As long as strong-willed and energetic khans ruled in Sarai, the Horde seemed to be a powerful state. The first shake-up occurred in 1312, when the population of the Volga region - Muslim, merchant and anti-nomad - nominated Tsarevich Uzbek, who immediately executed 70 Chingizid princes and all noyons who refused to betray the faith of their fathers. The second shock was the murder of Khan Janibek by his eldest son Berdibek, and two years later, in 1359, a twenty-year civil strife began - the “great jam.” In addition to this, in 1346 the plague raged in the Volga region and other lands of the Golden Horde. During the years of the “great silence”, calm left the Horde.
For the 60-70s. XIV century The most dramatic pages in the history of the Golden Horde occur. Conspiracies, murders of khans, strengthening of the power of the Temniks, who, rising together with their henchmen to the khan’s throne, die at the hands of the next contenders for power, pass like a quick kaleidoscope before their amazed contemporaries.
The most successful temporary worker turned out to be Temnik Mamai, who for a long time appointed khans in the Golden Horde (more precisely in its western part) at his own discretion. Mamai was not a Genghisid, but married the daughter of Khan Berdebek. Having no right to the throne, he ruled on behalf of dummy khans. Having subjugated the Great Bulgars, the North Caucasus, Astrakhan, and the mighty Temnik by the mid-70s of the 14th century. became the most powerful Tatar ruler. Although in 1375 Arabshah captured Sarai-Berke and the Bulgars broke away from Mamai, and Astrakhan passed to Cherkesbek, he still remained the ruler of a vast territory from the lower Volga to the Crimea.
“In these same years (1379), writes L.N. Gumilev, a conflict broke out between the Russian Church and Mamai. In Nizhny Novgorod, on the initiative of Dionysius of Suzdal (bishop), Mamai's ambassadors were killed. A war broke out, which went on with varying degrees of success, ending with the Battle of Kulikovo and the return of Chingizid Tokhtamysh to the Horde. In this war, which was imposed by the church, two coalitions took part: the chimeric power of Mamaia, Genoa and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, i.e. The West, and the bloc between Moscow and the White Horde is a traditional alliance, which was started by Alexander Nevsky. Tver avoided participating in the war, and the position of the Ryazan prince Oleg is unclear. In any case, it was independent of Moscow, because in 1382 he, like the Suzdal princes, fought on the side of Tokhtamysh against Dmitry”... In 1381, a year after the Battle of Kulikovo, Tokhtamysh took and destroyed Moscow.
The “Great Jam” in the Golden Horde ended with the coming to power in 1380. Khan Tokhtamysh, which was associated with the support of his rise by the great emir of Samarkand Aksak Timur.
But it was precisely with the reign of Tokhtamysh that events that turned out to be fatal for the Golden Horde were connected. Three campaigns of the ruler of Samarkand, the founder of the world empire from Asia Minor to the borders of China, Timur crushed the Jochi ulus, cities were destroyed, caravan routes moved south into Timur’s possessions.
Timur consistently destroyed the lands of those peoples who sided with Tokhtamysh. The Kipchak kingdom (Golden Horde) lay in ruins, the cities were depopulated, the troops were defeated and scattered.
One of Tokhtamysh’s ardent opponents was the emir of the White Horde from the Mangyt tribe Edigei (Idegei, Idiku), who took part in Timur’s wars against the Golden Horde. Having linked his fate with Khan Timur-Kutluk, who with his help took the Golden Horde throne, Edigei continued the war with Tokhtamysh. At the head of the Golden Horde army in 1399, on the Vorskla River, he defeated the united troops of the Lithuanian prince Vitovt and Tokhtamysh, who fled to Lithuania.
After the death of Timur-Kutluk in 1399, Edigei actually became the head of the Golden Horde. For the last time in the history of the Golden Horde, he managed to unite all the former uluses of Jochi under his rule.
Edigei, like Mamai, ruled on behalf of dummy khans. In 1406, he killed Tokhtamysh, who was trying to settle in Western Siberia. In an effort to restore the Jochi ulus within its former borders, Edigei repeated the path of Batu. In 1407, he organized a campaign against Volga Bulgaria and defeated it. In 1408, Edigei attacked Rus', ravaged a number of Russian cities, besieged Moscow, but could not take it.
Edigei ended his eventful life by losing power in the Horde at the hands of one of Tokhtamysh’s sons in 1419.
The instability of political power and economic life, frequent devastating campaigns against the Bulgar-Kazan lands of the Golden Horde khans and Russian princes, as well as what broke out in the Volga regions in 1428 - 1430. The plague epidemic, accompanied by severe drought, did not lead to consolidation, but rather to the dispersion of the population. Whole villages of people then leave for safer northern and eastern regions. There is also a hypothesis of a socio-ecological crisis in the steppes of the Golden Horde in the second half of the 14th - 15th centuries. - that is, a crisis of both nature and society.
The Golden Horde was no longer able to recover from these shocks, and throughout the 15th century the Horde gradually split and disintegrated into the Nogai Horde (beginning of the 15th century), Kazan (1438), Crimean (1443), Astrakhan (1459), Siberian (late 15th century). century), the Great Horde and other khanates.
At the beginning of the 15th century. The White Horde split into a number of possessions, the largest of which were the Nogai Horde and the Uzbek Khanate. The Nogai Horde occupied the steppes between the Volga and the Urals. “The ethnic composition of the population of the Nogai and Uzbek khanates was almost homogeneous. It included parts of the same local Turkic-speaking tribes and the alien Mongol tribes that underwent assimilation. On the territory of these khanates lived the Kanglys, Kungrats, Kengeres, Karluks, Naimans, Mangyts, Uysuns, Argyns, Alchins, Chinas, Kipchaks, etc. In terms of their economic and cultural levels, these tribes were very close. Their main occupation was nomadic cattle breeding. Patriarchal-feudal relations prevailed in both khanates.” “But there were more Mangyt Mongols in the Nogai Horde than in the Uzbek Khanate.” Some of her clans sometimes crossed to the right bank of the Volga, and in the northeast they reached Tobol.
The Uzbek Khanate occupied the steppes of modern Kazakhstan east of the Nogai Horde. Its territory extended from the lower reaches of the Syr Darya and the Aral Sea north to Yaik and Tobol and northeast to the Irtysh.
The nomadic population of the Kipchak kingdom did not succumb to the influence of the ethno-noosphere of either the Russians or the Bulgars, having gone to the Trans-Volga region, they formed their own ethnic group with their own ethno-noosphere. Even when part of their tribes pulled the people of the Uzbek Khanate to Central Asia towards a settled life, they stayed in the steppes, leaving behind the ethnonym Uzbeks, they proudly called themselves - Kazak (Kazakh), i.e. a free man, preferring the fresh wind of the steppes to the suffocating life of cities and villages.
Historically, this gigantic half-state, half-nomad society did not last long. The fall of the Golden Horde, accelerated by the Battle of Kulikovo (1380) and the brutal campaign of Tamerlane in 1395, was as quick as its birth. And it finally collapsed in 1502, unable to withstand the clash with the Crimean Khanate.
The French Revolution dealt a blow to the European political system. Europe entered the 19th century with the thunder of Napoleonic guns. Russia at that time already occupied one of the leading places on the European continent, whose states sought to prevent the establishment of French domination there. International relations at the beginning of the 19th century were aggravated by the burden of complex contradictions between European powers, which had its roots in the past century.
III COALITION
In 1802, Napoleon declared himself consul for life, and in 1804 - Emperor of France. At the same time, he continued the continuous seizure of new territories in Italy and Germany, striving for hegemony in Europe. In 1803, hostilities began again between England and France. Therefore, since 1803, Russian diplomacy began to develop a new foreign policy doctrine, moving on to the formation of an anti-Napoleonic coalition. Its creation was accelerated after the execution on March 21, 1804 of the Duke of Enghien, a prince from the House of Bourbon, accused of organizing an attempt on the life of Napoleon. This crime caused outrage throughout Europe not only for its cruelty, but also because this action was a gross violation of international law - a violation of the sovereignty of Baden, on whose territory the Duke was captured.
In April 1805, a Russian-English agreement was signed, which Austria soon joined. This event marked the beginning of the formation of the third anti-Napoleonic coalition, which also included Sweden, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Naples.
In August 1805, at the head of the Russian army, he moved to Austria. However, already on October 8 (20), 1805, the Austrian army of General Mack capitulated in Ulm, and soon Napoleon’s troops occupied Vienna. All this put Russian troops in an extremely difficult situation. In this situation, the 5,000-strong corps of P.I. distinguished itself. Bagration, who managed to detain Murat’s 30,000-strong army near Shengraben on November 4 (16), 1805. Thus, Napoleon’s attempt to defeat the Russian army was not successful, since M.I. Kutuzov managed to avoid a major battle through a series of skillful maneuvers. He proposed to withdraw Russian-Austrian troops to the east and gather sufficient forces to successfully conduct military operations. However, the opinion of the Austrian general staff, supported by Alexander I, triumphed - to conduct a general battle. On November 20 (December 2), 1805, the battle of Austerlitz took place between Russian-Austrian and French troops, ending in a French victory. Immediately after Austerlitz, Austria was forced to sign the humiliating Peace of Pressburg, and Russia was forced to cease hostilities and recall the expeditionary force.
“WE ARE NOT IN THE QUEEN’S MEADOW”
Thanks to the courage of the P.I. corps. Bagration under Shengraben, Russian-Austrian troops occupied well-fortified positions in the Olshan region. Napoleon did not dare to attack these positions, resorting to cunning. He spread rumors about the deplorable state of his army and in every possible way showed his inability to conduct further military operations. The trick was a success. Alexander I, fearing to miss Napoleon, ordered Kutuzov to go on the offensive. After the start of the Battle of Austerlitz, the emperor said to Kutuzov: “Why don’t you attack? We’re not Tsaritsyn Luga, where the parade doesn’t start until all the regiments arrive.” Kutuzov replied: “Sir, the reason I’m not attacking is because we’re not on Tsaritsyn Meadow.” However, Kutuzov had to carry out the imperial order, which led to the defeat of the Russian-Austrian troops.
IV COALITION
By the autumn of 1806, for the St. Petersburg ruling circles, the need to create a new anti-Napoleonic coalition became obvious, especially since at that time Prussia was heading towards confrontation with Napoleon. In July 1806, the Rhine Confederation of German States was created, in which Bavaria played the main role. Napoleon became the protector of this association. Thus, the Prussian government’s hopes of assisting Napoleon in strengthening its position in Germany collapsed. Thus, at the end of 1806, a new, IV anti-Napoleonic coalition was formed, consisting of Russia, England, Prussia and Sweden.
Military operations unfolded rapidly. On October 14, 1806, Napoleon defeated the Prussian army at Jena and Auerstedt, and French troops took Berlin. The war was transferred to the territory of East Prussia. On November 21, 1806, in Berlin, Napoleon declared a continental blockade of England - a ban on all countries subject to France from conducting trade and maintaining diplomatic relations with the British Isles.
However, Napoleon failed to achieve such a lightning-fast defeat of the Russian army. In the bloody battle that took place on January 26-27, 1807 at Preussisch-Eylau, Russian troops under the command of L.L. Bennigsen managed to repel the onslaught of the French army, but on June 2, 1807, at Friedland, the Russian army was defeated and was forced to retreat beyond the Neman. French troops reached directly to the borders of Russia. Emperor Alexander I was forced to bow to peace, which was signed in the city of Tilsit.
TILSITI WORLD
Russian-French negotiations took place in several stages. On June 21, 1807, a truce was signed, ratified by Alexander on June 23. June 25 (July 7), 1807 on the river. The famous meeting of the emperors took place on the Neman raft, the purpose of which was to sign a peace treaty. The position of Alexander I was as follows: Russia’s refusal to ally with Great Britain and recognition of the changes that took place in Europe during the Napoleonic wars. The Russian emperor sought Napoleon's non-interference in Russian-Ottoman relations and the preservation of the territorial integrity of Prussia, led by Frederick William III. Napoleon's goal was to achieve the establishment of allied relations with Russia, which were necessary for the French emperor to complete his conquests on the Iberian Peninsula and to successfully fight against Great Britain.
As a result of intense negotiations in Tilsit, two documents were signed: a peace treaty and a secret alliance treaty. Under the terms of the peace treaty, Russia agreed to secede from Prussia the lands on the left bank of the Elbe. From the Polish territories belonging to Prussia, the Duchy of Warsaw was formed under the protectorate of Napoleon. The city of Danzig (Gdansk) became a free city, and the Bialystok district went to Russia. France took upon itself mediation in the settlement of Russian-Ottoman relations. The treaty of alliance provided for joint actions of the powers against any third power hostile to them. Russia took upon itself the role of a mediator in the settlement of Franco-British relations, and in the event of Great Britain’s refusal to make peace, an obligation to break off all relations with it and join the continental blockade by the end of 1807.
The Russian public negatively greeted the signing of the Tilsit agreements, and Alexander's policies were sharply criticized in aristocratic, diplomatic and military circles. Russian diplomacy failed to defend its positions to the end. In Tilsit, Alexander had to cede to Napoleon those lands that he had already conquered. However, each side was able to interpret its future obligations to each other quite broadly, which allowed the Russian government to maintain the possibility of diplomatic maneuver and made the resumption of the struggle a reality.
ERFURT DATE
The agreement reached in Tilsit did not remove all the severity of the contradictions between the two countries. France used the alliance with Russia to expand its expansion in Europe. However, at that time Napoleon was plagued by political failures closely related to Spain's struggle against his rule. This struggle awakened in other European nations the consciousness that Napoleonic aggression could be successfully resisted. Napoleon concentrated all his forces and resources on keeping enslaved Europe in submission. In this regard, the need to demonstrate an alliance with Russia became increasingly urgent for Napoleon.
On September 28, 1808, new negotiations between Napoleon and Alexander opened in Erfurt, which continued until October 14. Wanting to impress Alexander, Napoleon invited numerous rulers to Erfurt who recognized his suzerainty. The pomp and solemnity of the events, brilliant parades of the imperial guard, numerous balls, theatrical performances by actors specially arrived from Paris were supposed to convince Europe of the strength of the union of the two emperors.
The Erfurt Convention confirmed the Treaty of Tilsit. France recognized Russia's rights to Finland and the Danube principalities. Alexander I refused to actively participate in the Napoleonic wars against Austria and Great Britain. Napoleon showed intransigence on the Polish and Prussian issues: he flatly refused to withdraw his troops from Prussia until the indemnity was fully paid, and refused to accept obligations not to contribute to the expansion of the territory of the Duchy of Warsaw. Thus, the Erfurt agreement was another political compromise, without relieving tension in Russian-French relations.
After the signing of this treaty, Russia was forced to side with Napoleon in his war with Austria, which began in the spring of 1809. Although on the Russian side it was more likely just a demonstration of military power than actual participation in hostilities, Napoleon, after his victory in 1810, transferred the eastern part of Galicia (Tarnopol district) to Russia.
THE RUSSIAN GOVERNOR MUST BE AN ALLY OF THE FRENCH PEOPLE
Another significant event took place in Erfurt. The former Minister of Foreign Affairs of France Talleyrand (he left this post in 1807 - immediately after the conclusion of the Peace of Tilsit), who was Napoleon's consultant at the congress, offered secret cooperation to Alexander I. He was motivated not only by material considerations. At that time, Talleyrand understood more and more clearly the doom of Napoleon's policies. In Erfurt, Talleyrand told the Russian emperor: “You must save Europe, and you will succeed in this only if you resist Napoleon. The French people are civilized, but the French sovereign is uncivilized; The Russian sovereign is civilized, but the Russian people are uncivilized. Consequently, the Russian sovereign must be an ally of the French people."
Talleyrand's correspondence was strictly kept under wraps and was transmitted to St. Petersburg through K.V. Nesselrode - at that time a member of the Russian embassy in Paris. “My cousin Henri”, “my friend”, “Ta”, “Anna Ivanovna”, “our bookseller”, “handsome Leander”, “legal adviser” - these were the names Talleyrand was referred to in secret correspondence between Nesselrode and St. Petersburg. Talleyrand's messages were very valuable: he reported that the composition of the French army had become worse than before, pointed out the need to quickly end the war with the Ottoman Empire (contrary to the advice of Napoleon), and outlined information about the immediate plans of the French emperor - an attack on Russia.
After the War of the Fourth Coalition - 1807, in which Russia helped Prussia.
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The main point of the Tilsit Treaty was not published at that time: Russia and France pledged to help each other in any offensive and defensive war, wherever circumstances required it. This close alliance eliminated Napoleon's only strong rival on the continent; England remained isolated; both powers pledged to use all measures to force the rest of Europe to comply with the continental system. On July 7, 1807, the treaty was signed by both emperors. The Peace of Tilsit elevated Napoleon to the pinnacle of power, and put Emperor Alexander in a difficult position. The feeling of resentment in capital circles was great. “Tilsit!.. (at this offensive sound / Now Russia will not turn pale),” wrote Alexander Pushkin 14 years later. The Patriotic War of 1812 was subsequently looked upon precisely as the event that “made amends” for the Tilsit Peace. In general, the significance of the Peace of Tilsit was very great: from 1807, Napoleon began to rule much more boldly in Europe than before.
Terms of the Peace of Tilsit
- Russia recognized all of Napoleon's conquests.
- Russia's joining the continental blockade against England (secret agreement). Russia must completely abandon trade with its main partner (in particular, the terms of the peace treaty ordered Russia to completely exclude the export of hemp to the UK) and, together with France, influence Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Portugal with the same goals.
- Russia and France pledged to help each other in every offensive and defensive war, wherever circumstances require it. So, during the war with Sweden (1808-1809), with the support of France, Russia acquired Finland. At the same time, assistance to France in its war with Austria in 1809, an auxiliary corps under the terms of peace, was not actually provided by Russia.
- On the territory of the Polish possessions of Prussia, the Duchy of Warsaw, dependent on France, was formed.
- The territory of Prussia was significantly reduced (the Polish regions were torn away, as well as Hanover, County Mark, occupied by Prussia in 1806, with the cities of Essen, Verden and Lippstadt, County Ravensberg, the cities of Lingen and Tecklenburg, the Principalities of Minden, East Frisia, Munster, Paderborn, Kleve and eastern bank of the Rhine), although it was retained as an independent state and turned into a state dependent on France. Joseph Bonaparte as the King of Naples and Louis Bonaparte as the King of the Netherlands, Jerome Bonaparte as the King of Westphalia.
- Recognition by Russia
The Peace of Tilsit was officially signed in 1807 by Emperors Napoleon and Alexander I after the defeat of Russian soldiers at Friedland during the Prussian-Russian French War of 1806-1807, where Russia was a supporter of Prussia.
Today, Tilsit is a city called Sovetsk, which is part of the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation. Treaties were signed here between Russia and France, also between Prussia and France - on June 25 (July 7 according to the new calendar) and July 9 (July 21 according to the new calendar) in 1807.
As a result of the Tilsit Peace Treaty, Russian troops were obliged to leave the territory of the Danube principalities of Moldova and Wallachia, and they also agreed to transfer the Bay of Kotor, located in the Adriatic Sea, to the French. Even as a result of this peace, Russia had to accept French sovereignty on the territory of the Ionian Islands. Simultaneously with the signing of the Peace of Tilsit, France and Russia concluded a secret treaty on an offensive or defensive alliance.
According to the secret treaty, countries were required to conduct allied military operations in any war against any European state, without concluding a separate peace. If Great Britain refuses Russian mediation in negotiations with France, regarding the non-recognition by British authorities of freedom of the seas and the non-return of captured French colonies after 1805, Russia had to sever diplomatic relations with Great Britain and begin the Continental blockade of England, which was carried out by France. The French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte promised to enter into the Turkish war if this country refused French mediation in negotiations with Russia.
Prussia was deprived of at least half of its population and territory. The lands belonging to the left bank of the Elbe now belonged to the renewed Kingdom of Westphalia. From the territory that was captured by Prussia, earlier during the division of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Duchy of Warsaw was created, which was practically a protectorate of Napoleon Bonaparte. The Cottbus region now belonged to Saxony, and the Bialystok region belonged to Russia. From that time on, Danzig (today Gdansk) was declared an independent city. The duchies of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Oldenburg and Saxe-Coburg were restored.
The Tilsit Peace Treaty was unequal. It actually destroyed the national dignity of Prussia and generally contradicted the fundamental political and economic interests of Russia. It should be noted that joining the Continental blockade limited the independence and independence of the Russian government and negatively affected the state of foreign trade relations. The appearance of the Kingdom of Warsaw on the borders of Russia, which was entirely under the command of France, generally worsened the Russian strategic position.
The Tilsit Peace Treaty lost its significance at the beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812.
Napoleon Bonaparte, the French emperor, was at the height of his success. After a series of brilliant victories from Austerlitz to Jena and Friedland, he defeated the armies of Austria, Prussia and Russia. In June 1807, when Russian military power was on the verge of devastation after Friedland, French cavalry captured Tilsit (later Sovetsk), on the Neman River. It served as the border between Russian and Prussian territories in Poland. The Russian army was completely in the wrong condition to continue the fight. As a result, Alexander I proposes to hold peace negotiations between him, Napoleon and the King of Prussia, Frederick William. Seeing an opportunity to strengthen his dominant position in Central Europe and further isolate Britain, Napoleon agrees.
Alexander, through an envoy, conveyed to Napoleon about the possible advantages of an agreement between France and Russia: supposedly “this could ensure a happy existence and tranquility for the whole world.” A neutral territory in the middle of the river was chosen for negotiations, where the French hastily put together a ferry with two majestic white tents. The main tent had a large letter "H" in green, facing the French bank of the river, and a large "A" - towards Russia. The Prussians modestly noted that they had not prepared any identification marks for their king: they really found themselves in the worst position of all. The negotiators were taken to the ferry by boat for the first meeting, which took place on June 25.
The French ship made a breakthrough, which allowed Napoleon to arrive on the spot first and meet Emperor Alexander. The latter, as historical facts indicate, said: “Sire, I hate the British no less than you and therefore I am ready to assist any of your initiatives against them.” To which Napoleon replied: “In that case, everything is decided between us: peace is proclaimed.”
Discussions of all the nuances lasted for several days, interrupting only in the evenings for entertainment events. Napoleon and Alexander I dined together every day and often sat up late in private conversations. They greeted each other ceremoniously, walked around and exchanged handkerchiefs and scarves. Alexander ordered the Russian Orthodox Church to revoke the anathema declared against Napoleon in 1806. And this despite the subtle hints of Napoleon, who allegedly accidentally pointed out to Alexander I his dubious path to seizing the throne (suspicions of the parricide of Paul I, 1801). At this time, the French emperor was in correspondence with Josephine, where he described Queen Louise of Prussia as a very attractive lady who even flirted with him. But for the Emperor this is like water off a duck's back.
The difficulties during the negotiations were as follows:
Alexander, like other monarchs before and after, had his sights set on Constantinople, but Napoleon was determined not to allow Russia to gain one of the world's oldest capitals.
Alexander could not completely turn his back on Friedrich Wilhelm, since a couple of months ago he had sworn eternal brotherhood to him. Napoleon, in turn, intended to “lower” Prussia to the level of a second-class state, which could not interfere with his plans to seize power in Germany.
Napoleon was going to revive Poland in a certain form, but Alexander was afraid of this. After all, his Polish subjects could rebel more than ever if an independent Polish state arose.
Russia's economic well-being depended on trade ties with Britain, which Napoleon tried to isolate.
Napoleon used all the magic of persuasion he could, and it paid off. Alexander, blinded by the prospects of receiving the lion's share of Turkey after the coming division, decided to abandon his previous ambitions. Although he dreamed of freeing Western Europe from the encroachments of imperial France, the Russian monarch nevertheless decided to share governance of the world with Napoleon.
The agreement between France and Russia was signed on July 7, and between France and Prussia on July 9. The Peace of Tilsit implied the following: Russia and Prussia pledged to join the Continental System - a blockade aimed at destroying British trade. This was expressed in the closure of ports to British ships and neutral vessels associated with English trading activities. The parties showed humiliating contempt towards Prussia. Its territories were designated for several purposes. Part was allocated to create the new Grand Duchy of Warsaw, the rest of the lands fell into the hands of the king of Saxony, an ally of Napoleon, and his younger brother Jerome Bonaparte, who received the kingdom of Westphalia. According to the treaty, Prussia also had to reduce the army to 40 thousand people and pay huge compensation to the French, meanwhile providing its army to France until the money was completely transferred. The flirtatious Queen of Prussia was so stressed that she fell to her knees in front of Napoleon, begging for mercy, but he just waved her off.
The essence of the Peace of Tilsit was the signing of a secret agreement between two large empires, which pledged to help each other in matters of redistribution of power: France promised assistance to Russia in the issue of the Ottoman Empire, Russia agreed to participate in neutralizing the power of Britain.
Many influential people in Russia and Prussia dubbed the Peace of Tilsit as a shameful capitulation. At the end of 1810, Alexander opened Russian ports to neutral ships because continuing the blockade could harm his country's economy. Napoleon did not keep himself waiting long and attacked Russia in 1812.