Table of contents:
- Vorontsov's course and unfulfilled plans
- 40 years in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the provoked Crimean War
- Gorchakov's unenviable burden and destructive caution
- Witte's major successes and the preservation of Sakhalin
Video: How tsarist diplomats brought Russia to war, and who corrected these mistakes
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
Russian military history is rich in victories and outstanding feats. But the chronicle of Russian diplomacy, full of ups and downs, successes and failures, is barely inferior to it. The experience of the most prominent persons from the diplomatic corps of Russia is analyzed and studied to this day. Particularly interesting is the activity of officials responsible for the foreign policy course in the tsarist era, when the international authority of European states was unstable, and Russia was only drawing a map of its influence.
Vorontsov's course and unfulfilled plans
The Vorontsov family presented Russia with many statesmen, among whom were diplomats. Semyon Vorontsov, who miraculously in his youth did not pay with his life for supporting Peter III in the coup of 1762, years later became the Russian ambassador to England. In this role, he managed to achieve considerable success. Vorontsov blocked British intervention in the Russian-Turkish conflict and restored former trade relations with London. One of the few Russian diplomats, he knew how to build Russian-British relations without prejudice to the interests of the country. Karamzin wrote about Semyon Vorontsov that although he lives in English, he enjoys full confidence among the British, but at the same time he is a deep patriot of his Russia. A historian who visited Vorontsov's British house said that the ambassador knows Russian history very well and often recites Lomonosov's odes.
In 1802, Emperor Alexander I put his brother Semyon in his place as the first foreign minister. Brothers Alexander and Semyon oriented Russian foreign policy towards an alliance with Austria and England against Napoleon. But the death of Alexander Vorontsov ruined these plans. Semyon Vorontsov, who was grieving over the loss of his brother, resigned in 1806 and settled in London. But for the rest of his life he remained at the English court as an agent of Russian influence.
40 years in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the provoked Crimean War
Karl Nesselrode's diplomatic career began in 1801 as an official in the Russian mission (The Hague, Berlin, Paris). With the outbreak of the war of 1812, he carried out all kinds of diplomatic assignments under the army, in the campaign of the Russians in 1813-1814. was involved in negotiations between the allies. From 1816 he ran the Foreign Ministry (Foreign Collegium) in a duet with Count Kapodistrias. But after a while he began to reign supreme in the Foreign Ministry. Nesselrod strove for maximum rapprochement with Austria, and Russia, at his initiative, took an active part in suppressing the Hungarian revolt (1848-1849). The diplomat called his political course monarchist and anti-Polish. Sympathizing with the ideas of the Holy Alliance, Nesselrode hated any free aspirations, whether in Europe or in Russia. Serfdom, in his convictions, was equally benevolent for the landowners and for the forced peasants.
One of the main diplomatic blunders of Nesselrode is called the erroneously predicted reactions of the leading European countries to the likely war between Russia and Turkey in the 1850s. Overestimating the Anglo-French disagreement and not understanding the policies of France and England, which pushed the Russians into conflict with the Turks, he led Russia to the Crimean War and international isolation. This war essentially became the defeat of the diplomatic course of Nicholas I with the complicity of Nesselrode. The disastrous outcome forced the count, who had been in charge of Russia's foreign affairs for 40 years, to resign.
Gorchakov's unenviable burden and destructive caution
A whole diplomatic era is associated with the name of Prince Gorchakov. Russia, weakened by the Crimean War, found itself in complete isolation. And in Europe, a strong anti-Russian bloc of the Anglo-French was formed. The Russian influence in the Balkans also leveled out. Russia had to grope for new foreign policy guidelines. It was during such a difficult period that Gorchakov came to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It fell to him to correct the mistakes of the previous minister. Acting primarily in the interests of his state, he expanded the existing consular network, replaced employees of the diplomatic corps outside Russia (most of the consular seats in the Middle East were now occupied by Russian-born diplomats), and began publishing the Diplomatic Yearbook. The minister appreciated knowledge of history and strove to revive the traditions of Russian diplomacy.
Gorchakov in a short time managed to completely break with the pro-Austrian traditions of his predecessor in the departments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Russian diplomacy grew stronger. Under Gorchakov, alliances and the general balance of power in Europe changed, work was carried out to strengthen the positions of the Christian population of Turkey, the Paris Treaty was canceled and the former Balkan positions were returned. But by the end of his career, Gorchakov was old and physically weak. In many meetings, he was unable to even get out of the chair. Coincidentally, it was at this time that the Eastern crisis began (1870s). Gorchakov, as a supporter of a diplomatic settlement of all conflicts, was not ready to confront the cunning and courageous foreign "allies". In the diplomatic position of the prince, who was already 80, uncertainty, inaccurate calculations and hesitation appeared more and more. Such excessive caution virtually nullified the military successes achieved in the Russo-Turkish war.
Witte's major successes and the preservation of Sakhalin
While not originally a diplomat, Sergei Witte was noted for major successes in the entire history of imperial diplomacy. After losing the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), Nicholas II appointed Witte as the head of the Russian delegation at the peace talks. As a result, he achieved almost incredible - against the background of the defeat of the Russians and the pressure of the United States with Great Britain, Russia did not follow the lead of most of the claims. Witte avoided paying the Japanese indemnity, which Tokyo would have to compensate for the costs incurred in the war. Moreover, Russia retained the north of Sakhalin, although at the time of the end of the fighting, Japan occupied the island. Witte's critics called him "Count Polusakhalinsky" for this. At the same time, the Japanese police had to confront the demonstrators of offended citizens, who believed that the Russian politician with his diplomatic attack actually took revenge for the defeat in the war.
Sometimes surprising facts can be revealed about how Russians are perceived abroad. Particularly valuable observations are the records of the way writers saw Russia, from Dumas to Dreiser.
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