The Holy Alliance was formed. Napoleonic Wars and the Holy Alliance as a system of pan-European order

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In 1814 ᴦ. A congress was convened in Vienna to decide the post-war system. The main roles at the congress were played by Russia, England and Austria. The territory of France was restored to its pre-revolutionary borders. A significant part of Poland, along with Warsaw, became part of Russia.

At the end of the Congress of Vienna, at the suggestion of Alexander I, the Holy Alliance was created to jointly fight the revolutionary movement in Europe. Initially, it included Russia, Prussia and Austria, and later many European states joined them.

Holy Alliance- a conservative union of Russia, Prussia and Austria, created with the aim of maintaining the international order established at the Congress of Vienna (1815). The declaration of mutual assistance of all Christian sovereigns, signed on September 14 (26), 1815, was subsequently gradually joined by all the monarchs of continental Europe, except the Pope and the Turkish Sultan. Not being, in the exact sense of the word, a formalized agreement between the powers that would impose certain obligations on them, the Holy Alliance, nevertheless, went down in the history of European diplomacy as a “close-knit organization with a sharply defined clerical-monarchist ideology, created on the basis of the suppression of revolutionary sentiments, wherever they neither showed up.

After the overthrow of Napoleon and the restoration of all-European peace, among the powers that considered themselves completely satisfied with the distribution of “rewards” at the Congress of Vienna, the desire to preserve the established international order arose and strengthened, and the means for this were the permanent union of European sovereigns and the periodic convening of international congresses. But since the achievement of this was contradicted by the national and revolutionary movements of peoples seeking freer forms of political existence, such aspiration quickly acquired a reactionary character.

The initiator of the Holy Alliance was the Russian Emperor Alexander I, although when drawing up the act of the Holy Alliance, he still considered it possible to patronize liberalism and grant a constitution to the Kingdom of Poland. The idea of a Union arose in him, on the one hand, under the influence of the idea of becoming a peacemaker in Europe by creating a Union that would eliminate even the possibility of military clashes between states, and on the other hand, under the influence of the mystical mood that took possession of him. The latter also explains the strangeness of the very wording of the union treaty, which was not similar either in form or in content to international treaties, which forced many specialists in international law to see in it only a simple declaration of the monarchs who signed it.

Signed September 14 (26), 1815. three monarchs - Emperor Francis I of Austria, King Frederick William III of Prussia and Emperor Alexander I, at first in the first two he did not arouse anything other than a hostile attitude towards himself.

The content of this act was extremely vague and flexible, and the most varied practical conclusions could be drawn from it, but its general spirit did not contradict, but rather favored, the reactionary mood of the then governments. Not to mention the confusion of ideas belonging to completely different categories, in it religion and morality completely displace law and politics from the areas that undoubtedly belong to the latter. Built on the legitimate basis of the divine origin of monarchical power, it establishes a patriarchal relationship between sovereigns and peoples, and the former are charged with the obligation to rule in the spirit of “love, truth and peace,” and the latter must only obey: the document does not speak at all about the rights of the people in relation to power mentions.

Finally, obliging sovereigns to always ʼʼ give each other allowance, reinforcement and help", the act does not say anything about exactly in what cases and in what form this obligation should be carried out, which made it possible to interpret it in the sense that assistance is obligatory in all those cases when subjects show disobedience to their “legitimate” sovereigns.

This is exactly what happened - the very Christian character of the Holy Alliance disappeared and only the suppression of the revolution, whatever its origin, was meant. All this explains the success of the Holy Alliance: soon all other European sovereigns and governments joined it, not excluding Switzerland and the German free cities; Only the English Prince Regent and the Pope did not sign to it, which did not prevent them from being guided by the same principles in their policies; only the Turkish Sultan was not accepted into the Holy Alliance as a non-Christian sovereign.

Signifying the character of the era, the Holy Alliance was the main organ of the pan-European reaction against liberal aspirations. Its practical significance was expressed in the resolutions of a number of congresses (Aachen, Troppaus, Laibach and Verona), at which the principle of intervention in the internal affairs of other states was fully developed with the aim of forcibly suppressing all national and revolutionary movements and maintaining the existing system with its absolutist and clerical -aristocratic tendencies.

74. Foreign policy of the Russian Empire in 1814–1853.

Option 1. In the first half of the 19th century. Russia had significant capabilities to effectively solve its foreign policy problems. Οʜᴎ included the protection of their own borders and expansion of territory in accordance with the geopolitical, military-strategic and economic interests of the country. This implied the folding of the territory of the Russian Empire within its natural borders along the seas and mountain ranges and, in connection with this, the voluntary entry or forced annexation of many neighboring peoples. The Russian diplomatic service was well-established, and its intelligence service was extensive. The army numbered about 500 thousand people, was well equipped and trained. Russia's military-technical lag behind Western Europe was not noticeable until the early 50s. This allowed Russia to play an important and sometimes decisive role in the European concert.

After 1815 ᴦ. The main task of Russian foreign policy in Europe was to maintain the old monarchical regimes and fight the revolutionary movement. Alexander I and Nicholas I were guided by the most conservative forces and most often relied on alliances with Austria and Prussia. In 1848 ᴦ. Nicholas helped the Austrian emperor suppress the revolution that broke out in Hungary and strangled revolutionary protests in the Danube principalities.

In the south, very difficult relations developed with the Ottoman Empire and Iran. Türkiye could not come to terms with the Russian conquest at the end of the 18th century. Black Sea coast and, first of all, with the annexation of Crimea to Russia. Access to the Black Sea was of particular economic, defensive and strategic importance for Russia. The most important problem was to ensure the most favorable regime for the Black Sea straits - the Bosporus and Dardanelles. The free passage of Russian merchant ships through them contributed to the economic development and prosperity of the vast southern regions of the state. Preventing foreign military vessels from entering the Black Sea was also one of the tasks of Russian diplomacy. An important means of Russia's intervention in the internal affairs of the Turks was the right it received (under the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi and Yassy treaties) to protect Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire. Russia actively used this right, especially since the peoples of the Balkans saw in it their only protector and savior.

In the Caucasus, Russia's interests collided with the claims of Turkey and Iran to these territories. Here Russia tried to expand its possessions, strengthen and make stable the borders in Transcaucasia. A special role was played by Russia’s relationship with the peoples of the North Caucasus, whom it sought to completely subordinate to its influence. This was extremely important to ensure free and safe communication with the newly acquired territories in Transcaucasia and the lasting inclusion of the entire Caucasian region within the Russian Empire.

To these traditional directions in the first half of the 19th century. new ones were added (Far Eastern and American), which at that time were of a peripheral nature.
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Russia developed relations with China and the countries of North and South America. In the middle of the century, the Russian government began to look closely at Central Asia.

Option 2. In September 1814 – June 1815 ᴦ. The victorious powers decided on the issue of the post-war structure of Europe. It was difficult for the allies to come to an agreement among themselves, as sharp contradictions arose, mainly over territorial issues.

The resolutions of the Congress of Vienna led to the return of old dynasties in France, Italy, Spain and other countries. The resolution of territorial disputes made it possible to redraw the map of Europe. The Kingdom of Poland was created from most of the Polish lands as part of the Russian Empire. The so-called “Viennese system” was created, which implied a change in the territorial and political map of Europe, the preservation of noble-monarchical regimes and European balance. Russian foreign policy was oriented towards this system after the Congress of Vienna.

In March 1815 ᴦ. Russia, England, Austria and Prussia signed an agreement to form the Quadruple Alliance. He was aimed at implementing the decisions of the Congress of Vienna, especially as it related to France. Its territory was occupied by the troops of the victorious powers, and it had to pay a huge indemnity.

In September 1815 ᴦ. Russian Emperor Alexander I, Austrian Emperor Franz and Prussian King Frederick William III signed the Act of Formation of the Holy Alliance.

The Quadruple and Holy Alliances were created due to the fact that all European governments understood the critical importance of achieving concerted action to resolve controversial issues. At the same time, the alliances only muted, but did not remove the severity of the contradictions between the great powers. On the contrary, they deepened, as England and Austria sought to weaken the international authority and political influence of Russia, which had increased significantly after the victory over Napoleon.

In the 20s of the XIX century. The European policy of the tsarist government was associated with the desire to counteract the development of revolutionary movements and the desire to shield Russia from them. Revolutions in Spain, Portugal and a number of Italian states forced members of the Holy Alliance to consolidate their forces in the fight against them. Alexander I's attitude towards revolutionary events in Europe gradually changed from restrained wait-and-see to openly hostile. He supported the idea of collective intervention of European monarchs in the internal affairs of Italy and Spain.

In the first half of the 19th century. The Ottoman Empire was experiencing a severe crisis due to the rise of the national liberation movement of its peoples. Alexander I, and then Nicholas I, were put in a difficult situation. On the one hand, Russia has traditionally helped its coreligionists. On the other hand, its rulers, observing the principle of preserving the existing order, had to support the Turkish Sultan as the legitimate ruler of their subjects. For this reason, Russia's policy on the eastern question was contradictory, but, ultimately, the line of solidarity with the peoples of the Balkans became dominant.

In the 20s of the XIX century. Iran, with the support of England, was actively preparing for war with Russia, wanting to return the lands it had lost in the Peace of Gulistan of 1813 and restore its influence in Transcaucasia. In 1826 ᴦ. The Iranian army invaded Karabakh. In February 1828 ᴦ. The Turkmanchay Peace Treaty was signed.
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According to it, Erivan and Nakhichevan became part of Russia. In 1828 ᴦ. The Armenian region was formed, which marked the beginning of the unification of the Armenian people. As a result of the Russian-Turkish and Russian-Iranian wars of the late 20s of the 19th century. The second stage in the annexation of the Caucasus to Russia has ended. Georgia, Eastern Armenia, Northern Azerbaijan became part of the Russian Empire.

Holy Alliance. - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Holy Alliance." 2017, 2018.

1815, subsequently all the monarchs of continental Europe gradually joined, except the Pope and the Turkish Sultan. Not being in the exact sense of the word a formalized agreement of the powers that would impose certain obligations on them, the Holy Alliance, nevertheless, went down in the history of European diplomacy as “a close-knit organization with a sharply defined clerical-monarchist ideology, created on the basis of the suppression of the revolutionary spirit and political and religious free-thinking, wherever they appear."

History of creation

Castlereagh explained England's non-participation in the treaty by the fact that, according to the English constitution, the king does not have the right to sign treaties with other powers.

Congresses of the Holy Alliance

Aachen Congress

Congresses in Troppau and Laibach

Typically considered together as a single congress.

Congress in Verona

Collapse of the Holy Alliance

The post-war system of Europe created by the Congress of Vienna was contrary to the interests of the new emerging class - the bourgeoisie. Bourgeois movements against feudal-absolutist forces became the main driving force of historical processes in continental Europe. The Holy Alliance prevented the establishment of bourgeois orders and increased the isolation of monarchical regimes. With the growth of contradictions between the members of the Union, there was a decline in the influence of the Russian court and Russian diplomacy on European politics.

By the end of the 1820s, the Holy Alliance began to disintegrate, which was facilitated, on the one hand, by a retreat from the principles of this Union on the part of England, whose interests at that time were very much in conflict with the policy of the Holy Alliance both in the conflict between the Spanish colonies in Latin America and metropolis, and in relation to the still ongoing Greek uprising, and on the other hand, the liberation of the successor of Alexander I from the influence of Metternich and the divergence of interests of Russia and Austria in relation to Turkey.

“As for Austria, I am confident in it, since our treaties determine our relations.”

But Russian-Austrian cooperation could not eliminate Russian-Austrian contradictions. Austria, as before, was frightened by the prospect of the emergence of independent states in the Balkans, probably friendly to Russia, the very existence of which would cause the growth of national liberation movements in the multinational Austrian Empire. As a result, in the Crimean War, Austria, without directly participating in it, took an anti-Russian position.

Bibliography

For the text of the Holy Alliance, see Complete Collection of Laws, No. 25943.
For the French original, see Part 1 of Vol. IV “Collections of treatises and conventions concluded by Russia with foreign powers” by Professor Martens.
"Mémoires, documents et écrits divers laissés par le prince de Metternich", vol. I, pp. 210-212.
V. Danevsky, “Systems of political balance and legitimism” 1882.
Ghervas, Stella [Gervas, Stella Petrovna], Réinventer la tradition. Alexandre Stourdza et l’Europe de la Sainte-Alliance, Paris, Honoré Champion, 2008. ISBN 978-2-7453-1669-1
Nadler V.K. Emperor Alexander I and the idea of the Holy Alliance. vol. 1-5. Kharkov, 1886-1892.

Notes

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See what “Holy Alliance” is in other dictionaries:

HOLY UNION- an alliance of Austria, Prussia and Russia, concluded in Paris on September 26, 1815, after the fall of the empire of Napoleon I. The goals of the Holy Alliance were to ensure the inviolability of the decisions of the Congress of Vienna 1814-1815. In 1815, France and... ... joined the Holy Alliance. Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

HOLY UNION- THE SACRED ALLIANCE, the union of Austria, Prussia and Russia, concluded in Paris on September 26, 1815, after the fall of Napoleon I. The goals of the Holy Alliance were to ensure the inviolability of the decisions of the Congress of Vienna 1814 15. In 1815, the Holy Alliance was joined by... ... Modern encyclopedia

Holy Alliance- an alliance of Austria, Prussia and Russia, concluded in Paris on September 26, 1815, after the fall of Napoleon I. The purpose of the Holy Alliance was to ensure the inviolability of the decisions of the Congress of Vienna in 1814-15. In November 1815, France joined the union,... ... Historical Dictionary

THE SACRED ALLIANCE is a reactionary association of European monarchs that arose after the fall of Napoleon's empire. 26. IX 1815, Russian Emperor Alexander I, Austrian Emperor Franz I and Prussian King Frederick William III signed the so-called “Act of the Holy Alliance” in Paris. The real essence of the “Act”, designed in a pompous religious style, boiled down to the fact that the monarchs who signed it pledged “in every case and in every place ... to provide each other with benefits, reinforcements and assistance.” In other words, the Holy Alliance was a kind of mutual assistance agreement between the monarchs of Russia, Austria and Prussia, which was extremely broad in nature.

On November 19, 1815, the French king Louis XVIII joined the Holy Alliance; Later, most of the monarchs of the European continent joined him. England did not formally join the Holy Alliance, but in practice England often coordinated its behavior with the general line of the Holy Alliance.

The pious formulas of the “Act of Holy Alliance” covered up the very prosaic goals of its creators. There were two of them:

1. Maintain intact the redrawing of European borders that was carried out at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 (...).

2. Conduct an irreconcilable struggle against all manifestations of the “revolutionary spirit.”

In fact, the activities of the Holy Alliance focused almost entirely on the fight against the revolution. The key points of this struggle were the periodically convened congresses of the heads of the three leading powers of the Holy Alliance, which were also attended by representatives of England and France. Alexander I and K. Metternich usually played the leading role at the congresses. There were four congresses of the Holy Alliance - the Aachen Congress of 1818, the Troppau Congress of 1820, the Laibach Congress of 1821 and the Verona Congress of 1822 (...).

The powers of the Holy Alliance stood entirely on the basis of “legitimism,” that is, the most complete restoration of the old dynasties and regimes overthrown by the French Revolution and the armies of Napoleon, and proceeded from the recognition of an absolute monarchy. The Holy Alliance was the European gendarme that kept the European peoples in chains. This was most clearly manifested in the position of the Holy Alliance in relation to the revolutions in Spain (1820-1823), Naples (1820-1821) and Piedmont (1821), as well as the uprising of the Greeks against the Turkish yoke, which began in 1821.

19.XI 1820, shortly after the outbreak of the revolution in Spain and Naples, Russia, Austria and Prussia at the congress in Troppau signed a protocol that openly proclaimed the right of intervention of the three leading powers of the Holy Alliance in the internal affairs of other countries in order to fight the revolution. England and France did not sign this protocol, but did not go beyond verbal protests against it. As a result of the decisions taken in Troppau, Austria received the authority to armedly suppress the Neapolitan revolution and at the end of March 1821 occupied the Kingdom of Naples with its troops, after which the absolutist regime was restored here. In April of the same 1821, Austria forcibly suppressed the revolution in Piedmont.

At the Congress of Verona (October - December 1822), through the efforts of Alexander I and Metternich, a decision was made on armed intervention in Spanish affairs. The authority to actually carry out this intervention was given to France, which on IV 7, 1823 actually invaded Spain with an army of 100,000 under the command of the Duke of Angoulême. The Spanish revolutionary government resisted foreign invasion for six months, but in the end the interventionist forces, supported by the Spanish domestic counter-revolution, were victorious. In Spain, as before in Naples and Piedmont, absolutism was restored.

No less reactionary was the position of the Holy Alliance on the Greek question. When a delegation of Greek rebels arrived in Verona to ask Christian sovereigns and especially Tsar Alexander I for help against the Sultan, the congress even refused to listen to it. England immediately took advantage of this and, in order to strengthen its influence in Greece, began to support the Greek rebels.

The Congress of Verona in 1822 and the intervention in Spain were essentially the last major acts of the Holy Alliance. After that, he virtually ceased to exist. The collapse of the Holy Alliance was due to two main reasons.

Firstly, within the union very soon contradictions between its main participants were revealed. When in December 1823 the Spanish king Ferdinand VII turned to the Holy Alliance for help in bringing his “rebellious” colonies in America to submission, England, interested in the markets of these colonies, not only declared a strong protest against all attempts of this kind, but also defiantly recognized independence American colonies of Spain (XII 31, 1824). This drove a wedge between the Holy Alliance and England. Somewhat later, in 1825 and 1826, on the basis of the Greek question, relations between Russia and Austria began to deteriorate - the two main pillars of the Holy Alliance, Alexander I (towards the end of his reign), and then Nicholas I supported the Greeks, while Metternich continued its previous line regarding the Greek "rebels". 4. IV 1826, the so-called St. Petersburg Protocol on coordination of actions in the Greek issue was even signed between Russia and England, clearly directed against Austria. Contradictions also emerged between other participants in the Holy Alliance.

Secondly, and this was especially important, despite all the efforts of the reaction, the growth of revolutionary forces in Europe continued. In 1830, revolutions took place in France and Belgium, and an uprising against tsarism broke out in Poland. In England, the violent movement of the popular masses forced the Conservatives to accept the electoral reform of 1832. This dealt a heavy blow not only to the principles, but also to the very existence of the Holy Alliance, which actually disintegrated. In 1833, the monarchs of Russia, Austria and Prussia tried to restore the Holy Alliance, but this attempt ended in failure (see Munich Convention).

Diplomatic Dictionary. Ch. ed. A. Ya. Vyshinsky and S. A. Lozovsky. M., 1948.

This year marks the 200th anniversary of one of the key events in the history of Europe, when, on the initiative of the Russian Emperor Alexander I, or, as he was called, Alexander the Blessed, steps were taken towards establishing a new world order. In order to avoid new wars similar to those waged by Napoleon, the idea was put forward of creating a collective security agreement, the guarantor of which was the Holy Alliance (la Sainte-Alliance) with the leading role of Russia.

The personality of Alexander the Blessed remains one of the most complex and mysterious in Russian history. "Sphinx, unsolved to the grave", - Prince Vyazemsky will say about him. To this we can add that the fate of Alexander I beyond the grave is just as mysterious. We mean the life of the righteous elder Theodore Kuzmich the Blessed, canonized as a Saint of the Russian Orthodox Church.

World history knows few figures comparable in scale to Emperor Alexander. This amazing personality remains misunderstood today. The Alexander era was perhaps the highest rise of Russia, its “golden age”, then St. Petersburg was the capital of Europe, and the fate of the world was decided in the Winter Palace.

Contemporaries called Alexander I the “King of Kings”, the conqueror of the Antichrist, the liberator of Europe. European capitals greeted the Tsar-Liberator with delight: the population of Paris greeted him with flowers. The main square of Berlin is named after him - Alexander Platz. I want to dwell on the peacekeeping activities of Tsar Alexander. But first, let us briefly recall the historical context of the Alexander era.

The global war, unleashed by revolutionary France in 1795, lasted almost 20 years (until 1815) and truly deserves the name “First World War,” both in its scope and duration. Then, for the first time, millions of armies clashed on the battlefields of Europe, Asia and America; for the first time, a war was waged on a planetary scale for the dominance of a total ideology.

France was the breeding ground of this ideology, and Napoleon was the disseminator. For the first time, the war was preceded by the propaganda of secret sects and mass psychological indoctrination of the population. The Enlightenment Illuminati worked tirelessly, creating controlled chaos. The age of enlightenment, or rather darkness, ended with revolution, guillotine, terror and world war.

The atheistic and anti-Christian basis of the new order was obvious to contemporaries.

In 1806, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church anathematized Napoleon for his persecution of the Western Church. In all churches of the Russian Empire (Orthodox and Catholic), Napoleon was declared the Antichrist and “the enemy of the human race.”

But the European and Russian intelligentsia welcomed Napoleon as the new Messiah, who would make the revolution worldwide and unite all nations under his power. Thus, Fichte perceived the revolution led by Napoleon as preparation for the construction of an ideal world state.

For Hegel in the French Revolution “the very content of the will of the human spirit appeared”. Hegel is undoubtedly right in his definition, but with the clarification that this European spirit was apostasy. Shortly before the French Revolution, the head of the Bavarian Illuminati, Weishaupt, sought to return man to his “natural state.” His credo: “We must destroy everything without regret, as much as possible and as quickly as possible. My human dignity does not allow me to obey anyone.". Napoleon became the executor of this will.

After the defeat of the Austrian army in 1805, the thousand-year-old Holy Roman Empire was abolished, and Napoleon - officially "Emperor of the Republic" - became the de facto Emperor of the West. Pushkin will say about him:

"Heir and murderer of rebellious liberty,

This cold-blooded bloodsucker,

This king, who disappeared like a dream, like the shadow of dawn.”

After 1805, Alexander I, remaining the only Christian emperor in the world, confronted the spirits of evil and the forces of chaos. But the ideologists of the world revolution and globalists do not like to remember this. The Alexander era is unusually eventful: even the reigns of Peter the Great and Catherine pale in comparison.

In less than a quarter of a century, Emperor Alexander won four military campaigns, repelling the aggression of Turkey, Sweden, Persia and, in 1812, the invasion of European armies. In 1813, Alexander liberated Europe and in the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig, where he personally led the allied armies, inflicted a mortal defeat on Napoleon. In March 1814, Alexander I, at the head of the Russian army, entered Paris in triumph.

A subtle and far-sighted politician, a great strategist, diplomat and thinker - Alexander Pavlovich was unusually gifted by nature. Even his enemies recognized his deep and insightful mind: "He is as elusive as sea foam"- Napoleon said about him. After all this, how can one explain that Tsar Alexander I remains one of the most slandered figures in Russian history?

He, the conqueror of Napoleon, is declared a mediocrity, and the Napoleon he defeated (by the way, who lost six military campaigns in his life) is declared a military genius.

The cult of the cannibal Napoleon, who covered Africa, Asia and Europe with millions of corpses, this robber and murderer, has been supported and extolled for 200 years, including here in Moscow, which he burned.

Globalists and slanderers of Russia cannot forgive Alexander the Blessed for his victory over the “global revolution” and the totalitarian world order.

I needed this long introduction in order to outline the state of the world in 1814, when, after the end of the World War, all the heads of European states met at a congress in Vienna to determine the future order of the world.

The main issue of the Vienna Congress was the issue of preventing wars on the continent, defining new borders, but, above all, suppressing the subversive activities of secret societies.

Victory over Napoleon did not mean victory over the Illuminati ideology, which managed to permeate all the structures of society in Europe and Russia.

Alexander’s logic was clear: whoever allows evil does the same.

Evil knows no boundaries or measures, so the forces of evil must be resisted always and everywhere.

Foreign policy is a continuation of domestic policy, and just as there is no double morality - for oneself and for others, there is no domestic and foreign policy.

The Orthodox Tsar could not be guided by other moral principles in his foreign policy, in relations with non-Orthodox peoples.

Alexander, in a Christian way, forgives the French all their guilt before Russia: the ashes of Moscow and Smolensk, robberies, the blown up Kremlin, the execution of Russian prisoners.

The Russian Tsar did not allow his allies to plunder and divide defeated France into pieces. Alexander refuses reparations from a bloodless and hungry country. The Allies (Prussia, Austria and England) were forced to submit to the will of the Russian Tsar, and in turn refused reparations. Paris was neither robbed nor destroyed: the Louvre with its treasures and all the palaces remained intact.

Europe was stunned by the king's generosity.

In occupied Paris, crowded with Napoleonic soldiers, Alexander Pavlovich walked around the city without an escort, accompanied by one aide-de-camp. The Parisians, recognizing the king on the street, kissed his horse and boots. None of the Napoleonic veterans thought of raising a hand against the Russian Tsar: everyone understood that he was the only defender of defeated France.

Alexander I granted amnesty to all Poles and Lithuanians who fought against Russia. He preached by personal example, firmly knowing that you can only change others with yourself. According to Saint Philaret of Moscow: "Alexander punished the French with mercy".

The Russian intelligentsia - yesterday's Bonapartists and future Decembrists - condemned Alexander's generosity and at the same time prepared regicide.

As the head of the Vienna Congress, Alexander Pavlovich invites defeated France to participate in the work on an equal basis and speaks in Congress with an incredible proposal to build a new Europe based on gospel principles. Never before in history has the Gospel been laid at the foundation of international relations.

In Vienna, Emperor Alexander defines the rights of peoples: they must rest on the precepts of the Holy Scriptures.

In Vienna, the Orthodox Tsar invites all monarchs and governments of Europe to abandon national egoism and Machiavellianism in foreign policy and sign the Charter of the Holy Alliance (la Sainte-Alliance). It is important to note that the term "Holy Alliance" itself in German and French sounds like "Holy Covenant", which strengthens its Biblical meaning.

The Charter of the Holy Alliance will be finally signed by the participants of the Congress on September 26, 1815. The text was compiled personally by Emperor Alexander and only slightly corrected by the Emperor of Austria and the King of Prussia.

Three monarchs, representing three Christian denominations: Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism, address the world in the preamble: “We solemnly declare that this act has no other purpose than the desire to demonstrate before the whole world our unshakable intention to make as a rule, both in the internal government of our states and in relations with other governments, the commandments of the Holy Religion, the commandments of justice, love, peace. , which are observed not only in private life, but should guide the policy of sovereigns, being the only means of strengthening human institutions and correcting their imperfections".

From 1815 to 1818, fifty states signed the charter of the Holy Alliance. Not all signatures were signed sincerely; opportunism is characteristic of all eras. But then, in the face of Europe, the rulers of the West did not dare to openly refute the Gospel.

From the very inception of the Holy Alliance, Alexander I was accused of idealism, mysticism and daydreaming. But Alexander was neither a dreamer nor a mystic; he was a man of deep faith and clear mind, and loved to repeat the words of King Solomon (Proverbs, ch. 8:13-16):

“The fear of the Lord hates evil, pride and arrogance, and I hate the evil way and deceitful lips. I have advice and truth, I am the mind, I have the strength. By me kings reign, and rulers legitimize truth. The rulers and the nobles and all the judges of the earth rule over me.”.

For Alexander I history was a manifestation of God's Providence, the Manifestation of God in the world. On the medal, which was awarded to Russian victorious soldiers, were embossed the words of King David: “Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Your Name give glory.”(Psalm 113.9).

Plans for organizing European politics on evangelical principles were a continuation of the ideas of Paul I, the father of Alexander I, and were built on the patristic tradition.

The great contemporary of Alexander I, Saint Philaret (Drozdov), proclaimed bibliocentrism as the basis of state policy. His words are comparable to the provisions of the Charter of the Holy Alliance.

The enemies of the Holy Alliance understood perfectly well against whom the Alliance was directed. Liberal propaganda, both then and after, in every possible way denigrated the “reactionary” policies of the Russian tsars. According to F. Engels: “The world revolution will be impossible as long as Russia exists”.

Until the death of Alexander I in 1825, the heads of European governments met in congresses to coordinate their policies.

At the Congress in Verona, the king said to the French Foreign Minister and famous writer Chateaubriand:

“Do you think that, as our enemies say, the Union is just a word covering up ambitions? […] There is no longer a policy of English, French, Russian, Prussian, Austrian, but there is only a general policy, and it is for the sake of the common good that peoples and kings must accept it. I should be the first to demonstrate firmness in the principles on which I founded the Union.".

In his book “History of Russia,” the French poet and politician Alphonse de Lamartine writes: “Such was the idea of the Holy Alliance, an idea that was slandered in its essence, representing it as base hypocrisy and a conspiracy of mutual support for the oppression of peoples. It is the duty of history to restore the Holy Alliance to its true meaning.".

For forty years, from 1815 to 1855, Europe did not know war. At that time, Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow spoke about the role of Russia in the world: “The historical mission of Russia is the establishment of a moral order in Europe, based on the Gospel commandments”.

The Napoleonic spirit will be resurrected with Napoleon I's nephew, Napoleon III, who, with the help of a revolution, will seize the throne. Under him, France, in alliance with England, Turkey, Piedmont, with the support of Austria, will start a war against Russia. The Europe of the Vienna Congress will end in Crimea, in Sevastopol. In 1855 the Holy Union will be buried.

Many important truths can be learned by contradiction. Attempts at denial often lead to affirmation.

The consequences of the disruption of the world order are well known: Prussia defeats Austria and, having united the German states, defeats France in 1870. The continuation of this war will be the war of 1914 - 1920, and the consequence of the First World War will be the Second World War.

The Holy Alliance of Alexander I remains in history as a noble attempt to elevate humanity. This is the only example of unselfishness in the field of world politics in history when the Gospel became the Charter in international affairs.

In conclusion, I would like to quote the words of Goethe, spoken in 1827 regarding the Holy Alliance, after the death of Alexander the Blessed:

“The world needs to hate something great, which was confirmed by its judgments about the Holy Alliance, although nothing greater and more beneficial for humanity has yet been conceived! But the mob doesn't understand this. Greatness is unbearable for her.".