Baltic Question in Russia’s Foreign Policy (1558—1730)

Abstract

The issue of the development of the foreign policy of the Russian Empire in the Baltic region after the death of Peter I is considered as a continuation of the foreign policy of Ivan the Terrible. The aim of the work is to study the continuity of foreign policy in the Baltic on an all-Russian scale. The study is based on clerical sources: correspondence of the French representative in Russia, Jacques de Campredon, notes and business correspondence of the Vice-Chancellor of the Russian Empire, Baron A. I. Osterman. Record keeping materials of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs, taken from the archives of the Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, were used. Particular emphasis is placed on the analysis of the influence and significance of the Baltic issue in the context of the development of the foreign policy of the Russian Empire in the first years after the death of Peter I. The influence of the Baltic question on the foreign policy of Russia in the 18th century in the context of the formation of military-political blocs in Europe after the War of the Spanish Succession is demonstrated. The author comes to the conclusion that the continuity of the Baltic issue can be traced from the time of Ivan the Terrible to Peter I and his heirs. It is argued that subjective factors had a strong influence on the foreign policy of Russia in the first post-Petrine years, but were successfully leveled by the foreign policy department under the leadership of A. I. Osterman.