Руските планове за независимост на България (1906–1908)
The Russian Plans for Bulgaria’s Independence (1906–1908)

Summary/Abstract: The article is devoted to the attitude of Russian diplomacy to the declaration of Bulgaria’s independence from the Ottoman Empire. The first attempts at declaring the independence of Bulgaria were made already in the late 19th century, but Prince Ferdinand and his diplomacy began to act more energetically in this direction in 1906. The Russian Foreign Ministry tried to impede these actions which were not co-ordinated with it. In its turn the Cabinet in St.Petersburg worked out its plan for declaring Bulgaria’s independence, linking this act to the abolition of the Treaty of Berlin and with the change of the regime of the Black Sea Straits in its favour. This plan envisaged the holding of a conference with the participation of all the states that had signed the Berlin Treat, the aim of which was to revise this international document and the abolition of certain restrictions, Russia’s striving was to obtain also territorial compensations in favour of Serbia and Montenegro. Bulgaria’s Diplomacy, however, decided to act on its own, as a result of which after the declaration of independence the Sofia Cabinet fell into international isolation. The real threat of a Turkish-Bulgarian war also emerged. The efforts of Russian diplomacy at that moment were directed to the regulation of Bulgarian-Turkish political and financial relations with a view to avoiding a war in the Balkans. Lending considerable financial assistance to the Bulgarian Government, St.Petersburg did away with this threat.

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