La Roumanie et la paix russo-ottomane de San Stefano
The Romania and the Russo-Ottoman Peace of San Stefano

Summary/Abstract: The military involvement of Romania in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877 created high expectations in Bucharest regarding the organization of peace and the country's new international status. However, towards the end of 1877 and the beginning of 1878, Romania was in a very complicated situation. At the end of the military campaign, the political elite in Bucharest, led by Carol I, was increasingly convinced that Russia had become a real danger to the country. Events on the European continent were unpredictable, and this further heightened the fears of Romanian leaders. Romanian politicians genuinely feared that the country might be invaded or even ‘crushed’ by the way Russia viewed, solely by virtue of its army victories against Turkey, the ‘resolution of the Eastern crisis,’ assuming a reconfiguration under the gracious tutelage of the Tsar,’ of Southeastern Europe. This study is a reassessment of the position adopted by Romania in relation to the negotiation that led to the signing of the Treaty of San Stefano and its provisions, considered burdensome for Bucharest. Romania lacked the guarantee of the Great Powers, a fact that made the young state very vulnerable to neighbours such as Tsarist Russia.

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