to undertake an operation to seize the Bosporus. Secret negotiations with Bulgaria had long been held about this port, which, however, were unsuccessful, because Bulgaria demanded Macedonia for joining on our side and introducing Burgos to us, to which Serbia did not want to give its consent for anything.”

The Bosphorus operation was postponed more than once from 1915 to the summer of 1916, from the summer of 1916 to the summer of 1917. It was obvious that Russia did not have the strength to carry it out. The death of the battleship Empress Maria, the most modern ship in the Black Sea Fleet, launched in 1913, put an end to the operation. It was he who was assigned the main role in supporting the landing on the Turkish coast.

The battleship was in the port of Sevastopol, ready to go to sea, when on October 7, 1916, a terrible fire broke out on board, claiming the lives of 152 sailors. Due to fears that the fire would spread to the port's powder warehouses, the command ordered the battleship to be scuttled. This was a big loss for the Russian Navy. People started talking about sabotage and mutiny on the ship. The fire on the Empress Maria began to be fanned by the opposition, which suspected “a German hand at the court of Nicholas II” in its death.

Later, in emigration, part of the white officers expressed the opinion that the death of the battleship Empress Maria was much more profitable for England and France, since without it the Bosphorus operation would have been impossible for Russia.

History does not have a subjunctive mood, and the result of the First World War is well known - Russia was defeated in it, and the finale was the signing of surrender in Brest-Litovsk in 1918. Russia did not mention any more about expansion to the warm seas and to the south in general, knowing full well that its invasion of the zone of historically conditioned interests of the West threatens it with another artificial shock.

Now the passage of ships through the straits, according to international convention, is free and free. However, Turkey is the regulator of traffic across the Bosphorus, which allows it to take advantage of the situation. For example, in 2004, when the volume of Russian oil exports increased significantly, Turkey introduced restrictions on ship traffic in the Bosporus. This led to traffic jams in the strait, and oil workers suffered losses due to tanker downtime and delays in deliveries in amounts exceeding $100,000 per day. Then Russia brought charges against Turkey for artificially restricting the movement of ships in the straits, which is a political decision in order to redirect Russian oil exports to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, whose services, of course, are not free.

But this is not Turkey's only idea to benefit from its geophysical position. The country put forward and even successfully developed the idea of ​​​​building a Bosphorus Canal parallel to the Strait, the services of which would be paid. The idea is good, and transportation by water will cost significantly less than by oil pipeline. However, the project, tentatively estimated at $20 billion, has not yet inspired investors, and no money has yet been found for its implementation.

And I will remind you how it was carried out and whether

According to the ancient legend that is significant for these places, the almighty god Zeus fell in love with Io, the daughter of the Argive king and the river god, which did not please Zeus’s wife Hera. Io turned into a white cow and, trying to escape, descended into the waters of the strait, which has since been called the “cow ford”, or the Bosporus.

In fact, it is not known exactly why the ancient Greeks called the strait that way: “bos” - bull, “poros” - ford, that is, “bull ford”. But “cow” stuck.
The science of historical geology does not have an unambiguous version of the origin of the Bosphorus. The most common “Black Sea Flood Theory” is that the Bosphorus was formed approximately 7500-5000 years ago. According to this theory, previously the level of the Black Sea was 120 m below the level of the World Ocean and the seas were not communicated in any way. At the end of the last ice age, as a result of the melting of huge masses of ice and snow, the water level in both reservoirs increased sharply - by 140 m, a powerful water flow made its way from one sea to another. This is indicated, in particular, by the bottom topography, as well as the change in aquatic plants and sedimentary rocks from freshwater to saltwater at approximately the time indicated above. Another reason for the appearance of the strait could be an earthquake.
The Bosphorus Strait has an important geopolitical position. Since the Trojan War of the XIII-XII centuries. BC e. it has repeatedly become a cause of international tension, especially during periods of weakening of one of the main great powers.
Under the Byzantine Empire (IV-XV centuries), and after its fall - during the Ottoman Empire, the Bosporus Strait remained an internal matter of these states.
The Ottoman period in the history of the strait left a significant mark on the architecture of buildings on the banks of the Bosphorus. After the conquest, the padishahs built many fortifications here, and not only that. At first, construction was carried out in the central areas of the city, but with the advent of the 19th century. steamships, luxurious summer residences began to be built on sections of the Bosphorus coast more distant from the sea.
At the end of the 17th century. The Russian Empire gained a foothold on the coast of the Azov and Black Seas, and at the same time the problem of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles arose, which in history was called the “Question of the Straits.”
Firstly, the Bosphorus Strait is very narrow, so it is easy to be “blocked”. Secondly, the shores of the Bosphorus belong to one state, Turkey. Thirdly, the strait connects the open Mediterranean Sea with the closed Black Sea. At all times, Turkey took advantage of its exceptional position on the Bosporus and allowed foreign ships through the strait, issuing them “firmans”, a kind of license for the right to trade with the Black Sea countries. The Bosporus has always been a subject of dispute between Russia and Turkey, causing several Russian-Turkish wars. Russia managed to force Turkey to sign the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty of 1774, according to which Russian ships could navigate the strait without hindrance.
After the end of the First World War, according to the Treaty of Sèvres in 1920, the Bosporus was declared a demilitarized zone under the control of the League of Nations. Currently, there is an agreement on the regime of the Turkish straits, signed in 1936, according to which the Bosporus is an international shipping zone. Today, from the point of view of modern international law, the Bosporus is the “high sea”: merchant ships of all countries have freedom of passage through the strait in both peace and war. But Turkey retained the right to restrict the movement of ships from non-Black Sea countries through the strait, in particular its long-time enemy, Greece, and introduced a regime of advance notification of the passage of warships.

Only through the Bosphorus can Russia, Ukraine and Transcaucasia from the Black Sea communicate with the Mediterranean and further with the World Ocean.
A significant portion of the traffic through the strait is oil from Russia and the Caspian region, delivered to Western Europe and the United States by tankers loading at the terminals of the Russian port of Novorossiysk.
The passage of the Bosphorus Strait is associated with significant difficulties. The fairway that ships navigate is very winding, has an S-shaped configuration, repeating the no less winding line of the coast. Thanks to the exceptionally well-coordinated work of coastal services at lighthouses and control rooms, the modern history of the strait is free of major disasters. Since 1960, only two dozen incidents have occurred here without significant loss of life or damage to the environment.
The flora and fauna of the Bosphorus are no different from the Mediterranean, and the main commercial fish species here is mackerel.
The idea of ​​a bridge across the Bosphorus was born in ancient times. But only in the second half of the 20th century, after long and heated discussions, were two bridges built to connect the banks of the strait.
The Bosphorus Bridge, the first suspension bridge across the strait, with a total length of 1510 m, was opened for travel in 1973. It bears the name of Ataturk, but locals more often call it Bogaziki (in Turkish - “strait”). It connects the European and Asian parts of Istanbul. The height above the water is 64 m. More than half a million people are transported across the bridge every day. Travel on the bridge is paid, it is closed for pedestrians. In the first four years, people walked across it, but later this was prohibited, because those who decided to take their own lives regularly tried to use the bridge. Pedestrians are invited to use ferries that have been running between the banks of the Bosphorus since the time of the Persian king Darius I (V-IV centuries BC).
The Sultan Mehmed Fatih Bridge has the same overall length as its older brother and was completed in 1988. It also does not allow pedestrians. The bridges are 5 km apart from each other.
For ease of movement along the strait, several maritime traffic control towers, or simply lighthouses, have been installed here. They are all different from each other. The first lighthouse tower was installed by the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos in 1110. The Maiden Tower, or Leander's Tower, is one of the symbols of Istanbul, restored many times.
On the European coast of the Bosphorus is one of the oldest and most prestigious areas of Istanbul, Besiktas. One of the Istanbul ports is also located here, from where ferries depart to the Asian shore of the Bosphorus. The most impressive square of Istanbul, Barbarossa Square, is also located in the Besiktas district, and here is the Naval Museum and the mausoleum of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who, according to one version, died while crossing the Bosphorus during the Third Crusade in 1190.
If the day is sunny, the local population swims in the Bosphorus, entering the water from the Kennedy embankment, in the Sultanahmet area, despite the coastal fortifications in the form of randomly scattered boulders, ships constantly passing by and, to put it mildly, not entirely clean water. Such recklessness can probably be explained by the fact that recently the city’s population has changed noticeably both in size and composition: there are more people from distant rural provinces.
And the native Istanbulites no longer come here.
The largest number of attractions on the Bosphorus are concentrated in the Sultanahmet area. These are the most famous historical monuments of Istanbul: Hagia Sophia (St. Sophia Cathedral), Blue Mosque (Ahmediye Mosque, in honor of Sultan Ahmed), Hippodrome, Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cistern, Istanbul Archaeological Museum and Suleymaniye Mosque. In 1985, the area was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

general information

Strait between Europe and Asia Minor.
It connects with Marmara, and together with the Dardanelles - with, thus with the entire Mediterranean basin.
Administrative affiliation: Türkiye, Marmara region, Istanbul province.
The largest city: Istanbul.
Language: Turkish.
Currency unit: Turkish lira.
Religion: Islam

Numbers

Length: 31 km.
Width: 3329 m at the northern entrance, 2826 m at the southern entrance.
Maximum width: 3420 m.
Minimum width: 700 m.
Fairway depth: from 36 to 124 m.
Average depth: 65 m.
Maximum depth: 110 m.
Minimum depth: 18 m in the north, 13 m in the south.
Population: about 17 million people. (2001).

Economy

Shipping: 48 thousand ships per year.
Tourism.

Climate and weather

Temperate continental, marginal subtropical zone. The influence of cold winds from the north.
Average annual air temperature:+15°С.
Average annual water temperature:+14+18°С.
Average annual precipitation: 850 mm.
Relative humidity: 71,5%.
Water salinity: in the surface current, desalinated (18%o) Black Sea water predominates, and in the counter deep current, the water salinity is 38%o.
Problems: fog, poor visibility, strong wind.

Attractions

European coast

■ Golden Horn Bay;
■ Building: Rumelihisar fortress (mid-15th century), Tophane Castle (mid-19th century), Chiefte Saraylar Palace (mid-19th century), Dolmabahce Palace (mid-19th century);
■ Religious buildings: Kilych Ali Pasha Jami Mosque (late 16th century), Dolmabahce Jami Mosque (mid-19th century), Ortakoy Mosque (mid-19th century);
■ Museums: Museum of Fine Arts, Maritime Museum;
■ Yildiz Park;
■ Sariyer Fish Market;

Asian side

■ Leander Tower(XII century);
■ Religious buildings: Mihriman Sultan Jami Mosque (mid-16th century), Yeni Valide Jami Mosque (early 18th century);
■ Building: Anadoluhisary fortress (late 14th century), Veylerbeyi palace (mid-19th century), Küçkzsu villa (mid-19th century), Haydar Pasha Tara station (19th-20th centuries);
■ Port Haydar Pasha Limana(late 19th century);
■ Chamlica Hill;

Other

■ Bridges: Ataturk Bridge (Bogaziki), Sultan Mehmed Fatih Bridge;
■ Adapar(Prince's Islands, Sea of ​​Marmara).

Curious facts

■ On the surface of the Bosphorus, the current is usually directed from the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea. At a certain depth, the current changes direction and goes in the opposite direction.
■ In the winters of 1621-1669, the strait was covered with ice. This time was characterized by a general decrease in temperature in the region and in climatology was called the “Little Ice Age”.
■ The “Black Sea Flood” could serve as the basis for the legend of the Great Flood, which is present in the folklore of all the peoples who inhabit or have inhabited this region, and could also become the basis for the story of the “Dardanian Flood” from the tales of Troy.
■ Every year in Istanbul in mid-summer an intercontinental swim across the Bosphorus takes place, in which anyone who has time to register can take part.
■ On November 27, 2010, Sevastopol marathon swimmer Oleg Sofyanik swam along the Bosphorus Strait in six hours. The swim was dedicated to preserving the natural environment of the Bosphorus. The athlete was helped to swim by a strong south wind and a favorable current. The water temperature was 14 degrees.
■ On May 15, 2005, American tennis star Venus Williams played an exhibition game with Turkish tennis player Ipek Senoglu on the Bogaziki Bridge. This was the first literal "intercontinental" match.
■ Construction of the Marmaray railway tunnel between the banks of the Bosphorus is already underway, and it is planned to be completed in 2013. In 2010, the Turkish government announced to the public that it was planned to build another road bridge across the Bosphorus - in the northern part of the strait, on the Black Sea coast. The eight-lane bridge, 1,275 meters long, will connect the Northern Marmara Expressway with the Trans-European Highway.

Plan
Introduction
1 Description
1.1 Bosphorus
1.2 Dardanelles

2 Question about the Straits
Bibliography

Introduction

Black Sea (or Turkish) Straits (Turkish Türk Boğazları, Greek τα Στενά του Βοσπόρου or το Στενό), Straits zone or simply Straits (often with a capital letter) - a collection two sea straits, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, located in the Marmara region of the north- western Turkey. The Sea of ​​Marmara and its surroundings located between them are often included in the Straits zone.

[edit] Description

The Black Sea straits successively connect the Black Sea with the Marmara Sea, and the Marmara Sea with the Aegean Sea, which is part of the Mediterranean. They also separate Europe (Thrace) from Asia Minor (Anatolia). The straits provide access to the Mediterranean Sea and the world's oceans in large parts of Russia, Ukraine, Transcaucasia and the countries of south-eastern Europe. In addition to agricultural and industrial goods, a significant share of exports through the Straits is oil from Russia and other Caspian countries.

1.1. Bosphorus

Bosphorus(Turkish: İstanbul Boğazı, Greek: Βόσπορος) - a strait connecting the Black Sea with the Sea of ​​Marmara. The length is about 30 km, the maximum width is 3,700 m in the north, the minimum width of the strait is 700 meters. The depth of the fairway is from 36 to 124 m. The historical city of Constantinople, now Istanbul, is located on both sides of the Bosphorus.

The banks of the strait are connected by two bridges: the 1074-meter-long Bosphorus Bridge (completed in 1973) and the 1090-meter-long Sultan Mehmed Fatih Bridge (built in 1988) 5 km north of the first bridge. A third road bridge is planned, but the Turkish government is keeping the construction location secret for now to avoid rising land prices. The Marmaray railway tunnel is currently under construction (completion date - 2012), which will unite Istanbul's transport systems located in the European and Asian parts of the city.

1.2. Dardanelles

Dardanelles(Turkish Çanakkale Boğazı, Greek Δαρδανέλλια), ancient Greek name - Hellespont. The strait between the European Gallipoli Peninsula and northwestern Asia Minor. It connects the Sea of ​​Marmara with the Aegean. The coordinates of the Dardanelles are 40°15" north latitude and 26°31" east longitude. The length of the strait is 61 kilometers, width - from 1.2 to 6 kilometers. The average depth of the fairway is 55 meters.

2. The question of the Straits

Due to the strategically important geopolitical position of the Black Sea straits, their status since the ancient Trojan War has repeatedly caused international tension and served as a matter of concern for rival countries, especially during periods of weakening and change of one or another of the main great powers.

While the Byzantine Empire, and after its fall the Ottoman Empire, dominated the Black Sea, the issue of the Straits was actually an internal matter of these states, and therefore was not on the international agenda for more than ten centuries. However, by the end of the 17th century, the situation had changed significantly: Russia came to the coast of the Azov and Black Seas - and the relevance of control over the Straits zone increased, subsequently forming an important part of the “eastern question”.

During the decline of the Ottoman Empire, at the London Conference in 1841, it was decided to close the Straits to the passage of any military ships in peacetime. From the point of view of modern international law, the Straits area is the “high sea” and since 1936 has been governed in accordance with the provisions of the Montreux Convention on the Status of the Straits, while maintaining the sovereignty of the Turkish Republic over the latter.

According to the Convention, merchant ships of all countries have freedom of passage through the straits in both peace and war. However, the regime for the passage of warships is different in relation to Black Sea and non-Black Sea states. Subject to prior notification to the Turkish authorities, the Black Sea powers can conduct their warships of any class through the straits in peacetime. For warships of non-Black Sea powers, significant restrictions have been introduced in terms of class (only small surface ships are allowed), tonnage and length of stay.

In the event of Turkey's participation in the war, and also if Turkey considers that it is directly threatened by war, it is given the right to permit or prohibit the passage of any military vessels through the straits. During a war in which Turkey is not involved, the straits must be closed to the passage of warships of any belligerent power.

The last military case (not counting exercises) when the mechanisms provided for by the Convention were activated was the South Ossetian conflict in August 2008: a number of warships of the Sixth Fleet of the US Navy then passed through the Straits towards the Georgian ports of Batumi and Poti.

Bibliography:

1. Information on the website of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (Greek) + (Greek)