The main directions of Catherine's legislative policy 2. The domestic policy of Catherine II. List of used literature
Synopsis on the history of Russia
Catherine II spent a very vigorous foreign policy, which eventually turned out to be successful for the Russian Empire. Her government dealt with several major foreign policy tasks.
The first one was to go to the shores of the Black Sea and gain a foothold there, secure the southern borders of the state from Turkey and the Crimea. Growth of marketability of production Agriculture The country was dictated by the need to own the mouth of the Dnieper, through which it was possible to export agricultural products.
The second task required continuing reunification of Ukrainian and Belarusian lands.
In the 60s of the 18th century, a complex diplomatic game took place in Europe. The degree of rapprochement of certain countries depended on the strength of the contradictions between them.
Nowhere did the interests of Russia clash so sharply with the position of Britain and France as in the Turkish question. In September 1768, spurred on by France and Austria, Turkey declared war on Russia. Attempts by the Turkish army to break through deep into Russia were paralyzed by troops under the command of P.A. Rumyantsev. The campaign of 1768-1769 ended in failure for the Turks, but did not bring much success to the Russian army either. The turning point came only in 1770, when hostilities unfolded on the lower Danube. P.A. Rumyantsev, with a difference of several days, won two brilliant victories over the numerically superior enemy forces at Larga and Cahul (in the summer of 1770). Success was also achieved in the Caucasus: the Turks were thrown back to the Black Sea coast.
In the summer of 1770, the Russian fleet under the command of Alexei Orlov inflicted a crushing defeat on the Turks in the Chesme Bay. In 1771, Russian troops occupied the Crimea.
An attempt by Catherine II to conclude peace in 1772 was unsuccessful (the conditions of Turkey did not suit).
In 1773, the Russian army resumed hostilities. A.V. Suvorov took the Turtukai fortress on the southern bank of the Danube and in 1774 won a victory at Kozludzha. Rumyantsev crossed the Danube and moved to the Balkans. Turkey capitulated. In 1774, a peace treaty was signed in Kyuchuk-Kainardzhi, according to which the lands between the Bug and the Dnieper, including the sea coast, fortresses in the Crimea, were ceded to Russia, and the Crimean Khanate was declared independent. On the Black Sea, freedom of navigation was established for Russian merchant ships with the right to enter the Mediterranean Sea. Kabarda was annexed to Russia.
The liberated army was transferred to suppress the Pugachev uprising.
The fact that the peace treaty was only a respite was understood both in Russia and in Turkey. The question of Crimea remained controversial. The diplomatic struggle around him did not stop. In response to the intrigues of the Turkish government, Russian troops occupied the peninsula in 1783. Turkey, in an ultimatum form, demanded to return Crimea to it, to recognize Georgia as a vassal possession and to grant the right to inspect Russian merchant ships.
Russian-Turkish war 1787-1791 years began with an attempt by Turkey to land troops on the Kinburn Spit, but the attack was repulsed by troops under the command A.V. Suvorova. Then, in 1788, he takes the powerful fortress of Ochakov, after which the Russian army launched an offensive in the Danube direction, which resulted in two victories, at Rymnik and Focsany. The capture of the impregnable fortress of Izmail by Suvorov in 1790 significantly brought the conclusion of peace closer.
At the same time, the Russian fleet, under the command of one of the most prominent Russian naval commanders, Rear Admiral F.F. Ushakov, inflicted several defeats on the Turks in the Kerch Strait and near the islands of Tendra and Kaliakria. The Turkish fleet was forced to capitulate.
In December 1791, a peace treaty was signed in Iasi, which established the border between Russia and Turkey along the Dniester. Russia received Ochakov and Crimea, but withdrew its troops from Georgia.
The second foreign policy task is annexation of Ukrainian and Belarusian lands to Russia- was decided by the government of Catherine II through the so-called partitions of Poland, which were carried out jointly with Prussia and Austria.
In October 1763, the Polish King August III died. Russia took an active part in the election of a new king in order to prevent Poland from joining the coalition along with France, Turkey and Sweden. The situation was in favor of Russia, since England expected the conclusion of a profitable Russian-English trade agreement, Prussia was not inclined to quarrel with Russia after the end of the Seven Years' War, France was in a difficult economic situation. In Poland itself, the struggle of different groups for the throne unfolded. After a long struggle, on August 26, 1764, at the coronation Sejm, S. Poniatowski was elected the Polish king, with the support of Russia. The activity of Russia caused the displeasure of Prussia and Austria, who sought to increase their territories at the expense of Poland. This led to the partition of Poland, which began with the occupation of part of Polish territory by the Austrians.
The Prussian king Frederick II, who dreamed of increasing his lands at the expense of his neighbors, turned to Catherine II with a proposal for a joint division of Poland between Prussia, Austria and Russia. Since the forces of Russia were busy in the south in the war against Turkey, to refuse the proposal of Frederick II meant to transfer the initiative into the hands of Prussia. Therefore, in August 1772, the first agreement on the division of Poland between the three states was signed in St. Petersburg. Part of the Belarusian and Ukrainian lands went to Russia, to Austria - Galicia with a large trading city of Lvov, to Prussia - Pomerania and part of Greater Poland.
Second Partition of Poland preceded by an increase in connection with the revolution in France, revolutionary sentiment in Europe and, in particular, in Poland. In 1791, a constitution was introduced there, which, despite a number of shortcomings, was progressive, strengthened the Polish statehood, which was contrary to the interests of Russia, Prussia and Austria. In 1793, Russia and Prussia made a second partition: Russia received the central part of Belarus and the Right-Bank Ukraine; Prussia - the indigenous Polish lands of Gdansk, Torun, Poznan. Austria did not receive its share under the second title. The constitution of 1791 was repealed. The second partition practically made the country completely dependent on Prussia and Russia. The patriotic forces of society in March 1794 revolted.
The movement was led by one of the heroes of the war for the independence of North America T. Kosciuszko. After several victories won by the rebels, a significant part of the Russian troops left Poland. T. Kosciuszko promised to abolish serfdom and reduce duties. This attracted a significant part of the peasantry to his army. However, there was no clear program of action, the enthusiasm of the rebels was not enough for a long time.
It falls on the period from 1762 to 1796.
At this time, the Seven Years' War was coming to an end in Europe, and Russia was going through a period of rapprochement with Prussia and preparations for a war with Denmark, which Peter III was about to launch. Having come to power, Catherine II managed to remain neutral in the Seven Years' War, stop preparations for war with Denmark, and weaken and eradicate Prussian influence at her court.
Turkish question
The territories of the Black Sea, the North Caucasus and the Crimea were under the rule of Turkey. In 1768, under a far-fetched pretext (referring to the fact that one of the detachments of the Russian army entered the territory Ottoman Empire pursuing the Poles participating in the uprising of the Bar Confederation), the Sultan of Turkey announced the beginning of the Russian-Turkish war, which lasted 6 years.
However, Russia won the war, and the territory of the Crimean Khanate formally became independent, but in fact became dependent on Russia. In addition, under the terms of the peace treaty, the northern coast of the Black Sea went to Russia.
In an attempt to return these territories, Turkey unleashed another war (1787 - 1792), which she also lost, and was forced to cede Ochakov and Crimea to Russia. The result of these two wars was a significant expansion of the territory of the Russian Empire: now the border with the Ottoman Empire was moved to the very Dniester. In addition, as a result of skillful manipulations by the empress, who managed to put a pro-Russian ruler on the throne of the Crimean Khanate, the Crimean Khanate also became part of Russia.
Polish question
The formal reason for intervening in the internal affairs of the Commonwealth, which included the Kingdom of Poland, was the demand to equalize the rights of Orthodox and Protestants with Catholics. As a result of pressure from Catherine II, August Poniatowski occupied the Polish throne, which resulted in the discontent of the Polish gentry and the uprising of the Bar Confederation, which was suppressed by Russian troops. Prussia and Austria, realizing that Russian influence in Poland had increased significantly, offered the Russian Empire to divide the Commonwealth.
The first partition took place in 1772, as a result, Russia received part of the Latvian lands and the eastern part of Belarus. The next division occurred after the citizens of the Commonwealth appealed to Russia for help, who opposed the adoption of the Constitution of 1791. As a result of the division approved at the Grodno Seimas in 1793, Russia received the Right-Bank Ukraine and Central Belarus, including Minsk. And, finally, after the uprising of T. Kosciuszko, in 1795, the last, third partition took place, as a result of which the Commonwealth ceased to exist, and Russia expanded its territory by joining Western Belarus, Courland, Lithuania and Volhynia.
Georgian question
King Erekle II of Kartli-Kakheti turned to Russia to protect his state from the encroachments of the Persians and Turks, and the empress agreed, sending a small detachment to Georgia. After that, in 1783, the Russian Empire and the kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti signed an agreement (“Treaty of St. George”), according to which the kingdom became a protectorate of Russia in exchange for military protection.
Swedish question
Sweden, with the support of England, Holland and Prussia, invaded the territory of the Russian Empire, taking advantage of the fact that Russia was at war with Turkey. However, Russia managed to win here too, and as a result, sign the Treaty of Verel with Sweden (1790), according to the terms of which, the borders between the states remained unchanged.
Other countries
Foreign policy The empress was aimed not only at expanding the territory of the empire, but also at strengthening Russia's position in the international arena. First of all, it normalized relations with Prussia (a union treaty was signed in 1764), which later made it possible to create the so-called Northern System - an alliance of several European states, including Russia and Prussia, against Austria and France.
In October 1782, Russia signed an agreement on cooperation with Denmark. During the Austro-Prussian war (1778 - 1779) Catherine II acted as an intermediary between the parties, essentially dictating her terms of reconciliation, and thereby restoring balance in Europe.
failures
Like almost any politician, Catherine II also had plans that did not materialize. First of all, this is the Greek project - plans for the division of Turkish lands together with Austria, as well as Persian campaign with the aim of conquering large territories of Persia, and then Constantinople. The latter was not completed due to the death of the empress, although certain steps were taken.
Results and assessment
The territory of the Russian Empire during the reign of Catherine II expanded significantly due to the annexed and conquered territories, the colonization of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands began. The position of the empire in Europe was also strengthened through the conclusion of numerous cooperation agreements. However, historians are ambivalent about the foreign policy of the empress. Some argue that the destruction of the sovereignty of the Commonwealth was unacceptable.
Critical attitude to the methods of Catherine II and her successors, Paul I and, later, Nicholas I. Nevertheless, the tasks that Catherine II faced as the ruler of one of the most powerful powers, she successfully solved, even if the means she chose were always adequate and far-sighted.
In the second half of the XVIII century. Russia's foreign policy was focused on solving problems in two main directions: southern and western (Scheme 123).
First of all, this concerned the southern direction, where a sharp struggle took place with the Ottoman Empire for the Northern Black Sea region and it was necessary to ensure the security of the southern borders of Russia.
The implementation of the policy in the western direction was to strengthen the position of Russia in Europe and was associated with participation in the partitions of Poland, as well as with the opposition of France, in which in 1789-1794. happened bourgeois revolution and whose revolutionary influence the European monarchical states, and above all the Russian Empire, feared.
Scheme 123
Solving foreign policy problems related to southbound, became more complicated as a result of clashes with the Ottoman Empire, which led to two Russian-Turkish wars (Scheme 124).
Scheme 124
Russo-Turkish War 1768–1774 The reason for the war was the intervention of Russia in the affairs of Poland, which caused discontent in Turkey. Catherine II supported the Polish king Stanislaw Poniatowski in the fight against the opposition (members of the so-called Bar Confederation). Pursuing one of the detachments of the Confederates, the Russian Cossacks invaded Turkish territory and occupied a settlement there, located at the right tributary of the Southern Bug. In response, on September 25, 1768, Turkey declared war on Russia.
The fighting began in the winter of 1769, when the Crimean Khan, an ally of Turkey, invaded Ukraine, but his attack was repelled by Russian troops under the command of P.A. Rumyantsev.
Military operations were conducted on the territory of Moldova, Wallachia and at sea. The decisive year in the war was 1770, in which brilliant victories were won by the Russian army.
The fleet under the command of Admiral G.A. Spiridov and Count A.G. Orlov rounded Europe, entered the Mediterranean Sea and in the Chesme Bay off the coast of Asia Minor on June 24–26, 1770 completely destroyed the Turkish squadron.
On land, a number of victories were won by the Russian army led by P.A. Rumyantsev. He used a new infantry combat formation - a mobile square. The troops "bristled" on all four sides with bayonets, which made it possible to successfully resist the numerous Turkish cavalry. In the summer of 1770, he won victories on the tributaries of the Prut - the Larga and Kagul rivers, which made it possible for Russia to reach the Danube.
In 1771, Russian troops under the command of Prince V.M. Dolgorukov took the Crimea. In 1772–1773 an armistice was concluded between the warring parties and peace negotiations began. However, they ended up with nothing. The war has resumed. The Russians crossed the Danube, in this campaign brilliant victories in the summer of 1774 were won by the corps of A.V. Suvorov. Turkey started talking about making peace. On July 10, 1774, a peace treaty was signed at the headquarters of the Russian command, in the town of Kyuchuk-Kainarzhi.
Russian-Turkish war 1787–1791 The confrontation between Russia and the Ottoman Empire continued. The Turkish Sultan Selim III began to demand the return of the Crimea, the recognition of Georgia as his vassal and the inspection of Russian merchant ships passing through the Bosporus and Dardanelles. On August 13, 1787, having received a refusal, he declared war on Russia, which acted in alliance with Austria.
Military operations began with the repulse of an attack by Turkish troops on the fortress of Kinburn (not far from Ochakov). The general leadership of the Russian army was carried out by the head of the Military Collegium, Prince G.A. Potemkin. In December 1788, after a long siege, Russian troops took the Turkish fortress of Ochakov. In 1789 A.V. Suvorov, with lesser forces, twice achieved victory in the battles of Focsani and on the river. Rym - nike. For this victory, he received the title of count and became known as Count Suvorov-Rymniksky. In December 1790, the troops under his command managed to achieve the capture of the fortress of Izmail, the citadel of Ottoman rule on the Danube, which was the main victory in the war.
In 1791, the Turks lost the fortress of Anapa in the Caucasus, and then lost the naval battle at Cape Kaliakria (near the Bulgarian city of Varna) in the Black Sea to the Russian fleet under the command of Admiral F.F. Ushakov. All this forced Turkey to conclude a peace treaty, which was signed in Iasi in December 1791.
Strengthening the position of Russia in Europe in the second half of the XVIII century. was associated with the weakening of the Polish state and its division among the leading European powers (Scheme 125).
Scheme 125
Prussia initiated this process. Her king Frederick II offered Catherine II to divide the Commonwealth between her neighbors, especially since Austria had already begun the division, since her troops were located directly on the territory of this state. As a result, the St. Petersburg Convention of July 25, 1772 was concluded, which sanctioned the first partition of Poland. Russia received the eastern part of Belarus and part of the Latvian lands that were previously part of Livonia. In 1793, the second partition of Poland took place. Russia took possession of Central Belarus with the cities of Minsk, Slutsk, Pinsk and Right-Bank Ukraine, including Zhytomyr and Kamenets-Podolsky. This caused an uprising of Polish patriots in 1794 led by Tadeusz Kosciuszko. It was brutally suppressed by Russian troops under the command of A.V. Suvorov. The defeat of the rebels predetermined the third and final division of the Commonwealth. The lands of Courland, Lithuania, and Western Belarus were ceded to Russia. As a result, Russia captured more than half of all Polish lands. Poland lost its statehood for more than a hundred years.
The most important result of the divisions of Poland for Russia was not only the acquisition of vast territories, but also the transfer of the state border far to the west to the center of the continent, which significantly increased its influence in Europe. The reunification of the Belarusian and Ukrainian peoples with Russia freed them from the religious oppression of Catholicism and created opportunities for the further development of peoples within the framework of the Eastern Slavic socio-cultural community.
And finally, in late XVIII in. the main task of Russia's foreign policy was the struggle against revolutionary France (see Diagram 125). After the execution of King Louis XVI, Catherine II broke off diplomatic and trade relations with France, actively helped the counter-revolutionaries, and, together with England, tried to put economic pressure on France. Only the Polish national liberation uprising in 1794 prevented Russia from openly organizing an intervention.
Foreign policy of Russia in the second half of the 18th century. was active and expansionist in nature, which made it possible to include new lands in the state and strengthen its position in Europe.
She wanted to place the social life of Russia on a pan-European basis by a broad legislative reform and could not carry out her plan: instead of a general reform, the phenomena that we observed in the first half of the 18th century continued to develop in Russian life. However, not imitating either Peter or Elizabeth, Catherine imitated even less the German governments that were in Russia: under her, Russian people were in charge and Russia's interests were understood purely in Russian. Catherine was a national empress no less than Elizabeth.
And in external relations and clashes, Catherine did not seek to imitate any of her predecessors, and at the same time she knew how to understand the primordial tasks of Russian politics and therefore was a direct imitator of Peter. We have seen that of the three questions of Russian foreign policy that were on the agenda under Peter - Swedish, Polish and Turkish - Peter resolved only the first. His immediate successors did not allow either the second or the third. They were allowed by Catherine II, and although some people think that her decision was made with errors, nevertheless, Catherine cannot be deprived of the honor that she understood and happily completed what Peter did not have time to finish. By the time of Catherine, the task of Russia was to take the Crimea and the northern shores of the Black Sea from Turkey, in other words, to reach the natural geographical borders of the empire in the south. In relation to Poland, the tasks of Russia consisted in liberating the Orthodox-Russian population of Poland from Catholic-Polish rule, i.e., taking the Old Russian lands from Poland and reaching the ethnographic borders of the Russian nationality from this side. Catherine happily fulfilled all this: under her rule, Russia conquered the Crimea and the shores of the Black Sea and annexed all Russian regions from Poland, except for Galicia. This was the most important result of Catherine's foreign policy, which increased the population of the empire by 12 million souls; but this did not exhaust its content.
Assuming the throne, Catherine caught the end of the Seven Years' War in Europe, and in Russia - cooling towards Austria and rapprochement with Prussia, and finally, preparations for war with Denmark made by Peter III. By stopping them and maintaining neutrality in the Seven Years' War, Catherine destroyed the Prussian influence at the Russian court and tried to place herself outside of all alliances and diplomatic obligations. She wanted peace in order to strengthen her position, and avoided obligations in order to untie her hands regarding Poland, where the death of Augustus III was expected and where a king convenient for Russia should have been imprisoned. Meanwhile, the European courts were looking for an alliance with Russia in order to obtain favorable peace conditions with her help at the end of the Seven Years' War, and therefore Catherine needed great skill and a lot of work in order to get rid of everyone and not offend anyone. “With all the sovereigns of Europe, I behave like a skillful coquette,” Catherine said about herself. In fact, she failed to achieve her goal. The state of affairs forced Catherine to ally with Prussia, fight in Poland and accept the war with Turkey, declared as a result of the intrigues of France. These were the main external events first half of Catherine's reign. All of them were dependent on one another and on the external state of affairs in Europe. At first glance, they have a lot of random. But Catherine was not guided only by chance and fleeting considerations. From the very first years of her policy, she had a certain political system, and, responding to this or that political accident, she conformed to the requirements of her system. This system was born in the head of the Russian German diplomat Korf, was developed by Panin and adopted by Catherine. The system was known under the peculiar name of the "Northern Accord" and was a great utopia in content. Korf and Panin wished "in the north to form a noble and strong alliance of powers" of Russia, Prussia, Poland, England and other northern states and, with the aims of peace, oppose it to the French-Austrian alliance. It was impossible to wait for all the northern states, which had many accounts and displeasures among themselves, to be able to draw closer into a strong and lasting alliance. However, the idea of the "Northern Accord" was the reason for breaking the traditional alliance between Russia and Austria, which had been held since the time of Peter the Great. In 1764 Russia entered into an alliance with the enemy of Austria, Frederick of Prussia, for joint action in Poland.
We will not dwell on the external details of the military and political events of Catherine's time, which were very well known. Regarding the first partition of Poland, we only note that in those religious and political unrest that began in Poland with the death of Augustus III and the accession to the throne of Augustus IV (Poniatowski), Russia was interested more than other neighbors of Poland, because she had to simultaneously defend two kinds of interests: political and religious-national. As a European power neighboring Poland, Russia did not want any changes in Poland and by the treaty of 1768 guaranteed the Polish king the immutability political system Poland. But as an Orthodox state, Russia a year earlier achieved an important reform in the Polish state system: all political rights for non-Catholics. The duality of interests thus created a duality of politics: while defending Orthodoxy in Poland, Russia at the same time guaranteed the inviolability of the rights of the Polish lords over Orthodox peasants. At the same time, Russia's persistent interference in Polish life created another inconvenience - the fear of an excessive strengthening of Russia. France, which acted against Russia right in Poland itself, also acted through Turkey: it incited Turkey to go to war, and from 1769 Russia's forces were divided between the two enemies.
Russian-Turkish war 1768-1774. Map
Both wars dragged on, but ended successfully for Russia, despite the fact that France and Saxony helped the Polish confederates, and Austria wanted to help Turkey. The forces of the confederation were destroyed, the movement died down, and, taking advantage of a convenient moment, Frederick of Prussia launched his favorite thought of dividing Poland between her neighbors: Russia, Prussia and Austria. This thought was old; Peter I was already familiar with the partition plans and did not sympathize with them. But Catherine agreed to the division because she was under strong pressure from Prussia and Austria, she could not rebuff them, being at war with Turkey. Following S. M. Solovyov, we tend to think that, having received in 1772-1773. Belarus, Catherine was not happy with the outcome of the case, because she felt all the bitterness of involuntary, forced concessions to her ally Prussia, and obviously hostile Austria. Panin, whose system was violated by the partition of Poland and the participation of Austria in it, could hardly be satisfied either.
Partitions of Poland. Map
But the empress could be pleased with the successes against the Turks. Despite a number of political difficulties, the war was carried out vigorously by Russia. The Russian fleet traveled all over Europe, appeared in the Archipelago, angered Morea against the Turks and won victories over them. True, he could not, as was supposed, pass into the Black Sea, for the Turks fortified the Dardanelles; but the effect of the brilliant maritime enterprise was complete both in Turkey and in Europe. No less brilliant were the victories of Rumyantsev, who even crossed the Danube [see. articles Battle of Larga and Battle of Cahul], and book. Dolgoruky, who occupied the entire Crimea. The peace of 1774 gave Russia the shores of the Black and Azov Seas and made the Crimean Khan independent from Turkey. The result of these conditions was the annexation of the Crimea in 1783. Thus, the goal was achieved: natural borders were acquired in the south.
The year 1774 ended the first, difficult and anxious period of Catherine's wars. The complex diplomatic combinations directed against Russia during these wars have lost their sharpness and danger. The military power of Russia was proved and gave Russian diplomacy a very confident tone, a high sense of dignity and a sense of the strength of the state it represented. Catherine and her assistants (especially G. A. Potemkin) developed grandiose plans for conquest, the so-called "Greek project" was ripening. It was to conquer Turkey, which already seemed to be a very weak state, and in its place to restore the Greek Empire with the Russian government. The history of this project, perhaps, is in connection with the ancient Russian dreams of capturing Constantinople and with the plan of the Turkish war of Peter in 1711. Taken separately, the Greek project seems to be a brilliant dream, but an impossible deed; however, preparations were underway for this matter: the Crimea was occupied, the Black Sea Territory (New Russia) was colonized and arranged, the Black Sea Fleet was started. For actions against Turkey, Catherine even entered into an alliance with Austria and left the alliance with Prussia.
Russian-Turkish war 1787-1791. Map
This change of alliance in 1787, and the warlike designs of Russia, were the cause of new wars that fell on Russia during the second half of Catherine's reign. Prussia and England, her ally, raised Turkey to a new war with Russia (1787-1791) and challenged Sweden (1788-1790) to the same. The Swedish war ended in nothing, Russia received Ochakov from Turkey. These wars had not yet ended, when Catherine had to intervene in Polish affairs. On May 3, 1791, a new state system was proclaimed in Poland with the secret sympathy and participation of Prussia in this coup. But Russia, which guaranteed the inviolability of the old Polish system, immediately sent troops to Poland. In 1793, the Prussians joined the Russian troops, and the second partition of Poland was carried out, giving Russia 4,500 square miles. When in Poland there was an attempt to restore the former borders, then in 1795 the final destruction of the Polish state followed. Under the third section, Russia received Lithuania and Courland. This ended the second series of Catherine's wars, which brought new conquests to Russia. Russian lands, for many centuries under the rule of Lithuania and Poland, returned to Russia; too much was taken. But Red Russia, or Galicia, was given to Austria.
Such, in brief, is the content of Catherine's foreign policy and the results she achieved. With the constant influence of the Western powers, with very complex political difficulties, Catherine's diplomacy was not always able to achieve what she was striving for, did not always clearly realize what she should strive for - in a word, she suffered failures and made mistakes, but completed with a successful end the centuries-old aspirations of our tribe and, finishing the solution of old problems, hastened to set new ones, such as the "chord" and the Greek project, which did not always follow from the real needs of the time and the people, but sometimes were close to the people's cause.
The main directions of foreign policy. During the reign of Catherine II, Russia managed to get closer to solving the foreign policy tasks that the country had been facing for many decades.
The weakening of the military power of Turkey and the Crimea made it increasingly possible to ensure Russia's access to the Black Sea.
Russia's allied relations with Austria and Prussia created an opportunity for the return of Ukrainian and Belarusian lands to Russia, which had been located since the 14th century. in part of the Polish-Lithuanian state.
The task of ensuring the security of Peter's conquests in the Baltic remained.
The Great French Revolution caused the creation of the first anti-French coalition under the auspices of Catherine II.
All these factors determined the main directions of Catherine's foreign policy II.
Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774. The Russian-Turkish wars of the second half of the 18th century were explained not only by Russia's desire to reach the Black Sea, but also by the no less desire of Turkey itself to expand its possessions in the Northern Black Sea region at the expense of Russia.
In 1768, the Russian-Turkish war broke out. Turkey started it. The cavalry of the Crimean Khan began to advance from the south to the steppe regions of Ukraine. A huge Turkish army was concentrated on the Dniester River to attack Kiev. In addition to heavily fortified fortresses in the Balkans, Turkey relied on its large and well-armed fleet operating in the Black and Azov Seas.
On the initial stage war battles went on with varying success - the surprise of the attack and the superiority of Turkey in force affected. The chances of victory increased after the appointment of the illustrious commander, who distinguished himself during the Seven Years' War, P. A. Rumyantsev, as the commander-in-chief of the Russian army. In September 1769, the troops led by him entered Iasi, and then Bucharest. Another part of the Russian army, operating in the lower reaches of the Don and in the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov, occupied Azov and Taganrog. At the same time, a military detachment was sent to help the Georgian population, who had raised an uprising against the Turks in Imeretin.
In July 1770 The Turkish army was defeated by Rumyantsev's troops near the Larga River. A few days later, near the Kagul River, a 17,000-strong Russian detachment defeated the main forces of the Turkish army, numbering 150,000 people.
Meanwhile the squadron Baltic Fleet under the command of A. G. Orlov and G. A. Spiridova rounded Europe and on July 5, 1770, in the Chesme Bay, completely destroyed the Turkish squadron. Landing forces were landed from Russian ships, which, together with the Greek partisans, fought successfully against the Turks.
In 1772, he was transferred from the Commonwealth to the Danube army. Alexander Vasilievich Suvorov. The troops led by him in 1773 occupied Turtukai with a swift blow and crossed the Danube.
Having suffered a complete defeat, Turkey was forced to sue for peace. The Russian army was ready to continue the war. But the peasant war that flared up in the country forced the government to make peace. Under an agreement concluded by P. A. Rumyantsev in the town of Kyuchuk-Kainardzhi in 1774, the territory between the Southern Bug and the Dnieper with the fortress of Kinburn, the fortress of Kerch and Yenikale on the Sea of Azov, Kabarda in the North Caucasus was annexed to Russia. Turkey was also forced to recognize the independence of the Crimean Khanate and the right of the Russian fleet to unhindered passage through the Black Sea straits to the Mediterranean.
However, both parties viewed this treaty as temporary. They were preparing for a new war for the Northern Black Sea region.
Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1791. Another Russo-Turkish war broke out in 1787. The reason for it was the events in the Crimea, where there was a coup in favor of an open protege of Turkey and an enemy of Russia. In response to this, in 1783, Catherine II issued a manifesto on the cessation of the existence of the Crimean Khanate and the annexation of its lands to Russia. As a result, the entire Crimea and part of the North Caucasus became part of Russia. In summer 1787 In the 18th century, Catherine undertook a demonstrative journey to the Crimea (Tavrida), accompanied by the Austrian emperor.
All this caused a storm of indignation in Turkey. In July 1787, the Sultan presented an ultimatum to Russia, in which he demanded the return of the Crimea, the restoration of Turkish power in Georgia and the inspection of Russian ships passing through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles. Russia refused. In August, the Sultan declared war on Russia, which lasted four years.
Russia's military superiority became immediately apparent. In the autumn of 1787, the Turks landed a large landing on the Kinburn Spit at the mouth of the Dnieper. The troops defending Kinburn under the command of Suvorov defeated and destroyed the landing force. In 1788, troops under the command G. A. Potemkina captured the fortress of Ochakov.
In the summer of 1789, decisive battles took place at Focsani and Rymnik, during which Suvorov's troops defeated the Turks, who were numerically superior to them.
The main event of the final stage of the war was the siege and capture of the seemingly impregnable fortress of Ishmael, which was defended by 35 thousand people. The commandant of Ishmael self-confidently declared that "the sky would soon fall to earth" than the enemy could take this fortress.
The first assault attempts did not really bring success to the Russian troops. Only after the appointment of Suvorov as commander did things move forward.
The famous commander began to prepare troops for the assault. Life-size models of the fortress were created, stairs for the assault were prepared, soldiers were taught to overcome obstacles. The troops literally trained day and night. "It's hard in teaching - it's easy in battle," said Suvorov.
After artillery preparation on December 11, 1790, the assault on the fortress began. The battle went on for ten hours, after which the impregnable Ishmael fell. The Turks lost 26 thousand of their soldiers. The losses on the part of the storming Russians amounted to 2 thousand people. One of the advancing columns was commanded by Major General M. I. Kutuzov.
In the summer of 1791, Russian troops finally defeated the Turkish army.
in the Balkans. At the same time, the young Russian Black Sea Fleet, led by Fedor Fedorovich Ushakov defeated the Turkish squadron in the Kerch Strait.
Turkey was finally defeated and asked for peace. According to the Iasi Peace Treaty of 1791, the Dniester River became the border between the two countries. Turkey recognized all the conquests of Russia in the Northern Black Sea region.
Russia not only got access to the Black Sea, but also became a great Black Sea power. The development of the fertile Black Sea lands began, the construction of many ports and cities on them.
Greek project of Catherine II. Immediately after the end of the first war with Turkey, Catherine II, inspired by the successes, and her favorite, G. A. Potemkin, drew up a plan for further actions against the enemy, weakened by failures. It was assumed that Turkey would be driven back from Europe, and the Greek Empire with its capital in Constantinople would arise on the liberated Balkan lands. Catherine named her second grandson, born in 1779, Constantine in honor of the great Byzantine emperor. In the future, she wanted to see him as the head
Greek Empire. From the eastern Danubian principalities, the empress planned to create a buffer state of Dacia, and transfer the western principalities to Austria (with which she was going to oust Turkey from Europe). This plan caused a great stir in the European capitals, since its implementation (which was quite possible) would cause an unusual strengthening of Russia's already strong position in Europe. Ekaterina did not have time to implement these plans.
Russia's participation in the sections of the Commonwealth. Allied with Russia, Austria and Prussia have repeatedly proposed to Russia to undertake the division of the weakening Commonwealth. Catherine II did not go to him due to the fact that the Polish king at that time was her protege Stanislav Ponyatovsky. However, after the victories of Russia during the Russian- Turkish war In 1768-1774, there was a very real threat of concluding an alliance between Turkey and Austria for a joint struggle against it. And then Catherine agreed to the division of the Commonwealth. IN 1772 Russia, Austria and Prussia divided among themselves part of the territories of this state. Prussia occupied Pomerania, Austria - Galicia, and Russia - eastern Belarus and part of Livonia.
The second partition, in which Prussia and Russia participated, took place in 1793. The reason for it was the revolutionary events in France. The entire Baltic coast of Poland with Gdansk and Greater Poland with Poznan went to Prussia, and Belarus with Minsk and Right-Bank Ukraine went to Russia. This meant that many ancient Russian lands became part of Russia.
Meanwhile, an uprising began in Poland under the leadership of Tadeusz Kosciuszko, directed against the division of Polish lands by neighboring states. Taking advantage of the victories of the rebels, Russia, Austria and Prussia again brought their troops into the Commonwealth and suppressed the uprising. It was decided that the Polish state, as a source of "revolutionary danger", should cease to exist. This meant the third partition of Poland, which took place in 1795. The lands of central Poland with Warsaw went to Prussia. Austria received Lesser Poland with Lublin. The main part of Lithuania, Western Belarus and Western Volhynia went to Russia, and the inclusion of Courland into Russia was also confirmed.
War with Sweden. In the midst of the Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1791, the Swedish king, taking advantage of the difficult situation in Russia, made a last attempt to return part of Peter's conquests. In addition to demanding the return of the entire Baltic coast conquered by Russia, he demanded that Catherine return to Turkey (with whom he acted in alliance) all of her Black Sea acquisitions. Military operations began in 1788 and went on with varying success in Finland and the Baltic Sea. The fate of the war was decided by Vyborg naval battle in June 1790, which ended with the victory of the Russian fleet. In July, a peace treaty was signed. The war ended without changing the borders between the two countries. Its main result was the conclusion of allied relations between Russia and Sweden, which meant the final recognition by the Swedes of the results of the Northern War.
The policy of "armed neutrality". In 1775, the British colonial war for independence began in North America. England turned to Russia with a request to hire Russian troops to take part in the fight against the American rebels. In response, Catherine II not only refused this, but later recognized the independence of the United States of America. In 1780, Russia adopted a declaration of "armed neutrality", according to which the ship of any neutral state is under the protection of all neutral states. This position was in the hands of the inhabitants of the American colonies. This greatly offended the interests of England and could not but worsen Russian-British relations. But at the same time, the foundation was laid for the development of ties between Russia and America.
The struggle of Catherine II with revolutionary France. The revolutionary events in France alarmed Catherine from the very beginning. She was hostile to the convocation of the Estates General on May 5, 1789, and especially to the taking of the Bastille on July 14. The Empress declared that she could not allow shoemakers to rule the state in any corner of Europe. She was even more disturbed by reports that some of the representatives of the Russian aristocracy who studied in Paris took part in the revolutionary events of those days. She soon demanded that all her subjects leave France.
On behalf of Catherine, the Russian ambassador in Paris was preparing an escape Louis XVI and his family. However, this escape failed, and soon the king and queen of France were executed. The Empress fell ill, and the court was dressed in mourning. Since then, Russia began to form an anti-French coalition of European states and prepare an invasion of revolutionary France. Diplomatic and trade ties between Russia and France were severed. The French nobility, who was in exile, began to gather in St. Petersburg, headed by the brother of the executed king. In 1795, the first agreement was concluded between England and Russia to send troops to France. Russia was supposed to put up a 60,000-strong army led by Suvorov, and England provided large financial resources for waging war. However, on November 6, 1796, Empress Catherine died, and the campaign did not take place.
The results of Catherine's foreign policy. The foreign policy of Catherine the Great led to a significant increase in the territory of Russia. It included the Right-Bank Ukraine and Belarus, the southern Baltic, the Northern Black Sea region, many new territories in Far East and in North America. The inhabitants of the Greek islands and the North Caucasus swore allegiance to the Russian Empress. The population of Russia has increased from 22 million to 36 million people.
Another important result of the foreign policy of Catherine II was the beginning of the transformation of Russia from a great European into a great world power. “I don’t know how it will be with you, but with us not a single gun in Europe dared to fire without our permission,” said Catherine’s Chancellor Count A. Bezborodko. The Russian fleet now plied not only the coastal seas, but also the Mediterranean, the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, supporting the foreign policy of Russia in Europe, Asia and America with the power of its guns.
However, the greatness of Russia cost its people a colossal effort and huge material and human losses.
