Conclusion of the sacred union year. Napoleonic Wars and the Holy Alliance as a system of pan-European order. Congress in Troppau

THE SACRED ALLIANCE is a reactionary association of European monarchs that arose after the fall of Napoleon's empire. 26. IX 1815, Russian Emperor Alexander I, Austrian Emperor Franz I and Prussian King Frederick William III signed the so-called “Act of the Holy Alliance” in Paris. The real essence of the “Act”, designed in a pompous religious style, boiled down to the fact that the monarchs who signed it pledged “in every case and in every place ... to provide each other with benefits, reinforcements and assistance.” In other words, the Holy Alliance was a kind of mutual assistance agreement between the monarchs of Russia, Austria and Prussia, which was extremely broad in nature.

On November 19, 1815, the French king Louis XVIII joined the Holy Alliance; Later, most of the monarchs of the European continent joined him. England did not formally join the Holy Alliance, but in practice England often coordinated its behavior with the general line of the Holy Alliance.

The pious formulas of the “Act of Holy Alliance” covered up the very prosaic goals of its creators. There were two of them:

1. Maintain intact the redrawing of European borders that was carried out at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 (...).

2. Conduct an irreconcilable struggle against all manifestations of the “revolutionary spirit.”

In fact, the activities of the Holy Alliance focused almost entirely on the fight against the revolution. The key points of this struggle were the periodically convened congresses of the heads of the three leading powers of the Holy Alliance, which were also attended by representatives of England and France. Alexander I and K. Metternich usually played the leading role at the congresses. There were four congresses of the Holy Alliance - the Aachen Congress of 1818, the Troppau Congress of 1820, the Laibach Congress of 1821 and the Verona Congress of 1822 (...).

The powers of the Holy Alliance stood entirely on the basis of “legitimism,” that is, the most complete restoration of the old dynasties and regimes overthrown by the French Revolution and Napoleon’s armies, and proceeded from the recognition of an absolute monarchy. The Holy Alliance was the European gendarme that kept the European peoples in chains. This was most clearly manifested in the position of the Holy Alliance in relation to the revolutions in Spain (1820-1823), Naples (1820-1821) and Piedmont (1821), as well as the uprising of the Greeks against the Turkish yoke, which began in 1821.

19.XI 1820, shortly after the outbreak of the revolution in Spain and Naples, Russia, Austria and Prussia at the congress in Troppau signed a protocol that openly proclaimed the right of intervention of the three leading powers of the Holy Alliance in the internal affairs of other countries in order to fight the revolution. England and France did not sign this protocol, but did not go beyond verbal protests against it. As a result of the decisions taken in Troppau, Austria received the authority to armedly suppress the Neapolitan revolution and at the end of March 1821 occupied the Kingdom of Naples with its troops, after which the absolutist regime was restored here. In April of the same 1821, Austria forcibly suppressed the revolution in Piedmont.

At the Congress of Verona (October - December 1822), through the efforts of Alexander I and Metternich, a decision was made on armed intervention in Spanish affairs. The authority to actually carry out this intervention was given to France, which on IV 7, 1823 actually invaded Spain with an army of 100,000 under the command of the Duke of Angoulême. The Spanish revolutionary government resisted foreign invasion for six months, but in the end the interventionist forces, supported by the Spanish domestic counter-revolution, were victorious. In Spain, as before in Naples and Piedmont, absolutism was restored.

No less reactionary was the position of the Holy Alliance on the Greek question. When a delegation of Greek rebels arrived in Verona to ask Christian sovereigns and especially Tsar Alexander I for help against the Sultan, the congress even refused to listen to it. England immediately took advantage of this and, in order to strengthen its influence in Greece, began to support the Greek rebels.

The Congress of Verona in 1822 and the intervention in Spain were essentially the last major acts of the Holy Alliance. After that, he virtually ceased to exist. The collapse of the Holy Alliance was due to two main reasons.

Firstly, within the union very soon contradictions between its main participants were revealed. When in December 1823 the Spanish king Ferdinand VII turned to the Holy Alliance for help in bringing his “rebellious” colonies in America to submission, England, interested in the markets of these colonies, not only declared a strong protest against all attempts of this kind, but also defiantly recognized independence American colonies of Spain (XII 31, 1824). This drove a wedge between the Holy Alliance and England. Somewhat later, in 1825 and 1826, on the basis of the Greek question, relations between Russia and Austria began to deteriorate - the two main pillars of the Holy Alliance, Alexander I (towards the end of his reign), and then Nicholas I supported the Greeks, while Metternich continued its previous line regarding the Greek "rebels". 4. IV 1826, the so-called St. Petersburg Protocol on coordination of actions in the Greek issue was even signed between Russia and England, clearly directed against Austria. Contradictions also emerged between other participants in the Holy Alliance.

Secondly, and this was especially important, despite all the efforts of the reaction, the growth of revolutionary forces in Europe continued. In 1830, revolutions took place in France and Belgium, and an uprising against tsarism broke out in Poland. In England, the violent movement of the popular masses forced the Conservatives to accept the electoral reform of 1832. This dealt a heavy blow not only to the principles, but also to the very existence of the Holy Alliance, which actually disintegrated. In 1833, the monarchs of Russia, Austria and Prussia tried to restore the Holy Alliance, but this attempt ended in failure (see Munich Convention).

Diplomatic Dictionary. Ch. ed. A. Ya. Vyshinsky and S. A. Lozovsky. M., 1948.

a reactionary association of European monarchs that arose after the fall of Napoleon's empire. 26. IX 1815 Russian Emperor Alexander I, Austrian Emperor Franz I and Prussian King Frederick William III signed the so-called in Paris. "Act of Holy Alliance". The real essence of the “Act”, designed in a pompous religious style, boiled down to the fact that the monarchs who signed it pledged “in every case and in every place ... to provide each other with benefits, reinforcements and assistance.” In other words, S. s. was a kind of mutual assistance agreement between the monarchs of Russia, Austria and Prussia, which was extremely broad in nature. 19.XI 1815 to S. p. the French king Louis XVIII joined; Later, most of the monarchs of the European continent joined him. England did not formally become part of the S. s., but in practice England often coordinated its behavior with the general line of the S. s. The pious formulas of the “Act of Holy Alliance” covered up the very prosaic goals of its creators. There were two of them: 1. To maintain intact the redrawing of European borders that was carried out in 1815 Congress of Vienna(cm.). 2. Conduct an irreconcilable struggle against all manifestations of the “revolutionary spirit.” In fact, the activities of S. s. focused almost entirely on the fight against the revolution. The key points of this struggle were the periodically convened congresses of the heads of the three leading powers of the United States, which were also attended by representatives of England and France. Alexander I and K. Metternich usually played the leading role at the congresses. Total congresses of the S. s. there were four - Aachen Congress 1818, Troppau Congress 1820, Laibach Congress 1821 And Congress of Verona 1822 (cm.). Powers of S. s. stood entirely on the basis of “legitimism,” that is, the most complete restoration of the old dynasties and regimes overthrown by the French Revolution and Napoleon’s armies, and proceeded from the recognition of an absolute monarchy. S. s. was a European gendarme who kept the European peoples in chains. This was most clearly manifested in the position of S. s. in relation to the revolutions in Spain (1820-23), Naples (1820-21) and Piedmont (1821), as well as the uprising of the Greeks against the Turkish yoke, which began in 1821. 19.XI 1820, shortly after the start of the revolution in Spain and Naples , Russia, Austria and Prussia at the congress in Troppau signed a protocol that openly proclaimed the right of intervention of the three leading powers of the Socialist Republic. into the internal affairs of other countries in order to fight the revolution. England and France did not sign this protocol, but did not go beyond verbal protests against it. As a result of the decisions taken in Troppau, Austria received the authority to armedly suppress the Neapolitan revolution and at the end of March 1821 occupied the Kingdom of Naples with its troops, after which the absolutist regime was restored here. In April of the same 1821, Austria forcibly suppressed the revolution in Piedmont. At the Congress of Verona (October - December 1822), through the efforts of Alexander I and Metternich, a decision was made on armed intervention in Spanish affairs. The authority to actually carry out this intervention was given to France, which actually invaded Spain on April 7, 1823 with an army of 100,000 under the command of the Duke of Angoulême. The Spanish revolutionary government resisted foreign invasion for six months, but in the end the interventionist forces, supported by the Spanish domestic counter-revolution, were victorious. In Spain, as before in Naples and Piedmont, absolutism was restored. S.'s position was no less reactionary. in the Greek question. When a delegation of Greek rebels arrived in Verona to ask Christian sovereigns and especially Tsar Alexander I for help against the Sultan, the congress even refused to listen to it. England immediately took advantage of this and, in order to strengthen its influence in Greece, began to support the Greek rebels. The Verona Congress of 1822 and the intervention in Spain were essentially the last major acts of the Socialist Revolution. After that, he virtually ceased to exist. Decay of S. s. was due to two main reasons. Firstly, within the union very soon contradictions between its main participants were revealed. When in December 1823 the Spanish king Ferdinand VII turned to S. s. for help in bringing its “rebellious” colonies in America to submission, England, interested in the markets of these colonies, not only declared a decisive protest against all attempts of this kind, but also demonstratively recognized the independence of the American colonies of Spain (XII 31, 1824). This drove a wedge between S. s. and England. Somewhat later, in 1825 and 1826, due to the Greek question, relations between Russia and Austria, the two main pillars of the Socialist Revolution, began to deteriorate. Alexander I (towards the end of his reign) and then Nicholas I supported the Greeks, while Metternich continued his previous line against the Greek "rebels". 4. IV 1826 between Russia and England the so-called. Petersburg Protocol on coordination of actions in the Greek issue, clearly directed against Austria. Contradictions also emerged between other participants of the S. s. Secondly, and this was especially important, despite all the efforts of the reaction, the growth of revolutionary forces in Europe continued. In 1830, revolutions took place in France and Belgium, and an uprising against tsarism broke out in Poland. In England, the rapid movement of the popular masses forced the Conservatives to accept the electoral reform of 1832. This dealt a heavy blow not only to the principles, but also to the very existence of the Socialist Union, which actually collapsed. In 1833, the monarchs of Russia, Austria, and Prussia tried to restore S., but this attempt ended in failure (see. Munich Convention).

A new Holy Alliance was awaiting. It was created on the initiative of the victor Napoleon and the Russian Emperor Alexander I. The creation of the holy union was assessed differently by contemporaries. But mostly Russia was accused of trying to control the situation in Europe. The Holy Alliance, or rather a coalition of countries, which, according to the emperor’s plans, was supposed to transform the post-war world, was born on September 14, 1815. The treaty was signed by the King of Prussia, Emperor Francis I of Austria, Louis XVIII and most of the continental monarchs. Only Great Britain did not officially wish to join the union, but took an active part in its work. The union also had opponents: the Turkish Sultan also ignored it.

The Holy Alliance of 1815 went down in history as a community of states whose original goal was to suppress impending wars. In fact, the struggle was against any revolutionary spirit, as well as political and religious free-thinking. The spirit of this coalition corresponded to the reactionary attitude of the then existing governments. Essentially, the Holy Alliance took monarchical ideology as its basis, but with a utopian dream of idealistic mutual assistance between ruling Christian sovereigns. “An empty and clear document” - that’s what the politician Metternich called it.

Alexander I, as the initiator of this coalition, called on the allies and emperors to join forces against military conflicts and proposed to rule among peoples in the spirit of truth and brotherhood. One of the points of the agreement was the requirement to strictly fulfill the commandments of the Gospel. The Russian emperor called on the allies to simultaneously reduce their armed forces and provide mutual guarantees of the inviolability of existing territories, and the 800,000-strong Russian army acted as a reliable guarantor in these progressive proposals.

The Holy Alliance of 1815 was a document consisting of a mixture of mysticism and nonsense. realpolitik, as historians later said about him, but for the first seven years this international organization was very successful and fruitful.

In 1820, Austrian Chancellor Metternich convened the Congress of the Holy Alliance in the city of Troppau. As a result of numerous debates, a decision was made that crossed out everything progressive that had been outlined earlier, namely, the countries that were part of the union were allowed to send friendly troops to the lands of other states for the armed destruction of revolutionary riots. This statement could be explained simply, because each state had its own aggressive interests and political goals in the post-war partition.

The creation of a sacred alliance, as well as fairly advanced ideas, could not stop the ever-increasing contradictions between the parties to the treaty.

One of the first conflicts was the Neapolitan conflict. Emperor Alexander insisted on the independence of the Kingdom of Naples, in which revolution was raging. He believed that the king himself would voluntarily give a progressive constitution to the people, but his treaty ally, Austria, had a different opinion. The Austrian military brutally suppressed revolutionary uprisings.

At the last Congress of Verona, the Holy Alliance of 1815, under the influence of Metternich, became a weapon of the monarchs against the discontent of the masses and any revolutionary manifestations.

The difficult year of 1822 showed disagreements between the countries of Austria and Russia in connection with the liberation uprising in Greece. Russian society supported the Greeks, since the state was of the same faith with it and, in addition, friendship with this state significantly strengthened Russia’s influence in the Balkans.

The following events in Spain undermined the foundations of the union and put an end to relations between the countries within the framework of this treaty. In 1823, French troops entered Spain with the aim of forcibly restoring the absolute monarchy there. The union actually ceased to exist, but in 1833 countries such as Russia, Prussia and Austria tried to restore the agreement again, but the revolutionary events of 1848-1849 forced this coalition to be forgotten forever.

A few days before Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, on June 9, 1815, Austria, England, Prussia, Russia, Switzerland and France signed the "Final Act" - the final document of the Congress of Vienna. This document consisted of 121 articles. It provided for the restoration of the French Bourbon dynasty in the person of Louis XVIII and the deprivation of France of all its conquests. Other European states significantly strengthened their positions: Switzerland received strategically important Alpine passes; in Italy the Sardinian kingdom was restored, to which Savoy, Nice and Genoa were annexed; Austria established its power over Northern Italy and Eastern Galicia, also gaining predominant influence in the German Confederation; the lands of the Duchy of Warsaw went to Russia, with the exception of Krakow, which was given the status of a “free city”; Prussia received North Saxony, the left bank of the Rhine, most of Westphalia, Swedish Pomerania and the island of Rügen; Holland and Belgium formed the Kingdom of the Netherlands; Sweden received the territory of Norway; England secured part of the former colonies of Holland and France.

After the signing of the Vienna agreements, the Austrian Foreign Minister Metternich said: “In Europe there is only one problem - revolution.” It is also noteworthy that Napoleon himself, a week after the defeat at Waterloo, said: “The powers are not at war with me, but with the revolution. They always saw me as its representative, a man of the revolution.”

Indeed, after the final overthrow of Napoleon, the desire to preserve the established international order arose and strengthened in Europe, and the means for this were the permanent union of European sovereigns and the periodic convening of international congresses. Russian Emperor Alexander I was an ardent supporter of this idea. On September 26, 1815, on his initiative, the formation of the Holy Alliance was announced, and the document was also signed by Emperor Francis I of Austria and King Frederick William III of Prussia. This treaty was subsequently gradually joined by almost all monarchs of Europe with the exception of Great Britain and Ottoman Empire. This union was intended to preserve the inviolability of the decisions of the Congress of Vienna of 1814-1815. and the system of international relations established by him. Based on the principle of supporting the ruling monarchical dynasties, the participants in this union fought against any manifestation of the revolutionary and national liberation movement in Europe.

In 1818-1822. A series of congresses of the Holy Alliance took place - in Aachen, Troppau, Laibach (modern Ljubljana), Verona, the participants of which expressed their readiness to fight any manifestation of revolutionary sentiments on the continent. Thus, Alexander I, contrary to public opinion in Russia, refused to support the uprising that began in 1821 in Greece against Ottoman rule.

Thus, at this time there was a regrouping of forces in Europe, as French hegemony was replaced by the political dominance of Russia, England and Austria. To a large extent, this balance of power contributed to the stabilization of international relations. The Vienna system lasted for more than forty years, and during this time Europe did not know significant bloody wars. Nevertheless, it, like most political associations, was characterized by the aggravation of contradictions between the great European powers and the desire of these states to expand the spheres of their political and economic influence.

JULIANA KRUDENER

Alexander left Vienna in 1815, without waiting for the completion of all the work of the Congress. By this time, by the way, he met an elderly lady imbued with mystical ideas, Baroness Juliana Krudener. Many historians and biographers of Alexander attached great importance to this meeting in relation to the strengthening of the religious-mystical mood that began to manifest itself noticeably in him at that time. And Alexander himself attached great importance to this acquaintance. But it must be said that a penchant for mysticism developed in him even before meeting Baroness Krudener, and one can think that it was thanks to this circumstance that Mme Krudener gained access to it. Apparently, the terrible events of 1812 gave a decisive impetus to the development of Alexander’s mysticism, but even before 1812 Alexander willingly talked with various monks and “holy people.” From Shishkov's notes we learn that in 1813, between reports on important state affairs, Shishkov, the Secretary of State, read to Alexander a selection of extracts from the ancient prophets, the text of which, as it seemed to them both, was very suitable for modern events - while both of them poured themselves tears from tenderness and excess of feelings. Since 1812, the Gospel was constantly with Alexander, and he often seemed to guess from it, opening pages at random and dwelling on the coincidence of individual texts of the Gospel with the external facts of the surrounding life. However, many people in Europe then indulged in such a mystical mood. It was especially popular to apply some expressions of the Apocalypse to Napoleon. The enormous spread of Freemasonry and Masonic lodges also marked a strong development of mysticism. The colossal world upheavals of that era obviously influenced the alarmed minds of contemporaries in this regard. Be that as it may, this mystical mood of Alexander in 1815 was not yet noticeably reflected in his socio-political views and did not entail any steps in the field domestic policy. Only the insightful La Harpe, even then, was extremely upset by this new inclination of Alexander.

In area foreign policy this inclination of Alexander - not without the participation of Baroness Krüdener - found for the first time a rather innocent expression in his proposal to his then allies to form a Holy Alliance of the Princes of Europe, which would contribute to international relationships ideas of peace and brotherhood. According to the idea of ​​this union, the sovereigns of Europe should treat each other as brothers, and their subjects as fathers; all quarrels and international misunderstandings must be settled peacefully. The Prussian king Frederick William reacted with some sympathy to this idea; the Austrian Emperor Franz, a Pietist, who was constantly in the hands of the Jesuits, signed this treaty only after consulting with Metternich, who said that although this was an empty chimera, it was completely harmless. The English Prince Regent could not sign this act without the consent of Parliament, but he politely expressed his sympathy for Alexander’s idea in a special letter. Then, little by little, all the sovereigns of Europe, except the Turkish Sultan and the Pope, entered into this union. Subsequently, in the hands of Metternich, this institution degenerated into an alliance of sovereigns against the restless peoples, but in 1815 the alliance did not yet have such significance, and Alexander was and showed himself then to be an obvious supporter of liberal institutions.

THE FATHERLAND IS IN DANGER!

As always happens when dividing the spoils, Napoleon's victors began to quarrel: Austria with Prussia - because of hegemony in Germany, Prussia with England - because of Saxony, and all of them with Russia - because of Poland, since tsarism wanted to annex the Duchy of Warsaw entirely to himself (“I conquered the duchy,” said Alexander I, “and I have 480 thousand soldiers to defend it”), and other powers were against the excessive strengthening of Russia. Disagreements escalated. On January 3, 1815, England, Austria and France entered into a secret agreement and outlined a plan for a military campaign against Russia and Prussia, which it was decided to open by the end of March. The commander-in-chief of the troops of the three powers, Prince K.F., was also appointed. Schwarzenberg. In such a situation, on March 6, the “brothers” of the monarchs learned amazing news: Napoleon left Elba and landed in France. Yes, having analytically compared the rejection of the Bourbons in France and the strife within the 6th coalition, Napoleon saw in this a chance for himself to return to the French throne. On March 1, with a detachment of 1,100 people, he landed in the south of France and in 19 days, without firing a single shot, he again subjugated the country. The Bourbons fled to Belgium. This is how Napoleon’s enchanting “Hundred Days” began.

The news of Napoleon's return frightened, but also rallied the coalition. They instantly cast aside all their feuds and, in the words of V.O. Klyuchevsky, “convulsively grabbed hold of Russia, of Alexander, ready to again be at his disposal.” On March 13, eight powers declared Napoleon “the enemy of humanity” and pledged to fight him until victory, thereby legally formalizing the 7th and final anti-Napoleonic coalition.

Napoleon this time did not want to raise France to the revolutionary war under the slogan “The Fatherland is in danger!” In a conventional war, he did not have enough strength to fight the 7th coalition. On June 18, at the Battle of Waterloo, the Allies defeated it. Napoleon was deposed for the second time and now exiled literally far away - to the distant and deserted, almost uninhabited island of St. Helena, where he spent the last 6 years of his life in strict isolation (he died there on May 5, 1821).

In the 50s of this century, the Swedish toxicologist S. Forshuvud established by bombarding Napoleon's hair with nuclear particles that the emperor died not from stomach cancer, as was believed throughout the world, but from gradual arsenic poisoning. According to Forshuvud, the poisoner was Count S.T. Montolon is a Bourbon agent.

The Congress of Vienna completed its work shortly before Waterloo. Its final act was signed on June 9, 1815. It satisfied the ambitions of all coalitionists. Russia received the lion's share of the Duchy of Warsaw under the name "Kingdom of Poland" (in the same 1815, Alexander I granted the Kingdom of Poland a constitution and autonomy within Russian Empire). Austria and Prussia divided the remaining part of the Duchy of Warsaw among themselves and acquired rich lands: Austria in Italy, Prussia in Saxony. England secured Malta, the Ionian Islands and a number of French colonies. As for France, it was reduced to the borders of 1792 and occupied for 5 years. The monarchs overthrown by the French Revolution and Napoleon returned to its throne, as to other European thrones (in Spain, Piedmont, the Roman region, Naples, and the German principalities).

Thus, the Congress of Vienna legitimized the restoration of feudal-absolutist orders in Europe. Since the people did not want to accept the old kings and opposed them, the organizers of the congress agreed to jointly suppress outbreaks of popular discontent anywhere. To this end, they decided to unite in the Holy Alliance.

ACT OF THE HOLY ALLIANCE (1815)

They solemnly declare that the subject of this act is to reveal to the face of the universe their unshakable determination, both in the government of the states entrusted to them, and in political relations with all other governments, to be guided by no other rules than the commandments, sowing the holy faith, the commandments of love , truth and peace...

On this basis he led them. agreed on the following articles:

Art. 1. According to the words of the sacred scriptures, which command all men to be brothers, there are three dogas. the monarch will remain united by the bonds of real and inextricable brotherhood and, considering themselves as if they were fellow citizens, they will, in any case and in every place, begin to give each other assistance, reinforcement and help; in relation to their subjects and troops, they, like fathers of families, will govern them in the same spirit of brotherhood with which they are animated to preserve faith, peace and truth.

Art. 2. Therefore, let there be a single prevailing right both between the mentioned authorities and their subjects: to bring services to each other, to show mutual goodwill and love, to consider themselves as members of a single Christian people, since the three allied sovereigns consider themselves to have been appointed by providence for the management of three single family branches, namely Austria, Prussia and Russia, thus confessing that the autocrat of the Christian people, of which they and their subjects form a part, is truly no other than the one to whom the power actually belongs, since in him alone treasures of love, knowledge and endless wisdom are found, that is, God, our Divine Savior, Jesus Christ, the word of the Most High, the word of life. Accordingly, their Majesties, with the most tender care, urge their subjects to strengthen themselves from day to day in the rules and active fulfillment of the duties in which the divine Savior instructed people, as the only means of enjoying peace, which flows from a good conscience and which alone is lasting.

Art. 3. All powers who wish to solemnly recognize the sacred rules set forth in this act and who feel how necessary it is for the participation of kingdoms that have been shaken for a long time, so that these truths will henceforth contribute to the good of human destinies, can all be willingly and lovingly accepted into this sacred union.