State structure and internal political situation of the Ottoman empire in the early eighteenth century (based on the notes of the Russian ambassador in Istanbul, P. A. Tolstoy)

The article highlights the letters (reports) of Peter Andreevich Tolstoy, in which the first Russian diplomat in Istanbul analyzes the state structure and the internal political situation in the Ottoman Empire in the early 18th century. The article is based on the source of personal origin - the notes by P.A. Tolstoy; the quotations from the “Notes” are given in the original version in order to plunge in the analyzed epoch and feel its spirit. The article touches upon the issues of the vertical of the sultan power, military system of the empire, tax oppression of the subdued population, foreign policy challenges of the state in the early 18th century. It is emphasized that with the conclusion of the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699 the military power of the Ottoman Empire was broken and Porte started the first major territorial concessions to the coalition of the European states. Namely for this reason Porte began to apply diplomatic methods in its foreign matters. The article also pays due attention to the religious basis of the state - its Islamic component headed by the Sultan-Caliph.