@mobrine i can't be entirely sure since i can't remember if the exact year is ever established, but the 1800s were a time rife with conflicts between turkey and russia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Russo-Turkish_wars#Decline_of_the_Ottoman_Empire_(1827%E2%80%931914)
"Students of history" ... Uzbekistani history? Kazakhstani history?
I know nothing of such things.
I was only taught British history in school... and only have a vague grasp of a few aspects of European history between around 800 and 1400... courtesy of CK2.