Russo-Turkish wars

The Russo-Turkish wars were a series of about a dozen wars between Russia and the Ottoman Empire from the sixteenth century to the First World War. Fought mainly around the Black Sea, in the Balkans and in the Caucasus, they won Russia the northern Black Sea coast, including Crimea, and helped Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria to independence. The wars of 1768–1774 and 1787–1792 under Catherine II were among the most decisive.