Major Ottoman victory in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78)

What is meant by a major victory? The Ottomans lack the capability to conquer more than a token amount of Russian territory, but a defensive victory is certainly possible. The Russians would still have large armies intact but these would mostly be needed for garrison duties, so it is unlikely that the Ottomans will be dictating peace terms to the Russians.

What is much more likely is that several European nations intervene in the peace process much as they did OTL. There will be little transferal of territory, though prestige alone will be important for the Ottoman Empire. Russia will be seen as less of a power as well, which may affect the latter Dreikaiserbund.

Within the Ottoman Empire, Midhat Pasha and the modernists are likely to be strengthened internally, as it had been their belief initially that the Ottomans had a chance of winning the war. There's likely to be a continuation of the Constitutional Era, and Abdulhamid will be less powerful.
 
It might only delay the possible independence of Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia, though I suspect that if Russia is beaten in this war, they'll be forced to commit to serious political and military reforms a lot earlier and they would be less aggressive in their foreign policy. It could also force Russia to be a bit more open about Austro-Hungarian territorial ambitions in the Balkans, and hopefully if Britain and France were to side with the Turks, Russia might also have to accomodate itself to having a lesser role within the League of Three Emperors......for now, that is. However, Russia could try again in another round against Turkey later down the road.

With this in mind, if the Ottoman reforms go a lot more smoothly, they might be a more valuable ally to Britain and France since the two Western European giants could use the Ottomans as an additional deterrent against possible Russian territorial projects (Ottomans in the MidEast plus Britain in the Indian subcontinent and Russia might very well lose the Great Game). However, this might actually push Persia into Russia's arms, though the Russians will not be reckless in their dealings.
 
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