In 1807, a joint fleet of the Russians and British captured the island during the Russo-Turkish Wars, with the Russians using it as their military base to achieve the victories at the Dardanelles and Athos; but they ceded control as part of the Treaty of Armistice with the Ottoman Porte. However, the Russian occupations proved to be destructive for the island. The town was burnt down, the harbor was almost filled in and almost all buildings were destroyed. The islanders fled and Tenedos became deserted once more.