Socialist Jules Destrée at the Head of Belgian Diplomatic Mission in Russia, August 1917 – March 1918

Abstract

The article examines the diplomatic mission of the Belgian socialist Jules Destrée to Russia in August 1917 – March 1918. He was appointed to Petrograd at the height of internal political changes in Russia when the country began its withdrawal from World War I. Following the previously set goal of participating in the war to the victorious end, Belgium tried to keep Russia as an ally, expecting that as her neutrality guarantor it will render assistance in restoring Belgian political independence. Furthermore, one of the urgent problems was to take care of Belgian companies and enterprises in Russia, their workers and employees who were in Russia. To achieve these goals, the Belgian Foreign Ministry attempted to establish a dialogue with the new Bolshevik government, appointing as its official ambassador a left-wing politician instead of a professional diplomat. He was well-known for his patriotism and his views about the necessity to continue the war to the end. The analysis of diplomatic documents and J. Destrée’s private notes allows the author to identify the diplomatic strategy pursued by the Belgian government, the specifics of the tasks assigned to the diplomat, and the fruits of his mission. The author concludes that Destrée’s mission failed due to the lack of understanding of the Russian internal contradictions on the part of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs which could not be counterbalanced by the ambassador’s political views.