The Turkish Straits crisis was a Cold War territorial dispute in 1946 in which the Soviet Union pressured Turkey to accept joint Soviet-Turkish military control of the Bosporus and Dardanelles, the only waterways connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. When Turkey refused, the Soviet Union massed troops in the Balkans and conducted naval maneuvers near Turkish shores. The crisis ended after the United States and United Kingdom reaffirmed support for Turkey in October 1946.
Why did the Soviet Union want control of the Turkish Straits?
The Soviet Union sought control of the Turkish Straits because access to the Mediterranean for its Black Sea ports depended entirely on free passage through the Bosporus and Dardanelles. Without that access, Soviet Black Sea ports had no effective route to the wider ocean. This desire for ice-free ports with open sea access was a driving factor behind most of the historic Russo-Turkish wars.
What is the Montreux Convention and how did it relate to the Turkish Straits crisis?
The Montreux Convention, signed on the 20th of July 1936, gave Turkey sole authority to regulate passage through the Bosporus and Dardanelles, including requiring prior notice from warships and imposing limits on the size, number, and type of military vessels allowed into the Black Sea. The Soviet Union was dissatisfied with this arrangement from the start, and Joseph Stalin challenged it as early as 1939. The Soviet note of the 7th of August 1946 demanded the convention be replaced by a new agreement more favorable to Soviet interests.
How did the Turkish Straits crisis lead to the Truman Doctrine?
The Turkish Straits crisis, alongside the Greek Civil War, was a direct catalyst for the Truman Doctrine. After Turkey appealed for US protection in 1946, President Harry S. Truman sent a naval task force to the region and the United States subsequently provided Turkey with one hundred million dollars in economic and defense aid in 1947. The Truman Doctrine formalized American policy of halting Soviet influence from spreading into Turkey and Greece.
When did Turkey join NATO and how did the Straits crisis contribute?
Turkey joined NATO in 1952, along with Greece. The Turkish Straits crisis was a pivotal factor, as the Soviet pressure campaign led Turkey to abandon its longstanding policy of neutrality and turn to the United States for protection. Accepting one hundred million dollars in US military and economic aid under the Truman Doctrine in 1947 marked Turkey's formal alignment with the Western bloc.
When did the Soviet Union drop its claims over the Turkish Straits?
Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov formally dropped Soviet claims over the Bosporus and Dardanelles on the 30th of May 1953, shortly after the death of Joseph Stalin. Molotov also abandoned associated territorial disputes along the Turkish-Armenian-Georgian border at the same time. The Montreux Convention of 1936 remains in force today.