The Crimean War: a clash of civilizations

The need to use the civilizational approach to the analysis of the causes and outcomes of the Crimean war (campaign) 1854-1855 is revealed in this article. The author analyzes the causes of the war related to the religious factor. The Soviet historiography had not considered the religious factor to be relevant for the progressive development of the state, and therefore the provisions of the mentioned approach had not been used in the analysis of historical events. The conflict that arose between France and Russia about the Holy places, is characterized by the fact that the keys of the Bethlehem Church had been taken from the Orthodox community, which they traditionally belonged to, and had been handed over to the Catholic community by the Turkish authorities of Palestine under France’s constraint. The author points to the main cause of the war - violation of the Russian law on the protection of Orthodoxy in Turkey fixed by international treaties. It is argued that it is natural to name this war - The battle for the Manger of the Lord. That is why the main events of inter-civilizational conflict took place in the Crimea and in Sevastopol, which had not only been the military base of Russia on the Black Sea, but also the cradle of Russian Orthodoxy. Analyzing the events, the author comes to the conclusion that the outcome of the war testifies to the victory of the Orthodox state and the Russian diplomacy, because the status quo of the Holy places was maintained in accordance with the state of Affairs which had existed in the Byzantine Empire. The preservation of the integrity and sovereignty of Orthodox state is the confirmation of this victory. It is shown the ability to evaluate the results of the war is based on the positions of a civilizational approach.