ИСТИНА

The paper deals with the Russian military and diplomatic activities towards the Syrian provinces of the Ottoman Empire in the period of the Egyptian crisis (1831-1840). In the spotlight is the unique situation of the foreign political and military support of the Sultan and the Caliph against his powerful Muslim subject in the Eastern Mediterranean. Some of the researched archival sources indicate the plan of the use of the Russian armed forces in 1830-ies not only on the shores of the Bosphorus (with the aim of defending the Imperial capital against Muhammad Ali’s forces) but also in Anatolia and Ottoman Syria. The results of Russian Consul General in Alexandria and some staff officers’ confidential visits to Syria are highlighted. Special attention is paid to the previously almost unknown archival document – a detailed description of Syria made by Guard Captain I. Daineze, which, among other issues, reveals the attitude of Syrian Muslim population towards Muhammad Ali’s rule and the political conflict between him and the Sultan.