page_title: History of Sarajevo
section_title: Treaty of San Stefano
hierarchical_section_title: History of Sarajevo / Austria-Hungary / Background / Treaty of San Stefano
caption_attribution_description: The signing of the Treaty of San Stefano.
context_section_description: All of the events of the so-called Eastern Crisis from 1875 until 1878, echoed resoundingly among the population of Sarajevo. By late winter 1878 it became clear that circumstances for the weakening of the Ottoman grip might finally be in place. The Treaty of San Stefano — imposed on 3 March 1878 by the victorious Russia upon the defeated Ottomans — confirmed that line of thinking. Among other provisions, it stipulated the following points: 
  full independence from the Ottoman Empire for the principalities of Serbia and Montenegro,
  de jure autonomy (de facto independence) within the Ottoman Empire for the Principality of Bulgaria, and
  the autonomous province status for the Bosnian Vilayet within the Ottoman Empire.
  Muslim population of the Bosnia Vilayet welcomed the promised greater autonomy thus rekindling their autonomy aspirations.
  However, international reaction to the Russian-initiated treaty was mostly negative. The Great Powers, especially British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, were unhappy with the extension of Russian power while Austria-Hungary was additionally disappointed as the treaty failed to expand its influence in the Bosnia Vilayet. In the 21 April 1878 memorandum to the European powers, the Austro-Hungarian foreign minister Gyula Andrássy stepped up his Bosnia policy by making a case for a Habsburg occupation of Bosnia Vilayet, arguing that an autonomous Bosnia within the Ottoman Empire lacked the means to overcome internal divisions and maintain its existence against its neighbours. The United Kingdom soon decided to support Austria-Hungary's aspirations in Bosnia.
  Many of the smaller nations also had objections to the San Stefano Treaty — although satisfied with receiving formal independence, Serbia was unhappy with the Bulgarian expansion, Romania was extremely disappointed as its public perceived some of the treaty stipulations as Russia breaking the Russo-Romanian pre-war agreements that guaranteed the country's territorial integrity, and the Albanians objected to what they considered a significant loss of their territory to Serbia, Bulgaria, and Montenegro.
  On the other end of the reaction spectrum, in addition to Bosnian Muslims, Bulgarians were just about the only nation ecstatic with the treaty.
caption: Russian count Nikolay Ignatyev signing the Treaty of San Stefano with his Ottoman counterparts on 3 March 1878. Among its various Balkans-related geopolitical stipulations, the treaty was to see the Bosnia Vilayet receive autonomous status within the Ottoman Empire. However, none of the treaty's points ever got implemented due to opposition from the Great Powers.
exif: {}