23 June 1877
Source:
BG H8/905
Tensions arose between Great Britain and Russia during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. Russia had gained increasing influence in the Eastern Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean. People in England, frightened by articles in the press, feared the Russians might continue pressing to the East and threaten the valuable British interests in India. But Secretary of State for India, Lord Salisbury, saw that Russia could only challenge Britain's position in India in a limited way. He called the threat a chimera. This cartoon in the satirical magazine Punch shows Lord Salisbury telling the newspapers to wake up and not to go to war against nightmares.