On April 24, 1877 (April 12, old style), the Russian Emperor Alexander II declared war on the Ottoman Empire with a manifesto in the city of Chisinau.
This war, which remained in Bulgarian history as the Liberation War, was triggered by the brutal suppression of the April Uprising (1876) and the failure of the Constantinople Ambassadorial Conference to find a peaceful solution to the Bulgarian question.
On the eve of the war of 1877-1878, relations between the Russian and Ottoman Empires were in a state of severe diplomatic crisis, known as the Eastern Crisis (1875-1878). Tensions reached a critical point due to the combination of mass Christian uprisings in Turkey and the growing Pan-Slavism in Russia.
The brutal suppression of the April Uprising (1876) in Bulgaria and the uprising in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1875) turned Russian public opinion strongly against the Sublime Porte.
At the Constantinople Ambassadorial Conference (December 1876 - January 1877), the Great Powers offered Turkey a plan for reforms and autonomy for the Bulgarian lands. The Ottoman government, encouraged by Britain, categorically rejected these proposals, making military conflict inevitable.
Russia sought to restore its positions in the Black Sea and the Balkans, lost after the Crimean War (1856).
To ensure neutrality, Russia concluded the Reichstadt Agreement (1876) and the Budapest Convention (1877) with Austria-Hungary, agreeing not to create a large Slavic state in the event of the collapse of Turkey.
The manifesto declaring war was read during a solemn parade, and immediately afterwards the Russian troops began an offensive through Romania.
On June 15, 1877, the main part of the Russian army successfully crossed the Danube with a landing at Svishtov, marking the beginning of military operations in the Balkans. peninsula.
The Russian army was joined by nearly 10,000 Bulgarian volunteers, organized into the Bulgarian Volunteers, who played a decisive role in key battles.
The war ended on March 3, 1878 with the signing of the Treaty of San Stefano, which restored Bulgarian statehood.