The Harbingers of the 1768–1774 Ottoman-Russian War: The Balta Incident (In the Light of Pierre Ruffin’s Diary)

The aim of our study is to examine the events that led to the 1768–1774 Russo-Turkish War through the perspective of Pierre Ruffin, a French diplomatic translator stationed in Bakhchisarai, the administrative center of the Crimean Khanate and located close to the Khan himself. By doing so, the study seeks to accurately depict how these events were perceived on the Crimean Khanate’s side, how the state officials reacted, and the tense period that followed, ultimately culminating in the war. During the occupation of Poland, Poles fleeing from advancing Russian and Cossack troops sought refuge in the city of Uman, located within the borders of the Crimean Khanate, in July 1768. The aforementioned troops attacked Uman and massacred its inhabitants. Those who managed to escape took refuge in the town of Balta, part of the Crimean Khanate. However, the marauders pursued them and burned down Balta. Russian forces then advanced into Ottoman territory as far as Bender, killing the Janissaries stationed there as well. While the events at Balta, which the Ottoman Empire considered a casus belli, did not appear extensively in Ottoman archival records beyond the declaration of war, Ottoman chronicles of the time mentioned them only briefly as causes of the war, without providing details and often conveying contradictory information. The lack of local sources recounting the Balta incidents from the Crimean Khanate’s perspective, highlights the value of the 1768 diary written by Pierre Ruffin, the French diplomatic translator in Bakhchisarai at the time. This study is a qualitative research project that analyzes and evaluates the Balta incidents which led to the 1768–1774 Russo-Turkish War in light of historical sources. Using document analysis (Content Analysis), a method of qualitative research, raw data were collected from archival records, chronicles, manuscripts, diplomatic correspondence, and other historical documents from the Ottoman Empire, the Crimean Khanate, France, Russia, and Poland. These data were systematically analyzed and interpreted through an inductive approach.