By Krzysztof Popek, Ph.D
The Great Eastern Crisis (1875–1878) led to migrations on an incomparable scale in the Balkan Peninsula. The Russian-Turkish War of 1877–1878 forced about 350,000 Muslims to leave the Bulgarian lands, which we will understand as the area covering the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia. Sanjak of Niš’s occupation by the Serbian Army resulted in the exodus of 71,000 Muslims. After the situation in the region had stabilized, the refugees (so-called Muhajirs) wanted to get back to their homes in the newly created Principality of Bulgaria, autonomous Eastern Rumelia (first controlled by Russians and later by Bulgarians), and the lands annexed by Serbia.
The return of war refugees was one of the central problems the South-Slavic states faced in the first years after the Great Eastern Crisis. It led to serious complications, which had various reasons. Among the most significant ones was the logistic deployment of the remigrants in the areas often settled by Bulgarians of Macedonia and Thrace, and by Serbians of Kosovo and Montenegro. Another one was diplomatic disputes between the Sublime Porte and the Great Powers, the latter exerting pressure on the authorities in Sofia, Plovdiv, and Belgrade for the humanitarian treatment of Muhajirs.
The article presents the problem of Muslim remigration to the South-Slavic states after the Great Eastern Crisis, with particular attention to the states’ policies towards that problem. The Bulgarian lands were occupied by Russians from 1877 until June 1879, and the Tsar’s representatives led the separate policy in that field. The Treaty of Berlin divided the territory into two parts: the Principality of Bulgaria, as the Turkish vassal; and Eastern Rumelia, the autonomic province of the Ottoman Empire. We will assume that Eastern Rumelia, dominated by Bulgarians, can be treated as one of the South-Slavic states. The formal position of Turks and Greeks quickly turned out to be symbolic. In the case of Serbia, the article only deals with the lands annexed in 1878, that is, Sanjak of Niš.