The Battle of Kars During the Russo-Turkish War (1877- 1878) in V. P. Meshcherskiy's 'caucasian Travel Diary'

Abstract

Travel notes and memoirs contain many contents that fill the gaps in official history, and are thus precious material for historians as primary sources. This study aims to explore the historical context of the Battle of Kars during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 by focusing on Vladimir Petrovich Meshcherskiy's travel notes and memoirs on the trip from Moscow to Kars during the war in 1877. Although there is a vast literature on the course and consequences of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, we have little first-hand information from the field to fill the gaps in our knowledge of the developments during and aftermath of the Kars attack. Meshcherskiy's travel diary does not only provide us with a close-up view of the Eastern front of the Russo-Turkish War, but it also sheds light on the attitude of the local people under the Russian siege. Although this diary provides a rich source of information from the viewpoint of Meshcherskiy, a prominent Russian journalist and novelist, it has never been used in the academic literature on the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. © Turkish Journal of History 2021.