Russia was fighting the Ottoman Empire over the Balkans because of economic, strategic, religious, and political reasons.
Explanation:
The Ottoman Empire was one of the strongest empires of its time, and when it came to battle one on one, there weren't a lot of countries that could stand up to it. One country that was successfully standing up to the Ottoman Empire and often causing defeats to it was Russia. The Russians and the Ottomans engaged into numerous wars stretched over longer period of time, and they were fought for the Caucasus, Balkans, and the northern coast of the Black Sea.
The Russians had huge interest in the Balkans. The interests were of political, economic, religious, and strategic nature. The political aspect was that Russia wanted to expand in the Balkans, and considering it was mostly inhabited by Slavic people it probably wouldn't have come upon lot of resistance. The Balkan has excellent location, connecting Europe and Asia, and it is also relatively close to Africa, thus excellent location for controlling trade. The religious aspect was that big portion of the Balkan was Orthodox Christian, like the Russians, and the Russians wanted to push back the Islam, and gain control over the Orthodox Christian lands.
The battles between Russia and the Ottoman Empire took place at:
- Northern Caucasus
- Southern Caucasus
- northern coast of the Black Sea
- Moldova
- northeastern Balkans
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