South Caucasus in the plans of the warring parties on the eve of the Crimean War (1853–1856)

This article deals with topical issues related to the analysis of the international situation that developed on the European continent, in the South Caucasus, in Asia Minor on the eve of the Crimean War (1853–1856). Special attention is paid to the geopolitical plans of Great Britain, France, Austria, and the Ottoman Empire in relation to the South Caucasus region, where the Russian Empire was quite strong at that time. As a result of the victorious Russo-Iranian (1804–1813) and Russo-Turkish (1806–1812) Wars, The Russian Empire controlled the territory of almost the entire Caucasus region, which could not but worry London, because this threatened the British presence in India-a colonial Pearl that Great Britain was not going to lose. British analysts warned their government about the danger from the Russian Empire, and the Western press supported them in this. France joined the anti-Russian coalition, pursuing its own goals. London and Paris have made efforts to get Vienna to stand up to Russia as well. As a result of the upcoming war, the countries of the South Caucasus (Georgia, Armenia, Circassian, etc.) were to fall under the Protectorate of Turkey and Great Britain. The author draws attention to the fact that there were several plans to start a war against the Russian Empire, in each of which a significant role was assigned to the Crimean Peninsula, the military-political and strategic importance of which does not lose its weight today, especially against the background of the tense situation in the black and Azov seas in our time.