Not only neither of these took place, but also worse happened and the integrity of the state underwent a threat. Thereupon, Abdulhamid the 2nd disassembled Parliament of Deputies wherefrom opposing voices were raised and which he did not find very sincere in standing forth as a protector of the state and undertook all powers as if a monarch. Thus, the totalitarian governance of Abdulhamid the second which would last until 1908 began. Despite his educational level and his not being educated as a sultan, with a performance not expected from himself, Abdulhamid the second succeeded in establishing a powerful government. Almost all historians, in spite of their critics, describe his success in this issue as a wonder of political strategy. Putting his own men in key points as chief assistant, sending away liberals by virtue of the constitution, sending into exile the generals throwing on them the blame of the failure in war, Abdulhamid gained success in taking his rivals away in time.
On the other hand, he did not neglect taking advantage of the charisma of the people who are respected by the people and nearly used the victory of Russia to become the government alone. Anyhow, he easily disassembled the Parliament of Deputies and sustained the constitution as a consequence of Russian pressure. The bureaucracy around him was indebted their position to himself from that point on. The Sultan prepared the conditions of a totalitarian government and saved himself of symbols associating himself with Reforms (Tanzimat) and weak sultans. It is obvious indeed that none of what Abdulhamid had done were coincidental as from that date including moving. From that date on, a new era started in Yıldız.
It would be useful to know political developments to understand his rise. As known, in September 1876, Abdulhamid the 2nd took over a very dangerous diplomatic condition. Ottoman Empire was in war with Serbia and Karadağ. Russia had declared war on the pretext of developments in Balkans and that Bulgarian Rebellion failed and the conditions of London Treaty were not fulfilled. While Russia was putting into practice their ethnical historical plan to take Turks out of Bulgarian territories by advancing rapidly to South together with Romans, Serbs, Karadağians and Bulgarians, Ottoman State could do nothing because of its financial and military condition and because it could find no political or other support from other countries. Ottoman army, withdrawing from Thrace and Caucasian fronts, was followed by hundreds of thousands of immigrants. While such events took place on the front, the Parliament of Deputies which was the focus of hope had turned into the scene of struggles and intrigues of various possession groups. The fragility of the condition was not being taken into consideration and Armenian and Greek deputies were discussing motions which did not fit the period such as acceptance of their languages as official language.
Moreover, Edirne Agreement signed with Russians in Edirne in order to prevent worsening of the situation when Russian army approached Istanbul provided the opportunity to wear the sultan and his environment down to them. However, the sultan wanted that post-war peace conditions be discussed in the parliament within the framework of the Constitution. Nevertheless, the deputies attending the meeting in the palace blamed directly the sultan for the crushing defeat and conclusion of the war. They wanted dismissal of the grand vizier and commanders. They brought forward demands such as Ministers coming to the Parliament and accounting for what they did.
Abdulhamid the 2nd disagreed such demands putting forward that the war still continued and that the situation was critical. He only replaced grand vizier Ethem Pasha with Ahmet Hamdi Pasha. Despite that, the proposal was accepted on 22 January. Thereupon, the sultan closed Parliament of Deputies for an uncertain period of time on 13 February 1878 by virtue of the constitution. However he made no declarations that he gave up constitutional monarchy and constitution. On the contrary, he frequently had state declarations mention about the existence of these two foundations and maintained constitutional state in form.
After passing of the initiative and burden onto the sultan, Abdulhamid the 2nd signed on 3 March 1878 Ayastefanos Agreement ending the war with the Russians. However, Britain and Russia, objecting to the agreement, wanted negotiation of its articles in a congress in Berlin. On the other hand, Britain undertook the governance of Cyprus Island on 4 June 1878 on the pretext that it will help Ottoman State in the conference. Despite such concession, Britain remained lukewarm in the conference, and Sultan Abdulhamid had to sign Berlin treaty under harsh conditions (13 July 1878).
Ottoman State not only paid a very heavy reparations as a consequence of this agreement but also Serbia, Romania and Karadağ won their independence. Bulgarian Princedom was established. It was decided that reforms should be made for Armenians in the East. In addition, since the economical conditions of Ottoman Empire was corrupt, Kars, Ardahan and Batum were left to Russia in return for the reparations promised. Bosnia and Herzegovina was occupied by Austria.