The Search For A Balance of Power (767-781)

I am a libra and therefore my sign is a scale. Balance and equilibrium are key. In Europe this has been true since practically the dawn of time, or at least as soon as real nations and alliances started being formed. With the rise and fall of influential powers (such as the Ottomans) in Europe, a balance is constantly being sought after. We remember the partitions of Poland or the Congress of Vienna, right? Both were fueled primarily by the goal of trying to maintain a balance of power in Europe. Russia has always been a big expansive heterogeneous empire that was by no means one nation. Russia was smart and definitely very pragmatic during the 19th century while they expanded into new territories because "the Russian state did not try to assimilate the populations of the new territories" (770). 

When the German Empire rose in power and the Ottoman empire began to wane- this "Eastern Question" came into the foreground. Who would benefit from the Ottoman's current state of weakness? As it turns out- Russia, France, and later on, Britain, all had their own interest in answering this "Question." Russia was the first to act when they moved into the  Ottoman-governed territories of Moldavia and Walachia. However, Turkey was obviously not happy with this decision and when Turkey decided to fight back against Russia and started losing- both France and Britain decided to declare war against Russia in order to prevent Russia from growing too big and upsetting the balance. Of course, Russia denied the Ottomans, the French, and the British a clear-cut victory and instead they all signed a treaty in 1856. The Russians and the British were harshly criticized by their people for the poorly managed war, whereas the French and Sardinians were congratulated for their bravery and national fervor. Did the allies actually help maintain this balance of power? Sort of. The Russians lost a lot of influence in the Balkans- but the "Eastern Question" of who would gain from the Ottoman's weakened state had still not been answered.  When would it be answered? Hmm....that's the real question. For how long would this 'temporary/unstable' balance of power remain before everything crumbled?