RUSSIA IN THE REPRESENTATIONS OF THE OTTOMAN GREEKS (MID-19th — EARLY 20th CENTURIES)

Abstract

In view of the increasing importance of the Middle East direction in Russian foreign policy, it seems relevant to study the history of ideas about Russia and attitudes towards it in the region. The article examines the evolution of the image of Russia in the Greek environment of the late Ottoman period. Traditionally, Orthodox Greeks, counting on Russian patronage to protect their rights and help in the liberation struggle, acted as allies of Russia in the fight against the Ottoman Empire. However, the acquisition by the Greeks of their own national statehood, the growth of national movements in the region and the defeat of Russia in the Crimean War contributed to the revision of the previ- ous positive image of our country, which was gradually subject to peyorization and demonization.