Let's say that a series of multiple fortunate events mean that today we still have the Russian Empire of the Romanovs existing through reforms, avoiding a bloody revolution and even being part of the European Union, with this we would reach the End of WW1 where Russia finally I would get Constantinople and an exit to the Mediterranean Sea, but returning to the central issue, how could the life of Tsargrad (Constantinople/Istanbul) develop as a Russian enclave in Anatolia? What kind of trouble could it experience over 104 years as a Russian governorate apart from the Turkish War of Independence? What effects would the possession of Tsargrad have for Russia? What difficulties could it mean for Turkiye to have Eastern Thrace separated from the rest of the territory (assuming it remains Turkish in some way)?
Constantinople Agreement: Effects of an Imperial Russia controlling the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles from 1919 to the present?
- Thread starter Emperor of Panama
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Let's say that a series of multiple fortunate events mean that today we still have the Russian Empire of the Romanovs existing through reforms, avoiding a bloody revolution and even being part of the European Union, with this we would reach the End of WW1 where Russia finally I would get Constantinople and an exit to the Mediterranean Sea, but returning to the central issue, how could the life of Tsargrad (Constantinople/Istanbul) develop as a Russian enclave in Anatolia? What kind of trouble could it experience over 104 years as a Russian governorate apart from the Turkish War of Independence? What effects would the possession of Tsargrad have for Russia? What difficulties could it mean for Turkiye to have Eastern Thrace separated from the rest of the territory (assuming it remains Turkish in some way)?
It would be claimed by Turkey as a Russian enclave in Thrace and Anatolia and give Russia enough rights to sail ships into the Mediterranean from the Black Sea, Bosphorus and the Dardanelles for the effects on Russia. Since Russian control of Constantinople (and the Dardanelles) would mean Eastern Thrace being smaller and separated from the rest of Turkey by land, it would be more difficult for Turkey to control Eastern Thrace compared to otl, and without Constantinople, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, Turkey would have less incentive to control Eastern Thrace/ Turkish Thrace from its 1914 borders onwards (only incentive being Edirne and which could be lost to Russia anytime).
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I think they would put a lot of effort in colonizing the area around the straits, but the main effect on World history is, obviously, the replacement of the USSR with the RE.
Wouldn't Eastern Thrace be either Greek or Russian ITTL?
Eastern (Turkish) Thrace (including Edirne) would be Russian because that much of its small size from 1914 borders would be needed by Russia to defend Constantinople, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles.