On the Cooperation Between a High-Ranking Representative of the Holy See and Russian Diplomats in Constantinople in a Letter from Count Sava Raguzinsky to Tsar Peter

Abstract

The document from the collection of the Russian State Archive of Ancient Documents, published for the first time and annexed to this article, is a vivid testimony to the cooperation between Archbishop Raimondo Gallani OP, the senior representative of the Roman-Catholic Church in the Ottoman Empire, and Russian diplomacy. The person of Gallani has received little attention in both Russian and European historiography. There is no monograph devoted to him, nor is there a satisfactory account of his life. However, his correspondence was extraordinarily wide-ranging. In addition to his immediate Roman superiors, he interacted with the intelligence services of his home republic of Dubrovnik, as well as those of Russia and Venice. Information obtained by the Archbishop was highly valued by Tsar Peter, and his services were generously paid for. The case described in the petition of Sava Raguzinsky involves the protection of Archbishop Gallani from possible disclosure of his activities to the Turkish authorities. The incident incurred the wrath of the Tsar and Raguzinsky was forced to defend himself. A brief biography of Archbishop Gallani is published in Russian for the first time. The author concludes that the cooperation between the Archbishop and Russian diplomacy was less about material interests and more about the former's sympathy for Peter's policies, which can be explained by Gallani's background, given his affinity for the pan-Slavic ideas prevalent among his compatriots.