Crimean War

Crimean War
Part of the Russo-Turkish wars
Siege of Sevastopol 1855 by Grigoryi Shukaev
Date 16 October 1853 – 30 March 1856 Location Crimea, North Caucasus, Balkans, Black Sea, Baltic Sea, White Sea, Far East Result Allied victory
Belligerents
Ottoman Empire France United Kingdom Sardinia-Piedmont	Russian Empire

The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, with the latter backed by an alliance of France, the United Kingdom and Sardinia-Piedmont, lasting from October 1853 to February 1856. The primary cause of the war was an Anglo-Franco effort to weaken Russia to benefit their own imperialist expansion by strengthening the ailing Ottoman Empire as a counterweight against Russian expansion.

The war ended in a victory for the coalition with Russia forced to give up territories to the Ottoman Empire and make some consessions to other powers, most notably being the neutralization of the Black Sea. The war was reactionary in nature for both sides, founded in inter-imperialist competition leading to the needless suffering of the lower classes. The conflict also sped up reforms in Europe, particularly weakening Imperial Russia enough to allow for liberal reforms.