How Russia Lost Bulgaria looks at the rapid breakdown in Russo-Bulgarian relations in the years following the Russian liberation of Bulgaria in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. Initially, the Russian Empire and the Principality of Bulgaria were close allies, bound together by sentiment, by geopolitical reality, and by strong administrative links – the Bulgarian Minister of War was a Russian general on detached duty from the Imperial Army, to pick just one example. Yet by 1886, only eight years later, relations degenerated to such a point that a Russian-backed coup overthrew the Bulgarian monarch. The two countries would cut diplomatic relations for years. How Russia Lost Bulgaria argues that the behavior of Russian military and diplomatic agents in Bulgaria caused this rapid turnabout. These agents acted in a tactless, obnoxious fashion that offended the pride and sensibilities of both local Bulgarian politicians and of the German-born, Russian-appointed Prince Alexander von Battenberg. Having a Russian Consul-General refer to the leader of Bulgaria’s majority party as an “unwashed, uncombed, country bumpkin” did not improve relations, certainly. But to write off Russia’s agents in Bulgaria as bunglers and imbeciles is neither accurate nor intellectually satisfying. Underlying their actions is the fact that the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was a weak and disorganized institution, and it failed to either develop a coherent policy approach to relations with Bulgaria, or to force its agents to carry out an approach once it was developed. Left to their own devices, Russian agents in Bulgaria fell back on their own ideas of how to advance the Russian Empire’s position, and in so doing they drove Russia’s relationship with a vital client state straight into the ground.

The rivalry between Russia and Britain over the autonomous Province of Eastern Rumelia is a historical fact. This study examines tis fact via two historical events concerning the development of the Province - the process of establishment and administrative organization of Eastern Rumelia (1878-1879) and the event of unification between the Province and the Principality of Bulgaria. It argues that the British authorities created the Province of Eastern Rumelia and later they defended the act of unification with the purpose to thwart the Russian political advancement in the Balkans. The British political aim was successfully accomplished as Russia achieved to preserve its political domination in the Province only until 1885 when it opposed the act of unification. This research is based on archival documentary sources and secondary sources. The archive collections used for preparation of this work are the collections of the Foreign Office of the National Archive. The existing historiography on the issue of Eastern Rumelia is very limited as regards the variety of examined topics, though a considerable number of researches are dedicated to the act of unification and the political, cultural and economic development of the Province from 1878 to 1885.

The first newspapers in the Ottoman lands generally focused on commercial and financial news, but as the time passed, they developed a richer content portfolio with a wider range of topics. The Levant Herald (1856-1914) was one of the long-lasting newspapers issued by British subjects under Ottoman rule. From this perspective, it witnessed the Empire’s last decades. Although The Levant Herald was published in Ottoman territory, it also circulated in Europe and Britain. Due to this, the newspaper had a somewhat international character. The main purpose of the newspaper was to give news concerning the financial, commercial and economic developments in the Near East, the Levant in particular, and to highlight the investment opportunities in the region. It was aimed at not only the British Levantine groups in the Ottoman territory and their local and commercial partners, but also the entire European community that had settled in the east. The proprietors of the newspaper changed several times during its lifecycle and due to the regular threat of closure, it had to be issued under different names. The names that the newspaper used were as follows: The Levant Herald, The Constantinople Messenger, The Eastern Express, The Levant Herald & Eastern Express.