The Serbian-Bulgarian Treaties of 1904 and the Balkan Policy of Russia

The two Serbian-Bulgarian treaties, concluded simultaneouslyin 1904, and known in the literature under the common name of ?TheSecret-Serbian-Bulgarian Treaty of Alliance of 1904? are thespecific topic of this book. A significant feature of thesetreaties was their pro-Russian orientation, shaped in provisionslike the requirement for Russian arbitration between Bulgaria andSerbia if they were not able to reach agreement about the partitionof the European possessions of the Ottoman Empire by themselves.Seen in this light the Serbian-Bulgarian Treaties of 1904 resembledin many ways the Treaty of 1912 between the above-mentioned Balkancountries, which became the backbone of the creation of the BalkanLeague with its well known larger consequences. Analyzing thesecret character of the Serbian-Bulgarian Treaties of 1904 andtheir preceding negotiations, this book should shed some light onthe development of the pro-Russian Serbian-Bulgarian rapprochementbefore the First Balkan War as a significant step toward thebreakdown of equilibrium in Eastern Europe and should be especiallyuseful for those who study Balkan History, European History as wellas Origins of World War I.