RUDN Journal of Russian History (Dec 2017)
CARLO ANDREA POZZO DI BORGO - A CORSICAN IN RUSSIAN SERVICE, WHO “SHAPED DESTINY OF FRANCE”
Abstract
The article is devoted to the study of the worldview and activities of Carlo Andrea Poz-zo di Borgo, the Russian diplomat of Corsican descent. The author considers such aspects as the role and infl uence of Pozzo di Borgo on the foreign policy of Russia in the early 19th cen-tury, on the evolution of the Russian social thought, in particular, its conservative direction.It is also imporant to analyze the very phenomenon of French emigration in Russia in the late 18th - early 19th centuries. The French revolution was an important stage of the Russian-French rapprochement. Despite the political and ideological confrontation between the revolutionary France and autocratic Russia, one can observe the development of huma-nitarian relations, intercultural contacts, etc., which was carried out largely due to the French emigrants in the Russian service.In the late 18th - early 19th centuries in Russia, at the invitation of Catherine II and later Paul I, there came a large number of French emigrants-royalists, who, when making an oath of loyalty to the monarchical regime, not only tetained their titles in Russia, but also got high positions in the government, property, position in the society etc. The diplomatic activities of Pozzo di Borgo is an example of such service to «the Second Homeland» - that is, Rus-sia. Pozzo di Borgo played an important role in resolving international issues of Europe after the Napoleoic wars, tried to implement the concept of a stable Europe, in which the primary role was played by the monarchical principles and the legitimacy of the authorities.The general conclusion of the article is the recognition of the contribution of Pozzo di Borgo not only to the settlement of the international issues related to the solution to Euro-pean problems after the Napoleonic wars, but also to the determination of Russia’s position in the world. In the context of the public policy debates that unfolded in Russia in 1830-1840, Pozzo di Borgo’s views played a key role in the evolution of the Russian conservative thought as well as the foreign policy course of Alexander I.
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