Religious Motif of Perception of the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913 and Russian Muslims

Abstract

In the autumn of 1912, the First Balkan War began, in which the Orthodox States of the Peninsula jointly opposed the Ottoman Empire. In Russia, these events have evoked a wide response due to various reasons. One of them was the idea of war as a struggle between Orthodoxy and Islam. In the public space have been the support of Christians, which caused a negative reaction among Russian Muslims sympathized with Turkey. The situation was aggravated by the behavior of the regional authorities, which put obstacles to the manifestation of sympathy for the Ottoman Empire, which was not prohibited by law since Russia adhered to neutrality. As a result, the collection of donations and the sending of volunteers acquired the character of large-scale illegal activity, although there were no prohibitions against such steps against the Orthodox States. As a result, two movements emerged in Russia in parallel and independently of each other, each of which sympathized with its co-religionists, making virtually similar actions in respect of both sides of the Balkan conflict. The article shows the orthodox rhetoric and expression of support of the Ottoman Empire by Russian Muslims at that time.