Why did Kievan Rus play a significant role in interstate relations in Eastern Europe? Rus''s relations with European countries
By the middle of the 15th century, there were a number of political associations on the territory of Rus', the main of which were the Novgorod Republic, as well as the Grand Duchy of Moscow and Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
An important role in national history was played by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The state of Lithuania was created only in the 13th century. Its founder was Mindovg (Mindaugas), who was first mentioned in Russian chronicles in 1219. He is even called the "autocrat". Mindovg maintained an alliance with Alexander Nevsky and with the Galician prince Daniel Romanovich, to whom he married his daughter.
Lithuanians at that time were still pagans, Orthodoxy (Rus) and Catholicism (Poland and the Teutonic Order) competed for the right to Christianize Lithuania. Mindovg was converted to Catholicism (1251), but this was only his clever political maneuver. A few years later he returned to paganism and continued the successful struggle against the Teutonic Order for the independence of Lithuania.
In 1263, Mindovg died as a result of a conspiracy of princes hostile to him. Civil strife began in Lithuania.
The heyday of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (since that time it has been
is called) came under Gediminas (1316 - 1341). From the very beginning, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania included not only Lithuanian, but also Russian lands. Particularly large territories of Rus' ended up in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania under Gediminas. In his hands were Minsk, Turov, Vitebsk, Pinsk. In the Polotsk land, Lithuanian princes sat on the reign. The influence of Gediminas also extended to the Kyiv, Galicia and Volyn lands.
Under the successors of Gediminas - Olgerd (Algirdas), Keistut (Keystutis),
Vitovte - even more Russian and future Belarusian and Ukrainian lands are included in the Grand Duchy. The methods of joining these lands were different. Of course, there was also a direct seizure, but often the Russian princes voluntarily recognized the power of the Lithuanian princes, and the local boyars called them, concluding agreements with them - “ranks”. The reason for this was the unfavorable foreign policy conditions. On the one hand, Russian lands were threatened by German aggression. knightly orders, on the other - the Horde yoke. Feudal fragmentation and princely strife in North-Eastern Rus' made it powerless to help the western and south-western parts of the country. Therefore, Russian feudal lords sought protection from an external threat from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, especially since
Lithuanian princes were not vassals of the Horde, and thus the Horde yoke did not extend to its territory.
The inclusion of Russian lands in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
also contributed to the multilateral and long-standing ties of the Lithuanian tribes with
Russia, especially strengthened in the XIV century. Marriages are also an indicator
Lithuanian princes. So, one of the daughters of Gediminas was married to a Tver
prince, his son Olgerd was twice married to Russian princesses, husbands
his two daughters were princes of Suzdal and Serpukhov.
Russian lands within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, over
numerous than Lithuanian, and standing at a higher level
development, had a significant impact on the nature of social relations and the culture of this state. Feudal nobility of the Grand Duchy, beyond
with the exception of the princes, consisted mainly not of Lithuanians, but of Russians. This
was explained, among other things, by the fact that in Lithuania for a long time a subordinate
the free peasantry directly to the Grand Duke, and the local
the feudal class was numerically extremely small.
Since the 70s of the XIV century. The Lithuanian principality fought on two fronts - against the Teutonic Order and Moscow - and in other periods even entered into alliances with the crusaders in order to achieve success in the struggle against the Russian princes. In 1368 - 1372. Prince Olgerd went on campaigns to the Moscow principality three times, opening the era of the so-called Lithuanian. Did not give up trying to stop the growth of the power of Moscow and Prince Vitovt. In 1404, Smolensk was annexed to the Principality of Lithuania. However, by this time Moscow had strengthened its position in the unification of North-Eastern Rus'. After the Battle of Kulikovo, it became the center freedom movement. In addition, Catholicism and Catholic culture were becoming more widespread in the Principality of Lithuania, which, of course, prevented the Lithuanian princes from claiming the role of heirs to the lands that were once part of the Old Russian Orthodox state.
Questions for self-control:
1. What role did the Vikings play in the formation of the ancient Russian state?
2. What do you know about the first Russian princes?
3. List the reasons for the adoption of Christianity in Rus'? How did the baptism of Rus' affect its history?
4. Tell us about the social structure of Kievan Rus; How did the apparatus of state administration develop in Rus'?
5. Highlight the stages of the collapse of Kievan Rus, with the names of which princes are they associated?
6. The formation of ancient Russian spiritual culture was distinguished by significant originality, what was this originality?
7.What are the reasons feudal fragmentation in Rus'?
8. How did the Russian lands develop before the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars?
9. What points of view exist on the issue of the Mongol-Tatar invasion
Tsar Ivan III (1462-1505) was the first and only Eastern European monarch who independently freed himself from Mongolian yoke , while he did not depend on the European thrones. Indeed, in the fateful time of Ivan III, the first post-Mongolian western connections of Rus' were established. But they looked at Rus' as a possible object of influence, and not as a member of the European, Christian family of peoples. Pope Paul II tried to take advantage of the king's intention to marry Zoe Palaiologos (who took the name of Sophia), the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI, who, having emigrated to northern Italy, was converted to Catholicism. Contrary to the papal wish, she nevertheless accepted the royal condition - in the very first Russian city she was converted to Orthodoxy. The marriage was concluded in November 1472. It can be said that Rus' first met the West during the journey of the retinue of Princess Sophia to Moscow through the Baltic ports (Revel) and Pskov. The people of Pskov looked with surprise at the papal legate in the red cardinal's robes, who did not bow to Russian icons, did not make the sign of the cross on himself where Orthodox Russians knelt on their knees. It was then that the first meeting of the two worlds took place. “With the entry of Ivan III into marriage with Sophia Paleolog, the introduction in Russia of the coat of arms of the double-headed eagle, allegedly borrowed from Byzantium ... By introducing a new coat of arms, Ivan III sought to show the Habsburgs the increased role of his state and its international significance.” The first representatives of the West, who visited Moscow freed from the Mongols, were Catholic missionaries pursuing their own goals, dictated by the desire of the pope to expand the limits of his influence. Some Western travelers left very unflattering descriptions of Muscovy as a "rude and barbaric kingdom" with cruel morals. The first Russian-Western problem discussed by Ivan III with the boyars was whether a papal legate with a silver cast crucifix could be admitted to the princely capital - Moscow. Opposed to such blasphemy, the Moscow Metropolitan announced to the Grand Duke that if the Roman envoy was given official honors, he would leave the capital. The representative of the West immediately offered the Metropolitan of Moscow to fight in the world of abstract ideas, and lost. Eleven weeks of stay in Moscow convinced the Roman legate that the hope of subordinating the Russian Church to the Pope of Rome was rather ephemeral. The Pope was also mistaken in counting on the pro-Western orientation of Empress Sophia Palaiologos. She remained faithful to Orthodoxy and refused the role of a conductor of papal influence, from contributing to the introduction of the Florentine Union in Rus'.
The first permanent ambassador of Rus' in the West, a certain Tolbuzin (1472), represented Moscow in Venice. His main task there was not a theoretical debate, but the borrowing of Western technology. Grand Duke wanted to see Western architects in Moscow. Aristotle Fioravanti of Bologna was the first bearer of Western knowledge who found it acceptable (and desirable) to show his technical skill in Rus'. “Italian architects built the Assumption Cathedral”, the Faceted Chamber and the Kremlin itself; Italian craftsmen cast cannons and minted coins. The Russian embassy was sent in 1472 to Milan. An exchange of embassies followed with the ruler Stefan the Great (1478), Matthias Corwin of Hungary (1485) and, finally, the first ambassador of the Holy Roman Empire Nicholas Poppel (I486) arrived in Moscow from Vienna.
Naturally, along with interest in the West at that fundamental time, there was also a reaction of the opposite direction - a trend of capital importance for Russia. It is not surprising that the opposition to Westernism was carried out primarily under the banner of defending Orthodoxy. The idea of a "Third Rome" (and there will be no "fourth" one) very quickly became the core of the ideological opposition to the still weak manifestations of Russia's Westernization. Thus, during the reign of Ivan III and Vasily III, who succeeded him, Russia begins to feel the influence of the West. Therefore, right in front of the fortress of the Teutonic Order, Ivan III in 1492 erected stone fortress Ivangorod. In 1502, the Teutonic Order defeated the Russian troops south of Pskov. Since that time, the proximity of Rus' to the West was already presented as an immediate danger. One form of response was an attempt at rapprochement - foreigners were invited to their place. Responding to the calls of the Russian Tsar, several newcomers from the West settled in Moscow, who proved themselves in crafts and art. The most famous was the resident of Vicenza, Gianbatista della Volpe, who established the minting of the state coin. But in general, the first wave of Western influence on Rus' was mainly associated with medicine, in which the West achieved undoubted success. Even the first Russian translations from Latin were medical texts, encyclopedias of herbs, the treatise Aristotle's Secret Revelations to Alexander the Great about the true nature of the world, dependent on biology. “Representatives of the West had rather contradictory impressions about Rus'. On the one hand, Rus' was a Christian state... On the other hand, the exceptional originality of the easternmost Christian people was obvious. Even highly experienced travelers were struck by the scale of Russian open spaces.
Another external distinguishing feature: the growing cities in the West and the peculiar cities of Rus' are, to a much lesser extent, the focus of artisans, merchants and philistines. The most striking thing for foreigners as representatives of the West was the absence of a self-regulating middle class in Russia. Only Novgorod and Pskov, separated from the Trans-Volga horde and close to the Hansa, had city self-government. In those years when the population of the West set sail, established an extensive trade and created manufactories, the bulk of the Russian people lived in peace, a rural community connected with the land, and not with crafts and commodity exchange. Communication with foreigners was hindered by ignorance of languages. Foreigners noted that Russians learn only their native language and do not tolerate any other in their country and in their society, and that all their church services take place in mother tongue. The diplomat of the Livonian Order T. Herner described (1557) the reading circle of literate Muscovites as follows: “They have in translation different books the holy fathers and many historical writings that treat both the Romans and other peoples; they have no philosophical, astrological and medical books.” The next wave of Western influence begins to penetrate through diplomatic channels through the main center of contacts with the West - the Decree of Foreign Relations, the future Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The first head of the officially recognized foreign ministry, Fyodor Kuritsyn, arrived to serve Tsar Ivan III from the western lands. This Russian diplomat can be called one of the first active disseminators of Western culture and customs in Russia. “In Moscow, a circle of admirers of the West begins to take shape, the informal leader of which was the boyar Fyodor Ivanovich Karpov, who was interested in astronomy and advocated the unification Christian churches". IN early XVI V. the political and psychological situation in the capital of Rus' is beginning to be more conducive to the rapprochement of the two worlds. As later historians admit, Tsar Vasily III, who succeeded Ivan III, was raised by his mother Sophia in a Western manner. This was the first Russian sovereign who openly favored the idea of rapprochement with the West. The subject of Vasily III's reflections is the split of the Christian world; he was worried about the religious division of Europe. “In 1517, the Reformation begins ... Both Catholics and Protestants persistently sought to win Russia over to their side, strenuously sending missionaries” Vasily III considered it possible for himself to discuss what until recently was considered heresy - the possibility of uniting the Russian and Western churches. He attracted to his service Lithuanians who had been to the West. How far Vasily III was ready to go in his Western sympathies is not known, but the very fact that he shaved off his beard was an expression of a new influence unknown to Moscow. Vasily III's pro-Western sympathies were underlined by his marriage to Elena Glinskaya, who came from a family known for its contacts with the West. Elena's uncle Mikhail Lvovich Glinsky served for a long time in the troops of Albert of Saxony and Emperor Maximilian I. He was converted to Catholicism and knew several Western languages. After the marriage of his niece, this Westerner held important government posts under Vasily III.
At the beginning of the XVI century. Rus' could draw closer to the West for political reasons: a common foreign policy enemy appeared. In this sense, the first genuine interest of the West in Russia was associated with strategic goals: in alliance with Russia, to ease the pressure of the Ottoman Empire on the Holy Roman Empire, to strike at it. Such an alliance to the king Vasily III in 1519 proposed by the Pope through Nicholas von Schoenberg. The Imperial ambassador, Baron Herberstein, was also a zealous adherent of this idea and urged Pope Clement VII to overcome the opposition to this union from Poland. Such a strategic alliance, no doubt, would immediately bring Moscow and Vienna closer, but in Rus' they feared the strengthening of the influence of Catholic Poland. Herberstein emphasized that the power of the Grand Duke in Moscow significantly exceeds the power of Western monarchs over their subjects. "Russians publicly declare that the will of the prince is the will of God." Freedom is a concept unknown to them. Baron Herberstein urged Pope Clement VII "to establish direct relations with Moscow, to reject the mediation of the Polish king in this matter." Irritated by such attempts, the Poles even threatened in 1553 to Rome to break off political relations with him and conclude an alliance with the Sultan. But we are already hurting the interests of Ivan the Terrible... If the first contacts with the West were carried out under the auspices of the popes and the German emperor, then in the second half of the 16th century. in Rus', the influence of the Protestant part of Europe begins to be felt. A sign of the "advent of the Protestant West" was the construction in Moscow in 1575-1576. Lutheran church for foreigners. Tsar Ivan the Terrible most of all loved the Italians and the British. But even the knights in armor and on horseback, who came mainly from Germany, could safely count on a special position at court. Artillery of the Italian type was issued from the West; German officers were invited to organize the troops.
In the middle of the century, maritime ties between Russia and the West were being established. After the transformation of Arkhangelsk into an international port, Russia had two "points of contact" with the West: Narva and the White Sea. Through Narva, which had passed to the Russians, Western merchants from 1558 began to master the Russian market. In 1553 In search of an Arctic route to China, Captain R. Chancellor dropped anchor in Arkhangelsk, which became a symbol of the first serious economic contacts between the West and Russia. Ivan the Terrible most kindly met the enterprising Englishman in Moscow, and the English Russian Company received a monopoly on duty-free trade with Russia.
The counter-reformation that began in Europe, which made Germany and the Polish-Lithuanian kingdom a battlefield for intra-Western forces, definitely slowed down the advance of the West to the East. It was with the British that Ivan the Terrible tried to formalize a military-political alliance. “England received at one time significant privileges in Russian foreign trade, which gave her an almost monopoly position. In exchange, Ivan counted on an alliance in the Livonian War. But the queen was not going to get involved in the war on the continent and only agreed to provide Tsar Ivan with political asylum if he was forced to flee Russia. Having been refused, the king turned to the continental powers. "With the Swedish king Eric XIV in 1567, Russia concluded an agreement on the union and division of Livonia." This was partly explained by the need to find allies in the West, the desire to strengthen Moscow's position on the eve of its expansion. However, feeling the growing pressure of the West, Ivan the Terrible, relying on the increased power of his state, proposed to the West to divide the Commonwealth between Moscow and the Holy Roman Empire (almost two centuries ahead of Catherine II). In a certain sense, it was an attempt to create a barrier to Western pressure and unite Russian and Western interests. But the unfortunate Livonian War prevented the cause of rapprochement with the West: its unsuccessful outcome for Russia devalued Ivan the Terrible's 25-year-old attempts to find his own way to the West. Moreover, Russia lost Narva in the Livonian War - the stronghold of its ties with the West. In the winter of 1581, Ivan the Terrible under the pressure of failure Livonian War sent his ambassador Leonty Shevrigin to Rome with a proposal to the pope to mediate in the war between Rus' and Poland, and in the future to conclude an alliance to fight Turkey. The envoy of Pope Gregory XIII Antonio Possevino, for his help in making peace, demanded that new opportunities be provided to the Roman Catholic Church in Rus', which did not find understanding in Moscow. “In August 1582, an embassy of Fyodor Pisemsky was sent to London, the purpose of which was to establish allied relations with Elizabeth I ... Ivan IV insisted that Elizabeth get Batory to give up Polotsk and Livonia. However, the English queen was not inclined to support the proposals of Ivan IV and thought only about obtaining new trade benefits. After the death of Grozny, the British tried not to weaken their positions in Russia. Immediately after stabilization political life in Moscow, connected with the coming to power of Boris Godunov, Queen Elizabeth I sent an embassy to Moscow of more than forty people. The queen's ambassador promised to "supply Muscovy with everything necessary, (English) goods will be cheaper and best quality than the goods of the Dutch and other nations." Intuitively opposed to the monopoly, Tsar Boris eventually gave the British and Dutch the same conditions for concluding trade deals. Boris Godunov sent his ambassador to Denmark and in September 1602 received the Danish duke Johann with great pomp. Foreign guests looked with great surprise at the magnificence of the eastern capital, at the scope of the royal reception. For his part, the duke brought with him pastors, doctors, a surgeon, an executioner. Johann arrived with serious intentions - he asked for the hand of Godunov's daughter. Marriage for reasons beyond Godunov's control, it did not take place, but Russia significantly expanded its contacts with the West in the last years before the Time of Troubles. In 1604, the ambassador of the Roman emperor arrived in Moscow. “Boris,” writes the Italian Massa, “was merciful and kind to foreigners; he had a huge memory and, although he could neither read nor write, he knew everything better than those who could do it all. ”Hundreds and even thousands of foreigners poured into the state, weakened after the cataclysms of the era of Ivan the Terrible. Western penetration into Russia became particularly intense during the Time of Troubles. Under Boris Godunov, a real cultural "self-defense" of the state began, which fell into a difficult period of development. So, in Moscow, a patriarchy was created, which the tsar considered the stronghold of Russian beliefs and traditions proper. War between Russia and Sweden at the end of the 16th century. was the first war between Russia and a truly Western power, and it ended in defeat for Russia. In 1592, the Polish king Sigismund III became the Swedish king, and clouds from the West gathered over Russia. At this time, Tsar Boris is discussing plans to create a higher school in Moscow, in which foreigners were invited to teach, which can be considered the first official recognition of the superiority of the West. At the same time, for the first time, many young people were sent to the West for knowledge - also a fairly clear sign. In April 1604, at the height of the political crisis in Russia, an unknown monk Gregory, who converted to Catholicism, pretended to be the (deceased) son of Ivan the Terrible Dmitry and marched with the Polish army to Moscow. In the spring of the following year, Tsar Boris Godunov dies, and the impostor enters the Kremlin. He was anointed king in 1605 by Metropolitan Ignatius, who was called from Ryazan and was ready to recognize the Union of Brest. Westernization, in modern terms, becomes a specific task of False Dmitry - reform of the state administration system, restructuring, establishing ties with the West, in particular, getting an education abroad.
Under pressure from the Poles and due to feudal hostility, in 1610 a group of boyars elected Vladislav, the son of the Polish king, who came from the Swedish royal house of Vasa, as the Russian Tsar. The Swedish troops launched an offensive in the northwest, and the Poles went straight to Moscow, capturing it in 1610. But three thousand soldiers of the Polish army and several dozen German bodyguards of False Dmitry I were not the strike force of the West, which at that time colonized the whole world . As an organism, as a society, the Polish world was not distinguished by Western efficiency. In addition, the Polish king Sigismund III began to encroach on the Russian throne of his son. And in Novgorod, the Swedes insisted on the recognition of the Swedish pretender as the Russian tsar. In the summer of 1612, Holy Roman Emperor Matthias nominated his brother, and then his nephew, to the Russian throne. Even the British began to develop plans for an English protectorate over Northern Russia. Russia was at the lowest point of its influence in Europe. She was really close to losing both her freedom and her identity. After the Polish occupation of Moscow, neither the acceptance of the union nor the submission to Catholicism was out of the question. The patriotic nationwide movement, headed by Kozma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky, showed all applicants for the Russian throne the impossibility of realizing their plans. Russia, like other great states: China, India, Ottoman Empire, in the XVII century. stood before a harsh prospect - to withstand or submit to the West. Russia has set an example of the longest historical opposition to the West in its practical, scientific, methodically organized subjugation of the entire surrounding world. Russia sought to preserve itself, and its epic struggle was practically the only alternative to gradual surrender - the share of the rest of the world. Thus, the Muscovite state successfully took advantage of the geopolitical situation prevailing at that time: the collapse of the Golden Horde elevated Moscow to the rank of successor to vast territories in the east, which will happen in the future; the presence of the West's interest in military and trade cooperation; patronage of the Orthodox population is the most important direction of foreign policy. But such an overactive foreign policy led to an overstrain of forces, and a way out was found first in cultural "self-defense", and then in the national-patriotic movement to expel the Poles from Russia.
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The foreign policy of Russia throughout the 17th century was aimed at solving three problems: achieving access to the Baltic Sea, ensuring the security of the southern borders from the raids of the Crimean khans, as well as the return of territories seized during the "Time of Troubles".
As a result of the Stolbovsky Peace of 1617 with Sweden and the Deulino truce of 1618 with the Commonwealth, Russia faced the fact of significant territorial losses.
For a long time, the main knot of contradictions was the relations between Russia, with the Commonwealth. The efforts of the government of Patriarch Filaret in the 20s - early 30s. were aimed at creating an anti-Polish coalition consisting of Sweden, Russia and Turkey. Proclaimed by the Zemsky Sobor in 1622, the course of war with Poland for 10 years was expressed in economic assistance to the opponents of the Commonwealth - Denmark and Sweden.
In the middle of the XVII century. Austria and Poland refusing at one time to help Russia in the fight against the Turkish-Tatar aggression, they themselves found themselves in the face of a real threat. The Holy League was formed in 1684. as part of Austria, Poland and Venice under the patronage of the Pope. The members of the League considered it necessary to involve all Christian countries in it, and especially Russia, given its successful actions against the Turks.
The consent to join the "Holy League" was used by the head of the Moscow government V.V. Golitsin to speed up the signing of the Eternal Peace with Poland in 1686, fixing the terms of the Andrusovo truce, and significant territorial concessions on her part.
In accordance with the commitments made, in 1687 and 1689. Russian troops carried out two campaigns into the possessions of the Crimean Khan. Prince V.V. Golitsyn was appointed commander of the huge military forces. Being an outstanding diplomat and statesman, he did not possess military talent. Crimean campaigns brought Russia neither major military successes nor territorial acquisitions. Nevertheless, the main task of the "Holy League" was completed - the Russian troops blocked the forces of the Crimean Khan, who could not provide assistance to the Turkish troops, who were defeated by the Austrians and Venetians. In addition, the inclusion of Russia in the European military alliance, which happened for the first time, has significantly raised its international prestige.
In 1697, for the diplomatic preparation of the fight against Turkey, the Great Embassy was sent to Europe. However, European governments, mistrustful of Russian forces, essentially rejected Peter's proposals for a joint fight against Turkey.
After the Poltava victory, there was a decisive expansion of the scope of Russia's participation in all-European affairs, and the initiative for such an expansion already came from the countries Western Europe.
Participants in the War of the Spanish Succession sought to win Russia over to their side. English government expressed the wish that Russia turned to him with a request for mediation in relations with Sweden. However, Peter's requirements for potential allies also increased. So, he declared that he was ready to join the Great Union only on favorable terms for the country.
The collapsed Northern Union was gradually restored: Poland and Denmark returned to their places. In 1715, Prussia, Hanover joined the Northern Union, England and Holland began to support him.
Russia's attempts to actively pursue its foreign policy ran into opposition from such large European states as France, England, and Austria.
England's hostility clearly manifested itself during Northern war; France constantly encouraged and pushed the aggressive policy of Turkey; Austria, acting as an ally, it often violated its obligations, trying to prevent the strengthening of Russia.
In the early 30s. England and France tried to create an "eastern barrier" from Poland, Sweden, Turkey with in order to weaken the activity of Russia in Central Europe, especially during the war for the "Polish inheritance". They pushed Turkey and Russia to war, the pretext for which was the piratical raids on Ukraine by the Crimean Tatars, vassals Ottoman Empire.
From the foreign policy events of the middle of the century highest value had Seven Years' War(1756 - 1763), in which two coalitions of European powers participated. One included Prussia and England, the other - France, Austria, Sweden, Saxony. Russia took the side of the latter. The Russian army won a number of major victories and in 1760 occupied Berlin. Prussia was facing disaster, and Frederick II was ready to make peace on any terms. But on the night of December 25, 1761, Elizabeth died, and who came to the throne Peter III sent an adjutant to Frederick II with a proposal not only to make peace, but also to begin joint actions against Austria. This decision extremely complicated the entire international situation, increased the hostility of France, England. Only the rapid overthrow of Peter III prevented the catastrophe.
For a long time, Russia relied in its foreign policy on Austria, which was seen as a potential adversary of Turkey. After the accession to the throne of Catherine II, an attempt was made to change the direction of foreign policy. N.I. was put at the head of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs. Panin (1718-1783), one of the largest Russian diplomats and statesmen. He owned the development of the so-called "Northern System", based on the opposition of the coalition of France, Spain and Austria to the union of the countries of Northern Europe: Russia, Prussia, England, Denmark, Sweden and Poland. However, in reality, creating such an alliance turned out to be very difficult, since each country put forward its own requirements.
The news of the beginning of the revolution in France made a strong impression on the ruling class of Russia. In 1790, an agreement was signed on the armed intervention in the internal affairs of France by three powers: Russia, Austria, Prussia. At the first stage, the intervention failed, as the three states were preoccupied with their own external problems.
The execution of King Louis XVI prompted the Empress to take decisive steps. Russia severed diplomatic and trade relations with France. In 1793, Russia, England, Prussia and Austria signed an agreement to help troops and money in the fight against France.
Under Catherine II, Russia did not take part in hostilities against France, as it was busy resolving the Polish issue.
In 1797 a coalition was formed as part of Russia, Austria, Turkey, England and the Kingdom of Naples against France. The reason for the start of the war was the capture by Napoleon of Fr. Malta, owned Order of Malta. The command of the Russian-Austrian troops was entrusted to A. V. Suvorov. In April, Suvorov's victory at the river. Adde opened the way for him to Milan and Turin and forced the French to withdraw their troops. According to the Russian command, the task in Italy was completed, and military operations should have been transferred to the Rhine and French territory. But this was contrary to the plans of the Austrians. Suvorov was forced to go to Switzerland in order to join the corps of General Rimsky-Korsakov and from there invade France. The Swiss campaign aggravated relations between the allies and led to Russia's withdrawal from the coalition.
Simultaneously with the activities of Suvorov, the Russian fleet under the command of Ushakov took possession of the Ionian Islands and stormed the French fortress of Corfu. However, despite the agreement with England on the return of the Ionian Islands to the Order of Malta, the British left them behind, which caused a split between them and Paul I.
After the coup of 18 Brumaire (November 9-10), 1799, Napoleon, having become consul, declared his readiness to conclude a Russian-French alliance. He attracted the Russian emperor by offering extensive territorial acquisitions in Turkey, Romania, Moldavia, and even a joint expedition to India.
Paul 1 prepared a decree prohibiting trade with England, which threatened with huge losses for the country. Emperor's anti-English policy served as the last impetus for organizing a conspiracy against him by the court aristocracy.
The results of Russia's unusually active foreign policy throughout the 18th century led to the rapid growth of Russia's geopolitical significance as a great power. The new frontiers of the empire allowed St. Petersburg to exert a decisive influence on the formation of the entire system of international relations, both in Europe and in the East.
The main task of Russia's foreign policy at the beginning of the XIX century. there remained a containment of French expansion in Europe. An attempt by Paul I to achieve this by rapprochement with France while severing relations with England was not successful.
The very first steps of the new emperor were aimed at normalizing Russian-English relations: an order was given to return the Cossack regiments of Ataman M.I. sent by Paul I on a campaign against India. Platov, and on June 5, 1801, Russia and England concluded a convention "of mutual friendship", directed against France.
At the same time, Russia was negotiating with France, culminating in the signing of a peace agreement on September 26, 1801.
However, by 1804, the expansionist policy of France in the Middle East and Europe again aggravated its relations with Russia. After the execution by Napoleon of a member of the French royal family of the Duke of Enghien (March 1804), Russia in May 1801 severed diplomatic relations with France. On the initiative of England and with the most active participation of Russia, by July 1805, the 3rd anti-French coalition (England, Russia, Austria, Sweden) was created. The coalition suffered a number of defeats, the most serious of which was the defeat at Austerlitz. After him, Austria immediately withdrew from the war, but Alexander I rejected Napoleon's peace proposals.
By September 1806, Russia, England and Prussia agreed to create the 4th coalition, joined by Sweden. However, already on October 2 (14), all the armed forces of Prussia - the main hope of the coalition - were defeated near Jena by Napoleon and under Auerstedt - Marshal Davout Napoleon entered Berlin and signed a decree on the continental blockade of England (November 1806).
On June 25 (July 7), 1807, a Russian-French treaty of peace, friendship and alliance was signed in Tilsit. Russia recognized all the conquests of Napoleon and his imperial title, entered into an alliance with France, pledged to break diplomatic relations with England and join the continental blockade. At the borders of Russia, on the territory of the former Prussian possessions, the Duchy of Warsaw was formed, which was under the influence of France. Bialystok region passed to Russia. France became a mediator in ending the Russian-Turkish conflict, but Russia had to withdraw its troops from Moldavia and Wallachia.
In general, despite the defeat in the war, Russia did not suffer territorial losses and retained some independence in European affairs. But the Peace of Tilsit dealt a severe blow to the Russian economy due to the rupture of relations with England and contradicted her interests in the Eastern question.
Relations between Russia and France in 1807-1812 steadily worsened. The Tilsit agreements placed Russia in international isolation without stopping French expansion. Russia did not take part in the fifth anti-French coalition, and its accession to the continental blockade had an extremely negative effect on Russian foreign trade and finances; economic relations between Russia and France were poorly developed and could not replace Russian-English economic ties. In addition, the Russo-French treaty provoked widespread opposition within the country as a humiliating alliance with the "Antichrist", running counter to Russia's traditional Prussian-Austrian foreign policy.
Alexander I considered the alliance with Napoleon as a temporary, forced measure, but Napoleon tried to strengthen ties with Russia. At a meeting in Erfurt in September - October 1808, he failed to persuade Alexander I to closer cooperation. Although formally, on the basis of the Tilsit agreements, Russia was an ally of Napoleon in the war with Austria in 1809, its army did not take any part in the hostilities.
The refusal of Alexander 1 to give Napoleon's consent to marriage with his sister Catherine in 1808 and with Anna in 1810 did not contribute to the improvement of relations between the allies.
In December 1810, Napoleon annexed a number of German principalities to his empire, including the Duchy of Oldenburg, violating the Treaty of Tilsit. Without knowing it yet, Alexander I introduced a customs tariff that was extremely unfavorable for the import of French goods, and also introduced a new provision on neutral trade, which opened the way for smuggling trade with England.
From that moment on, both sides began to actively prepare for an armed clash, increasing the military budget, increasing the armed forces, conducting diplomatic preparations for war.
On June 12, 1812, Napoleon crossed the Neman and entered Russian territory. started Patriotic War. At its first stage, luck was on the side of Napoleon, who even managed to take Moscow. But partisan movement, the skillful actions of the Russian command, the miscalculations of Napoleon himself, eventually led to his complete defeat. On November 23, Russian troops completed the counteroffensive, and on December 25, 1812, the manifesto of Alexander I announced the final expulsion of the invaders from the territory of Russia and the victorious end of the Patriotic War.
The expulsion of the French from Russia did not mean the end of the struggle against Napoleon. To ensure its security, Russia led the military operations and the movement for the liberation of the European peoples from French domination. An alliance with Russia was concluded by Prussia, Austria, England and Sweden.
In September 1814 - June 1815 in Vienna Congress of the Allied States was held. Serious contradictions between them gave rise to a long behind-the-scenes struggle.
News of Napoleon's flight from Fr. Elba and his temporary seizure of power in France unexpectedly accelerated the achievement of an agreement. According to the final act of the Congress of Vienna (May 28, 1815) Russia received Finland, Bessarabia and the territory of the former Duchy of Warsaw under the name of the Kingdom of Poland, united with Russia by a dynastic union. To maintain the new European order at the initiative of Alexander I Russia, Austria and Prussia concluded on September 14, 1815, the Holy Alliance, which proclaimed the unity of Christian monarchs and their subjects. The basis of the Union was the recognition of the inviolability of the existing European monarchies.
Soon almost all European rulers joined the Holy Alliance. At meetings and congresses of the Holy Alliance in Aachen (1818), Troppau and Laibach (1820-1821), Verone(1822) decisions were made to cope with the revolutionary wave that swept through Europe. Revolutions in Italy and Spain were suppressed by force of arms. Trying to increase its influence in the East, Russia wanted to use the Holy Alliance to support the Slavic peoples and Greeks in their struggle against Muslim Turkey, but this was opposed by England and Austria.
The situation escalated in the spring of 1821 with the start of the Greek uprising under the command of A. Ypsilanti, an officer in the Russian army. For fear of weakening the Union, Alexander 1 did not dare to help the rebels, but in July 1821 he broke off diplomatic relations with Turkey.
The foreign policy of Nicholas I retained the same guidelines: maintaining a stable order in Europe and
expansion in the East. Unlike Alexander 1, the new emperor did not try to preserve the Holy Alliance, preferring to solve problems through bilateral agreements.
In March 1826, a Russian-English protocol on cooperation was signed in St. Petersburg in the reconciliation of Turkey with the rebellious Greeks. In the event that Turkey refused their mediation, Russia and England could exert joint pressure on it. According to the plan of British diplomacy, this agreement was supposed to prevent Russia's independent actions in the East.
To strengthen its positions in the Balkans, Russia regularly acted in defense of the Greek population, which was under the threat of physical extermination. In December 1826, the Greeks turned to the Russian government for military assistance. 24 June 1827 in London a convention was signed between Russia, England and France, on mediation between Turkey and Greece. At the insistence of Russia, the convention was supplemented with a secret article on the use of the Mediterranean squadrons of the allies to block the Turkish fleet in the event that Turkey refused their mediation mission.
The July Revolution of 1830 in France, and then the Polish uprising, contributed to the rapprochement between Russia and Austria. October 3 (15), 1833 Russia, Austria and Prussia signed a convention on the mutual guarantee of Polish possessions and on the extradition of participants revolutionary movement, creating a kind of Holy Union. A month earlier, the Russian-Austrian Munich Greek Convention was signed on cooperation in Middle East affairs. Achieving the political isolation of France, Nicholas I tried to normalize relations with England. But the contradictions that existed between the two countries were constantly growing.
England tried in every possible way to weaken the position of Russia in the Caucasus, in Turkey And Central Asia. She supported the struggle against Russia of the North Caucasian highlanders, supplying them with weapons and ammunition. The efforts of English merchants and diplomats by the end of the 30s. significantly weakened Russia's position in Turkey. The interests of Russia and England also clashed in Central Asia.
In the early 40s. England managed to "sink" the Unkar-Iskelesi Treaty before its expiration. By organizing the conclusion of the London Conventions (July 1840 and July 1841), British diplomacy nullified Russia's successes in the Eastern question. Turkey passed under the "collective protection" of Russia, England, Austria, Prussia and France, and the straits were declared closed to military courts. The Russian navy was locked in the Black Sea. By his rejection of the Unkar-Iskelesi Treaty Russia hoped to compensate for the rapprochement with England on the Eastern question, using its contradictions with France. However, the attempt of Nicholas I to conclude a Russian-English agreement on Middle Eastern affairs ended in failure.
The defeat in the Crimean War undermined Russia's international prestige and led to the loss of its dominant influence in the Balkans. The neutralization of the Black Sea made the country's southern maritime borders defenseless, hindered the development of the country's south, and hindered the expansion of foreign trade.
The main task of Russian diplomacy was the abolition of the articles of the Paris Treaty. This required reliable allies. First of all, she tried to get out of international isolation by drawing closer to France. In March 1859, a Russian-French treaty was concluded about the benevolent neutrality of Russia in the event of a war between France and Sardinia against Austria.
But soon, convinced of France's unwillingness to guarantee its support for Russian interests in the East, Russia turned to rapprochement with Prussia. In 1863 a military convention was concluded with Prussia, which made it easier for the tsarist government to fight the Polish uprising. Russia supported the desire of the Prussian Chancellor O. von Bismarck to unite the German lands. This diplomatic support helped Prussia win the wars with Denmark (1864), Austria (1866) and France (1870-1871). In response, Bismarck took the side of Russia on the issue of canceling the neutralization of the Black Sea.
At the London Conference powers that signed the Treaty of Paris (January - March 1871), Russia achieved the abolition of the ban on keeping the navy on the Black Sea and building military arsenals on the Black Sea coast.
In April 1873, a Russian-German military-defense convention was concluded. In the same year, Russia and Austria-Hungary signed a political convention, to which Germany joined. This is how the "Union of the Three Emperors" was formed. Despite serious contradictions between the parties, the "Union" had a significant impact on international relations in the 70s. The conclusion of the "Union" also meant Russia's exit from international isolation. In an effort to maintain a balance of power in Europe, Russia prevented Germany's attempts in 1875 to use the "Union" for the final defeat of France.
In the 1980s, Russia retained its foreign policy priorities. However, the balance of power was rapidly changing. Having ascended the throne, Alexander III continued his Germanophile policy for some time. my father. In the early 80s. Germany remained the most important market for agricultural products for Russia. In addition, an alliance with her could become a support in the fight against England. Long negotiations with Germany, which Austria-Hungary joined at the insistence of Bismarck, ended on June 6 (18), 1881 with the signing of a new Austro-Russian-German "Union of Three Emperors" for a six year period. The parties pledged to maintain neutrality in the event of a war of one of them with a fourth power. The treaty supported the closure of the Black Sea straits to warships and regulated relations in the Balkans.
Soon Bismarck managed to attract Italy to the Austro-German alliance. In an agreement signed on May 20, 1882, Germany and Austria-Hungary pledged to assist Italy in the event of a war with France. A military Triple Alliance has formed in the center of Europe.
Despite its fragility, the "Union of Three Emperors" played an important role in the Russian-English conflict of 1885. Russian troops, having occupied Turkmenistan in 1884, came close to the borders of Afghanistan, over which England established its protectorate. In March 1885 there was a military clash between the Russian forward detachment and the Afghan troops under the command of British officers. There was a real threat of war between Russia and England. But thanks to the Soyuz, Russia secured from Turkey the closure of the Black Sea straits for the British military fleet, securing its Black Sea border. Under such conditions, England could not count on success and chose to yield, recognizing Russia's conquests in Central Asia.
In the 1980s, Russia failed in the Balkans. In this conflict, Austria-Hungary and Germany opposed Russia, in view of which the "Union of the Three Emperors" was actually canceled by the time it expired (1887). With the participation of German diplomacy in 1887, an Austro-Anglo-Italian alliance was concluded - the Mediterranean Entente. His main goal was to undermine Russian influence in Turkey.
Relations between Germany and Russia continued to deteriorate. By the end of the 80s. Russia's contradictions with Germany and Austria-Hungary became even more significant than with England.
In this situation, there was a turn in Russia's foreign policy, which went to rapprochement with republican France. The basis for the Russian-French rapprochement was the presence of common opponents - England and Germany. The political aspect was supplemented by the economic one - from 1887, French loans were regularly provided to Russia. After the conversion of the Russian public debt on the Paris Stock Exchange in 1888 - 1889. France became the main creditor tsarist Russia The loans were supplemented by significant investments in the Russian economy. August 27, 1891 Russia and France concluded secret an agreement on coherence of action in the event of an attack on one of the parties. The following year, in connection with the increase in the German army, a draft Russian-French military convention was developed. The final formalization of the Russian-French alliance took place in January 1894. The conclusion of this alliance meant a significant shift in the balance of power in Europe, which split into two military-political groups.
The growing threat of a pan-European war due to the aggravation of Franco-German and Anglo-German contradictions forced Russia, not ready for such a war, to initiate the convening of international conferences to ensure peace and stop the development of armaments. The first such conference took place in May - July 1899 in The Hague, 26 states participated in its work. The conference adopted conventions: on the peaceful settlement of international disputes, on the laws and customs of war on land, but on the main issue - limiting the arms race - no decisions could be made. Second Conference in The Hague met in 1907, also at the initiative of Russia. 44 powers already participated in it. Adopted at the second Hague Conference, 13 conventions on the laws and customs of war on land and at sea had great importance and some of them are still active.
The term "West" is used here with reservations. The two "pillars" of the medieval West were the Roman Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire. From a religious point of view, some of the peoples of Central and Eastern Europe discussed in the previous chapter - the peoples of Bohemia, Poland, Hungary and Croatia - belonged to the "West" rather than to the "East", and Bohemia was actually part of the empire. On the other hand, in Western Europe, as such, there was no strong unity at that time. As we have seen, Scandinavia kept aloof in many respects and was converted to Christianity much later than most other countries. England was for some time under Danish control, and she entered into closer relations with the continent through the Normans - that is, the Scandinavians, however, in this case, Gallic.
In the south, Spain, like Sicily, became part of the Arab world for a time. And in terms of trade, Italy was closer to Byzantium than to the West. Thus, the Holy Roman Empire and the French Kingdom formed the backbone of Western Europe during the Kievan period.
Let us turn first to Russian-German relations. Prior to German expansion in eastern part In the Baltic states at the end of the twelfth and beginning of the thirteenth centuries, the German lands did not come into contact with the Russians. However, some contact between the two peoples was maintained through trade and diplomacy, as well as through dynastic ties. The main German-Russian trade route in that early period passed through Bohemia and Poland. As early as 906, the Raffelstadt customs office mentions Bohemians and Rugs among foreign merchants coming to Germany. It is clear that the former refers to the Czechs, while the latter can be identified with the Russians.
The city of Ratisbon became the starting point for German trade with Russia in the eleventh and twelfth centuries; here German merchants doing business with Russia formed a special corporation, whose members are known as "ruzaria". As already mentioned, the Jews also played an important role in Ratisbon's trade with Bohemia and Russia. In the middle of the twelfth century, commercial links between Germans and Russians were also established in the eastern Baltic, where Riga had been the main German trading base since the thirteenth century. On the Russian side, both Novgorod and Pskov took part in this trade, but Smolensk was its main center during this period. As already mentioned, in 1229 an important trade agreement was signed between the city of Smolensk, on the one hand, and a number of German cities, on the other. The following German and Frisian cities were represented: Riga, Lübeck, Sest, Münster, Groningen, Dortmund and Bremen. German merchants often visited Smolensk; some of them permanently resided there. The contract mentions the German Church of the Holy Virgin in Smolensk.
With the development of active commercial relations between Germans and Russians and through diplomatic and family ties between Germans and Russians ruling houses the Germans must have collected a significant amount of information about Rus'. Indeed, the notes of German travelers and the records of German chroniclers were an important source of knowledge about Rus' not only for the Germans themselves, but also for the French and other Western Europeans. In 1008, the German missionary St. Bruno visited Kyiv on his way to the lands of the Pechenegs to spread Christianity there. He was warmly received by Saint Vladimir, and he was given all the help that could be offered. Vladimir personally accompanied the missionary to the border of the Pecheneg lands. Rus' made the most favorable impression on Bruno, just like the Russian people, and in his message to Emperor Henry II, he presented the ruler of Rus' as a great and rich ruler.
The chronicler Titmar from Merseburg (975 - 1018) also emphasized the wealth of Rus'. He claimed that there were forty churches and eight markets in Kyiv. Canon Adam of Bremen in his book "History of the Diocese of Hamburg" called Kyiv a rival of Constantinople and bright decoration Greek Orthodox world. The German reader of that time could also find interesting information about Rus' in the "Annals" by Lambert Hersfeld. Valuable information about Rus' was also collected by the German Jew Rabbi Moses Petahia from Ratisbon and Prague, who visited Kyiv in the seventies of the twelfth century on his way to Syria.
As for diplomatic relations between Germany and Kiev, they began in the tenth century, as evidenced by the attempt of Otto II to organize a Roman Catholic mission to Princess Olga. In the second half of the eleventh century, during internecine strife among Russian princes, Prince Izyaslav I attempted to turn to the German emperor as an arbitrator in Russian inter-princely relations. Forced out of Kiev by his brother Svyatoslav II, Izyaslav first turned to the king of Poland, Boleslav II, without receiving help from this ruler, he went to Mainz, where he asked for the support of Emperor Henry IV. To support his request, Izyaslav brought rich gifts: gold and silver vessels, precious fabrics, and so on. At that time, Henry was involved in the Saxon War and could not send troops to Rus', even if he wanted to. However, he sent an envoy to Svyatoslav to clarify the matter. The envoy, Burchardt, was Svyatoslav's son-in-law and therefore, naturally, was inclined to compromise. Burchardt returned from Kyiv with rich gifts given in support of Svyatoslav's request to Henry not to interfere in Kyiv affairs, Henry reluctantly agreed to this request. Turning now to German-Russian marital relations, it must be said that at least six Russian princes had German wives, including two princes of Kyiv - the aforementioned Svyatoslav II and Izyaslav II. Svyatoslav's wife was Burchardt's sister Kilikia from Dithmarschen. The name of Izyaslav's German wife (his first wife) is unknown. Two German margraves, one count, one landgrave and one emperor had Russian wives. The emperor was the same Henry IV, from whom in 1075 Izyaslav I sought protection. He married Eupraxia, daughter Kyiv prince Vsevolod I, at that time a widow (her first husband was Heinrich Long, Margrave of Stadensky. In her first marriage, she, apparently, was happy. Her second marriage, however, ended tragically; for a worthy description and interpretation of her dramatic history, one would need Dostoevsky.
Eupraxia's first husband died when she was barely sixteen years old (1087). There were no children in this marriage, and it turned out that Eupraxia intended to be tonsured at the Quedlinburg Monastery. However, it so happened that Emperor Henry IV, during one of his visits to the abbess of Quedlinburg, met a young widow and was struck by her beauty. In December 1087 his first wife Bertha died. In 1088 the engagement of Henry and Eupraxia was announced, and in the summer of 1089 they were married in Cologne. Eupraxia was crowned as empress under the name Adelheid. Henry's passionate love for his bride did not last long, and Adelheida's position at court soon became precarious. Henry's palace soon became the site of obscene orgies; according to at least two contemporary chroniclers, Henry joined the perverted sect of the so-called Nicolaitans. Adelgeide, who at first suspected nothing, was forced to take part in some of these orgies. The chroniclers also relate that one day the emperor offered Adelheid to his son Conrad. Conrad, who was about the same age as the Empress and was friendly towards her, indignantly refused. He soon rebelled against his father. Russian ties with Italy were due to a number of factors, of which the Roman Church was probably the most important. Relations between the pope and Russia began at the end of the tenth century and continued, partly through the mediation of Germany and Poland, even after the division of the Churches in 1054. In 1075, as we have seen, Izyaslav turned to Henry IV for help. At the same time, he sent his son Yaropolk to Rome to negotiate with the pope. It should be noted that the wife of Izyaslav was the Polish princess Gertrude, daughter of Mieszko II, and the wife of Yaropolk was the German princess, Kunegunda from Orlamunde. Although both of these women were supposed to officially join the Greek Orthodox Church, after they entered into marriage, apparently, they did not break with Roman Catholicism in their hearts. Probably, under their pressure and on their advice, Izyaslav and his son turned to the pope for help. We saw earlier that Yaropolk, on his own behalf and on behalf of his father, swore allegiance to the Pope and placed the Kievan principality under the protection of St. Peter. The Pope, in turn, in a bull of May 17, 1075 granted the Principality of Kiev to Izyaslav and Yaropolk in fief possession and confirmed their rights to rule the principality. After that, he convinced the Polish king Boleslav to provide all kinds of assistance to his new vassals. While Boleslav hesitated, Izyaslav's rival Svyatopolk died in Kyiv (1076). ), and this made it possible for Izyaslav to return there. As you know, he was killed in a battle against his nephews in 1078, and Yaropolk, who had no way to keep Kyiv, was sent by the senior princes to the Turov principality. He was killed in 1087.
Thus was put an end to the dreams of the Roman pope about the spread of power over Kiev. However, the Catholic prelates closely watched further events in Western Rus'. In 1204, as we have seen, papal emissaries visited Prince Roman of Galicia and Volhynia to persuade him to convert to Catholicism, but they did not succeed.
Religious contacts of Rus' with Italy should not be associated only with the activities of the pope; in some cases they were the result of popular sentiments. The most interesting example of such spontaneous religious ties between Russia and Italy was the veneration of the relic of St. Nicholas in Bari. Of course, in this case, the object of veneration was a saint of the pre-Schismatic period, popular both in the West and in the East. And yet this case is quite typical, since it demonstrates the absence of confessional barriers in the Russian religious mentality of that period. Although the Greeks celebrated St. Nicholas Day on December 6, the Russians had a second St. Nicholas Day on May 9th. It was founded in 1087 in memory of the so-called "transfer of relics" of St. Nicholas from Myra (Lycia) to Bari (Italy). In fact, the relics were transported by a group of merchants from Bari who traded with the Levant and visited Myra under the guise of pilgrims. They managed to break through to their ship before the Greek guards realized what was happening, then they headed straight for Bari, where they were enthusiastically received by the clergy and authorities. Later, the whole enterprise was explained as a desire to move the relics to a safer place than Mira, since this city was threatened by the potential danger of Seljuk raids.
From the point of view of the inhabitants of Myra, it was just a robbery, and it is understandable that the Greek Church refused to celebrate this event. The joy of the inhabitants of Bari, who now could install a new shrine in their city, and the Roman Church, which blessed it, is also quite understandable. The speed with which the Russians accepted the feast of the Transfer is much more difficult to explain. However, if we take into account the historical soil of southern Italy and Sicily, Russian connections with them become clearer. This touches on long-standing Byzantine interests in that region and concerns the even earlier advance of the Normans from the west. The Normans, whose original goal was war against the Arabs in Sicily, later established their control over the entire territory of southern Italy, and this situation caused whole line clashes with Byzantium. We have already seen that there were Russo-Varangian auxiliaries in the Byzantine army at least from the beginning of the tenth century. It is known that a strong Russian-Varangian unit took part in the Byzantine campaign against Sicily in 1038-1042. Among other Varangians, the Norwegian Harald took part in the expedition, who later married the daughter of Yaroslav Elizabeth and became the king of Norway. In 1066, another Russian-Varangian detachment, which was in the Byzantine service, was stationed in Bari. This was before the "transfer" of the relics of St. Nicholas, but it should be noted that some of the Russians liked this place so much that they settled there permanently and eventually became Italianized. Apparently, through their mediation, Rus' learned about Italian affairs and took the joy of the new shrine in Bari especially close to her heart.
Since throughout this period the war was closely connected with trade, the result of all these military campaigns, apparently, was some kind of commercial relationship between Russians and Italians. At the end of the twelfth century, Italian merchants expanded their trading activities to. the Black Sea region. According to the terms of the Byzantine-Genoese Treaty of 1169, the Genoese were allowed to trade in all parts Byzantine Empire, with the exception of "Rus" and "Matrakha".
During the period of the Latin Empire (1204 - 1261) the Black Sea was open to the Venetians. Both the Genoese and the Venetians eventually founded a number of trading bases ("factories") in the Crimea and the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov. Although there is no evidence of the existence of such trading posts in the pre-Mongolian period, both Genoese and Venetian merchants must have visited the Crimean ports long before 1237. Since Russian merchants also visited them, there was an obvious possibility of some contacts between Russians and Italians in the Black Sea region. and the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov even in the pre-Mongolian period.
It may be noted that a significant number of Russians must have come to Venice and other Italian cities against their will, otherwise connected with the Black Sea trade. They were not merchants, but, on the contrary, objects of trade, that is, slaves that Italian merchants bought from the Cumans (Polovtsians). Speaking of Venice, we can recall the "Venedic" singers mentioned in the Tale of Igor's Campaign. As we have seen, they can be considered either Baltic Slavs or Venets, but most likely they were Venetians.
With Spain, or, more precisely, with the Spanish Jews, the Khazars corresponded in the tenth century. If any Russians came to Spain during the Kievan period, then they, too, were probably slaves. It should be noted that in the tenth and eleventh centuries the Muslim rulers of Spain used slaves as bodyguards or mercenaries. Such troops are known as "Slavic", although in reality only a part of them were Slavs. Many of the Arab rulers of Spain relied on these Slavic units of several thousand people, who consolidated their power. However, knowledge about Spain in Rus' was vague. In Spain, however, thanks to the research and travels of Muslim scholars who lived there, a certain amount of information was gradually collected about Rus' - ancient and modern to them. Al-Bakri's treatise, written in the eleventh century, contains valuable information about the pre-Kiev and early Kiev periods. Along with other sources, AlBakri used the story of the Jewish merchant Ben-Yakub. Another important Arabic work containing information about Rus' belongs to Idrisi, also a resident of Spain, who completed his treatise in 1154. The Spanish Jew, Benjamin from Tudela, left valuable notes about his travels in the Middle East in 1160 - whom he met with many Russian merchants.
V.V. Filatov
Russia in the system of international relations
(IX-XXI centuries): questions and answers
Magnitogorsk 2014
BBC 63.3 (2) i7
Reviewers
Branch of NOU HPE "Moscow Psychological and Social Institute" in Magnitogorsk
Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Russian History at Magnitogorsk state university
V.P. Polev
Filatov V.V. Russia in the system of international relations (IX-XXI centuries): questions and answers. Tutorial. Magnitogorsk: Magnitogorsk Publishing House. tech. un-ta, 2014. 185 p.
In the textbook, in a question-answer form, the main stages of Russia's foreign policy and its role in the system of international relations over the course of 12 centuries are revealed. The manual was created on the basis of the 3rd generation of the Federal State Educational Standard and is intended for students of all areas and specialties of full-time and part-time forms of study studying the academic discipline "History", as well as for everyone who is interested in the problems of international relations and the history of Russia.
Preface 8
Introduction 9
Topic 1. Kievan Rus in the system of international relations
(IX - beginning of XII centuries) 10
1.1. Why did Kievan Rus play a significant role in
interstate relations in Eastern Europe? 10
1.2. What relationship existed between Russia and
Khazar Khaganate? eleven
1.3. How did the connections of the ancient Russian state with
Volga Bulgaria? 12
1.4. What role did Byzantium play in Europe? 13
1.5. What were the features of the relationship
Kievan Rus and Byzantium? 14
1.6. How Rus' interacted with other neighbors
states? 15
Topic 2 Specific Rus' and the formation of a centralized
states in the context of world history (XII-XV centuries) 17
2.1. How were the external relations of the Russian lands built?
during the period of feudal fragmentation? 17
2.2. What territories did the Mongols capture before
invasion of Rus'? 18
2.3. How did the Mongol invasion of Rus' proceed? 18
2.4. What goals did the Swedish-German conquerors set? 20
2.5. What kind of relations did the Russian principalities have with
Lithuania and Poland in the XIV-XV centuries? 21
2.6. What are the features of the Russian foreign policy
states under Ivan III? 23
2.7. How did the Ottoman Empire come about? 25
Topic 3. Russia and the world in the XVI - XVII centuries. 26
3.1. What were the features of foreign policy
Russia in the second half of the 16th century? 26
3.2. How Russia managed to repel the Polish-Swedish
intervention during the "Time of Troubles"? 27
3.3. What foreign policy actions did
Russia in 1630 - 1660s? 28
3.4. What are the implications of the Peace of Westphalia for Europe? thirty
3.5. Why did Russia decide at the end of the 17th century. oppose
Ottoman Empire? thirty
Topic 4. Russia and the world in the XVIII century. 31
4.1. What are the results of Russia's struggle with Sweden? 31
4.2. How was the Eastern Question solved in the 18th century? 32
4.3. What part did Russia take in the Seven Years' War? 33
4.4. How were the partitions of Poland carried out? 33
Topic 5. Russia and the world in the XIX century. 34
5.1. What part did Russia take in the coalitions against
France? 34
5.2. What are the causes and consequences of Napoleon's invasion
in Russia? 36
5.3. What were the main decisions of the Vienna
Congress? 38
5.4. What were the goals of the creation of the Holy
5.5. What are the main directions of foreign policy
Nicholas I? 39
5.6. What were the causes of the Eastern Crisis and the Crimean
5.7. What were the objectives of the Union of the Three Emperors? 42
5.8. How was the new Eastern crisis resolved? 42
5.9. What were the main policies
Russia on Far East in the second half of the 19th century? 43
5.10. How did Central Asia join Russia?
in the 1860s - 1890s? 44
5.11. What kind of world order has developed in Europe in the last
thirds of the 19th - early 20th centuries?45
5.12. What role did they play in international relations?
The Hague conferences? 46
Topic 6. Russia and the world at the beginning of the 20th century. 46
6.1. Why did Russia go to war with Japan? 46
6.2. What were the main directions of external
political activity Russia on the eve of the First
world war? 47
6.3. What are the main causes of World War I? 48
6.4. What are the results of Russia's participation in the First World
Topic 7. Soviet Russia and the world in 1917 - 1929 50
7.1. What was the main content of the Decree on
7.2. How did World War I end? 51
7.3. What were the articles of the Treaty of Versailles? 52
7.4. What were the objectives of the League of Nations? 53
7.5. Why the world was organized after the First World War
called the "Versailles-Washington" system? 54
7.6. What is the essence of the theory and practice of world revolution? 54
7.7. How was the intervention Soviet Russia? 55
7.8. How was Sovietization carried out
national outskirts? 56
7.9. What was the relationship between Soviet Russia and
Poland? 57
7.10. What was the purpose of the international
conference in Genoa? 58
7.11. How did the recognition of the USSR by foreign
countries? 59
7.12. What were the main directions of foreign
policy of the USSR in the mid-1920s? 60
Topic 8. The USSR and the world in the 1930s 63
8.1. Why at the turn of the 1920-1930s. increased
international tension? 63
8.2. How has the situation in Europe changed since
Hitler to power? 64
8.3. What was the policy of appeasement in
Europe in 1935-1937? 65
8.4. What did the policy of non-intervention lead to?
UK and France? 67
8.5. Why Japan in the 1930s carried out an aggressive
politics? 69
8.6. What are the consequences of the Soviet-Japanese conflict in
1938 - 1939? 70
8.7. What was the significance of the non-aggression pact between
USSR and Germany? 71
Topic 9. The USSR and the world in World War II. 72
9.1. What is the basis of international relations
on initial stage Second World War? 72
9.2. How was the formation
anti-Hitler coalition? 74
9.3. What are the results of international conferences in
years of World War II? 75
9.4. How did the discovery of
second front? 76
9.5. How did World War II end? 78
Topic 10. The USSR and the world in the second half of the 1940s - 1950s 77
10.1. What was the manifestation of the bipolarity of the Yalta-Potsdam
systems? 77
10.2. What are the causes of the Cold War? 78
10.3. How was the German question resolved in the second half?
1940s? 79
10.4. What led to the creation of military-political and
economic blocks? 81
10.5. How did events develop in Asia in the post-war period? 83
10.6. Why did crisis arise in the socialist countries?
phenomena? 85
10.7. What changes in international relations
happened in the 1950s? 86
10.8. How was the decolonization process? 88
10.9. How did international relations develop in the 1960s? 89
10.10. How did the process of detente of the international
tensions in the 1970s? 93
10.11. What factors influenced the foreign policy of the USSR in
the first half of the 1980s? 97
Topic 11. The USSR and the world in the second half of the 1980s. 98
11.1. What was the essence of the concept of a new political
thinking of M.S. Gorbachev? 98
11.2. On what foundations were the Soviet-American
relations in 1985-1991? 100
11.3. What changes in international relations
took place in Europe in 1985-1991? 101
11.4. Why did the collapse of the Yalta-Potsdam
system of international relations? 102
Topic 12. Russia and the world at the end of the 20th - beginning of the 21st centuries. 103
12.1. What are the features of Russia's foreign policy in
1990s? 103
12.2. What were the features of foreign policy
activities of Russia in the early 2000s? 107
12.3. How relations between Russia and the United States were built in the first
decade of the 21st century? 110
12.4. What is the essence of the 2013 Foreign Policy Concept of Russia? 112
Conclusion 115
Applications 116
Annex 1. Security questions 116
Annex 2. Topics of abstracts 118
Appendix 3. Brief glossary 119
Appendix 4. Foreign Policy Leaders
departments of Russia 126
Annex 5. Chronological table 131
Annex 6. Political Maps 162
Appendix 7. Bibliographic list 184
FOREWORD
The academic discipline "History" is included in the basic part of the humanitarian, social and economic cycle of the Federal State educational standard HPE 3rd generation. In terms of its content, this discipline is fundamentally different from the previous academic discipline "National History". At present, the main attention is paid to the study of the history of Russia in the context of international relations, the global historical process.
Russian history multifaceted. It covers various areas of state activity. Along with domestic policy, an important component of the state's activity is its foreign policy, the country's place in the system of international relations.
Due to the fact that the emergence of a new academic discipline was not provided with appropriate educational and methodological literature, it seems important to fill this gap and issue a publication for students that can be used to prepare for lectures and practical classes, choose the topic of the essay , test your knowledge on control questions. Self-study of individual sections of the manual will allow students of both full-time and part-time forms of study not only to master the educational material in the classroom, but also to prepare well for the exam.
The textbook has been prepared on the basis of new approaches reflecting the latest achievements of historical science. It is noteworthy that the available publications explore international relations since the conclusion of the Peace of Westphalia. . However, the author believes that the presentation of educational material should be carried out from the time of the birth Russian statehood. This approach will allow us to consider the foreign policy of the Old Russian state - Russia - the USSR - Russian Federation as a single and continuous process.
INTRODUCTION
Russia's participation in international relations since the 9th century. and to this day, it is a complex and contradictory system of interactions, where successes and defeats, successes of Russian diplomacy and the rulers of the state and unsuccessful foreign policy decisions, territorial gains and losses are intertwined.
On the basis of historical knowledge, students should be brought up with a sense of patriotism, love for the Fatherland. The study guide allows you to do this.
The textbook is divided into sections reflecting the main stages in the formation of the foreign policy of Rus', Russia, the USSR and the Russian Federation, the participation of our country in interstate relations. Each section of the manual provides answers to questions about how Russia's relations with other countries have been built over the centuries.
Of course, in a small volume of a textbook it is impossible to consider in detail all world events, the foreign policy activities of our state, therefore, the emphasis is on questions and answers on the most significant events in history.
The appendices contain topics for essays, literature and sources for which you can choose on your own, or on the recommendation of a teacher. Additional control questions allow you to test your knowledge of each section. A brief terminological dictionary will help students in defining unfamiliar concepts.
Chronological tables and political maps will also help to assimilate the educational material well. As practice shows, students have little idea where this or that state was located. Therefore, working with maps will make it possible to fill in the missing knowledge, to find out how the configuration of the borders of our country and the states neighboring Russia has changed.
Topic 1. Kievan Rus in the system of international relations (IX - early XII centuries)
Why did Kievan Rus play a significant role in interstate relations in Eastern Europe?
Geographical position Kievan Rus was profitable, because the most important water arteries and trade routes passed through it, providing access to the seas, and through them to other countries. However, the states bordering Russia tried to seize these territories in order to improve their economic position and authority. Yes and just Old Russian state sought to strengthen its position by expanding its territories.
In the north, Kievan Rus bordered on Scandinavia, in the west - on the Kingdom of Poland, in the south, nomadic tribes separated it from Byzantium, in the east it extended the territory to Khazar Khaganate. Cooperating with these and other border states, Ancient Rus' at the same time sought to defend its diverse interests.
