2) Achieving an agreement between Britain and Russia on Central Asia in the second half of the 19th century
2.1 Reasons for the rapprochement of Russia and England
The Russian Empire continued to expand its territory under the slogan of liberating Christians to the territory of Iran in the south, to the Ottoman Balkan countries in the west, and to Central Asia. The British Empire feared these events, and finally, in 1838, Britain invaded Afghanistan with an army of 30,000 men and conquered Kabul. But this occupation did not last long, and three years later, in 1841, a revolt against the British broke out in Afghanistan. Many British officials were brutally murdered, the rest left the country, and the captives were released on a large fee. Some historical sources state that the Russian Empire was involved in the organization of this uprising. Under the influence of the Iranian, Russian and British empires.
In 1853, the “Crimean War” began between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire under the pretext of occupying sacred points, strategic points in the Bosphorus and the Mediterranean. Although Britain and France occupied the lands of the Ottoman Empire in North Africa and were hostile to it, in this war they formed a coalition with the Ottomans and entered the war against the Russian Empire. In 1856, the "Crimean War" ended with the defeat of the Russians. But in 1877-1878, the Russo-Turkish War was started by the Russians in order to regain the status it had lost as a result of the Crimean War. This time the Ottoman Empire was defeated. As a result of this defeat, Russia gained a great reputation not only among the Crimean peninsula and the Black Sea, but also among the Balkan countries. This created a very dangerous situation for England. The Austro-Hungarian, Prussian, and Russian empires could have severely challenged British hegemony in the world. As early as 1878, Britain invaded Afghanistan for the second time with its 39,000 troops. But this time, too, a revolt against the British troops broke out and they were expelled from the country. In 1885, Russian troops invaded the northern parts of Afghanistan, Britain insisted on stopping the attack, but the Russian troops continued their movement, citing the fact that the lands belonged to the Turkmen tribes.iv
Britain demands that Afghanistan confront Russia, and Russian-Afghan troops clash near the city of Kushka. After the defeat of the Afghan troops, a truce was made between Russia and Britain, the city of Kushka and the Pamirs were recognized as the territory of the Russian Empire, and it was agreed to leave Afghanistan as an open zone between the two great empires. In the same year, the Russian Empire conquered the Khiva Khanate, the last non-conquered state of Central Asia, and what is now Central Asia became a completely Russian colony.v
After Afghanistan and Central Asia became one-sided at the expense of the Russians, competition between the two empires continued in other regions in the early twentieth century, including Iran, Kashgar, and Tibet. Iran was divided into two or three parts, with the Russians in the north and the British in the south, and a neutral zone in the middle. In the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, Britain defeated Russia in support of Japan, which weakened its position in the Far East. As a result, Tibet and Kashgar will remain under Chinese control. Later, as a result of the rise of Germany, World War I, and the October revolutions in the Russian Empire, the "Great Game" was removed from the foreign policy agenda of the two country
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