The Russian-Turkish war of 1877–1878: the Black Sea Coast of the Caucasus during the Spring-Summer Campaign of 1877

Abstract.  In the article the author reconstructs the military events of the Russian-Turkish war that took place on the Caucasian coast of the Black Sea in the spring-summer period of 1877. The novelty and relevance of the study lies in the fact that on the basis of numerous sources, including those introduced for the first time into scientific circulation in the context of well-known historical stories about Turkish landings at Adler and Sochi, Sukhumi military expedition to liberate Abkhazia, for the first time in historiography the issues of Turkish permanent threat: regular cruising battleships along the coast, redeployments and marches of Russian troops, detentions at one of the pickets of «Russian-subordinate Greeks» and other moments are analyzed. The study is supplemented with facts about material costs and the general post-war condition of the Sochi department of the most war-affected part of the Black Sea district. It can be noted that the Turkish side, despite the obvious superiority of its naval forces, successful actions in Abkhazia and Adler, was unable to further develop its offensive and after the repulsion of the landing at Sochi, managed exclusively cruising along the entire Black Sea coast without any active actions, which allowed the Russian command to organize its
offensive, which ended with the complete de-occupation of the territory of the Sukhumi military district and the southern part of the Sochi section of the Black Sea District from the Turkish forces, parties of Makhajirs and part of the rebellious Abkhazians.

Keywords: The Russian-Turkish war of 1877–1878, Black Sea District, Kuban Region, Taman, Turkish battleships, B.M. Shelkovnikov, N.N. Karmalin.