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The Treaty of Paris signed
18 (30) March 1856 in Paris at the closing session of the Congress of powers the representatives of Russia (A. F. Orlov, F. I. Brunnov) on the one hand, of France (A. Walewski, F. Burkene), of Britain (G. Clarendon , G. Cowley), of Turkey (Ali Pasha, Cemil Bey), Sardinia (C. Cavour, S. Villamarina), as well as representatives of Austria (K. Buol, I. Gyubner) and Prussia (A. Manteuffel, M. Gartsfeldt), who had participated in the talks, on the other hand, signed the Treaty of Paris, which put the end to the Crimean War of 1853-1856.
In 1854, troops of the Allied Powers with Turkey landed in the Crimea, inflicted several defeats to the Russian army and began the siege of Sevastopol. In 1855, Russia found itself in diplomatic isolation. After the fall of Sevastopol, military actions had actually stopped. 1 (13) February 1856 in Vienna was concluded a preliminary agreement on the terms of the peace treaty, which was signed 18 (30) March 1856 at the Paris Congress.
Russia was to return Kars to Turkey, in exchange for captured by allies Sevastopol, Balaklava and other cities of the Crimea; it also ceded to Moldavian Principality the mouth of the Danube and a part of Southern Bessarabia.
The clause of the Paris Treaty of 1856, particularly difficult for Russia, was the proclamation of the "neutralization" of the Black Sea: Russia and Turkey, as the Black Sea powers, were not allowed to have military fleets at the Black Sea, and military forts and arsenals on its coasts. The Black Sea straits were declared closed for military vessels of all nations. Thus, the Russian Empire was put at a disadvantage with the Ottoman Empire, which had kept all of its naval forces in the Marmara and Mediterranean seas.
Treaty of Paris established the freedom of navigation for merchant ships of all countries along the Danube, which opened the door for wide distribution in the Balkan Peninsula of Austrian, British and French goods, which caused considerable damage to Russia's exports. The treaty deprived Russia of the right to protect the interests of the Orthodox population in the Ottoman Empire. Moldavia, Wallachia and Serbia remained under the sovereignty of the Sultan, and they were subordinate to the collective protectorate of the Great Powers.
3 Conventions were attached to the Treaty: the 1st one confirmed the London Convention of 1841 to close the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits to warships of all countries, except Turkey;
the 2nd one established the limited number of light military Russian and Turkish ships in the Black Sea for patrol service (Russia and Turkey could only keep 6 steam vessels of 800 tons and 4 vessels of 200 tons each for patrol); the 3rd obliged Russia not to build military fortifications on the Aland islands in the Baltic Sea.
As a result of a long diplomatic struggle of Russian Foreign Minister A. M. Gorchakov at the London Conference of 1871, Russia assured the repeal of the neutralization of the Black Sea. In 1878, under the Berlin Treaty, signed at the Berlin Congress, held up to the results of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, the Russian state was able to recover all the lost territories.
Lit.: История дипломатии. 2 изд. Т. 1. М., 1959; Парижский конгресс и мир // Тарле Е. В. Крымская война. М.-Л., 1941-1944. Т. 2. Гл. 20; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://militera.lib.ru/h/tarle3/31.html; Сборник договоров России с другими государствами. 1856-1917. М., 1952; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://www.hist.msu.ru/ER/Etext/FOREIGN/paris.htm.
Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:
Материалы для истории Крымской войны и обороны Севастополя. Вып. 5. СПб., 1874;