Alexander i as head of the Holy Alliance: interpretation of the British press
Abstract
In the autumn of 1815, Alexander I created the Holy Alliance, a unique political entity that immediately attracted the attention of the foreign press. The authors of various media put forward many hypotheses as to what was behind the vague formulations of the Act of the Holy Union, what political goals this association had and how they changed. The purpose of this work is to analyze the assessments of the Holy Alliance and Alexander I as its head in English newspapers. The chronological framework of the study – 1816-1825 – is determined by the period of the existence of the Holy Alliance during the life of Alexander I. The article analyzes the perception of the Act of the Holy Union itself by British newspapermen. The reaction of English publications to the conservative policy pursued by the Holy Alliance at the turn of the 1810s-1820s is investigated, the appearance of the "black myth" about Alexander I in the British press is investigated. The article analyzes publications from all British publications that existed at that time. A comparison of publications in liberal and conservative publications was carried out. Conclusions in the article are drawn about the perception of the actions of Alexander I, as the head of the Holy Union, through the prism of the national interests of Great Britain. Conclusions are also given on how the attitude of British authors to the Holy Alliance and to Alexander I personally was changing.
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