The “Greek Plan” of Catherine II and Syria

Abstract

The actual Russian military-political presence in Syria makes to reveal the events happened there more than two centuries ago. During the Russian-Ottoman war of 1768–1774 Russia became the first European country that invaded to the Middle East in the Modern times and even for the short time occupied the part of it: the city of Beirut. The repetition of the Russian navy’s Mediterranean expedition was preparing during the next war of 1787–1791. One of its results should be the separation of Egypt and the part of Syria from the Ottoman Empire as a result of ‘diversions’, as in the diplomatic correspondence were named the secret agreements with the separatist-minded local leaders. The approval by Catherine II of the Ottoman Empire’s partition project known as “Greek Plan”, the involvement of Crimea into Russian’s influence area and its further annexation in 1783 are laying between two those events. The presented article analyzes the chances for the Crimean scenario to be repeated in Syria if the Sweden aggression in 1788 would not thwart the prepared transfer of the Baltic navy to the Eastern Mediterranean.