Silistria, Siege of

In the Russo-Turkish war, unsuccessful Russian siege of a Turkish fortress December 1853-March 1854 at Silistria, Bulgaria, about 110 km/70 mi northwest of Varna; the incident provoked France and Britain into declaring war on Russia, turning what had been a Russo-Turkish conflict into the Crimean War.

Following the defeat of the Turks at Sinope November 1853, a Russian army crossed the Danube from Romania and laid siege to the fortress. The garrison put up a strong resistance to the Russian attacks, though the Turks made no attempt to relieve the place.

Britain and France intervened and demanded that Russia evacuate the area. The Russians ignored this demand, but by March had given up hope of taking Silistria and raised the siege and moved off 20 March. France declared war on Russia 27 March and Britain followed suit next day.