Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)

The Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 was a conflict between the Russian Empire under Catherine the Great and the Ottoman Empire. Russian forces won major victories on land and at sea, and the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca ended the war by granting Russia access to the Black Sea and making the Crimean Khanate independent of Ottoman control. Accounts of the Russian Empire treat it as a key stage in Russia's southward expansion.