First Serbian–Ottoman War

Serbia and Montenegro declared war on the Ottoman Empire in 1876 after uprisings and violence in the Balkans intensified the Eastern Question. Serbian forces struggled against a stronger Ottoman army.

Russian Pan-Slav committees raised money and encouraged volunteers to join Serbia. The movement combined religious sympathy, nationalism and pressure for direct Russian intervention.

The closing section of Anna Karenina places Vronsky among volunteers leaving for Serbia. Tolstoy treats the enthusiasm critically, contrasting public patriotic language with private grief and displacement.