ing sixteenth century, the Russian dominance extended throughout Asia, the north of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, where the population were all Muslims. The Ottomans had the idea of constructing a channel from the Don River to the Volga, in order to easily have contact with the Turkish Muslims and obtain their support against the Russians and open a new front against Iran in Caspian Sea. But the Russians forestalled and occupied the cities of Ghazan, Astarkhan and the basin of Volga and advanced into Caucasus and were able to divide the Muslims in those regions. The Ottomans endeavored to counteract the Russian moves in the Caucasus but was obliged to discard the plan because they were occupied in central Europe and were having internal difficulties. This paper intends to discuss the Ottomans' policy against the Russians in those regions and the consequences of their failure.
)