The International Position of Russia at the Beginning of the Seven Years’ War in the Instructions of the College of Foreign Affairs to Residents in Regensburg and Gdansk

Abstract

The article publishes two sources from the Archives of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire – instructions of the College of Foreign Affairs dated December 31, 1756 (January 11, 1757) to the residents in Regensburg and Gdansk, G.H. Büttner and A.S. Musin-Pushkin. The mission at the Perpetual Diet of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation in Regensburg, created by the decree of Elizabeth I on November 12 (23), 1756, was to become a new diplomatic channel in Germany during the Seven Years’ War. Expecting to make Gdansk a stronghold of the Russian troops at the Baltic Sea, the Empress raised the status of her representative there, replacing an agent who did not have a diplomatic rank with a resident – a diplomat of the third rank. The instructions compiled exclusively for internal use give an idea of how the Russian court defined its place in the system of international relations of the era, how it evaluated its relations with European powers. At the same time, Russia's goals in the upcoming war were not formulated, and its participation in the war was explained only by the need to protect the interests of its allies, Austria and Saxony, violated by Friedrich II. The published documents do not contain information about Russia's accession on December 31, 1756 (January 11, 1757) to the Treaty of Versailles, signed by Austria and France on April 20 (May 1), 1756, and the conclusion of the Westminster Convention on January 5 (16), 1756 between Great Britain and Prussia, which in fact meant the dissolution of the Russian-British Treaty of December, 11 (22) 1742, was not regarded as an unfriendly gesture on London’s part. These circumstances allow the author to draw some conclusions about the diplomatic practice of the Russian court, which was rather selective regarding the issue of its diplomats' access to information that could be crucial for their future activities.