[6] Russia interpreted the Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji as giving it the right to protect Orthodox Christians in the Empire, notably using this prerogative in the Danubian Principalities (Moldavia and Wallachia) to intervene under the last Phanariote rulers and after the Greek War of Independence.

Restrictions imposed by the 1739 Treaty of Niš over Russian access to the Sea of Azov and fortifying the area were removed.

The Crimean Khanate was the first Muslim territory to slip from the sultan's suzerainty, when the Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji forced the Sublime Porte to recognize the Tatars of the Crimea as politically independent, although the sultan remained the religious leader of the Tatars as the Muslim caliph.

The Ottoman-Russian War of 1768–74 had opened the era of European preoccupation with the Eastern Question: what would happen to the balance of power as the Ottoman Empire lost territory and collapsed?

After the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, the Ottoman Empire ceased to be an aggressive power; it had terrified Christendom for over three hundred years.

Calls for peace, freedom and amnesty for prisoners, the return home of exiles, and the establishment of "a sincere union, and a perpetual and inviolable friendship".

If that visitor has committed a crime worthy of punishment and becomes Turk for the sake of avoiding the law, all the articles that he has stolen will be returned.

Those who wish to become Turk may not do so in a state of intoxication, and even after their fit of drunkenness is over, they must make their final declaration of conversion in front of an interpreter sent by the Russian Minister.

Article XIII – Subjects of the Ottoman Empire must evoke the title of the Empress of all the Russias in all public acts and letters.

[5] Article XIV – Grants permission to the High Court of Russia to build a public church "of the Greek ritual" in Constantinople.

[5] These officials will be bound to render justice where it is due, and any disagreements or disputes in the future will not serve as a pretext for any alteration in the friendship and good-feeling established by the treaty.

At the expiration of this two-year term, the Sublime Porte promises to treat them with fairness and respect in the taxes they impose.

The Sublime Porte also promises to not oppress the Christian religion in the area, and to observe the same tax and emigration policies as mentioned in Article XVI.

Article XVIII – The Castle of Kinburn remains under "full, perpetual, and incontestable" dominion of the Empire of Russia.

[5] Article XIX – The fortresses of Jenicale and Kertsch shall remain under "full, perpetual, and incontestable" dominion of the Empire of Russia.

[5] Article XXIII – The fortresses conquered by the Russian armies in Georgia and Mingrelia, Bagdadgick, Kutatis, and Scheherban shall belong to those on whom they were formerly dependent.

Article XXVI – The commander of the Russian Army in Crimea and the Governor of Oczakow must communicate with each other immediately after the signing of the treaty, and within two months after the signing of the treaty, send persons to settle the handing over of the Castle of Kinburn in keeping with the stipulations of Article XXIII.

Article XXVII – In order to keep the peace and friendship between the two Empires authentic, there shall be envoys sent by both sides who will meet on the frontiers and treated with honor and ceremony.

By the power granted to them by their Sovereigns, these couriers shall confirm all the articles put forth by the treaty, and sign them with the seal of their coat-of-arms, with the same force as if they had been drawn up in their presence.

[7] The treaty forced the Ottomans to allow the passage of Russian ships through the Turkish Straits into the Mediterranean past the sultan's palace in Constantinople, avoiding the lengthy detour previously used.

[7] Russia's right to build a church in Constantinople later expanded into Russian claims to protect all Orthodox Christians under Ottoman rule.

However, Ottoman loss of the Crimea and the end of the Crimean khanate caused Muslims everywhere to question the sultans' legitimacy as defenders of Islam (ghazis).

Ottoman statesmen recognized that the European menace was not isolated on distant frontiers but threatened the 'heart of Islam' and the 'entire Muslim community'.

But the defeat also posed a basic problem in statecraft, and threatened the Ottoman's traditional self-confidence, while Russia and Tsarina Catherine would be praised immensely among the Greek Orthodox of Constantinople.

Bernard Lewis suggests that the choice of spelling of Turkish words in the Italian version points to a Russian author.

That question is disputed among historians, as some consider that indeed the treaty gave Russia the right to act as the protector of Christianity within the Ottoman Empire, but others think the opposite or that it was too vague either way.

The treaty stated that the church would be under the protection of the Russian minister, who could make representations concerning it to the Sublime Porte.

It was not in conformity with the Turkish, Russian and Italian texts of the treaty and may or may not have been an innocent mistake, according to Roderic H. Davison.