Russia declares war unilaterally on the Ottoman…

Russia declares war unilaterally on the Ottoman Empire on April 24, 1877, after two years of futile negotiations to secure from the Ottoman sultan a guarantee of reforms that would improve the position of the Christian populations in his empire.

Waging war as the champion of Slavs living under the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans, Russia hopes to gain control of Western trade routes to its southwest and finally destroy the empire that has for centuries blocked this ambition.