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“Towards the end of the eighteenth century, Russia began a period of rapid expansion with the aim of making the Black Sea a Russsian lake and, ultimately, gaining access to the Mediterranean. Moldavia and Wallachia were importantly situated pawns in that game, while the Western Powers manoeuvred among themselves to exlude Russia from the Balkans. They thereby found themselves propping up a decadent Ottoman Empire while at the same time espousing the values of liberalism or, more often, romantic nationalism. Ideology, usually, but not always, took second place to realpolitik. At the same time, Austria-Hungary hoped to expand south-east into the Balkans.” — Walter Perrie
Towards the end of the eighteenth century, Russia began a period of rapid expansion with the aim of making the Black Sea a Russsian lake and, ultimately, gaining access to the Mediterranean. Moldavia and Wallachia were importantly situated pawns in that game, while the Western Powers manoeuvred among themselves to exlude Russia from the Balkans. They thereby found themselves propping up a decadent Ottoman Empire while at the same time espousing the values of liberalism or, more often, romantic nationalism. Ideology, usually, but not always, took second place to realpolitik. At the same time, Austria-Hungary hoped to expand south-east into the Balkans.