The Crimean War in the longer Russo-Ottoman struggle

The Crimean War appears here as another flare-up in a long contest rather than an isolated conflict. A Russian memorandum complains that British and French expansion was tolerated while Russian pressure on Ottoman territory triggered alarm. Its examples contrast French rule in Algeria and British annexations in India with the reaction to Russian moves into Moldavia and Wallachia and even thoughts of occupying Constantinople. Britain and France already occupied the top of the European balance and therefore resisted another power rising into their position. The dispute over Christian holy sites also served the domestic political interests of Nicholas I and Napoleon III, with a weakening Ottoman Empire caught between them.