The Deal That Sold Out Four Million People - March 3, 1878

On March 3, 1878, Russia and the Ottoman Empire signed the Treaty of San Stefano, ending the Russo-Turkish War and creating "Greater Bulgaria" a massive new state stretching from the Danube to the Aegean. For Bulgarians, it meant liberation after 500 years of Ottoman rule. For Russia, it meant a puppet state controlling the Balkans. For Britain and Austria-Hungary, it meant unacceptable Russian expansion. Four months later, the Great Powers forced revision at the Congress of Berlin, carving Bulgaria into pieces. This is a story about liberation and imperialism happening simultaneously and why both are true.