“It is unpleasant for many Russians to part with their beloved thought of a glorious world enclosed within the walls of Constantinople, even if European politicians lead us to Turkey. And in this case, it is natural to expect some kind of combination that would make Constantinople and both straits dependent on us, albeit indirectly, but still strong by the very force of circumstances.As always happens in truly great and fateful historical events, the living feeling of the heart and excited patriotism coincides in their unconscious aspirations with the most faithful, calm and far-sighted political calculation ... "