A.A. Savinsky – the Representative of Russia at the Opium Conference in the Hague, Netherlands 1911–1912

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The article for the first time highlights Russia's participation in the First International Opium Conference of 1911 in The Hague, Netherlands. The objective of the Conference was to develop international standards for controlling the circulation of opium, morphine, and cocaine. As a result of the Conference, on January 23, 1912, the International Opium Convention was adopted, signed by representatives of 12 countries, including Russia, which laid the foundation for international regulation of the circulation of narcotic drugs. The central place in the study is given to the head of the Russian delegation, Alexander Savinsky, an experienced and outstanding diplomat who served as Director of the Chancellery of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for several years. For the first time, relying on archival sources, his biography and the stages of his career as a diplomat are traced. The paper shows that Russia's participation in the Opium Conference was due to both prestige considerations and a desire to demonstrate solidarity with its European allies, as well as an understanding of the potential threat of the uncontrolled spread of drugs. A.A. Savinsky, along with his colleagues, immediately became actively involved in the work of the Conference. Per the instructions received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Russian delegation refrained from submitting concrete proposals for consideration of the Conference, limiting itself to supporting the initiatives of the delegations of Great Britain, France, and the USA. As it is shown in the article, this tactic was determined the fact that drug trafficking was not an immediate problem for the Russian Empire at that time, and as A.A. Savinsky showed in his speech at the Conference, the Russian authorities were quite successful in fighting against illegal distribution of drugs. The article is based on the documentary materials from the Archive of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire introduced into academic circulation for the first time.