Editing Paul I of Russia (section)

==Foreign affairs==
[[File:Paul I by A.F. Mitrokhin.jpeg|thumb|Paul I in the early 1790s]]

Paul's early foreign policy can largely be seen as reactions against his mother's. In foreign policy, this meant that he opposed the many expansionary wars she fought and instead preferred to pursue a more peaceful, diplomatic path. Immediately upon taking the throne, he recalled all troops outside Russian borders, including the struggling expedition Catherine II had sent to conquer [[Qajar Iran]] through the [[Caucasus]] and the 60,000 men she had promised to [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Britain]] and [[Habsburg monarchy|Austria]] to help them defeat the [[French First Republic|French]].<ref>For the Iranian expedition, see Haukeil, 349. For the 60,000 troops to Europe, see McGrew (1992), 282.</ref> Paul hated the French before their revolution, and afterwards, with their republican and anti-religious views, he detested them even more.<ref name="Haukeil, 351">Haukeil, 351.</ref> In addition to this, he knew French expansion hurt Russian interests, but he recalled his mother's troops primarily because he firmly opposed wars of expansion. He also believed that Russia needed substantial governmental and military reforms to avoid an economic collapse and a revolution, before Russia could wage war on foreign soil.<ref name="McGrew1992"/>{{rp|283}}

Paul offered to mediate between Austria and France through Prussia and pushed Austria to make peace, but the two countries made peace without his assistance, signing the [[Treaty of Campoformio]] in October 1797.<ref name="McGrew1992"/>{{rp|286}} This treaty, with its affirmation of French control over islands in the Mediterranean and the partitioning of the [[Republic of Venice]], upset Paul, who saw it as creating more instability in the region and displaying France's ambitions in the Mediterranean. In response, he offered asylum to the [[Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé|Prince of Condé]] and his army, as well as the future [[Louis XVIII]], both of whom had been forced out of Austria by the treaty.<ref name="McGrew1992"/>{{rp|288–289}} By this point, the French Republic had overrun [[Northern Italy]], the [[Dutch Republic]] and [[Old Swiss Confederacy|Switzerland]], establishing [[Sister republic|republics]] with constitutions in each, and Paul felt that Russia now needed to play an active role in Europe in order to overthrow what the republic had created and restore traditional authorities.<ref name="McGrew1992"/>{{rp|289–290}} In this goal he found a willing ally in the Austrian chancellor [[Johann Amadeus Francis de Paula, Baron of Thugut|Baron Thugut]], who hated the French and loudly criticized revolutionary principles. Britain joined Austria and Russia to stop French expansion, liberate territories under their control and re-establish old monarchies. The only major power in Europe who did not join Paul in his anti-French campaign was Prussia, whose distrust of Austria and the security they got from their current relationship with France prevented them from joining the [[War of the Second Coalition|Second Coalition]].<ref name="McGrew1992"/>{{rp|286–287}} Despite the Prussians’ reluctance, Paul decided to move ahead with the war, promising 60,000 men to support Austria in Italy and 45,000 men to help Britain in north Germany and Holland.<ref name="Haukeil, 351"/>

Another important factor in Paul's decision to go to war with France was the island of [[Hospitaller Malta|Malta]], the home of the [[Knights Hospitaller]]. In addition to Malta, the Order had priories in the Catholic countries of Europe that held large estates and paid the revenue from them to the Order. In 1796, the Order approached Paul about the Priory of Poland, which had been in a state of neglect and paid no revenue for 100 years, and was now on Russian land.<ref name="McGrew1979">McGrew, Roderick E. (1979) "Paul I and the Knights of Malta," in ''Paul I: A Reassessment of His Life and Reign'', ed. Hugh Ragsdale (Pittsburgh: University Center for International Studies, University of Pittsburgh) {{ISBN|0-916002-28-4}}</ref>{{rp|46–48}} Paul as a child had read the histories of the Order and was impressed by their honor and connection to the old order it represented. He relocated the Priories of Poland to St. Petersburg in January 1797.<ref name="McGrew1979"/>{{rp|48}} The knights responded by making him a protector of the Order in August of that same year, an honour he had not expected but, in keeping with his chivalric ideals, he happily accepted.<ref name="McGrew1979"/>{{rp|49–50}}

[[File:Pawlowsk-Palast 2005 b.jpg|thumb|A statue of Emperor Paul in front of the [[Pavlovsk Palace]]]]

In June 1798, the French [[French invasion of Malta|occupied Malta]]; this greatly offended Paul.<ref name="McGrew1979"/>{{rp|51}} In September, the Priory of St. Petersburg declared that Grand Master [[Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim]] had betrayed the Order by "selling" Malta to Napoleon. A month later the Priory elected Paul [[Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller|Grand Master]] on 24 November 1798, according to the 1847 edition of the ''Glossary of Heraldry''.<ref name="McGrew1979"/>{{rp|55–58}}<ref>[http://www.orderofmalta.int/history/680/the-79-grand-masters/?lang=en The 79 Grand Masters] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113211958/http://www.orderofmalta.int/history/680/the-79-grand-masters/?lang=en|date=2011-11-13}} – official website of the [[Sovereign Military Order of Malta]]</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=History After Malta|url=http://www.spirituallysmart.com/History_After_Malta.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521021025/http://www.spirituallysmart.com/History_After_Malta.html|archive-date=2013-05-21|access-date=2013-09-12|publisher=Spirituallysmart.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Ceyrep|url=https://academic.oup.com/nq/article-abstract/s1-XI/286/309/4535653?redirectedFrom=fulltext|title=The grand master of the order of Malta|date=21 April 1855|journal=[[Notes and Queries]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|volume=s1-XI|pages=309–310|doi=10.1093/nq/s1-XI.286.309c|issn=0029-3970|oclc=7756812923|issue=286}}</ref> This election resulted in the establishment of the [[Russian tradition of the Knights Hospitaller]] within the Imperial Orders of Russia. The election of the sovereign of an Orthodox nation as the head of a Catholic order was controversial, and it was some time before the [[Holy See]] or any of the Order's other priories approved it. This delay created political issues between Paul, who insisted on defending his legitimacy, and the priories’ respective countries.<ref name="McGrew1979"/>{{rp|59}} Though recognition of Paul's election would become a more divisive issue later in his reign, the election immediately gave Paul, as Grand Master of the Order, another reason to fight the French Republic: to reclaim the Order's ancestral home.

The Russian army in Italy played the role of an auxiliary force sent to support the Austrians, though the Austrians offered the position of chief commander over all the allied armies to Alexander Suvorov, a distinguished Russian general. Under Suvorov, the allies managed to push the French out of Italy, though they suffered heavy losses.<ref>Haukei, 355-57.</ref> However, by this point in time, cracks had started to appear in the Russo-Austrian alliance, due to their different goals in Italy. While Paul and Suvorov wanted the liberation and restoration of the Italian monarchies, the Austrians sought territorial acquisitions in Italy, and were willing to sacrifice later Russian support to acquire them.<ref name="McGrew1992"/>{{rp|299}} The Austrians, therefore, happily saw Suvorov and his army out of Italy in 1799 to go meet up with the army of [[Alexander Korsakov]], at the time assisting the Austrian [[Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen|Archduke Charles]] to expel the French armies currently occupying Switzerland.<ref>Haukeil, 358.</ref> However, the campaign in Switzerland had become a stalemate, without much activity on either side until the Austrians withdrew. Because this happened before Korsakov and Suvorov could unite their forces, the French could attack their armies one at a time, destroying Korsakov's and forcing Suvorov to fight his way out of Switzerland, suffering heavy losses.<ref>For Archduke Charles withdrawing early, see McGrew (1992), 301. For more information on the battles Korsakov and Suvorov fought, see Haukeil, 361–62.</ref> Suvorov, shamed, blamed the Austrians for the terrible defeat in Switzerland, as did his furious sovereign. This defeat, combined with Austria's refusal to reinstate the old monarchies in Italy and their disrespect of the Russian flag during the taking of [[Ancona]], led to the formal cessation of the alliance in October 1799.<ref>For a summary of the taking of Ancona, see McGrew (1992), 306. For a quick summary of all the issues involved, see Hugh Ragsdale, "A Continental System in 1801: Paul I and Bonaparte," ''The Journal of Modern History'', 42 (1970), 70–71.</ref>

Although by the fall of 1799 the Russo-Austrian alliance had more or less fallen apart, Paul still cooperated willingly with the British. Together, they planned to invade the [[Batavian Republic]], and through that country attack France proper. Unlike Austria, neither Russia nor Britain appeared to have any secret territorial ambitions: they both simply sought to defeat the French.<ref name="McGrew1992"/>{{rp|309}}

The [[Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland]] started well, with a British victory at the [[Battle of Callantsoog]] on 27 August 1799. By the time the Russian army arrived in September, however, the allies found themselves faced with bad weather, poor coordination, and unexpectedly fierce resistance from the Batavian and French armies, and their success evaporated.<ref> For a summary of the invasion of Holland, see McGrew (1992), 309. For a more detailed look at the events, see Haukeil, 364.</ref> As the month wore on, the weather worsened and the allies suffered more and more defeats, eventually signing an armistice in October 1799.<ref>Haukeil, 364.</ref> The Russians suffered three-quarters of allied losses and surviving Russian troops were sent by the British to the [[Isle of Wight]] after the retreat, as it was illegal for foreign troops to enter Britain.<ref name="McGrew1992" />{{rp|309–310}} The invasion's defeat and the perceived poor treatment of Russian troops by Britain strained Anglo-Russian relations, but a definitive break did not occur until later.<ref name="McGrew1992" />{{rp|311}} The reasons for this break are less clear and simple than those of the split with Austria, but several key events occurred over the winter of 1799–1800 that helped: France released 7,000 Russian prisoners of war that Britain had refused to ransom; Paul grew closer to [[Denmark–Norway]] and [[Sweden]], whose claim to neutral shipping rights angered Britain; Paul recalled Britain's ambassador to Russia [[Charles Whitworth, 1st Earl Whitworth|Charles Whitworth]] in 1800 and the [[first Pitt ministry]] did not replace him, without any clear reason given as to why; and Britain, needing to choose between their two allies, chose Austria, who were seen as more reliable than the Russians.<ref>For a summary, with more information on Paul growing closer to the Baltic states, see McGrew (1992), 311–12. For information on the British ambassador and their choice of Austria over Russia, see Ragsdale, "A Continental System in 1801: Paul I and Bonaparte," ''The Journal of Modern History'', 71–72. For Napoleon's actions and Paul's feelings towards him, see Haukeil, 365.</ref>

[[File:PavelI-FShubin.jpg|thumb| Portrait of Paul I of Russia by [[Fedot Shubin|F. Shubin]], marble, 1800, [[Russian Museum]], Saint-Petersburg]]

Finally, two events occurred in rapid succession that destroyed the Anglo-Russian alliance completely: first, in July 1800, the [[Royal Navy]] seized a Danish frigate, prompting Paul to close all British factories in St. Petersburg and impound all British merchantmen and cargo in Russian ports; second, even though this crisis was resolved, Paul was incensed by Britain's refusal to hand Malta over the Knights Hospitaller– and thus to Paul– when they [[Siege of Malta (1798–1800)|captured it from France]] in September 1800.<ref>For information on the Danish frigate, see Hugh Ragsdale, "Was Paul Bonaparte's Fool?: The Evidence of Neglected Archives," in ''Paul I: A Reassessment of His Life and Reign'', ed. Hugh Ragsdale (Pittsburgh: University Center for International Studies, University of Pittsburgh, 1979), 80. For Paul's reaction to the seizure and then the events at Malta, see McGrew (1992), 313–14. For the date of the Maltese events, see Haukeil, 366.</ref> To force Britain to hand over Malta, Paul seized all British vessels in Russian ports, sent their crews to [[concentration camp]]s and took British traders hostage.<ref>For a summary of Paul's reaction, see McGrew (1992), 314. For more details, see Haukeil, 366.</ref> Over the next winter, he went further, using the [[Second League of Armed Neutrality]] he formed with Sweden, Denmark and Prussia to prepare the Baltic against possible attacks by the Royal Navy and prevent them from searching neutral merchant vessels, along with freezing all British trade in Northern Europe.<ref>For information on the military side of these measures, see McGrew (1992), 314. For information on the economic side and how Paul interacted with the Armed Neutrality, see Ragsdale, "Was Paul Bonaparte's Fool?" in ''Paul I: A Reassessment of His Life and Reign'', 81.</ref> As France had already closed most of Western and Southern Europe to British trade, Britain, which relied heavily upon imports such as timber, naval products, and grain, reacted fast to Paul's aggression.<ref>Ragsdale, "A Continental System in 1801: Paul I and Bonaparte," ''The Journal of Modern History'', 81–82.</ref> In March 1801, Britain sent a fleet under Vice-Admiral [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Horatio Nelson]] to Denmark, [[Battle of Copenhagen (1801)|defeating a Danish fleet]] off Copenhagen in the beginning of April.<ref>Haukeil, 366.</ref> Nelson's fleet then sailed towards St. Petersburg, reaching [[Reval]] on 14 May 1801, but after the conspiracy assassinated Paul on 23 March 1801, the new Tsar Alexander opened peace negotiations with Britain shortly after taking the throne.<ref name="McGrew1992" />{{rp|314}}

The most original aspect of Paul I's foreign policy was his rapprochement with France after the coalition fell apart. Several scholars have argued that this change in position, radical though it seemed, made sense, as Bonaparte became [[First Consul]] and made France a more conservative state, consistent with Paul's view of the world.<ref>For arguments about consistency and Paul's reasons to fight, see McGrew (1992), 318. For the arguments as to why Paul was willing to reach an agreement with Bonaparte, see Muriel Atkin, "The Pragmatic Diplomacy of Paul I: Russia's Relations with Asia, 1796–1801," ''Slavic Review'', 38 (1979), 68.</ref> Paul also decided to [[Indian March of Paul|send an army to invade British India]], as Britain itself was almost impervious to direct attack, being an island nation with a formidable navy, but the British had left their Indian possessions largely unguarded and would have great difficulty staving off a force that came by land to attack it.<ref>Atkin, "The Pragmatic Diplomacy of Paul I," 68.</ref> The British themselves considered this enough of a problem that they signed three treaties with Persia, in [[Anglo-Persian Treaty of 1801|1801]], 1809 and 1812, to guard against a European army invading India through Central Asia.<ref>"While the British were signing treaties with Persia to protect their holding in India in the late 18th century Paul I was working with the [[Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti]] and made them a protectorate of the Russian Empire in 1768 and then in 1801 Georgia was attacked by Iranian forces. This attack would push Paul I to take further steps beyond what was in place in order to protect his interests in the Caucasus. Paul I intended to annex the kingdom but he was assassinated before he could finish the decree but Alexander I, Paul I's successor, would finish the deal and provide full protection."
Atkin, "The Pragmatic Diplomacy of Paul I", p. 69.</ref> Paul sought to attack the British where they were weakest: through their commerce and colonies. Throughout his reign, his policies focused reestablishing peace and the balance of power in Europe, while supporting autocracy and old monarchies, without seeking to expand Russia's borders.<ref>Ragsdale, "Was Paul Bonaparte's Fool?" in ''Paul I: A Reassessment of His Life and Reign'', 88.</ref>

===Irano-Georgian matters===
{{See also|Georgia within the Russian Empire}}
{{Further|Treaty of Georgievsk|Battle of Krtsanisi}}
[[File:Roubaud. Russian troops entering Tiflis in 1799.JPG|thumb|''Entrance of the Russian troops in Tiflis, 26 November 1799'', by [[Franz Roubaud]], 1886]]

In lieu of Russia's failure to honour the terms of the [[Treaty of Georgievsk]], Qajar Iran reinvaded Georgia. Georgian rulers felt they had nowhere else to turn now as Georgia was again re-subjugated by Iran. [[Battle of Krtsanisi|Tbilisi]] was captured and burnt to the ground, and eastern Georgia reconquered. However, [[Agha Mohammad Khan]], Persia's ruler, was assassinated in 1797 in [[Shusha]], after which the Persian grip on Georgia softened again. [[Heraclius II of Georgia|Erekle, King of Kartli-Kakheti]], still dreaming of a united Georgia, died a year later. After his death, a civil war broke out over the succession to the throne of Kartli-Kakheti, and one of the rival candidates called on Russia to intervene and decide matters. On 8 January 1801, Tsar Paul I signed a decree on the incorporation of Georgia (Kartli-Kakheti) within the Russian Empire,<ref>Gvosdev (2000), p. 85</ref><ref>Avalov (1906), p. 186</ref> which was confirmed by Tsar Alexander I on 12 September 1801.<ref>Gvosdev (2000), p. 86</ref><ref>[[David Marshall Lang|Lang]] (1957), p. 249</ref> The Georgian envoy in Saint Petersburg, [[Garsevan Chavchavadze]], reacted with a note of protest that was presented to the Russian vice-chancellor [[Alexander Kurakin]].<ref>Lang (1957), p. 251</ref> In May 1801, after Paul's death, Russian General [[Carl Heinrich von Knorring]] removed the Georgian heir to the throne, [[David Bagrationi|David]] [[Batonishvili]], from power and deployed a provisional government headed by General [[Ivan Petrovich Lazarev]].<ref>Lang (1957), p. 247</ref>