Letters of the Russian Emperor Alexander III to the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II as a source of research on Russian-Ottoman relations of the second half of the 19th century

The scientific community of both Russia and Turkey has always shown great interest in the history of bilateral relations. The most important source of academic research on this topic is undoubtedly the Russian and Turkish archives. In this regard, the documents stored in the Basbakanlik Osmanli Arsivleri (BOA), the Archive of the Ottoman Empire, are of great importance. Until today, no systematic study of Russian-language documents of the Ottoman Archive has been carried out. This study is the first attempt at a comprehensive analysis of a number of unpublished letters of the Russian Emperor Alexander III to the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II. Key words: Russia, Turkey, Russian Empire, Ottoman Empire, Archive of the Ottoman Empire (BOA), Alexander III, Abdul Hamid II, Russian-Ottoman relations.