Alexander I and the Napoleonic Wars

Foreign policy is the sphere in which Alexander I most clearly and fully showed his personal initiative.

When trying to paint a portrait and characterize a person with such a position as the Russian tsar or in general the ruler of a vast state, many special conditions have to be overcome.

We have to overcome the deceptions of the historical perspective, temper the brilliance of artificial halos and the temptations of those exaggerations that distort all dimensions.

Wearing round hats, pantaloons and tailcoats, which appeared almost on the second day after Paul's death. seemed to many, and quite sincerely, the beginning of a new era and the joyful radiance of the ascended freedom.

He sometimes spoke intelligently and efficiently, however, almost without putting these words into action, he was charming in personal relationships.

How much has Russia gained from this, however? However, Alexander did not know Russia, and, perhaps, did not want to know. Like his grandmother, he was an actor, but he played mainly not for Russia, but for Europe. Vallotton A. Alexander 1. -M., 1966, p. 98

What will Europe say? - this question occupied him first of all.

What will Russia say? - this question was neither so clear to him, nor so simple, nor so interesting. What is Russia?

Alexander knew the Russian nobility, mainly its upper stratum. He did not love him and despised him.

Alexander closely saw the nobility creeping before the favorites of Catherine, he saw and knew all her servility, he saw too many examples of meanness, venality, disgusting servitude, he knew how she, this noble, robbed and plundered the unfortunate country. Finally, he knew that these noble slaves, by means of a military conspiracy, had elevated his grandmother to the throne, helped her kill her grandfather and killed her father.

There was almost no third estate in Russia yet, and merchants were considered a class of swindlers. And then there was the peasant and working serf mass, people who could be bought, sold and exchanged for dogs, yes, having put on soldiers' uniforms, beaten with sticks.

The crowned esthete could treat this dark mass only with truly lordly disgust. and at best with offensive pity, not devoid of the same sense of disgust. It was even somehow awkward in front of Europe that he had to reign over such a mass of “half-wild slaves”. Zaichkin I. Russian history from Catherine II to Alexander II. -M., 1994, p. 36

Before Austerlitz, Alexander sends to Napoleon for negotiations his beloved Adjutant General Prince. Dolgorukov, who, according to Napoleon, spoke to him in such a tone as if Napoleon was a boyar who was going to be exiled to Siberia. Of course, nothing came of these negotiations, the battle became inevitable, although Napoleon then quite sincerely did not want war with Russia. Unfortunately, Alexander did not heed any advice from his friend Czartoristy.

The Russian generals, headed by Kutuzov, saw the complete uselessness of this paper plan and foresaw the inevitability of defeat. Moreover, the Russian troops, as usual, were hungry and barefoot, were forced to feed on requisitions and turned the population against themselves. Lubosh S. The Last Romanovs. -Petrograd, 1924, p. 34

But Alexander's autocratic will, as usual, did not want to reckon with anything and with anyone, and as a result, one of the most brilliant victories of Napoleon and one of the most decisive defeats was the alliance of the peaks, the Austrians and the Russians. Alexander himself only accidentally was not taken prisoner by Napoleon.

At the same time, it is remarkable that the Austrians, for whom the Russians fought, lost six thousand people and the Russians about 21,000 ...

After fighting for another two years in the interests of Prussia, which had already abandoned the alliance with Napoleon, and having suffered a severe defeat at Friedland, Alexander finally became convinced that he could not save Prussia with military forces, and decided to make peace with Napoleon.

Less than a month after the Friedland defeat, the Tilsit rendezvous, humiliating for Alexander, took place, which began the well-known four-year tragicomedy of the Franco-Russian alliance.

Two of the greatest deceivers of their time, two of the greatest seducers he knows world history For several years in a row, the launches, under the guise of the closest friendship, tried in every possible way to deceive, bypass, deceive, betray and seduce each other.

A third player intervened in the twelve-year struggle, which was waged continuously, with superhuman energy, first by the general of the revolutionary army, then by the first consul and, finally, by the emperor of the French against the economic dominance of England.

The ingenious adventurer, whose soul was enveloped in the fiery pathos of the revolution, its swiftness, all the tension of its energy, the true son of the new time, met in a game, in the person of the Russian emperor, a wonderful partner.

One is the whole embodiment of new times, the brightest representative of the third estate, all the energy, calculation, all the intense will aimed at the outside world, at its conquest. Zaichkin I. Russian history from Catherine II to Alexander II. -M., 1994, p. 36

Everywhere he brings with him the destructive principles of the revolution, before him all the walls and dilapidated strongholds of obsolete feudalism fall. He resembles some oil or railway king of our days, the head and director of a world trust that sets prices, dictates his will to markets and stock exchanges, ruining some, enriching others along the way; he wins concessions, holds world connections in his hands, provokes wars and dictates the terms of peace.

Napoleon anticipated this type of business man, covering the whole world, entangling all countries with a net of his interests.

Napoleon wielded the old means, armies and military force, but he managed to give these old forces new organization, he introduced new methods of struggle, and these methods were mastered by those leaders of world capitalism, whom he was a forerunner.

Napoleon was a genuine product of the spirit of the revolution, on its flaming furnace he received his steel temper, she informed him of this eagle's scope, this pathos, which he was able to fetter with strict, precise and cold calculation and consideration of forces.

And Alexander had to meet with this embodiment of a new historical era.

And Alexander had a will, but this will was directed inward and served only the cause of self-preservation and the protection of his personality. Pavlov's heredity was reflected in Alexander's passion for feeling - in the idea, he denied him a self-sufficient autocracy.

Alexander I and Napoleon

So much has been written about these two emperors that it is hardly possible to say anything new. Despite the huge literature, they still argue about the personalities of Alexander I and Napoleon and try to say something new, unknown, sometimes bordering on absurdity. But even if contemporaries did not give an exhaustive description of these two absolutely extraordinary personalities, now it is difficult to find the truth. Although, as the poet said, “you can't see a face face to face. Great things are seen from a distance ... "

The author of the article does not take the liberty of claiming that he is saying something original, he only joins those authors whose opinion about these individuals he considers the closest to himself. In particular, this is the opinion of N.A. Troitsky, expressed by him in the monograph "Alexander I and Napoleon": "Historians made the revolutionary General Bonaparte the enslaver of Europe, and the feudal autocrat Alexander its liberator."
Also, the author does not agree with the assessment of Napoleon L.N. Tolstoy, given by him in the novel "War and Peace".

Napoleon Bonaparte

About Napoleon... "Many dreamed of seeing him as a god, few as Satan, but everyone considered him great."

The phenomenal personality of Napoleon has been studied comprehensively, but no one can say that it has been exhausted to the end.

Here is what N.A. Troitsky: “The first thing in him that amazed everyone who communicated with him was the power of his intellect. “When you talk with the Emperor Napoleon, the chancellor testified Russian Empire N.P. Rumyantsev - you feel as smart as this his it pleases ".

"V. Goethe talked with Napoleon on literary topics. Subsequently, he wrote that “the emperor interpreted the subject in such a tone, which was to be expected from a person of such an immense mind,” and in general, something “that could confuse him simply did not exist. In this, Napoleon was helped by phenomenal erudition, adequate to his natural endowments. For all his daily employment with an abyss of affairs, he managed to read an incomprehensible amount - all his life, in any conditions, constantly ”.

Alexander I

About AlexanderI.“The ruler is weak and crafty”, according to Pushkin, and “the shepherd of nations,” according to S. Solovyov.

But P. Vyazemsky said more precisely about Alexander I: “The Sphinx, which has not been solved until the grave, is still being argued about today…”.

From his grandmother Catherine II, the future emperor inherited the flexibility of mind, the ability to seduce the interlocutor, a passion for acting, bordering on duplicity. In this, Alexander almost surpassed Catherine II. "Be a man with a stone heart, and he will not resist the conversion of the sovereign, this is a real deceiver," wrote M. M. Speransky.

The path to power

AlexanderI

The formation of his character was strongly influenced by intra-family relations: his grandmother, Catherine II, who took the boy away from his father and mother and took him into foster care, hated his father (her son Paul I) and tried to raise her grandson in the intellectual atmosphere of her court and in the spirit of the ideas of the Enlightenment ... She raised the boy in her own image and likeness as the future emperor, but bypassing his father.

Alexander also communicated with his father and later even went to the Gatchina troops. military service... He was an affectionate and sensitive child, tried to get along with everyone and please everyone, as a result, he developed this double-mindedness, which was later noted in him by almost everyone who communicated with him. Even as a child, Alexander was used to pleasing both sides, he always said and did what his grandmother and father liked, and not what he considered necessary to do himself. He lived in two minds, had two faces, double feelings, thoughts and manners. He learned to please everyone. Already adults, Alexander conquered with his beauty, gentleness of character, delicacy, grace of manners. “Look, Orthodox Christians, what God has awarded us with a tsar - a beautiful face and soul,” said Metropolitan Platon. Although who could know about his soul? The conspiracy against Paul I was known to Alexander. And even if he did not think about just such an end for his father, he did nothing to prevent the murder.

Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleone Buonaparte)

Born in Ajaccio on the island of Corsica, which was ruled by the Republic of Genoa. He was the second of 13 children of the petty aristocrat Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia, but only 8 survived: five sons and three daughters. Napoleon was the smartest, most active and inquisitive child in the family, the favorite of his parents. Since childhood, he showed a special craving for knowledge, in the future he was engaged in self-education and contemporaries noted that there was not a single person with whom Napoleon could not talk on equal terms. Later, having become a military man, he showed himself in this field.

He received his primary education at a school in Ajaccio and already then showed his ability in mathematics.

In 1778, the brothers Joseph and Napoleon left the island and went to college in Autun (France), mainly to study French, and the next year Napoleon goes to the cadet school in Brienne-le-Chateau. Since Napoleon was a patriot of Corsica and treated the French as the enslavers of his native island, he had no friends. But it was here that his name began to be pronounced in the French manner - Napoleon Bonaparte. Then he studied at the Royal Cadet School, where he studied excellently, read a lot.

In 1785, his father died, and Napoleon actually became the head of the family, although he was not the eldest. He finishes his studies ahead of schedule and begins serving with the rank of lieutenant, and takes on the education of an 11-year-old brother to help his mother. His life at this time is very difficult, he cannot even eat normally, but difficulties do not frighten him. At this time, he reads a lot, researchers note that the range of his interests was huge: from the works of Plato to contemporary writers.

Jean-Antoine Gros "Napoleon on the Arkol bridge"

In 1793 he took part in the suppression of the royalist uprising in Toulon - here his career began: he was appointed chief of artillery and, besieging Toulon, occupied by the British, carried out a brilliant military operation. At 24, he received the rank of brigadier general. So gradually a new star began to rise in the political horizon - he was appointed commander of the Italian army, he defeated the troops of the Kingdom of Sardinia and Austria and became one of the best generals of the Republic.

By 1799, a crisis of power began in Paris: the Directory was unable to take advantage of the achievements of the revolution. And then Napoleon takes this power - having returned from Egypt and relying on the army loyal to him, he proclaimed the regime of the consulate (provisional government), at the head of which he himself stood. Then Napoleon passed through the Senate a decree on the life of his powers (1802) and proclaimed himself Emperor of France (1804). He quickly eliminated the threat to the French borders, and the population of northern Italy greeted him with enthusiasm as a liberator from Austrian oppression.

Thus, the path to power of Napoleon was determined by his personal qualities and abilities, and the path of Alexander was problem-free, power was given to him as a gift (unless, of course, you count the story of Paul I).

Internal politics of AlexanderI

Alexander I, from the first days of his reign, began to implement reforms, relying on an unspoken committee made up of his friends. Read more about the reforms of Alexander I on our website: Most of these reforms remained unfulfilled, largely due to the personal qualities of the emperor. In words and outwardly, he was a liberal, but in deeds he was a despot who did not tolerate objections. Prince Czartoryski, a friend of his youth, said about this: “ He was willing to agree that everyone could be free if they freely did what he wanted.».
The half-heartedness of his decisions was also reflected in the fact that he always supported a new undertaking with temperament, but then used every opportunity to postpone what he had begun. So his reign, begun with great hope for improvement, ended in a burdensome life for the Russian people, and serfdom was never abolished.

Alexander I and Napoleon examine a map of Europe

Domestic policy of Napoleon

In the literature on Napoleon, there are ambiguous assessments of this person. But these assessments are overwhelmingly enthusiastic. No other great person has so much struck the popular imagination and generated so much controversy. On the one hand, his cult is extolled, his genius is praised, and his death is mourned. On the other hand, his tyranny is condemned, his talents are disputed. It was during his lifetime.

For detractors, Napoleon is a man who stopped the process launched by the revolution, the colossal striving of peoples for freedom. He is simply the defiler of the human race ... The thirst for conquest ultimately destroyed him. His political fame is the fruit of his relentless pursuit of tyranny. According to others, Napoleon was driven by very ordinary ideas ... Deprived of humanity, he turned out to be insensitive to the misfortunes into which he plunged France.

For fans, he is everything. His admirers are Byron, Goethe, Schopenhauer, Hegel, Hugo, Chateaubriand, Pushkin, Lermontov, Tolstoy, Tsvetaeva, Aldanov, Merezhkovsky, Okudzhava write about him ...

At the beginning of his reign, France is on the brink of a civil war, at war with Austria and England. The treasury is empty. The administration is helpless. He restores order, achieves prosperity, promulgates laws, and iron out political divisions. For 4.5 years, working, in his words, like a bull in a harness, while improving his education, he balances the state budget, creates the Council of State, establishes the French Bank, replaces depreciated paper money with gold and silver coins, and develops the Civil Code. That is, in fact, he laid the foundations of the French state, according to which modern France lives.

Interesting aphorisms of Napoleon:

The weakness of the supreme power is the most terrible disaster for the people.

People's love is nothing more than respect.

I don't know half-right. A lasting legal order must be created if you want to avoid tyranny.

My true glory is not that I won 60 battles. If anything will live forever, it is my Civil Code.

First meeting

The first meeting of the emperors Alexander I and Napoleon took place in the summer of 1807 during the signing of the Tilsit armistice, which was proposed by Alexander, fearing for his empire. Napoleon agreed and even stressed that he wants not only peace, but also an alliance with Russia: "The union of France with Russia has always been the object of my desires," he assured Alexander. How sincere was this assurance? It is quite possible that sincere. Both of them need a Russian-French alliance, albeit at different levels: Alexander I - for "self-preservation", Napoleon - to exalt himself and his empire. After the meeting, Napoleon wrote to Josephine: “I was extremely pleased with him. This is a young, extremely kind and handsome emperor. He's much smarter than people think. "

D. Serangeli "Farewell of Alexander to Napoleon in Tilsit"

But during this meeting, Napoleon hinted to Alexander about parricide, which he never forgave Napoleon. But since Alexander I could be a hypocrite from childhood, he skillfully reincarnated and played the role perfectly. In addition, he could simultaneously express friendly feelings to both Franz I and Frederick William III, who were enemies of Napoleon. As N. Troitsky writes about Alexander I, "it was very difficult to understand him, almost impossible to deceive."

But there was something in both emperors that brought them closer together. And this "something" is contempt for people. " I dont believe anyone. I only believe that all people are scoundrels, "said Alexander I. Napoleon also had a" low opinion of the human race. "

Alexander and Napoleon fought five wars with each other. They ended either with a victory or a defeat for one of the sides. Alexander explained that, fighting France himself and uniting other countries against her in feudal coalitions, "his only and indispensable goal is to establish peace in Europe on solid foundations, to free France from the chains of Napoleon, and other countries from the yoke of France." Although his true goal was the expansion of Russia, the seizure of new lands and domination in Europe, the preservation of the surviving feudal regimes and the restoration of those overthrown by the French Revolution and Napoleon. Alexander considered him a personal enemy, whom he also tried to overthrow. Alexander understood that the nobility needed more feudal England than revolutionary France. And the people followed him to liberate Europe from Napoleon.

What was Napoleon guided by? He really loved France and therefore wanted to make her the leader in Europe, and Paris - the capital of the world. But he did not love France by itself, but at the head of himself. “Stronger than his love for France was his love for power, for power over France, Europe and the world. “So that the world obeys France, and France obeys me,” is the motto of Napoleon. The goal of Napoleon was only power, he himself said: "My mistress is power."

Death

AlexanderI

Epitaph of A.S. Pushkin: " He spent his whole life on the road, caught a cold and died in Taganrog».

House of the mayor of Taganrog Pankov, where Alexander I died

The sudden death of Alexander I on November 19, 1825 in Taganrog from fever with brain inflammation at the age of 47 gave rise to many rumors and conjectures that exist to this day. V last years The emperor was clearly tired of his activities, they said that he even wanted to abdicate the throne in favor of his brother Nicholas and even published a secret Manifesto about this in August 1823. He rushed about on trips around the country, experiencing constant dissatisfaction, having lost faith in his companions and in general into people. We will not cite here all the legends and unreliable information about the last years of the life of Emperor Alexander I, there is an extensive literature about them.

Napoleon

F. Sandmann "Napoleon on St. Helena"

“… In one of my school notebooks, I think from 1788, there is such a note:“ sainte Helene, petite ila ”(Saint Helena, a small island). I was then preparing for the exam in geography. As now, I see in front of me both the notebook and this page ... And then, after the name of the accursed island, there is nothing else in the notebook ... What stopped my hand? .. Yes, what stopped my hand? He repeated almost in a whisper, with sudden horror in his voice. (M. Aldanov "St. Helena, a small island").

As the Russian army moved westward, the anti-Napoleonic coalition grew. The hastily assembled new French army in the "Battle of the Nations" near Leipzig in October 1813 was opposed by Russian, Austrian, Prussian and Swedish troops. Napoleon was defeated and, after the Allies entered Paris, abdicated the throne. On the night of April 12-13, 1814, in Fontainebleau, experiencing the defeat left by his court (there were only a few servants, a doctor and General Caulaincourt next to him), Napoleon decided to commit suicide. He took poison, which he always carried with him after the battle of Maloyaroslavets, when only by a miracle he was not taken prisoner. But the poison decomposed from long storage, Napoleon survived. By decision of the allied monarchs, he received possession of the small island of Elba in the Mediterranean Sea. April 20, 1814 Napoleon left Fontainebleau and went into exile.

The Bourbons and emigrants returned to France, seeking the return of their property and privileges ("They learned nothing and forgot nothing"). This caused discontent and fear in French society and in the army. Taking advantage of the favorable situation, Napoleon fled from Elba on February 26, 1815 and, met with the enthusiastic shouts of the crowd, returned to Paris without hindrance. The war resumed, but France was no longer able to bear its burden. "One Hundred Days" ended with the final defeat of Napoleon near the Belgian village of Waterloo in June 1815. He voluntarily arrived on the British warship "Bellerophon" in the port of Plymouth, hoping to get political asylum from his old enemies - the British. So Napoleon became a prisoner of the British and was sent to the distant island of St. Helena in the Atlantic Ocean. There, in the village of Longwood, Napoleon spent the last six years of his life.

The British chose Saint Helena because of its remoteness from Europe, fearing the emperor's repeated escape from exile. Napoleon was accompanied by Henri-Gracien Bertrand, Charles Montolon, Emmanuel de Las Kaz and Gaspard Gurgo. In total, there were 27 people in Napoleon's retinue. On August 7, 1815, the former emperor leaves Europe. Nine escort ships with 3,000 soldiers who would guard Napoleon on St. Helena accompanied his ship.

Longwood estate, where Napoleon lived in his last years

The house and grounds were surrounded by a stone wall six kilometers long. Sentries were placed around the wall so that they could see each other. On the tops of the hills, sentinels were posted, reporting all Napoleon's actions with signal flags. The British did everything to make it impossible for Bonaparte to escape from the island. His contacts with the outside world are cut off. Napoleon is doomed to inactivity. His health is deteriorating dramatically.

Napoleon often complained of pain in his right side, his legs were swollen. His attending physician diagnosed hepatitis. Napoleon suspected it was cancer, the disease from which his father died.

April 13, 1821 Napoleon dictated his will. He could no longer move without assistance, the pains became sharp and excruciating. Napoleon Bonaparte died on Saturday 5 May 1821 and was buried near Longwood. In 1840, Napoleon's remains were transported to France and buried in the House of Invalids in Paris.

"One fate for all ..."

Conclusion

“The Bible (Ecclesiastes) remained on Napoleon’s table ... it was revealed to him on the page where the following words were:“ To everyone and to all - one thing: one lot for the righteous and the wicked, good and evil, clean and unclean, offering sacrifice and not offering sacrifice; both the virtuous and the sinner, both the one who swears and the one who fears the oath.

This is what is bad in everything that happens under the sun, that there is one lot for all, and the hearts of the sons of men are filled with evil, and madness is in their hearts; and after that they go to the dead.

And I turned and saw under the sun that it is not the nimble ones who get a successful run, not the brave - victory, not the wise - bread, and not the rational have wealth, and not the skillful - goodwill, but time and opportunity for all of them ... "(M. Aldanov "Saint Helena, a small island").

According to the results Vienna Congress was returned to the throne of France dynasty bourbon represented by King Louis XVIII (brother of the executed Louis XVI). The territory of present-day Belgium came under the control of Holland, Norway - Sweden (before that time it was Danish). The Holy Roman Empire finally ceased to exist, and many territories of northern Italy came under the rule of Austria-Hungary. There was also a new partition of Poland between Austria, Prussia and Russia, and besides this, the Swiss Confederation received official neutrality, which has survived to this day.

Another result of the Vienna Congress was the creation of the first prototype of the UN - Of the sacred union European monarchies.

Results and death of Alexander I.

Alexander I annexed to the Russian Empire those parts of the Polish lands that belonged to Prussia and Austria, not counting the previously annexed Bessarabian territories, Kakhetian (Georgian) and Finnish.

Alexander I's contemporaries said that in the last years of his reign, the emperor became religious, aloof and melancholy. He often expressed that he wanted to abdicate and retire to lead the life of a hermit.

One of the most prominent emperors of the Russian Empire died either on December 1, 1825 in Taganrog from a fever, or on January 20, 1864 from old age in Tomsk. The first date is official for history, but more and more evidence speaks in favor of the second. The emperor (who, by the way, was distinguished by excellent health) was buried in a closed coffin, no one saw his body, but it was guarded like the entire gold reserve of Russia. A few years later, an old hermit appeared in Siberia Fedor Kuzmich, very similar (according to the descriptions of eyewitnesses) to Alexander, possessing noble manners and extremely erudite in matters of politics, history and economics. Fyodor's dying dialogue with the Cossack Semyon Sidorov is known: “There is a rumor,” said the Cossack, “that you, father, are none other than Alexander the Blessed. Is it true?" Kuzmich made the sign of the sign of the cross and answered: “Wonderful are Thy works, O Lord. There is no secret that would not be revealed. "

In 2015, the Russian Graphological Society confirmed the identity of the handwritings of Alexander I and the elder Fyodor. At the moment, the possibility of genetic testing is being discussed.

Two years before his disappearance (or death), Alexander began to resolve the issue of succession to the throne. Both of his daughters died in infancy. Brother Constantine refused the throne, so the emperor appointed his younger brother as heir -

The personality and state practice of Alexander I was most vividly revealed in his confrontation with Napoleon, a confrontation that led the French emperor to the island of Saint Helena, and Alexander broke down and devastated him so much that he, apparently, could not recover from this until the end of his days.

Russia met the beginning of the century with the settlement of its relations with the European powers. Friendly relations with England were restored, diplomatic relations with Austrian Empire... Alexander I declared that he refuses to interfere in the internal affairs of foreign states and recognizes in them the political system that is supported by the "common consent" of the peoples of these countries. The former friendly relations with France remained, however, every month Alexander was imbued with more and more distrust of the first consul of France. This mistrust was based not only on politics, the ever-increasing expansion of France on the European continent, about which a lot has been written by our historians, but also Alexander's attitude to the internal political problems of France, which was not paid attention to.

Being an admirer of the ideas of the French revolution, republic, constitutional order and ardently condemning the dictatorship and terror of the Jacobins, the young Russian monarch closely followed the development of events in France. Already in 1801, reflecting on Napoleon's desire to raise his power in France, on his international claims, which were actively promoted by Foreign Minister Talleyrand, Alexander remarked: "What swindlers!" And in 1802, when Napoleon declared himself consul for life, Alexander wrote to Laharpe: “I completely changed, just like you, my dear, the opinion about the first consul. Since the establishment of his life-long consulate, the veil has fallen: since then, things have gone from bad to worse. He began by stripping himself of the greatest glory that can be accounted for by man. The only thing left for him was to prove that he acted without any personal benefit, only for the happiness and glory of his homeland, and to remain faithful to the Constitution, to which he himself vowed to transfer his power in ten years. Instead, he chose to copy the customs of the royal courts like a monkey, thereby violating the Constitution of his country. Now he is one of the greatest tyrants that history has ever produced. " As you can see, Alexander is concerned about the constitutional order of France. Moreover, it is not at all necessary to consider this demagoguery, since in all recent years Alexander professed precisely these views, and the letter was of a purely personal, closed nature. In addition, Alexander quite rightly grasped the sovereign claims of the "little corporal".

Since 1803, the expansion of France has increased. Bonaparte organizes a camp of Boulogne to prepare troops for the invasion of the British Isles, occupies Hanover and the Kingdom of Naples. The Russian ambassador in Paris begins to demonstrate his opposition to Napoleon's policies, which infuriates the first consul. The shooting by Napoleon of the Duke of Enghien, the son of the Bourbons and a relative of the Petersburg court, caused shock in the Russian capital.

The Russian government protested. It, in particular, said that Napoleon violated the neutrality of another state (the duke was captured in Baden) and human rights. After Napoleon was proclaimed emperor, Russia went to an active rapprochement with Prussia, and then with England. It was heading towards a European war. So by the force of circumstances, rather by the force of his humanistic aspirations, rejection of Napoleon's cynical defiance of the laws of his own country, as well as the principles of legitimism, the established system in Europe, Alexander was forced to abandon his position of non-interference in European affairs, although confrontation with France at this stage was not caused interests of Russia. But already at this time, the desire to make Russia happy through the reforms that were beginning began to coexist more and more in Alexander's soul with the desire to “save” Europe from the French tyrant. And one should not underestimate this desire or replace it with the concept of “saving the reactionary regimes of Europe” and so on, since it lay in the general mainstream of Alexander I's attitude at that time.

For Russia, military confrontation with France was objectively undesirable, since already at that time there was a natural striving of the parties through political combinations to achieve the desired results for themselves. Russia sought to build on the successes Russian-Turkish wars and claimed the straits and Poland, the annexation of Moldavia and Wallachia; Finland was also in the sphere of interests of Russia. Napoleon sought to ensure freedom in the struggle against England and wanted to extend his power to southern and central Europe. Compromises were allowed along the way, but war was also possible. The subsequent development of events showed the regularity of both. And yet it should be said about two main trends that dictated Alexander's behavior. The first is, of course, the policy of Russia as a great European power capable of dividing Europe with Bonaparte, and the growing autocratic ambitions of the Russian emperor. The second is his liberal complexes, which spilled over from domestic politics to the international arena... It was at this time that Alexander's idea was born, later expressed in the organization of the Holy Union, about the possibility of organizing the European world on the basis of humanism, cooperation, justice, respect for the rights of nations, respect for human rights. Laharpe's lessons were not in vain. So, sending Novosiltsev to England for negotiations in 1804, he gave him instructions in which he outlined the idea of ​​concluding a general peace treaty between the peoples and the creation of a league of peoples. Here is what he wrote in this document: “Of course, this is not about the fulfillment of the dream of eternal peace, but it would still be possible to get closer to the benefits that are expected from such a peace, if in the treaty, when determining the conditions of a general war, it was possible to establish clear and precise principles of the requirement international law... Why not include in such a treaty a positive definition of the rights of nationalities, ensure the advantages of neutrality and establish obligations never to start a war without first exhausting all the means provided by arbitration, which makes it possible to clarify mutual misunderstandings and try to eliminate them? On such conditions, it would be possible to begin the implementation of this universal pacification and create an alliance, the provisions of which would form, so to speak, a new code of international law. " An excellent document, albeit very premature for that time. Nevertheless, Alexander was almost the first statesman in Europe to put forward the idea of ​​legal regulation international relations than long anticipated real steps in this direction already in the second half of the XX century.

And yet, the reasoning of that time remained a chimera. The reality turned out to be more prosaic. England sought an alliance with Russia to crush Napoleon. A new anti-French coalition appeared, consisting of England, Russia, Austria, Prussia. At the same time, Russian claims to Turkey and Poland were satisfied. Russian troops moved to Europe. The goal of the great absolutist power outweighed the good fantasies of the liberal young man. But these fantasies remained in his mind, and they would arise again as soon as the right circumstances appeared for this.

On December 2, 1805, the united Russian-Austrian army, despite the warnings of M.I. Kutuzova met with Napoleon at Austerlitz. The defeat of the allies was complete. Crushed to dust and Alexander's illusions. He led the troops, determined their disposition, was confident of victory ... When the troops fled and the catastrophe became obvious, he burst into tears. Alexander that day narrowly escaped captivity, having lost contact with the headquarters, with the troops. He took refuge in the hut of a Moravian peasant, then rode for several hours among the fleeing army, was tired, dirty, did not change his sweaty clothes for two days, and lost his luggage. The Cossacks got him some wine, and he warmed up a little, fell asleep in the barn on straw. But he was not broken, but only realized that it was necessary to fight such a rival as Napoleon fully armed with the physical and spiritual forces and all the forces of the empire. From now on, for him, an extremely proud person, claiming to be a benefactor of Russia and Europe, Napoleon became a mortal enemy, and since 1805 he purposefully and stubbornly went to his destruction. But on the way to this there were still new defeats in the fields of Prussia, Tilsit, Erfurt, 1812, the fire of Moscow, the European campaign of the Russian army, new defeats from Napoleon.

Contemporaries noted that after Austerlitz, Alexander changed in many ways. L.N. Engelhardt, who closely watched the king at that time, wrote: “The battle of Austerlitz made a great influence on the character of Alexander, and it can be called an era in his reign. Before that, he was meek, trusting, affectionate, and then he became suspicious, stern to the extreme, unapproachable and could no longer tolerate anyone telling him the truth. "

From that time on, Arakcheev became a more noticeable figure under him, and the activities of the Secret Committee gradually dies down. And although the tsar's reform efforts continue - all the same leisurely and cautiously - but the time of former hobbies and revelations is already passing: life, the system takes its toll. In essence, the very first encounter with Napoleon taught Alexander a cruel life lesson, which he learned very thoroughly.

This was already evident during the negotiations in Tilsit, where the emperors talked face to face in a house on a raft in the middle of the Nemunas.

The world of Tilsit sharply reoriented Russian foreign policy. Russia joined the continental blockade against England, was forced to abandon support for Prussia, which was dismembered by Napoleon, but received a free hand in relation to Moldova, Wallachia and Finland. In fact, the monarchs made one of the next partitions of Europe. Alexander showed Napoleon all his charm and friendliness and seems to have deceived him. Napoleon, in a conversation with his adjutant Caulaincourt, considered the tsar a handsome, intelligent, kind man who puts "all the feelings of a good heart in the place where the mind should be ..." This was Bonaparte's big mistake and, possibly, the beginning of his future defeat. Meanwhile, Alexander wrote to his sister Ekaterina Pavlovna that Bonaparte has one vulnerable trait - this is his vanity, and that he is ready to sacrifice his pride for the salvation of Russia. A little later, in a conversation with the Prussian king Frederick William III and his wife, the charming queen Louise, Alexander said: “Be patient, we will turn our back on. He will break his neck. Despite all my demonstrations and external actions, in my heart I am your friend and I hope to prove it to you in practice ... At least I will gain time. "

On the way to Erfurt - the second meeting with Napoleon and the next negotiations with him - Alexander I continued this line: restraint, calmness, benevolence, playing on the vanity of the French emperor and the desire to obtain certain foreign policy benefits for Russia. Trade continued over Poland, the straits, Constantinople, the Danube principalities, Finland, the German states, etc. At the same time, Alexander sent secret letters to England, calming the British cabinet, expressing his firm desire to fight Bonaparte. Mistrust, secrecy, duplicity - this is how Alexander presented himself in his relations with Napoleon in 1807-1808. At the same time, Caulaincourt transmitted to Paris the words of Alexander that Napoleon had conquered him at Tilsit.

The meeting in Erfurt brought Russia incomparable success: Napoleon agreed to the annexation of Finland, Moldavia and Wallachia by Russia, but opposed the seizure of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. But at the same time, he forced Russia to come out on his side in the event of a war between France and Austria. The Russian emperor, saving his unlucky ally, the Prussian king, got France to reduce the indemnity from Prussia. He also insisted on the withdrawal of French troops from the Grand Duchy of Warsaw.

And here Alexander continued his double game. Talleyrand later wrote in his memoirs: “The favors, gifts and impulses of Napoleon were completely in vain. Before leaving Erfurt, Alexander wrote a letter to the Emperor of Austria with his own hand in order to allay the fears he had about the meeting. "

Despite the outward cordiality, the negotiations in Erfurt were very tense. At one point, Napoleon threw his hat to the ground, to which Alexander objected: “You are hot-tempered. I am stubborn. You won't get anywhere with anger from me. Let's talk, reason, otherwise I'll leave. "

The true attitude of the Russian emperor to Napoleon was also manifested in the fact that the Russian court practically refused to the French emperor in claims for the hand of the tsar's sister, the charming Catherine Pavlovna. The reference was made to the position of Catherine Pavlovna herself and the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. After some time, Napoleon's attempt to get the hand of the tsar's other sister, Anna Pavlovna, ended with the same result.

For the Russian ruling house, this marriage would be an undoubted misalliance, and in Paris they understood this correctly. Napoleon was furious.

From 1807–1808, especially in connection with the dissatisfaction in Russian society with the results of the Tilsit Peace, some evidence of Alexander's real attitude to the events reached them. Of course, they could be defensive, but when compared with his general line in relation to Napoleon, Prussia, England, as well as compared with each other, they give a remarkable picture. In a letter to his mother shortly before the meeting in Erfurt, Alexander wrote: “Our recent interests have forced us to conclude a close alliance with France. We will do our best to prove to her the sincerity and nobility of our way of acting. " And in the same year, after the Erfurt meeting, he noted in a letter to Ekaterina Pavlovna: “Bonaparte thinks that I am only a fool, but the one who laughs the last laughs better, and I pin all my hopes on God, and not only on God , but also on their abilities and willpower. " It is no coincidence that Colencourt, in one of his personal letters to Napoleon of that time, apparently having seen his sight, wrote: “Alexander is not taken for who he is. He is considered weak and wrong. Undoubtedly he can endure annoyance and hide his discontent ... But this lightness of character has its limits - he will not go beyond the circle outlined for himself, but this circle is made of iron and does not bend ... "

It is no coincidence that Napoleon himself, already on the island of St. Helena, recalled Alexander of that Tilsit-Erfurt period: “The Tsar is smart, graceful, educated; he can easily charm, but this must be feared; he is insincere; this is a real Byzantine of the times of the decline of the empire ... It is quite possible that he fooled me, for he is subtle, deceitful, dexterous ... ". It seems that Napoleon saw his sight too late. And this is proved, by the way, by the entire subsequent history of the relationship between the two emperors. Alexander opposed the military genius, strength, and the onslaught of Napoleon with the highest diplomatic skill, subtle mind, and distant calculation.

Beginning in 1808, the tsar, preparing for a future confrontation with the French emperor, began to rebuild and reform the Russian army. Two wonderful, talented assistants helped him in this matter - A.A. Arakcheev and M.B. Barclay de Tolly. By the beginning of 1811, he already had 225 thousand soldiers, but was striving to increase the army by another 100 thousand people. At the same time, he established relations with the British government, with high-ranking Polish officials.

By the spring of 1812, relations between France and Russia were heating up to the limit. In these conditions, Alexander showed great restraint, firmness of spirit, genuine patriotism. In response to the words of Napoleon, transmitted to him with one of the envoys: "We will create our bridgeheads not only on the Danube, but also on the Neman, Volga, Moskva River, and for two hundred years we will move the threat of raids from the north", Alexander brought him to the map and pointing to the shores of the Bering Strait, he replied that the emperor of the French would have to go to these places in order to obtain peace on Russian soil. In those days, Alexander said to his friend - the rector of the University of Dorpat Parrat: “I do not hope to triumph over the genius and the forces of my enemy. But in no case will I conclude a shameful peace and would rather bury myself under the ruins of the empire. "

Having invaded the borders of Russia, great army Napoleon began to move freely into the interior of the country. According to the memoirs of Caulaincourt, Napoleon hoped to end the campaign quickly, defeat the Russians in a general battle and sign peace. "I will sign the peace in Moscow! ... And it won't take two months for the Russian nobles to force Alexander to ask me for him! ..."

Indeed, in the current situation and in the future, after the fall of Moscow, the Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, Chancellor Rumyantsev, Arakcheev, and a number of prominent dignitaries spoke for peace with Napoleon. But Alexander was relentless. When, in July, Napoleon made the first attempt at peace negotiations, transmitted through General Balashov, Alexander simply did not answer him. On August 24, the French emperor wrote a new letter to the tsar from Smolensk, and again there was no answer. Having received from Kutuzov the news of the abandonment and subsequent fire of Moscow, Alexander burst into tears, but quickly pulled himself together and, according to Colonel Michaud sent to him, said: “Return to the army, tell our brave men, declare to all my loyal subjects wherever you go that if I do not have a single soldier left, I will become the head of my dear nobility and my good peasants and sacrifice all the means of the empire ... Having exhausted all the means that are in my power, I will grow myself a beard and would rather agree to eat potatoes with the last of my peasants than sign the shame of my fatherland and my dear subjects, whose sacrifices I know how to value. Napoleon or me, me or him, but together we cannot reign; I learned to understand him; he will no longer deceive me. "

Firm assurances on this score were made to Kutuzov. The military conflict with France took for Alexander I, quite obviously, the form of a personal and uncompromising conflict with Napoleon, and the Russian emperor put into it all the strength of his hatred, hurt pride, and firmness of will. In this confrontation, Alexander suddenly appeared as what he was in reality, or rather, became after gaining confidence on the throne - an imperious, strong, far-sighted ruler.

At the same time, the events of the beginning of the war, and especially the fire of Moscow, shocked him so much that, according to eyewitnesses, he was often sad, began to retire in his Kamennoostrovsky palace, which remained almost unguarded. Then for the first time he turned to God so earnestly, so passionately. “The fire of Moscow illuminated my soul,” he later confessed to the Prussian Bishop Eulert, “and filled my heart with a warmth of faith, which I had not felt until now. And then I knew God. "

All attempts by Napoleon from Moscow to enter into peace negotiations with the Russian Tsar also remained unanswered. Alexander continued to fulfill his vow.

In December 1812, the Russian army, having driven out the French from Russia, went to state border Russia on the Neman. The question arose about the further fate of the campaign. M.I. Kutuzov believed that the war could have ended there, that there was no point in killing the Russian soldiers anymore. The aged field marshal, not without reason, believed that the fall of Napoleon would only strengthen England and the concern of European powers in spite of Russia. However, Alexander had different feelings. He aspired now to become the savior of Europe, to be its arbiter. What was more in these aspirations - the autocratic claims of the master of the empire, the messianic claims of a believer, insulted by Napoleon, a person humiliated by him. It seems that both the first, and the second, and the third. And yet, personal confrontation with Napoleon was one of the dominants of the behavior of the Russian tsar.

Now the goal of Alexander was the indispensable capture of Paris, the overthrow of Napoleon. The Russian tsar motivated this goal with the noble feelings of helping the oppressed peoples. In this regard, all the propaganda support of the campaign was carried out. The entry of the allied forces into France was justified by the need to save the French people from the tyranny of Bonaparte. And yet we cannot fail to recall this decisive phrase of Alexander: "Napoleon or me, me or him." It seems that this was his real program, not so much a sovereign, as a person. Moreover, when the allies showed hesitation, Alexander said that he would go to the French capital with one Russian army.

During the overseas campaign of the Russian army, the battles between the allies and Napoleon, Alexander was constantly with the army. But this was no longer an enthusiastic newcomer to Austerlitz, but a husband wise with military experience, and a brave husband. In the battle near Dresden, on the Lutsen fields, he participated in the leadership of the troops and stood under fire. During the battle of Bautzen, Alexander positioned himself so that he saw the French emperor, and he saw him. In the battle of Dresden, Alexander narrowly escaped death. A cannonball exploded next to him, mortally striking General Miro. In the battle of Leipzig, Alexander himself commanded the troops on the first day, made a number of important decisions, including the introduction of reserve artillery, which turned the tide of the battle in favor of the allies. During the clash between the convoy of Life Cossacks and French cuirassiers, the emperor was almost fifteen paces from the fighters. Alexander showed personal courage and good military command on the second day of the Battle of Leipzig, as well as in the battle for Paris.

After the success of the French at Bautzen, Napoleon again turned to the Russian tsar with peace proposals and was again refused. Alexander showed firmness even further, throughout 1814, however, in conditions when the scales were already tilting in favor of the allies.

After the solemn entry into Paris, Alexander said to Caulaincourt, who was trying in vain to save his emperor: “We decided to continue the struggle to the end, so as not to resume it under less favorable circumstances, and we will fight until we reach a lasting peace, which cannot be expected from a man who devastated Europe from Moscow to Cadiz ". The Allies declared that they would not have any dealings with Napoleon or anyone of his family name. On April 6, Napoleon signed his abdication, and a few days later he left for the island of Elba. These days, Alexander finally showed generosity to the defeated enemy and insisted on relatively mild conditions for his removal from power (possession of the island of Elba, a huge pension, 50 guards for protection), despite Talleyrand, who proposed a link to the Azores and a stricter regime of detention ...

However, as soon as the news of Napoleon's flight from Elba and the onset of the era of the Hundred Days spread throughout Europe and reached Vienna, where the leaders of the then Europe gathered for its next redistribution, Alexander again showed determination and militancy, which largely determined the rallying of the allies and the final crushing of Napoleon Bonaparte. Alexander did not abandon his line in relation to Napoleon even when he sent the Russian emperor an anti-Russian treaty signed by Russia's recent allies - Austria, England and Bourbon, who was enthroned by Louis XVIII. The treaty was secret and provided for the possibility of joint actions, including military ones, against Russia in connection with serious differences between the allies and Russia on territorial issues. Summoning the Austrian Foreign Minister Metternich, Alexander introduced him to the document, then threw it into the fireplace and said that further struggle with Napoleon requires strengthening allied actions.

Alexander I, Tsar of Russia (1801 - 1825)

(St. Petersburg, 1777 - Taganrog, 1825)

The reign of the Russian Tsar Alexander I in time almost exactly coincided with the reign of Napoleon. They fought several times. - one of those who led the allies to victory in 1814, but at home he acted more like an "unenlightened" despot.

Catherine II the Great entrusted the training of her grandson to a freethinker with republican ideals, Caesar-Frederic Leharp. The young man, destined to become the ruler, was filled with liberal ideas. He moved in a circle of young Russian intellectuals who opposed his father, Tsar Paul I. Together they conceived a plan that led, against Alexander's wishes, to the assassination of Paul I in March 1801.

He carried out a series of liberal reforms. He chaired a committee of his Anglophile friends to study the remodeling of existing institutions. The Senate received the right to dissent, ministries were created. But serfdom was not abolished. Various drafts of a liberal constitution, which Alexander considered from time to time, were never implemented.

Whenever it came to foreign policy, Alexander seemed to be torn between the Anglophilia of his friends and his complete admiration for Napoleon. In July 1801, the tsar signed a peace treaty with England, and a few months later concluded a secret agreement with Bonaparte. But the execution of Duke d "Engin, and then the proclamation of the Empire, push him to the side of the enemies of France. In April 1805, Alexander joins the Third Coalition against France, along with England, Austria, Prussia and Sweden.

Alexander was a well-educated, elegant man with an imposing appearance. "Alexander is very graceful and would have easily dealt with the elite of Parisian salons," Bonaparte later comments. And he adds: "But his weakness is that he thinks he understands military affairs." The Tsar refused to follow General Kutuzov's advice to be careful. On December 2, 1805, he was defeated at Austerlitz, then at Friedland on June 14, 1807. On July 7, 1807, after the Tilsit meeting with Napoleon on a raft in the middle of the Niemen River, Alexander signed a peace treaty in which he recognized the conquests of France and joined the Continental System. Later, without officially refusing, he does not answer the Emperor when he asks for the hand of his sister.

When Napoleon needed support to contain Austria, he met with the king in Erfurt, but no agreement was reached. By 1809, Alexander I opposed the redistribution of Poland. The Continental System paralyzes the economy and the alliance with France is dissolved.

Could the two emperors get along? “If Alexander’s affection for me is sincere, then only intrigue tears him away from me. The mediators never stopped reminding him at the right moment of how I ridiculed him, assuring me that in Tilsit and Erfurt I scoffed as soon as he turned his back. Alexander is very touchy, so it is not difficult for them to embitter him. Nothing was further from the truth: he seemed to me an attractive person and I liked him. " (Napoleon)

In fact, the interests of the two Empires and the two Emperors are too different. The Russian campaign of 1812 was inevitable. In February 1813, it was Alexander who convinced the Allies to march on Paris, which led to Napoleon's abdication.

After the victory, Alexander I behaved mercifully and opposed the dismemberment of France. At the Congress of Vienna, becoming the most powerful monarch, he tries to implement his ideas, which are becoming more and more mystical: he wants diplomacy to be based on Christian principles. In September 1815, Alexander, an Orthodox, forms the Sacred Alliance with Prussia (Protestant) and Austria (Catholic). Officially, this is an agreement about peace and harmony between Christians. In fact, it is a pact between monarchs, aimed at suppressing the revolutions in Spain and Italy.

The king is clearly tired of the power he cannot use to carry out his great projects. His marriage at 16 to a 14-year-old princess was never happy. Alexander dies unexpectedly, passing through Taganrog, November 19, 1825. There is a myth that he took monastic vows and his grave is empty.