Secret WWI agreement promised Constantinople and the Straits to Russia in exchange for French and British territorial gains, reshaping postwar Middle East planning.
Key Facts
- Correspondence period
- 4 March to 10 April 1915
- Promised to Russia
- Constantinople and the Dardanelles
- French claim
- Syria (including Palestine) and Cilicia
- British claim
- Increased sphere of influence in Persia
- Agreement nullified by
- Russian October Revolution, November 1917
- Text published by
- Bolshevik government under Decree on Peace
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
During World War I, Russia sought control of Constantinople and the Turkish Straits as a primary war aim. To secure Russian commitment to the Entente war effort, Britain and France entered into secret negotiations, each power bringing its own territorial ambitions regarding the weakening Ottoman Empire.
Between 4 March and 10 April 1915, the Triple Entente powers exchanged secret diplomatic correspondence agreeing that, in the event of victory, Russia would receive Constantinople and the Dardanelles, France would annex Syria and Cilicia, Britain would gain an enlarged Persian sphere of influence, and the Holy Places and Arabia would remain under independent Muslim rule.
The agreement was never implemented: the Gallipoli Campaign failed, and the 1917 October Revolution withdrew Russia from the war, voiding its claims. The Bolshevik government then published the secret text in line with the Decree on Peace, exposing Allied partition plans and undermining Entente credibility in the Middle East.
Political Outcome
Agreement nullified by Russia's withdrawal following the October Revolution of 1917; Constantinople occupied by remaining Allies in November 1918 without implementing the agreement's terms.
Ottoman Empire controls Constantinople and the Straits
Planned transfer to Russia; ultimately not enacted due to Russian Revolution