Pavel 1 and Napoleon. Paul I and the alliance with Napoleon. The triumph of British diplomacy
Paul I, who regarded the behavior of the English and Austrian allies as a representation, withdrew the Russian army to Russia. Soon (already after Napoleon Bonaparte, who returned from the Egyptian campaign, carried out a coup d'état and proclaimed himself first consul), Paul broke off the alliance with England and Austria and concluded an alliance with France. The first consul captivated the Russian emperor with the prospect of a joint campaign in India. However, the alliance with France was highly unpopular in Russia, as the nobility saw Napoleon as the heir to the revolution and the usurper of the Bourbon throne. A sharp turn in the foreign policy was one of the reasons for the overthrow and assassination of Paul I as a result of a palace coup on March 11-12, 1801. The new Tsar Alexander I broke off the alliance with France.
What to look for when answering:
In the course of the answer, the close connection of the southern and western directions should be demonstrated foreign policy Russia.
Speaking about the victories of Russian weapons and their significance for the development of Novorossia and Russia's access to sea routes, one should still not forget about the aggressive, imperial nature of Catherine II's foreign policy.
The answer requires constant careful work with the map, which should show all the named territories and places of battles.
1 The literal translation is free prohibition.
2 On the southern borders, Russia did not yet have a fleet: it was impossible to create one on the shallow Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov, and the shores of the Black Sea belonged to Turkey.
3 The purpose of this alliance was the implementation of the so-called "Greek project" - the dismemberment of Turkey and the creation of a "Greek Empire" on its territories with an Orthodox population, headed by a representative of the Romanov dynasty.
4 During the partitions of Poland, Russia annexed territories with a predominantly Ukrainian and Belarusian population, mostly Orthodox. However, this cannot justify the division of a sovereign state in which Ukrainians and Belarusians have lived for centuries. In addition, in the composition Russian Empire the lands inhabited by Catholics also entered: Poles and Lithuanians, and Lutherans - Latvians. Subsequently, after the defeat of Napoleon, Russia achieved the transfer to it of a significant part of the Polish lands that had previously gone to Prussia. In exchange, Russia supported Prussia, which sought to annex as many territories of other German states as possible.
5 Northern Italy was conquered by General Bonaparte (the future First Consul and Emperor Napoleon I) in 1797 during the so-called "First Italian Campaign".
Topic 42.
CULTURE OF RUSSIA IN THE MIDDLE AND II HALF OF THE XVIII CENTURY
1. Features of the development of culture in the XVIII century
The reforms of Peter I created an unusual cultural situation in Russia. Europeanization, which affected only the upper strata of society, led to the emergence of a deep cultural gap between the nobility and the bulk of the country's population. Two cultures arose in Russia: the dominant one, closely related to the European one, and the folk one, which remained predominantly traditional.
2. Life
In the XVIII century. most of the peasants still lived in huts, heated in a black way. True, the design of the hut has changed: a wooden floor and ceiling appeared. In winter, young cattle were kept in the hut along with people. Overcrowding and lack of hygiene led to high mortality, especially among children.
The vast majority of serfs were illiterate. In the state countryside, the proportion of literate people was somewhat higher, reaching 20-25%.
Leisure, which usually appeared only in winter, after the completion of agricultural work, was filled with traditional entertainment: songs, round dances, gatherings, and ice slides. Family relations also remained traditional. As before, contrary to the decree of Peter I, the decision to marry was made not so much by the young as by the older members of the family, and sometimes even by the master.
The life of a rich landowner had nothing to do with the countryside. The costume, the interior of the dwelling, the daily table of the landowner differed from the peasant ones not only in wealth, as in the 16th-17th centuries, but in the type itself. The landowner wore a uniform, a camisole, and later a tailcoat, kept a cook who prepared delicious dishes (wealthy nobles ordered cooks from abroad). In wealthy estates there were numerous domestics, including not only lackeys and coachmen, but their own shoemakers, tailors and even musicians. However, this applies to the rich and noble top of the nobility. The small landed nobles had both opportunities and requests much more modest.
Even at the end of the XVIII century. only a few nobles were well educated. And yet, it was the estate life, freedom from material need and official duties (after the Manifesto "On the Liberty of the Nobility") that ensured the flourishing of culture in the second half of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Pavel and Napoleon are two extraordinary personalities whose birth is separated by a historically minimal period of 15 years. How little they ruled in the scale of history, but how much they did for their peoples; what inexhaustible energy and efficiency they possessed, how many useful reforms and transformations they conceived and carried out! And how much they had in common...
Napoleon created the Bank of France and the Paris Bourse, and established fair taxation. He established a system of state awards, including the Order of the Legion of Honor, as an expression of the nation's gratitude to those who deserved this appreciation, be it a scientist, musician, politician, clergyman, writer or ordinary soldier. The Civil Code established universal equality before the law, emphasized the sacred character of the family, and consolidated the gains of the Revolution. In the military field, Napoleon formulated the principles of warfare, which are still studied in all military academies of the world.
Paul I actively embarked on the implementation of financial reform, wanting to increase the exchange rate of the ruble and eradicate corruption - something that our politicians are now concerned about; its transformations concerned state administration, legal proceedings, civil law, and improving the situation of peasants. Paul's military reforms formed the basis for a significant modernization in this area at the beginning of the 19th century, which helped the Russian army to withstand all the tests of the Napoleonic wars. A number of Pavel Petrovich's innovations have been preserved in the Russian army to this day. In his 4 years, 4 months and 4 days of his reign, Paul I issued 2179 legislative acts, which amounted to a Code of Laws comparable to the famous Napoleonic Code.
However, in national history the name of the reformer Paul I is undeservedly forgotten. What is worth at least his project of an expedition to India in 1801. Wasn't that a Napoleonic plan! The Russian Cossack regiments reached almost Orenburg when the news came of the tragic death of their emperor.
Bonaparte constantly fought with England, but could not defeat her either on land or at sea. Then he decided to crush it economically by establishing a continental blockade, i.e. forbidding all vassal states to trade with Foggy Albion. But here, too, the first Napoleon always turned out to be the second, for the first was our famous compatriot - Paul I.
The idea of an economic blockade as an effective means of putting pressure on Great Britain comes from the time of the French Convention, when the Committee of Public Safety decreed this measure back in 1793. Napoleon returned to this idea at the end of 1806, hoping to inflict a crushing blow on the trade and economy of Great Britain for the benefit of French industry and Agriculture. However, for the first time in practice, the economic blockade of England was applied by Paul I at the turn of 1800-1801. The Russian monarch turned out to be a kind of first developer of the concept of the Napoleonic project of the continental blockade of England, which began in St. Petersburg from the middle of 1800.
Here is her backstory.
The king, having learned about the French occupation of Fr. Malta (Napoleon en route to Egypt) in June 1798, declared himself Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem and sent three armies to fight against Napoleonic forces in northern Italy, Holland and Switzerland. However, the results of Suvorov's brilliant victories won at Cassano, Trebia and Novi in 1799 were crossed out by the no less resounding successes of Bonaparte and his talented generals at Marengo, Hochstadt and Hohenlinden in 1800, which led to the collapse of the second anti-French coalition and to a change balance of power on the European continent. Britain, the mistress of the seas, could not allow the presence of the French in the Mediterranean and sent a squadron under the command of Admiral Nelson, who blockaded Fr. Malta.
Paul I was enraged by the British occupation of the island and viewed it as a personal insult inflicted on him. Obviously, it was from this moment that a sharp turning point began in the foreign policy of the Russian Empire and its turn from an alliance with England to an alliance with France. The tsar admires the deeds of Napoleon, who by this time had become the first consul. “He does business and you can deal with him,” says Pavel about the new French dictator, who, earlier than others - earlier than the English - understood the difference between Jacobin France and the consulate. He listens with pleasure to stories about the first consul and, feeling his great destiny, orders a bust of Napoleon to be erected in the Winter Palace, where he greets him as a great man. The emerging alliance between Russia and France frightens the British Cabinet. In St. Petersburg, a grandiose plan is being developed for a joint Franco-Russian expedition to India, similar to Napoleon's Egyptian campaign, and intensive diplomatic correspondence begins between the embassies in St. Petersburg, London, Paris and Berlin. Louis XVIII, living with his court in exile in the Russian city of Mitau, was asked to urgently leave the Russian Empire; he loses a pension of 200,000 rubles - a huge amount for those times.
 |  Gostiny yard. Hood. Paterson. 1802 |
Omitting the very interesting diplomatic correspondence for 1799-1801, let us dwell on the chronicle of events characterizing the economic measures taken by the Russian government from the middle of 1800, namely from August 24, the official date of the beginning of the continental blockade of England by Russia. The reason for the introduction of harsh economic sanctions was the capture by the British Navy of several Danish merchant ships escorted by one frigate, which were going to St. Petersburg. Pavel's decree addressed to the military governor of the capital, Svechin, read: “Informed that the British government, in violation of the general rights of the people, allowed itself to forcibly offend the Danish flag by arresting their merchant ships, sailing under the cover of a Danish military frigate; We accept such an attempt in the form of an insult done to ourselves, and ensuring our own trade from such insolence, we command: all ships belonging to the English state, in all ports of Our empire, and on all English offices and on all capital belonging to the British, impose a ban; and how to proceed in this, keep in touch with the president of the commerce college, Prince Gagarin ”.
In response to this, the British government immediately released the Danish caravan, and a week later Paul's decree was canceled, but two months later, in connection with the final rupture of diplomatic relations between Russia and England, a number of orders and instructions were issued regarding trade with the British. But as it has been done since ancient times in Rus' - "they wanted the best, but it turned out as always." And on October 23, 1800, "sequestration on all English ships in Russian ports" which was carried out at the same time. However, a day later the College of Commerce, having sequestered not only the English ships, but also the goods stacked in warehouses, asked for the Highest permission: How to deal with goods:
Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin, known to us at that time, was the President of the College of Commerce. It was he who suggested that he should be arrested “all goods that really belong to the British, from whom, and with whatever foreign goods they are”. In response to this, the Supreme Command of October 25, 1800 followed, in which Derzhavin's proposal doomed it to legal force. A day later, a new order of the College of Commerce is issued regarding the arrested goods and "of seeing to it that the forests allowed for leave are not turned over to England."
On October 28, 1800, all English skippers and sailors arrested on ships were ordered total strength 1043 people (and at the end of January there were already 1126 of them) to distribute 10 people among the provincial cities. in each and assign them "salary as a salary, and for provisions against army soldiers".
Meanwhile, British ships, unaware of the ban, continued to call at St. Petersburg. So, on November 5, 1800, despite the ban, a new English ship "Albion" arrived in Kronstadt with goods, and was arrested. By order of the Minister of Commerce, the goods were transported to St. Petersburg Customs. In November, one ship in Pernov and 5 in Riga were transferred to Reval (Tallinn) due to the approaching winter and the inability to enter them into the mouths of the rivers due to their large size and draft. On November 26, Prince Gagarin was given an order “on payment during work during the unloading of English goods to naval servants 10 kopecks. per day, their usual wages, attributing the expense to the account of the English merchants ". At the end of 1800 and at the beginning of 1801, with the assistance of the College of Commerce and Customs, British ships continued to unload. Of the 100 ships that entered the port of St. Petersburg since the publication of the decree of Paul I, by January 15, 1801, 19 were unloaded, 1 was unloading, and 80 were waiting for their turn.
In connection with the confiscation of goods, a rather complicated problem arose regarding the production of settlements and credit transactions between English and Russian merchants. In this regard, on November 22, 1800, the Supreme Decree of the College of Commerce was issued, which read: “The debts of the British, consisting of Russian merchants, should be stopped before the settlement, and the English goods available in the shops and stores for sale should be banned and described”. However, a week later, on November 30, at the request of Russian merchants, English goods were ordered to be sold in order to pay off debts. Here are some excerpts from this curious document: “Russian merchants trading in the Bolshoi Gostiny Dvor and markets, where English goods are sealed, most humbly ask the Sovereign Emperor for the most merciful permission to sell these goods ... due to the fact that they have paid most of the money for those goods, that now is the best time to retail sale, providing them with the only way to pay their debts to various creditors. But so that no one, without a special royal command, buys anything English from the British, or other nations, it would be good to attach seals to everything described in English with the fact that if someone will find goods without seals in the future, they will be punished as criminals, and it is not pleasing. whether he will order for such an amount as they owe the British, to take away goods from them, attaching them to others arrested from the British, or from the Russians to accept money according to the terms in the total mass of the British for gross settlement with the Russians ”.
At the same time, in order to put in order and appropriately consider the mutual debt settlements of Russian merchants with the British, liquidation offices began to be created. On November 25, 1800, the first such office was established in St. Petersburg, and on January 14, 1801 - in Riga and Arkhangelsk.
Another difficulty in implementing activities within the framework of the Continental Blockade project was that some English merchants wished to accept Russian citizenship. The fact is that even under the decree of Catherine II of October 20, 1783, English merchants who had long settled in Russia were not forced to take Russian citizenship and continued to trade, remaining subjects of the British crown. Now they were swept under the same brush, and all their goods, by decree of November 22, 1800, both English and others, were arrested. Then the British merchants expressed their desire to join "eternal citizenship of the Sovereign Emperor Pavel Petrovich, to rank among the Russian merchants and bourgeoisie in order to enjoy all the rights and benefits that this title is granted by law". A report on this was first followed by a single permission to enter the bourgeoisie to one Englishman living in Riga, and later, on December 7, 1800, the highest decree was issued "commercial collegium with a ratgauz to make a situation and submit a report to the Sovereign Emperor".
The trade war between Russia and England, which began at the end of 1800, escalated every month, and Paul I himself waged this war most actively, perfectly coping with the functions of the main developer of the Continental Blockade. Already on November 19, 1800, a general order was issued to "Until further notice, no English goods are to be allowed into Russia". In fact, one such order was quite enough for ports, customs and outposts to stop the access to Russia of any English-made goods. And, bearing in mind with what Prussian punctuality the orders of Pavel Petrovich were carried out, one could not doubt the success of the entire project.
Napoleon rejoiced. Russia was on his side. And if he cannot defeat England at sea, he will strangle her economically. Partnership relations between Russia and France are being strengthened. Bonaparte releases 6,000 Russian prisoners taken during the Swiss campaign of Suvorov and other operations in Europe, and without any conditions. The soldiers returned home in full uniform, with weapons and banners. Moreover, Napoleon returns the island of Malta to the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, whose master is Paul I, and, as a sign of deep gratitude and friendship, presents the Russian emperor with a sword, which Pope Leo X awarded one of the masters of the order. Articles in French newspapers (obviously inspired by Napoleon) are full of reports from Russia and extol the virtues of Pavel Petrovich.
However, if the ban on trade with Foggy Albion had many pitfalls, it was much more difficult to prevent Russian raw materials from being exported to England. To this end, on December 15, 1800, the Supreme Command was issued “so that it is observed with all strictness that no Russian products are exported by any means and under any pretext to the British, and that the commerce collegium issues appropriate orders”. Later, on February 18, 1801, the same order was again confirmed in relation to the export of rigging hemp, wood for ship masts and deck boards, resin for impregnating seams, and other items of traditional Russian export. By this, expressing modern language, the resolution, in particular prescribed “... so that measures are taken on the part of the College of Commerce so that hemp from Russian ports is not released under any form and through any nation and transferred to England, and therefore precautions must be taken so that the commissions given from the British to this parts to the merchants and offices of other nations had no effect; to the Russian merchants to announce that if such a transfer, under any pretext, is opened, then the entire amount of this product will be described and confiscated to the treasury without any payment to them..
However, such prescriptions were not enough. It turned out that Russian materials were delivered to England through Prussia. Then followed a ban on the export of goods from Russia to Prussia, and the Commerce College was obliged to declare that this ban, “according to the closest connection between these powers, it is not this state that is addressing, but there is a general measure taken by the government to prevent the export of goods to England”, and this prohibition "spreads everywhere to all the Baltic and other ports to the only suppression of the species adopted by the British".
On this basis, the Russian government began to exercise strict control over all ships leaving Russian ports. Back in November, on the roadstead of Riga, one Swedish ship, under arrest and loaded with English goods, managed, not without the assistance of the Swedish consul, to go to sea. The British, as it later became known, resorted to various tricks to get around the issued prohibitions and export Russian goods to England on neutral ships. In order to prevent such actions in the future, or at least severely limit them, Paul I issues the famous decree of March 11, 1801 (the Russian emperor was killed on the night of March 12 as a result of a palace coup and a conspiracy of senior officers, carried out with English money ) About, “so that no Russian goods are released from Russian ports and border land customs and outposts anywhere without a special Highest commandment”. This order was the most extreme measure in the struggle of the Russian government with foreign trade and was intended to prevent the export of Russian raw materials and materials to England. Regarding the decree of March 11, the historian V.I. Semenovsky wrote: “Pavel’s madness reached the point that on the last day of his life, a “decree was announced not to release goods from Russian ports without a special Highest command.” However, if we see in this decree an act of madness by Paul, then we have to admit that Napoleon also suffered from a similar “madness” when he established a continental blockade to fight England in 1806.
Having thus broken off economic relations with England, Russia resumed her trade with France. In February 1801, good news came from Paris that the French were forbidden to attack Russian ships, about which the Commerce Board immediately notified the merchants, port and border customs and outposts. At the same time, on February 8, 1801, a new decree followed, which, in particular, read: “In consequence of the measures taken by France for the safety and security of Russian ships, we command relations with this power to resolve and cancel the prohibitions previously placed on this ”. However, this decree could not significantly affect the increase in trade turnover due to the fact that the trade routes in the northwest were controlled by the British navy. Much more significant were the attempts of the Russian government to turn from the west to the east and conquer the Asian market. To this end, during the life of Paul I, a number of measures were taken to increase trade with Persia, Khiva, Bukhara, India and China. The eyes of Pavel Petrovich and his associates in the business of spreading trade were turned to the far fabulous east. Astrakhan, Kizlyar, Mozdok and Troitsk customs were created, offices were organized everywhere along the new trade route St. Petersburg - the river. Volga - Orenburg - Khiva - Bukhara - India. Iron, metalwork and blacksmithing, copper, tin, foreign gold and silver coins, and much more were supposed to be transported from the Russian capital to India along this route. From India to St. Petersburg - traditional Indian exports: tea, coffee, spices, cotton, silk, fine fabrics, oriental jewelry, carpets, and other goods. And if it were not for the sudden death of Paul I in the Mikhailovsky Castle on the night of March 12, 1801 and the assassination attempt on Napoleon on December 24, 1800, who knows, perhaps these two tragic events saved England from the continental blockade by Russia and from the joint Franco-Russian conquest of India.
In the previous decade, the 1790s, European policy was fairly clear. The monarchies of Europe united to destroy the new state system - the republic. The principle proclaimed by the French "Peace to huts, war to palaces" was not supposed to infect other countries. Each monarch saw his possible fate in the severed head of Louis XVI. But the revolution gave rise to an unprecedented impulse in the French people - it was not possible to break the republic, and the allies in the anti-French coalitions were not friendly.
After the Suvorov campaign in 1799, it became clear that Russia and France did not gain anything from the conflict with each other. This war was beneficial to England, Austria and Prussia, who wanted to drag chestnuts out of the fire with Russian hands. There was no direct conflict between the real interests of Russia and France either before or after 1799. Apart from the restoration of the monarchy in France, there was really nothing for Russia to fight for. In the unfolding European conflict, it was in the interests of both great powers to have an alliance, or at least benevolent neutrality towards each other. Bonaparte was well aware of this and took up the issue of rapprochement with Russia as soon as he became first consul. Paul I came to the same thoughts in 1800: “As for rapprochement with France, I would not want anything better than to see her resorting to me, especially as a counterweight to Austria.”
Emperor Paul I
An important factor for the Russian emperor was the enmity between France and Britain, which irritated him. Whitworth, the English ambassador in St. Petersburg, was so alarmed that he wrote: "The Emperor is in the full sense of the word out of his mind." Both rulers, Paul and Napoleon, understood the commonality of their interests in European politics: France needed an ally in the fight against the great powers surrounding it, Russia needed at least to stop fighting for other people's interests.
But there were obstacles to this successful solution. There was no doubt that England would by all means prevent the rapprochement between France and Russia. And the conservatism of public opinion in Russia, which did not want rapprochement with the Republicans, also persuaded Pavel at first to delay this. The agreement with Bonaparte meant a sharp deterioration in relations with England and France. But since their perfidious and mercenary policy of the allies made a strong negative impression on Paul, in the end he, a supporter of the principle of legitimism, a representative of a large European house, nevertheless decided on rapprochement with revolutionary France. The move is bold and risky. But he saw in Bonaparte something that the rulers of other countries often lacked - a willingness to see the interests of a partner.
Napoleon Bonaparte
The spirit of chivalry brought together Paul I and Napoleon
In March 1800, Paul ordered the suspension of all military operations against France. Already in the summer, Bonaparte offered Russia to return to her free of charge and without conditions all the prisoners (about 6 thousand), in new uniforms, with new weapons, with banners and honors. This step, filled with a noble chivalrous spirit, was very sympathetic to Paul I. In addition, Bonaparte promised Paul, the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, to defend Malta from the British with all his might.
Paul saw this as a sincere desire for agreement. And then he sent an ambassador to Paris, General Sprengporten. He was received with honor, and especially friendly - by Bonaparte himself. The parties have now communicated openly to each other that they see a great many common interests and too few grounds for enmity. France and Russia "are created geographically to be closely connected with each other," said Bonaparte. Indeed, the powers distant from each other had no reasons for the conflict that would follow from their geographical position. There were simply no serious and insoluble contradictions. The expansion of both countries went in different directions.
St. Petersburg at the beginning of the 19th century
“France can only have Russia as an ally,” said Bonaparte. In fact, there was no better choice. France and England were irreconcilable. But they could not defeat their friend - the English fleet is too strong, and the ground forces of France are too strong. And the scales could tilt in favor of one of the parties only with an alliance with Russia. Paul wrote to Sprengporten: “... France and the Russian Empire, being far from each other, can never be forced to harm each other, ... they can, by uniting and constantly maintaining friendly relations, prevent others from harming others with their desire for conquest and domination their interests." Changes in the domestic policy of France, the appearance of the first consul and the respect shown by him towards Russia also smoothed out the previous differences caused by the different political structure of these states.
All this was especially bold for Pavel, in whose environment there were many opponents of the Franco-Russian friendship, who later became his killers. Both Austria and especially England tried to keep Paul from this step. The British generally offered Russia the conquest of Corsica, hoping to quarrel her with France and the Corsican Napoleon forever. But the emperor of Russia ignored all the attempts of the allies to spoil the emerging agreements. In December 1800, he personally wrote to Bonaparte: “... I do not speak and do not want to argue either about human rights or about the principles of various governments established in each country. Let's try to return the peace and quiet to the world, which it needs so much. This meant that from now on Russia does not want to interfere in the internal affairs of the republic.
Paris in the early 19th century
Russian soldiers could wash their boots in the Indian Ocean in 1801.
Plans were already being made in St. Petersburg to take advantage of such a grandiose affair as an alliance with Napoleon: for example, the division of decrepit Turkey between Russia, France, Austria and Prussia. In turn, inspired by his unexpected and fairly quick diplomatic success, Bonaparte at the beginning of 1801 fantasized about expeditions against Ireland, Brazil, India and other English colonies.
Sustainable cooperation with Russia opened for Bonaparte the way to conclude a peace, albeit fragile, but still with Austria and England. The peace provided an opportunity to prepare for the resumption of the struggle and to enter it with renewed vigor.
The strengthening of England and the capture of Malta by her caused Paul the strongest annoyance. On January 15, 1801, he already wrote to Napoleon: "... I cannot but suggest to you: is it possible to do something on the shores of England." It was already a decision about the union. On January 12, Pavel ordered the Don army to raise their regiments and move them to Orenburg, in order to then hit India (more than 20 thousand). France was also preparing to send 35,000 men to this campaign. Napoleon's dreams were close to being realized - England would not have survived such a blow, its prestige would have collapsed and the flow of money from the richest colony would have stopped.
Alexander the First
Mikhailovsky Castle, place of death of Paul I
England killed the Russian emperor for an alliance with Napoleon
But when the Cossack regiments were already marching in the direction of the "pearl of the British crown", India, and Napoleon was looking forward to the success of the Franco-Russian alliance and making new plans, Europe was struck by unexpected news - Paul I was dead. No one believed the official version of the apoplexy that allegedly took Pavel's life on the night of March 12. Rumors spread about a conspiracy against the emperor, which happened with the support of Tsarevich Alexander and the English ambassador. Bonaparte took this murder as a blow inflicted on him by the British. Shortly before this, they had tried to kill him himself, and he had no doubt that England was behind this. Alexander I understood that the environment expected from him a policy that was radically different from his father's. This meant both a break with France and a return to pro-English political course. Almost immediately, the troops moving towards India were stopped. And yet, for a long time to come, Napoleon would strive for an alliance with Russia, without which the fate of Europe could not be decided.
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The situation with the assessment of the actions of Emperor Paul I is still ambiguous. Opinions about him are very different. Many believe that the emperor was strange, and heredity is not specific. After all, his father Peter III, while on the throne, was remembered for playing soldiers and executing a rat ...
Modernization Rails
At the same time, it is curious that almost none of the pundits deny that Paul I really tried, to the best of his ability, to put the country on the rails of modernization. In the short time that the emperor sat on the throne (from 1796 to 1801), he managed to do a lot for the country. For example, he managed to restore order in the "muddy" system of succession to the throne. The order he established almost completely deprived random people of receiving the crown of the Russian Empire.
Another important innovation is the imposition of serious restrictions on landlords. Especially strong were the "sanctions" against the peasants. The sovereign with a stroke of the pen forbade the landlords to sell them without land, and also left only three days a week to work for the owner. These progressive laws perished with their founder. Alexander I, without too much fuss, quietly and calmly buried them.
The emperor generally sought to show the peasants that the authorities remember and care about them. Therefore, under him, they swore allegiance to the sovereign for the first time, becoming a full-fledged part of the Russian Empire. In an effort to put the country on the rails of modernization as quickly as possible, Paul I during his reign managed to publish about two thousand of the most diverse legislative acts, that is, more than forty a month. For comparison, under Catherine II, the number of laws did not exceed twelve in thirty days.
Under Paul I, a state bank appeared in the country. He was given a special task - to issue loans on favorable terms to landowners and industrialists. The sovereign also fought against corruption, and very successfully. During his reign, about two thousand officials went either into exile or hard labor.
The innovations concerning the military had an even larger scale. It was a very bold decision to reduce the role of the guard. This act subsequently played against the emperor, since the offended military took part in the conspiracy. Also under him, soldiers from the archaic system of standing were transferred to the barracks.
But the most serious achievements of Paul I relate to foreign policy. For the first time in a long time, the Russian sovereign tried to make the country's foreign policy independent and independent. He understood that the country had been a puppet in the hands of foreign diplomats for almost a century, who tricked Russia into getting involved in unnecessary wars. Once the sovereign said that the country needed at least two decades without bloodshed. And then it will become the greatest power in the world. And Paul, as best he could, adhered to a policy of non-intervention. Even the territories that Russia had overgrown with (Alaska and Eastern Georgia) were annexed quietly and peacefully.
military adventure
True, the emperor nevertheless decided then to get involved in one confrontation. For him, it ended in death, and for the country - in a bloody war with the French. Paul I decided to face off against England. And the distant and rich India was to become the theater of operations.
The Russian sovereign was sure that it was Great Britain that was the main enemy of stability and tranquility in the world. And until it loses its position, people will continue to kill each other in numerous wars. And he reacted with surprising indifference to the Great French Revolution, believing that these were the personal affairs of the country and Russia, it makes no sense to delve into them. Klyuchevsky described those events as follows: “Paul began his reign with a manifesto that proclaimed a peaceful policy; he refused to fight France, declaring that since the beginning of the Seven Years' War, the empire had been waging an uninterrupted struggle, and that the subjects needed rest.
But keeping your word was not easy. In 1798, Paul I fell for the provocation of English diplomats, and relations with France deteriorated sharply. Russia was drawn into the anti-French coalition. The result is the Italian and Swiss campaigns of Suvorov, as well as the Mediterranean exploits of Ushakov.
But soon Paul I realized that he had been tricked. Therefore, it quickly and unexpectedly changes the priorities of foreign policy. Since 1800, Russia began to draw closer to France. This alliance was beneficial to both countries, since only by joint efforts could they cope with their main enemy - England. It is clear that no one was going to storm the island. The Allies decided to act more cunningly and take away from the British their heaviest wallet - India. The Russian sovereign spoke of the upcoming venture as follows: "To hit England in her very heart - in India."
By horses!
It is generally accepted that the whole idea was initially unviable. Like, another ridiculous trick of the emperor-adventurer. But the sovereign was not as stupid as it might seem. After all, the campaign plan was developed personally by Napoleon Bonaparte. Moreover, he wanted to hit India back in 1797, that is, before his famous Egyptian campaign.
But then it was not possible to crank out a risky undertaking. And then came the perfect moment. Napoleon was well aware that he would not be able to cope with the British on the water. It is unlikely that the combined Russian-French fleet would have been able to do this either. Therefore, there was no chance to land on foggy Albion. And if so, then it was necessary to go to the trick and at the same time try to deprive England of her wallet. So Napoleon came up with the idea that while the naval blockade of the island would unfold, the main blow would be delivered to the main granary of Britain - India. The problem immediately arose: how to get to it? The French at that time were not particularly friendly with the Turks, so it was not possible to pass through its territory. It was then that the option with Russia turned up, which decided to make peace with France just in time.
And Napoleon described in detail to Paul his idea. The idea was this: 35 thousand French soldiers, supported by artillery, traveled through Austria (it was possible to agree with it) to Ulm. There, the army was rafted on ships along the Danube to the Black Sea, where it was picked up by Russian ships and transported to Taganrog. Further, the path of the French lay in Tsaritsyn, where they received ships from the Russians and reached Astrakhan along the Volga. It was Astrakhan, according to Napoleon's idea, that was to become the point from where the already united Russian-French army would move on. Paul I was required to send 35 thousand soldiers (infantry, cavalry and Cossacks), artillery and supply horses to the allies for this operation.
After that, the combined forces through the Caspian Sea reached the Persian city of Astrabad. Here, Napoleon wanted to organize a stronghold with warehouses in which the supplies needed for the army would be stored. All these movements were given 80 days. Another 50 would have to be spent to get to the right bank of the Indus. In total, Napoleon set aside 130 days. And General Andre Massena was put at the head of the united army. Paul I promised that a fleet would go to India from Kamchatka, as well as a separate detachment of Cossacks.
It is clear that 70 thousand soldiers, even with the support of artillery and the fleet, could not have driven the British out of India. Massena claimed that it would take him a year to complete the task, but under certain conditions. By conditions, he meant allies in the face of the Baluchis, Pashtuns and other pastoral tribes who were dissatisfied with the policy of England. In total, the French commander expected to increase his army at the expense of the natives by about 100 thousand people. Plus, he wanted to win Indian Muslims over to his side. If Massena had succeeded in realizing his plan, the British would hardly have been able to fight back.
Napoleon shared with Pavel and the skin of an unkilled bear. By agreement, the northern part of India and Bombay would go under the protectorate of the Russian Empire. Everything else is French.
The triumph of British diplomacy
At the very beginning of 1801, the Cossack ataman Orlov received a decree from the emperor, in which the action plan was detailed: “The British are preparing to attack me and my allies, the Danes and Swedes. I am ready to accept them, but they themselves must be attacked both where the blow can be more sensitive and where they are less expected. An institution in India is the best for this. Move with artillery through Bukhara and Khiva to the Indus River. Send your scouts to prepare and inspect the roads. All the riches of India will be your reward for the expedition. Attached maps.
And soon the ataman informed the sovereign that more than 20 thousand Cossacks were mobilized and were waiting for a go-ahead. At the head of the Cossack detachment stood Major General Matvey Ivanovich Platov. For the sake of the Indian campaign, the emperor released him from imprisonment in the Peter and Paul Fortress (he was suspected of conspiracy). Soon the army moved out. But…
On the night of March 12, 1801, Paul I died at the hands of conspirators led by the St. Petersburg governor-general and head of the secret police Peter Palen. And they were supported by the English ambassador Whitworth. According to some reports, it was the British who financed the conspirators in order to remove the inconvenient emperor, and at the same time, without an official declaration of war, to take Malta from Russia.
The Russian sovereign sensed something was wrong. Moreover, he suspected his own sons of conspiracy. That is why he demanded that they swear allegiance to him. They swore allegiance, and a few hours later Paul I was killed ...
The newly-appeared Emperor Alexander I first of all recalled the Cossacks and broke off the military alliance with France against England. The British rejoiced, they managed to carry out their plans. After that, Alexander I began to cancel the progressive laws of his father, returning the country to an archaic course, where the elite ruled the ball. And soon burst Patriotic War with Napoleon...
Here's another interesting thing: for some time, the Indian campaign was generally considered almost a hoax. Indeed, there is not a word about this in the correspondence between Paul and Napoleon. There was no information at least in the personal documents of the sovereign. The adventure was made public only in 1840.
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