Аннотация: The author, having studied the attitude of different layers of Russian society to the Balkan wars of the beginning of the 20th century, came to the conclusion that the mirror of the First Balkan War reflected the internal split of Russian society and the loss of government influence even on the political and social forces that traditionally supported it, and the First World War the war and the Revolutions of 1917 finally saved society from empty illusions about the real role of Russia in the Balkans.