The Confessional Vector of Russian Foreign Policy: the History of Interaction Between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Holy Synod in the 19th Century

Author(s):  
Irina Yurievna Smirnova
2020 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 267-276
Author(s):  
Alexander Yu. Polunov

The article analyzes the issue of conceptualization by Russian public leaders and publicists of the causes and goals of the turn of Russian foreign policy to the East at the end of the 19th century. In those years there took shape the idea of specific eastern mission of Russia that influenced later the configuring of Eurasian ideology. At the same time the ideological constructions of the publicists at the end of the 19th century were rather peculiar. In contrast to the Eurasians those authors paid special attention to the “old civilized states in Asia”, like Persia and China. The necessity to support the Celestial Empire and the Christian communities in Persia was determined, according to those publicists, by Russia’s duty to protect the weak. Besides, China was viewed as the state with established autocracy concept that was very important for Russia. At the beginning of the 20th century the ideas of the “orientalists” and other publicists contemplating Russia’s special mission in Asia, lost their former influence. Their distant echo can be found in the program of the prominent White movement leader baron R.F. Ungern, who brought forward the idea of establishing a Pan-Asian monarchy relying on China during Civil War.


2021 ◽  
pp. 331-342
Author(s):  
Natalia A. Ovchinnikova ◽  

The article presents the history of the epistolary heritage of the Buldakov merchant family. The object of the research is letters of M. M. Buldakov, a representative of the Veliky Ustyug merchants, the leading director of the Russian-American company. These documents contain valuable information on the history of Russian merchants in the last quarter of the 18th – first third of the 19th century and the activities of the Russian-American company. Similar to all sources of epistolary genre, their distinctive feature is that they were created without additional edits and censorship and thereby recorded historical reality at first hand, while retaining the style and language characteristic of the period. The main problem faced by historians is patchy location of M. M. Buldakov’s letters. Currently, only a part of them, stored in the Vologda State Historical-Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve, has been published and introduced into scientific use. The documents scattered across other archives are yet to be identified and examined. The purpose of this study is to determine the true volume of the Buldakovs' epistolary heritage, to understand the reasons for its fragmentation, and to trace the movement of documents from one owner to another. This is the first attempt to restore the path of epistolaries from the pre-revolutionary family archive to modern archives, which determines the scientific novelty of the work. The methodological basis of the research is principles of historicism, consistency, and objectivity. This makes it possible to consolidate the scattered information and facts testifying to the movement of M. M. Buldakov’s papers. The analytical and synthetic method of comparing data provides an opportunity to see the general picture of letters location, while concrete-historical method allows us to describe the facts in historical sequence. We managed to identify three large collections of letters: in the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts, in the Archive of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire of the Historical and Documentary Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in the Vologda State Historical, Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve. The results of this study provide a unified picture of the epistolaries location in different archives, which, in turn, provides an opportunity for historians and archivists to continue their work on identifying and introducing into scientific use of documents necessary for further study of the history of Russian merchants and the Russian-American company activities.


Author(s):  
Stanislav Kovalskyi

The Mediterranean Sea is an important geopolitical region which defines the economic and strategic interests of the world powers, including the USA. The author`s vision of the US Mediterranean policy and its periodization was presented in the article. Research objective: the paper is devoted to the problem of the US Mediterranean policy in the 19th century. The purpose of the presented study is to research origin and development of the US Mediterranean policy taking into account the context of the European and world historical processes. Scientific novelty: the innovative nature of the article lies in the revision of the approach to the US Mediterranean policy`s timeline. The author`s periodization of the US Mediterranean policy was presented in the research. A special attention was focused on the US economic and geopolitical interests` transformations at each stage. Research methods. The history and genetic method was used in the article. It helps to research the origins of the US Mediterranean policy and to separate this policy into self-contained stages. Author`s periodization of the US Mediterranean policy became practical results of the mentioned method. The author demonstrated connections between all stages as holistic process of the American foreign policy`s evolution. An accent is done on research of geopolitical and economic interests of the USA in the field of the system analysis. That allows to consider connection between American foreign policy and European and world historical processes. The influence of the Concert of Europe and the Doctrine of Monroe on the US Mediterranean policy was taken into account also. Conclusions. In contradiction with widespread vision of the US Mediterranean policy in the 19th century as an unseparated historical period, it is possible to defined three stages. The first period (1776–1823) represented the early vision of the American state`s economic interests. The US Mediterranean policy until 1823 was characterized by intensive commercial, political and military activity in the region. The first military conflict in the history of the USA as an independent state was connected with the trade routes and security of navigation in the Mediterranean Sea. The second period (1823–1898) was characterized by principles of the Monroe Doctrine. During the period of isolationism, the USA maintained diplomatic and economic ties with the Mediterranean countries. A main aspect of the US Mediterranean policy at the mention period consisted of the humanitarian and commercial efforts in the Northern Africa and The Middle East. The third period (1898–1914) showed a gradually revision of the Monroe Doctrine. The transformation of the American political course was observed after the Spanish war and in the eve of the First World War. It was concluded that the Mediterranean policy of the USA in 19th century had an evolutional character and corresponded with inclusive European and American policy. Each of the mentioned stages represented an important period of history of the American diplomacy and foreign policy, that is why a research has a prospect for a future survey.


Author(s):  
Elena Kudriavtseva

Apollinary Petrovich Butenev was at the head of the Russian embassy in Constantinople from 1830 till 1843. These were the years of the most stable Turkish-Russian relations in the first half of the 19th century. As the envoy to Constantinople, A. Butenev was one of the most significant Russian representatives abroad, while the position in Constantinople was one of the most important postings in the Russian Foreign Ministry service since the city was a kind of international political centre that had a huge impact on the life of the whole of Europe. A. Butenev’s diplomatic endeavours never generated a lot of interest among Russian historians, even though many scholars thoroughly analyzed the period of the Russian-Turkish relations during his service in Constantinople multiple times. The 1830s and 1840s are marked by several important events in foreign policy in which the Russian envoy was directly involved. First of all, А. Butenev played a decisive role in the drafting of the Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi that was signed in 1833. The Bosphorus expedition of 1833 was a unique military and political operation of its time, unparalleled in the history of Russian diplomacy. Usually, the success of the expedition is associated with the names of A.F. Orlov and N.N. Muravyov, while the chance to conclude this treaty that was extremely beneficial for Russia belongs to A. Butenev. This is indicated by numerous internal memoranda and reports he sent to St. Petersburg. With his experience in diplomatic affairs, political weight in the international circles, and the ability to make independent decisions, Apollinary Petrovich Butenev adequately and successfully represented the interests of his homeland in the crucial period when the Russian Empire formulated and implemented its concept of the Eastern policy.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurman Kholis

Abstract. Many Muslims in the Riau Islands do not know the history of the development of Islamic theory from the center of power to spread to various corners. This is as the existence of the Great Mosque of Raja Haji Abdul Ghani (MBRHAG) on Buru Island, Karimun. Thus, to uncover the existence of this mosque, qualitative research methods are used so that history, architecture, and socio-religious functions can be known. Based on the results of the study it was concluded that the establishment of MBRHAG was initiated by Raja Haji Abdul Ghani. He was the first Amir (sub-district level government) of the kingdom of Riau-Lingga on Buru Island, in the 19th century. The architecture is a Chinese. Therefore, on the right side of this mosque is around 200 m, there is also the Sam Po Teng Temple and the Tri Dharma Dewa Bumi. Thus, the close location of the mosque with Chinese and Confucian worship houses's shows a harmonious relationship between Malay Muslims and Chinese Buddhists. In fact, in the continuation of this relationship there was information that a Chinese Buddhist had joined a Muslim friend to fast for half a month of Ramadan.Keywords: Mosque, Malay Muslims, Chinese Buddhists/Confucians, Harmonious RelationsAbstrak. Umat Islam di Kepulauan Riau banyak yang tidak mengenal sejarah perkembangan ajaran Islam dari pusat kekuasaan hingga tersebar ke berbagai pelosok. Hal ini sebagaimana keberadaan Masjid Besar Raja Haji Abdul Ghani (MBRHAG) di Pulau Buru, Karimun. Dengan demikian, untuk mengungkapkan keberadaan masjid ini digunakan metode penelitian kualitatif  agar dapat diketahui sejarah, arsitektur, dan fungsi sosial keagamaannya.  Berdasarkan hasil penelitian diperoleh kesimpulan bahwa pendirian MBRHAG diprakarsai oleh Raja Haji Abdul Ghani. Ia adalah Amir (pemerintah setingkat kecamatan) pertama kerajaan Riau-Lingga di Pulau Buru, pada abad ke-19. Adapun arsitekturnya adalah seorang Tionghoa. Karena itu, di sebelah kanan masjid ini sekitar 200 m juga terdapat Kelenteng Sam Po Teng dan cetya Tri Dharma Dewa Bumi. Dengan demikian, dekatnya lokasi masjid dengan rumah ibadah umat Tionghoa dan Khonghucu ini menunjukkan hubungan yang harmonis antara muslim Melayu dengan Budhis Tionghoa. Bahkan, dalam kelangsungan hubungan ini terdapat informasi seorang Buddhis Tionghoa pernah ikut temannya yang beragama muslim untuk berpuasa selama setengah bulan Ramadhan.Kata Kunci: Masjid, Muslim Melayu, Buddhis/Khonghucu Tionghoa, Hubungan Harmonis


2019 ◽  
pp. 256-281
Author(s):  
E.M. Kopot`

The article brings up an obscure episode in the rivalry of the Orthodox and Melkite communities in Syria in the late 19th century. In order to strengthen their superiority over the Orthodox, the Uniates attempted to seize the church of St. George in Izraa, one of the oldest Christian temples in the region. To the Orthodox community it presented a threat coming from a wealthier enemy backed up by the See of Rome and the French embassy. The only ally the Antioch Patriarchate could lean on for support in the fight for its identity was the Russian Empire, a traditional protector of the Orthodox Arabs in the Middle East. The documents from the Foreign Affairs Archive of the Russian Empire, introduced to the scientific usage for the first time, present a unique opportunity to delve into the history of this conflict involving the higher officials of the Ottoman Empire as well as the Russian embassy in ConstantinopleВ статье рассматривается малоизвестный эпизод соперничества православной и Мелкитской общин в Сирии в конце XIX века. Чтобы укрепить свое превосходство над православными, униаты предприняли попытку захватить церковь Святого Георгия в Израа, один из старейших христианских храмов в регионе. Для православной общины он представлял угрозу, исходящую от более богатого врага, поддерживаемого Римским престолом и французским посольством. Единственным союзником, на которого Антиохийский патриархат мог опереться в борьбе за свою идентичность, была Российская Империя, традиционный защитник православных арабов на Ближнем Востоке. Документы из архива иностранных дел Российской Империи, введены в научный оборот впервые, уникальная возможность углубиться в историю этого конфликта с участием высших должностных лиц в Османской империи, а также российского посольства в Константинополе.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric R. Scerri

<span>The very nature of chemistry presents us with a tension. A tension between the exhilaration of diversity of substances and forms on the one hand and the safety of fundamental unity on the other. Even just the recent history of chemistry has been al1 about this tension, from the debates about Prout's hypothesis as to whether there is a primary matter in the 19th century to the more recent speculations as to whether computers will enable us to virtually dispense with experimental chemistry.</span>


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