Where the Peace of Tilsit was signed. Peace of Tilsit
Prerequisites for an agreement
As of 1807, the situation in Europe looked very interesting - almost the entire continent was completely captured by French troops. In his autobiography, Napoleon wrote that for the complete conquest of Europe, the obligatory condition is the destruction of England. As for Russia, here he saw rather his ally than an enemy. It is likely that this was the key reason for the creation of the Tilsit world, why it even got its right to exist. Of course, everything is not limited to this, in fact, Napoleon himself hatched a plan for the destruction of England for a long time, and he would not have been able to defeat the enemy at sea. Thus, Napoleon decided to create a peace treaty with Russia, which would create a united front for combat operations with England. Alexander 1, in turn, was well aware that his coalition with Prussia, England and Sweden collapsed, as Napoleon won victory after victory, and the position of the allies became more and more precarious every day.Negotiation
On June 12, 1807, the French army, under the personal leadership of Napoleon, won a complete and unconditional victory over the Russian troops. Despite his victory, Napoleon decided to abandon the pursuit of his enemy, which only proved once again that an alliance with Russia is much more important to him than enmity. Napoleon offered peace, which convinced Alexander the First that France did not consider Russia as its own enemy. In general, the position of Russia at that time was extremely precarious. The last defeat of Alexander's army played a paramount role in this. As a result, he decided to put forward only two conditions of his own:
The meeting with France must take place on no-man's-land, independent land. Not on the territory of France, Russia and their satellites.
Russia does not recognize any claims to the geographical integrity of its side.
Napoleon nevertheless convinced the Russian ambassadors that both points put forward by Alexander would be fully implemented, without exception. Thus, he was the first to open the way for a meeting with the Russian emperor.
It was decided to hold negotiations between Russia and France on the Neman River, and in its middle. A special raft was installed there, where a tent was deployed. There both emperors of the greatest states met. The negotiations took place on June 25, 1807, and they became the basis for the signing of the Peace of Tilsit.
Judging by historical documents, one can find references to Alexander, where he assures Bonaparte that from the moment the peace agreement was created, England for both countries will be the only common enemy. Napoleon, in turn, noted that in this case there would be no problems in terms of creating a peace agreement between Russia and France.
This is what many history books say. However, none of them indicate the reasons why France and Russia waged war among themselves for a long six years, despite the fact that they had a common enemy and it seemed that all the agreements were observed, without any or disagreements.
The fate of Prussia
The negotiations themselves between the two emperors of the most powerful and strongest states at that time lasted no more than one hour. During this time, the emperor of Prussia stood and waited on the river bank. He hoped and counted on the fact that the Emperor of France would agree to receive him, so that they could jointly discuss the future fate of the German state. Despite this, Bonaparte was firm in his intention - Prussia must at all costs disappear from the face of the map of Europe. Actually, Napoleon proposed to Alexander, arguing that: “This is a vile nation, led by a vile monarch, in his submission a vile army. They have always betrayed everyone, and does not deserve to continue to exist.” Russia's participation in the war helped to preserve Prussia as a state. terms of the peace agreement
As it was said, the negotiations between the emperors of the two powers took place very quickly. Despite the fact that they lasted only one hour, they managed to agree on everything. The emperors stayed in Tilsitt for two whole weeks. Oddly enough, the emperors for this period of time were practically inseparable, like friends who have known each other since childhood. Of course, in this way they tried to create prospects for signing peace. Actually, the Tilsit peace was signed. His terms were:
Russia recognizes all territories conquered by Napoleon in Europe.
Russian troops join the continental blockade against England. This meant that Alexander completely breaks all trade and other agreements with England and forbids the entry of sea vessels into the territories owned by Russia.
A military alliance is signed between France and Russia, under the terms of which each power is obliged to support the other in the event of the outbreak of any kind of hostilities. For example, during offensive or defensive actions.
Polish lands departed from Prussia. A new state was created on this territory - the Duchy of Warsaw, which was directly dependent on France.
Russia without fail recognizes all proteges who were placed by Napoleon on the throne of various European powers.
France ceases to provide any assistance to Turkey, and Russia in response is obliged to withdraw its troops from the territory of Moldova and Wallachia.
Absolute recognition, by all parties to the agreements, created earlier by the Confederation of the Rhine.
Significance of the Peace of Tilsit
This is an extremely beneficial agreement for both countries. However, one cannot share the opinion of many different historians who attribute this to the success of domestic diplomacy. Many believe that Napoleon, having offered to conclude such an agreement, actually independently did all the necessary work for Alexander, offering extremely favorable and good conditions for him. Both countries were in an advantageous position. So, for example, Russia now could not worry about the fact that France would interfere in its confrontation with Turkey, respectively, we could better focus on this. Napoleon, in turn, could fully enjoy the peace that reigns in Europe. The only warring party remained - England and France began to actively prepare to fight it. The peace of Tilsit turned out to be extremely beneficial for the emperors of both countries, which they undoubtedly were glad about. Nevertheless, despite its positive "impact", the Treaty of Tilsit did not last so long - until 1812, when the Patriotic War began.
Having received news of her, he ordered Lobanov-Rostovsky to go to the French camp for peace negotiations.
Napoleon was in the Prussian town of Tilsit, on the banks of the Neman. On the opposite bank of the same river stood the Russian and the remnants of the Prussian army. Despite the Friedland defeat, Russia could well continue to fight France, but it became more and more evident that the European allies of the Russians in this and previous wars against the French behaved extremely self-servingly. The Austrians did not help Suvorov well in his Italian and especially Swiss campaigns, and they preferred to withdraw from the next war of the Third Coalition immediately after the battle of Austerlitz. Napoleon's main enemy in the West - England - generally preferred not to send armies to the land theater. Using her maritime predominance, she seized the French colonies, and sent only not too generous subsidies to the continental allies. Prussia turned out to be a very weak and indecisive partner.
Given all this, Alexander I decided to drastically change the course of his foreign policy, breaking off relations with his former unfaithful "friends" and drawing closer to his recent adversary, Bonaparte. Napoleon, who was very respectful of Russian power, happily accepted a new diplomatic combination, the essence of which was to Russia and France made an alliance for joint dominance over the European continent .
On June 25, 1807, the Russian and French sovereigns met on a raft in the middle of the Neman and talked alone for about an hour in a covered pavilion. The next day they met in the city of Tilsit itself. Napoleon proposed that Russia take over the east of Europe, leaving him supremacy in the west. After the victory over Prussia, Bonaparte was going to revise the internal German borders and make most of the German states dependent on him. Asking for the consent of Alexander I, in exchange he offered Russia to strengthen itself at the expense of Sweden (having taken away Finland from it) and Turkey (with which the Russians had started another war shortly before).
The peace of Tilsit was concluded by both emperors on these conditions on July 8, 1807. Negotiating the details of the agreement, Napoleon hoped to extract many benefits for France by the charming influence of his personality, but soon, not without surprise, he had to recognize the diplomatic skill of the king. Alexander, with his affectionate smile, soft speech, and amiable manner, was far from being as accommodating as his new ally would have liked. “This is a real Byzantine Greek!” [that is, a cunning, sophisticated and dexterous person] - Napoleon spoke about him to his entourage. Bonaparte, as they say, at first inclined to completely destroy Prussia, but Alexander persuaded him to keep about half of the former possessions for her king. In token of respect for the Russian emperor(en considération de l "empereur de Russie) Napoleon left old Prussia, Brandenburg, Pomerania and Silesia to the Prussian king. Of the territories taken from Prussia, Napoleon gave the provinces on the left bank of the Elbe to his brother Jerome, and the former Polish provinces to the Saxon king. All installed Napoleon in Germany, the monarchs were recognized by Russia and Prussia.
The main point of the Tilsit Treaty then remained a secret: Russia and France pledged to help each other in any war if one of the parties requests this. Napoleon's main European rival, England, fell into almost complete diplomatic isolation. Russia and France pledged to force the rest of Europe to comply with the anti-British trade continental blockade.
The peace of Tilsit was very beneficial for Russia. Thanks to him, it became possible for Finland to join Russia in war with the Swedes 1808-1809 and the continuation of the struggle against the Turks, which later ended with the conquest of Bessarabia and the strengthening of our influence in the Balkans. But the fact that Alexander I concluded the Treaty of Tilsit after a military defeat, reconciled with those who inflicted this defeat, made a painful impression on Russian society, accustomed to continuous victories over the years of Catherine II and Paul. In Russia, many (both then and even now) were inclined to consider this world imposed, forced. The treatise of Tilsit aroused strong patriotic opposition to Alexander in the highest circles of St. Petersburg, although the great benefits he brought to Russia were further expanded during the Erfurt meeting of the two emperors in 1808. The Patriotic War of 1812, to which, rather, the intransigence of not Napoleon, but Alexander I, was brought about, was subsequently looked upon in Russia as an event that smoothed over the “shameful” Peace of Tilsit. "Tilsit! At the sound of this offensive, Ross will not blush now, ”Pushkin wrote 14 years later. Nowadays, however, A. I. Solzhenitsyn more balanced points out in the work "The Russian Question" by the end of the 20th century":
... offended by England for its indifference, Alexander rushed into friendship with Napoleon - the Peace of Tilsit (1807). It is impossible not to recognize this step as the most advantageous for Russia at that time - and to stick to this line of neutral-favorable relations, ignoring the grumbling of the higher salons of St. would remain for Russia). - But even here Alexander did not want to remain inactive at all. No, the Peace of Tilsit and the outbreak of the Turkish War were not enough for Alexander: in the same 1807 he declared war on England; Napoleon "offered to take Finland" from Sweden - and Alexander entered (1808) into Finland and took it away from Sweden - but why? another unbearable burden on the Russian shoulders. And he did not want a truce with Turkey at the cost of withdrawing troops from Moldavia and Wallachia, again Russian troops in Bucharest. (Napoleon “offered” Russia and Moldavia-Wallachia, and, indeed, Turkey, to be divided together with France, to open the way for Napoleon to India), and after the coup in Constantinople, he was even more eager to attack Turkey. - But without all these rampant seizures - why was it not possible to hold on to the Peace of Tilsit, so beneficial to Russia, to remain alone from the European dump and strengthen and become healthy internally? No matter how Napoleon expanded in Europe (however,
On July 7, 1807, after the war of the fourth anti-Napoleonic coalition (1806-1807), in the city of Tilsit (now the city of Sovetsk in the Kaliningrad region), a peace treaty was concluded between Alexander I and Napoleon, which made the French emperor virtually the undivided master of all continental Europe.
After the defeat of the troops of the third anti-French coalition near Austerlitz, Austria withdrew from its composition, concluding an alliance treaty with Bonaparte. Russia, as part of the fourth coalition, which included Prussia and Great Britain, continued military operations against the Napoleonic troops. In the Battle of Friedland in the winter of 1807, the Russian army was defeated by the French and was forced to retreat. Military failures and the political situation forced Emperor Alexander I to negotiate with Napoleon, as a result of which a very favorable peace for France was concluded.
On June 25, 1807, a raft was built on the Neman River to meet the emperors, on which a face-to-face meeting took place, during which, in fact, everything was decided in general terms. After that, several more meetings took place between the heads of powers, and Alexander even attended a review of the French troops. On July 7, 1807, the Treaty of Tilsit was signed. On the one hand, this moment was the highest triumph of Napoleon, who became the ruler of Europe, and on the other hand, laid the foundation for his fall.
The Peace of Tilsit put the Russian Empire in a very disadvantageous position. According to this agreement, Emperor Alexander I was forced to make significant concessions. Russia joined the ruinous blockade of Great Britain; recognized Napoleon for all his conquests; pledged to withdraw troops from Moldova. And besides this, to recognize the formation of the Duchy of Warsaw, dependent on France.
It should be noted that, concluding the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807, Emperor Alexander I also achieved several concessions from Bonaparte. Russia got the Bialystok department as compensation. Danzig at this time becomes a free city, and a relative of Emperor Alexander, the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm III, gets back the old Prussia, Silesia and Pomerania.
The main point of the Treaty of Tilsit was not then published: Russia and France pledged to help each other in any offensive and defensive war, where circumstances so required. This close alliance eliminated Napoleon's only strong rival on the Continent; England remained isolated; both powers pledged by all means to compel the rest of Europe to comply with the continental system. The Peace of Tilsit raised Napoleon to the pinnacle of power, and put Emperor Alexander in a difficult position.
The economic consequences of the Peace of Tilsit were catastrophic for Russia. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire supplied grain, hemp, timber and much more to the European market. Due to the blockade of Great Britain, which accounted for the lion's share of Russian exports, the economy of the Russian Empire suffered enormous damage. Merchants and landowners were seriously affected. The continental blockade of England caused a decline in Russian trade by almost two times, and its treasury "lost weight" significantly.
The progressive strata of Russian society perceived the terms of this peace treaty as a slap in the face, and Napoleon was not called anything other than a usurper. The feeling of resentment in society was so great that the Patriotic War of 1812 was subsequently viewed precisely as an event that “smoothed out” the Tilsit Peace.
Plan
Introduction
1. History
2 Peace conditions
Introduction
The Peace of Tilsit was concluded on June 25, 1807 between Alexander I and Napoleon after the war of 1806 and 1807, in which Russia helped Prussia.
1. History
June 14, 1807 Napoleon defeated the Russian army of Bennigsen at Friedland. Alexander I, having received this news, ordered Lobanov-Rostovsky to go to the French camp for peace negotiations. General Kalkreit also appeared to Napoleon on behalf of the Prussian king, but Napoleon emphasized strongly that he was making peace with the Russian emperor. Napoleon at that time was on the banks of the Neman, in the town of Tilsit; the Russian army and the remnants of the Prussian stood on the other side. Prince Lobanov conveyed to Napoleon the desire of Emperor Alexander to see him personally.
The next day, June 25, 1807, both emperors met on a raft placed in the middle of the river, and for about an hour they talked face to face in a covered pavilion. The next day they saw each other again in Tilsit; Alexander I was present at the review of the French guards. Napoleon wanted not only peace, but also an alliance with Alexander and pointed out to him the Balkan Peninsula and Finland as a reward for helping France in her endeavors; but he did not agree to give Constantinople to Russia. If Napoleon counted on the charming impression of his personality, then he soon had to admit his calculations were too optimistic: Alexander, with his affectionate smile, soft speech, and amiable manner, was not at all as accommodating even in difficult circumstances as his new ally would like. "This is a real Byzantine" (fr. C'est un veritable grec du Bas-Empire) - Napoleon said to his entourage.
However, at one point, Alexander I showed himself ready to make concessions - regarding the fate of Prussia: more than half of the Prussian possessions were taken by Napoleon from Friedrich Wilhelm III. The provinces on the left bank of the Elbe were given by Napoleon to his brother Jerome. Poland was restored - however, not from all the former provinces, only parts of the Prussian under the name of the Duchy of Warsaw. Russia received as compensation the Bialystok department, from which the Bialystok region was formed. Gdansk (Danzig) became a free city. All the monarchs previously installed by Napoleon were recognized by Russia and Prussia. As a sign of respect for the Russian emperor (fr. en consideration de l'empereur de Russie) Napoleon left old Prussia, Brandenburg, Pomerania and Silesia to the Prussian king. In case the French emperor wished to add Hanover to his conquests, it was decided to reward Prussia with a territory on the left bank of the Elbe.
The main point of the Treaty of Tilsit was not then published: Russia and France pledged to help each other in any offensive and defensive war, where circumstances so required. This close alliance eliminated Napoleon's only strong rival on the Continent; England remained isolated; both powers pledged by all means to compel the rest of Europe to comply with the continental system. On July 8, 1807, the treaty was signed by both emperors. The Peace of Tilsit raised Napoleon to the pinnacle of power, and put Emperor Alexander in a difficult position. The feeling of resentment in the metropolitan circles was great. “Tilsit! .. (at the sound of this offensive / Now Ross will not turn pale),” Alexander Pushkin wrote 14 years later. Subsequently, the Patriotic War of 1812 was viewed precisely as an event that “smoothed out” the Peace of Tilsit. In general, the significance of the Peace of Tilsit was very great: from 1807, Napoleon began a much bolder reign in Europe than before.
2. Peace terms
· Russia recognized all the conquests of Napoleon.
· Accession of Russia to the continental blockade against England (secret agreement). Russia must completely abandon trade with its main partner (in particular, the terms of the peace treaty ordered Russia to completely exclude the export of hemp to the UK).
· Russia and France pledged to help each other in any offensive and defensive war, where circumstances so require.
· On the territory of the Polish possessions of Prussia, the Duchy of Warsaw was formed, dependent on France.
· The territory of Prussia was significantly reduced (Polish regions were torn away), although it was preserved as an independent state and turned into a state dependent on France.
· Russia withdrew its troops from Moldavia and Wallachia, conquered from Turkey.
· Russia secretly undertook not to interfere with Napoleon in establishing control over the Ionian Islands, and a few months later they became part of the Illyrian provinces of France.
· Recognition by Russia of Joseph Bonaparte as King of Naples and Ludwig Bonaparte as King of Holland, Jerome Bonaparte as King of Westphalia.
· Recognition by Russia of the Confederation of the Rhine.
Literature
· Schilder, "Imp. Alexander I" (1900)
· Vandal, "Alexandre I et Napoleon" (Par., 1897)
When writing this article, material from the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron (1890-1907) was used.
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