Russian Ambassador Research Articles

РОССИЯ И КОНТИНЕНТАЛЬНАЯ СИСТЕМА В КОНЦЕ 1810-НАЧАЛЕ 1811 ГГ. ЧЕРЕЗ ПРИЗМУ ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ А.Б. КУРАКИНА

This article highlights the political position in Paris of the Russian Ambassador, Prince A.B. Kurakin, regarding the Continental System of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1810-1811. The activity of the prince was out of sight of historians for a long period because of their biased attitude towards his figure. This article includes the analysis of highlights of Prince Kurakin’s activities according to the Continental System declared by Napoleon (negotiations on new tariffs between Russia and France, regulation of neutral trade, actions of French corsairs etc.). This analysis is based on published sources on the history of diplomacy: the fundamental publication «Foreign Policy of Russia in the XIX-early XX centuries», the collection of A.B. Kurakin’s dispatches and first-introduced documents of the Russian Empire’s Foreign Policy Archive. The conclusion of this article is that A.B. Kurakin was worthy to defend the interests of Russia in France at the rejection of the Trianon tariff and at the introduction of new conditions of the Russian-French trade. A.B. Kurakin became active as ambassador: he systematically contacted the French Foreign Minister J.-B. Champagny, filed notes, collected information, etc. However, Alexander I was not pleased with his actions, considering them insufficiently effective.

The Embassy as an Extension of the Diplomatic Persona

Summary Built by the architect Louis Montoyer in Vienna between 1803 and 1808 for the Russian ambassador to Austria, Andrey Razumovsky, the famous Razumovsky Palace would become the centre of anti-Napoleonic diplomacy in the early nineteenth century and a fixture in Vienna’s lively cultural scene. This article first discusses how the ambassador used his embassy as a meeting place for formal and informal diplomacy that contributed to Russia’s positioning against Napoleon long before the Grande Armée invaded the empire. Secondly, the architectural outline of the Razumovsky Palace is linked to the different cultural functions of the embassy that underpinned and strengthened Razumovsky’s diplomatic network. The final section of the article explores the role of the Razumovsky Palace as a determinant factor in the ambassador’s decision to leave diplomatic service and remain in Vienna until his death in 1836.

The Violation of the Law and Religious Freedom in the Context of the Case of the Russian Church in Sofia—A Real Legal, Political and Canonical Issue

For more than a century, in the center of Sofia, the capital of the Republic of Bulgaria, there is and functions the church of St. Nikolai Mirlikiyski the Wonderworker, known as the Russian church. The church was built at the beginning of the 20th century with the idea of being part of the complex of the Russian imperial diplomatic body in Sofia and to serve the Russian diplomats, their families and the Orthodox Russian citizens living permanently or temporarily in the Bulgarian capital. However, after its consecration in 1914, disputes began, both regarding the ownership of the church building and the canonical jurisdiction of the church—of the Metropolitan of Sofia or the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow. This dispute culminated in September 2023, with the expulsion from Bulgaria of several Russian and Belarusian clergies serving in the Russian church on charges of espionage in favor of the Russian Federation. The subsequent closure of the church by the Russian ambassador Mitrofanova led to internal and external political tension and ecclesiological chaos in the country. The Russian side violated the Bulgarian Law on Religions, known as the Confessions Act 2002, and directly infringed the Statute of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. This article provides expert answers to the public law, property rights and canonical issues concerning the case of the Russian church in Sofia, based on the relevant sources of law (ecclesiastical and civil).

Khanate of Kokand in the Early 19th Century Through the Eyes of Russian Ambassador Filipp Nazarov

19. yüzyılın başlarında Çarlık Rusya’sının en az bilgi sahibi olduğu ülkelerden biri Hokand Hanlığıydı. Coğrafi açıdan stratejik önemi olan bir bölgede bulunan hanlığın giderek güçlenmesi ve izlediği yayılmacı politika Rusya’nın dikkatini çekmekteydi. Ayrıca tarımsal üretim bakımından verimli topraklara sahip olması ve ticaret yollarının kesiştiği noktada bulunması da önemli bir faktördü. İngiltere’nin de Türkistan hanlıklarına ilgisinin artması bu sömürgeci iki büyük gücün rekabetini körüklemekteydi. Bütün bunlar Çarlık Rusya’sının Hokand Hanlığı ile ilişkilerini geliştirmek istemesindeki önemli etkenler arasındaydı. Hokand-Rusya ilişkilerinin oluşmasına bu sırada Rusya’nın himayesini kabul etmiş olan bazı Kazak hanları ve sultanları aracılık etmişlerdir. Böylece 19. yüzyılın başlarından itibaren Rus elçileri, tüccarları ve seyyahları farklı zamanlarda Hokand Hanlığı’na gelmişlerdir. Onlardan birçoğu casusluk görevi de yaptığından dolayı topladıkları bilgiler nesnel ve önemliydi, kendi mesleki ilgi alanlarına göre verileri kaydetmişlerdi. Bu çalışmada Hokand Hanlığı’na ilk gelen elçilerinden biri olan F. Nazarov’un yaklaşık bir yıl kadar kaldığı Hokand Hanlığı’nda geçirdiği süre ve seyahati boyunca elde ettiği bilgiler diğer kaynaklarla karşılaştırılmak suretiyle irdelenmiştir.

The Mixed Council in the History of Antioch patriarchate. The facts and their interpretation

The Mixed Council is an especial form of political interaction of Christians with ofϐicials and diplomats of Ottoman and Russian Empires. The Council was formed in equal numbers form the representatives of hierarchs and seculars. The Council existed in all regions of Ottoman empire inhabited by Christian population. The sources show that the Mixed Council created in order and control all school Institutions as also the schools process was ϐirstly created in the Antioch patriarchy under the pressure of famous diplomat N.P. Ignatieff who was Russian ambassador in Constantinople in 1864–1877 years. The Mixed Council was considered also as a possibility to diminish or even to avoid the inner conϐlicts of Christian population in Syria and Palestine. The active participation of Russian empire in the inner problems of Christian patriarchates may easily be explained by the volume of ϐinancial investments of Russian Empire/ 80% of budget of Jerusalem patriarchate and 30% of Antiochene patriarchy was composed from the money of Russian origin.

Danila V. Ganich. Russian Ambassador to Pakistan in Islamabad

Danila V. Ganich. Russian Ambassador to Pakistan in Islamabad

Spanish-American Relations in the 1890s in the Context of the Monroe Doctrine

The Monroe Doctrine, proclaimed in 1823, was successfully used by the United States throughout the 19th century to protect US territorial and political interests in the Western Hemisphere. One of the most obvious examples of its application in international relations was the Spanish-American War of 1898. The Russian ambassador in Madrid, Dmitry Shevich, was an unbiased witness of the application of the Monroe Doctrine by the Americans to Spain and Cuba in the 1890s. Based on his reports, we analyze the stages of the escalation of the conflict, examine the evolution of the aggressive US policy towards Madrid under the pretext of protecting the interests of Spain from Cuban «insurgents», we address the role and participation of Russia in the conflict. The Monroe Doctrine was applied where and when the position of the US government was absolutely strong. Whereas in the 1870s the situation in Cuba, and even in the United States itself, was not very appropriate, it is in the 1890 that the position of the United States in the international arena, the stabilization of the situation in the country as a result of the Reconstruction era and the chaos in the domestic political situation in Spain served as key factors for Washington’s confidence in the success of its enterprise. The United States used various methods of pressure on Spain in order to squeeze it out of Cuba and get the island into its undivided possession. At the same time, whereas in 1896–1897 the relations were dominated by diplomatic rhetoric about the need to «pacify» the situation in Cuba and the willingness to act as an intermediary between the metropole and the insurgents, the relations with Spain turned into threats and ultimatums after the explosion of the battleship Maine. Washington openly voiced its right to decide the fate of the states and nations of the Western Hemisphere.

Проблема репатриации черкесских иммигрантов из Османской империи во 2-й половине XIX – начале XX века в документах архивов России и Грузии

The documents analyzed in the article are classified into 2 types – office documentation and regula-tory legal acts. Documents of the 1st type are divided into 2 groups depending on the departments of their compilation and functions. The first set of papers includes official correspondence and re-ports from Russian ambassadors in the Ottoman Empire to the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as correspondence from Russian consuls and vice-consuls in Ottoman Empire provinces to Russian diplomats in Constantinople. The papers explain how Circassians came to the Ottoman Empire and the difficulties they faced when attempting to return home. The second group consists of documents prepared by military officials in the Caucasus: instructions from the Viceroy of the Caucasus’s Main Directorate to lower-ranking commanders of subdivisions, heads of regions and territories, instructions from the Commander-in-chief of civil authority in the Caucasus to governors-general and heads of regions and districts of the Caucasus region, etc., military officials’ reports to higher levels, attitudes between departments o According to these records, military officials in the Caucasus sent instructions to their subordinates in early 1861, which included rules addressing North Caucasian repatriates. Similar documents were accepted by tsarist officials in the Caucasus and at the beginning of the 20th century. The regulatory legal acts include: the provision of the Committee of Ministers «on taking measures to suspend the return of the highlanders from Turkey... », developed in July 1861 and approved by the emperor; «Regulations regarding Caucasian settlers returning from Turkey» (09.1861), compiled by the Chief of the General Staff of the Caucasian Army A.P. Kartsov. They contain rules that should have been applied to different groups of North Caucasian repatriates.

Useful and Necessary Book about Outstanding Personalities from Afghan History and Culture

MGIMO University published the second edition of the book Afghan Novels and Stories by Ye. D. Ostrovenko. Yevgeniy Dmitrievich served as Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan in 1992 and was the first ambassador to present credentials signed by the President of Russia to the head of the Afghan state. His book makes a great contribution to strengthening bilateral ties between Russia and Afghanistan, expanding the horizons of knowledge about this country, its history and culture. Candidate of Historical Sciences, Ye. D. Ostrovenko worked for many years both in Afghanistan itself and in the central apparatus of the USSR and Russian Foreign Ministries in the Afghan direction and knows Afghanistan firsthand. He saw more than fifty years of the history of relations between the USSR and Russia with Afghanistan pass before his eyes, and often participated in them personally. The book is in a rare genre combining history, including archives and other historical materials, and fiction. It revolves around personalities, yet manages to show a bigger picture of the history and politics of the country and its peoples. The book tells about a number of outstanding personalities, but special attention is drawn to the poet and warrior Khushhal Khan Khattak (XVII), the first ruler of the independent Afghan state Ahmed Shah Durrani (XVIII), statesman and diplomat Muhammad Wali Khan (late 19th – early 20th centuries). Some of the novels present unique findings of the author. So, in the process of creating the story Canal E. D. Ostrovenko relied on the experience of his practical work as a translator and his novel can be considered original historical evidence. Through the collection of short stories readers get acquainted with the peculiarities of Afghan life, learn about the difficult, and sometimes dangerous, everyday life of Russian diplomats. The new edition includes two newly published novels Pashtun scholar, devoted to M. G. Aslanov, the author of the Pashtu-Russian dictionary, and Warrior fighting with two swords. Book by E. D. Ostrovenko is written in excellent Russian and is easy to read. The author makes extensive use of classical Afghan and Iranian poetry, which arouses additional interest among specialists, including students of the Afghan languages — Pashto and Dari. The book was met with a favorable reception by the Afghans themselves, receiving a wide response and high praise from the Afghan diaspora in Moscow. It will be a useful read not only to students studying Afghanistan, but also to anyone interested in the culture of this wonderful country with its complex and multifaceted history.

«Indestructible cornerstone» of New Athos: the role of N. P. Ignatiev in the formation of spiritual and missionary center on the Caucasus

The article examines the role of the Russian ambassador to Constantinople (1864-1876) N.P. Ignatiev in the settlement of a major conflict on Mount Athos in the first half of the 1870s (the «Greek-Russian Panteleimon process»), as well as in the creation and development in the Caucasus (Abkhazia) of the New Athos Monastery of Saint Simon the Cananaean which is a branch of the Athos Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery. It is shown that the foundation of the Caucasian monastery was one of the natural results of the conflict caused by the aggravation of contradictions between different ethnic communities in St. Panteleimon Monastery in connection with the general rise of anti-Slavic and anti-Russian sentiments in the Greek environment due to Russia's position in the Greek-Bulgarian church issue, as well as to a certain extent in connection with the actions of the British diplomacy that sought to weaken Russian influence in the Balkans and the Middle East. It is shown that largely due to the actions of N.P. Ignatiev Russia managed to preserve the integrity of the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery, avoid a break with the Patriarchate of Constantinople and even strengthen its position on Mount Athos. The origin and development of the Caucasian monastery, its situation during the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, the spiritual life and missionary activity of the New Athonite monks are studied. It is emphasized that the New Athos Monastery, having emerged as a supposed «refuge» for Russian Athonians in the event of new troubles in the East, soon turned into a pearl of the Black Sea coast, a major spiritual and missionary center in the south of the Russian Empire.

RELATIONS BETWEEN GEORGIA AND ROMAN CHURCH AFTER THE GREAT SCHISM

In the article mainly discuss lesser-known sources, therefore, the reader will see a more varied, interesting and unexpected information. First of all, I will discuss the Latin religious beliefs of the great teacher of the Georgian Church – George Mtatsmindeli because some researchers try to hide this. We will not talk much here about the well-known fact that George himself proclaimed the Church of Rome to be the most faithful defender of the apostolic doctrines before the Byzantine emperor. While the Greeks and Latins were arguing about the descent of the Holy Spirit, George translated into Georgian – “The Symbol of Athanasius”, where the Holy Spirit was considered to come from the Son, i.e. the Latin pneumatological formula was described – “The Holy Spirit from the Father and from the Son”. If this doctrine of the Catholic Church was a heresy for George, obviously he would have. After all we can conclude the following: During the unity and strength of the Georgian state, when the Georgian Fathers translated many theological literatures, had numerous theological centers (the Maghalashvili Gospel inscription speaks of seven such schools in one diocese), the Georgian Church had its own position on the Church of Rome, but after the political and cultural fall, Influenced first by Greek and especially Russian anti-Catholic propaganda, Georgia rejected the historic choice of its best clergy of the Church – unity with the Catholic Church. At the beginning of its relations with Georgia, Russia started struggle with the Catholic missionaries in Georgia, the Russian ambassador – Zakharev, started anti-Catholic propaganda, and after the conquest of Georgia, Russia expelled the Catholic missionaries from Georgia, because Russia’s goal was and is the ecclesiastical isolation of Georgia.

«А время-де ныне не иное, но еще настоящее…»: проблема ратификации Адрианопольского мирного договора (1713)

Introduction. The Peace of Adrianople (June 13, 1713) ended the Russian-Turkish war of 1710– 1713. The Prut (1711) and Constantinople (1712) treaties signed by the Russian ambassadors were not ratified by the Turkish side. In Adrianople, there were also problems related to the confirmation of the treaty. Methods and materials. The source base was formed by documents stored in the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts (F. 89 “Relations between Russia and Turkey”), as well as in the Scientific and Historical Archive of the Saint Petersburg Institute of History of RAS (F. 83 “Field Chancellery of Alexander D. Menshikov”). A comprehensive study of archival and published materials, a comparison of the information contained in them made it possible to formulate and analyze the main problems associated with the signing and ratification of the peace treaty. Analysis. The basis of the Adrianople peace, which the ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary P. Shafirov and M. Sheremetev concluded with the Sublime Porte, was the provisions of the Peace Treaty of Constantinople (April 5, 1712). The additions made by the Ottoman ministers related to the Polish and Crimean problems did not meet the interests of Peter I. The wording “on the Crimean payment” was the result of a long diplomatic struggle and left the problem open. On June 22, 1713, Russian ambassadors and Ottoman ministers exchanged by the texts of the treaty. The countdown of the delivery time (90 days) of the confirmation of the peace agreement by Peter I began on June 13. The demand to send an ambassador with the ratification is also connected with the intention of the Sublime Porte to continue negotiations on Crimean payments. Results. The Russian ambassadors managed to prevent the revision of the agreement confirmed by the tsar. The Sublime Porte was no less interested than Russia in ending the war. The provisions of the Adrianople peace reflected the interests of the Ottoman government, which refused to support by force the demands of the Crimean Khan.

RELATIONS BETWEEN GEORGIA AND ROMAN CHURCH AFTER THE GREAT SCHISM

In the article mainly discuss lesser-known sources, therefore, the reader will see a more varied, interesting and unexpected information. First of all, I will discuss the Latin religious beliefs of the great teacher of the Georgian Church – George Mtatsmindeli because some researchers try to hide this. We will not talk much here about the well-known fact that George himself proclaimed the Church of Rome to be the most faithful defender of the apostolic doctrines before the Byzantine emperor.While the Greeks and Latins were arguing about the descent of the Holy Spirit, George translated into Georgian – “The Symbol of Athanasius”, where the Holy Spirit was considered to come from the Son, i.e. the Latin pneumatological formula was described – “The Holy Spirit from the Father and from the Son”. If this doctrine of the Catholic Church was a heresy for George, obviously he would have. After all we can conclude the following: During the unity and strength of the Georgian state, when the Georgian Fathers translated many theological literatures, had numerous theological centers (the Maghalashvili Gospel inscription speaks of seven such schools in one diocese), the Georgian Church had its own position on the Church of Rome, but after the political and cultural fall, Influenced first by Greek and especially Russian anti-Catholic propaganda, Georgia rejected the historic choice of its best clergy of the Church – unity with the Catholic Church. At the beginning of its relations with Georgia, Russia started struggle with the Catholic missionaries in Georgia, the Russian ambassador – Zakharev, started anti-Catholic propaganda, and after the conquest of Georgia, Russia expelled the Catholic missionaries from Georgia, because Russia’s goal was and is the ecclesiastical isolation of Georgia

Nikolaj Pavlovič Ignjatijev i Kritski ustanak (1866-1869)

The Cretan Revolt (1866-1869) is part of a broader Christian liberation movement that emerged in the mid-19th century in the Balkans, representing a crucial phase in the long-standing struggle of the Cretans for liberation from Ottoman rule. At the outbreak of the uprising in Crete, Russia was focused on internal reforms, and its Balkan policy aimed to preserve the status quo. However, within Russian diplomacy, a faction aligned with the Slavophiles supported the national movements in the Balkans and encouraged their liberation plans. One of the diplomats closely associated with the Slavophiles was the Russian ambassador in Constantinople, N. P. Ignatiyev, whose diplomacy was centered on collaborating with Christians in Turkey and advancing their liberation efforts. Consequently, the scope of his diplomatic engagement in all matters related to the position of Christians led to the observation that he did not consistently adhere to the instructions from the government in Petrograd. This practice of the Russian representative became particularly apparent in relation to the events in Crete between 1866 and 1869.

Document in Turkic with Shah ‘Abbas II Conclusion Towards Selling Saltpetre to Russia (Near April, 29 1647)

The Turkic document below fixed the position of the government of the Shah ‘Abbas II to the end of long and hard negotiations with Russian diplomatic representatives towards selling Iranian saltpetre to Russia. Multiple attempts to buy this strategic raw material for the Tsar's defence industry took place since the middle of 1630ies and gained a little success. The written answer given to Russian ambassadors S. I. Kozlovsky and I. Zinoviev gives a short overview of the difficult talks and puts an end to envoy's expectations of obligatory promises to supply Russia some fixed amount of Safawid's saltpetre. At the same time purchases of that kind by Russian official trade representatives were definitely permitted.

Representation of the Council of ambassadors of the Russian diaspora in Bulgaria (1919–1940)

The article is based on materials previously not used in the scientific circulation and highlights the dramatic history of the creation, activities, and closure of the Russian non-bolshevik representation in Bulgaria. The Russian Foreign Diplomatic Corps was the only remnant of the old state apparatus that survived the October Revolution in Russia (1917). The embassy in Sofia became a part of it at the end of 1919, after Bulgaria’s withdrawal from World War I. The article clarifies the circumstances and personal composition of the Representation. The embassy played an important role in the formation of the Russian refugee colony and was closed at the very beginning of 1923. The article identifies the causes of the crisis in relations between the Bulgarian authorities and the embassy, its development, assesses its collapse and shows the hard work that was aimed at preserving the informal non-bolshevik representation. The new representative of the Council of Russian Ambassadors in Bulgaria was B. S. Serafimov. Over two decades he defended the interests of the Russian colony there.

РУССКИЕ ПОСЛЫ В ЛАПЛАНДИИ В 1595 г.

The article is devoted to the diplomatic relations between the Moscow state and Denmark-Norway. The sending of Russian ambassadors to the Far North in 1595 was due to the so-called Lapland dispute, a major territorial dispute in the European Arctic. The author examines the prerequisites for sending ambassadors, the circumstances associated with the embassy, as well as the facts reflecting the configuration of the Russian-Norwegian borderland.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE ENVOY REZANOV’ S ACTIONS ON THE OUTCOME OF THE EMBASSY MISSION AND ON THE SUBSEQUENT EVENTS IN RUSSO-JAPANESE RELATIONS

The article examines the influence of the personality of the Russian ambassador Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov on Russian-Japanese relations. The embassy of Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov to Japan ended in failure and gave rise to new sad events in Russian-Japanese relations. Among such events are the Khvostov incident (also known as the Rezanov-Davydov-Khvostov incident), when some Japanese villages and crafts on Sakhalin were robbed and burned, and the Golovnin incident, when the Russian navigator Vasily Mikhailovich Golovnin was captured by the Japanese and held in captivity for two years. The author made an attempt to find out the role of the personality of the envoy in all the listed events. An analysis of historiography has shown that researchers have repeatedly turned to the results of Rezanov’s embassy and to the analysis of his personality, coming to opposite conclusions about the envoy’s absolute guilt or complete innocence in the failure of the mission. The involvement of a wide range of sources, as well as the use of the induction method, allowed the author to come to new conclusions: the failure was not in one, but in a complex of reasons. Along with such reasons as poorly selected goods and the prejudiced attitude of the Japanese of that time towards the Russian people, the actions of Nikolai Petrovich influenced the failure of the mission. However, the main role was played by the isolation policy of the Japanese state, which, having begun in the middle of the 17th century, was firmly entrenched in Japanese society. As for the role of the envoy in relations with Japan, it is greatest in the sad story of the robbery of Japanese villages, which had a negative impact on relations with Japan.

РУССКИЕ ПОСЛЫ В ЛАПЛАНДИИ В 1592 г.

The article is devoted to the case connected with the history of diplomatic relations between the Moscow state and Denmark-Norway. The sending of Russian ambassadors to the Far North in 1592 to participate in border negotiations was associated with the aggravation of the so-called Lapland dispute, a territorial dispute in the European Arctic region. The author examines the prerequisites for sending ambassadors, the circumstances associated with the embassy, as well as the facts reflecting the configuration of the Russian-Norwegian borderland.

Stosunek biskupa Józefa Kazimierza Kossakowskiego do reform polityczno-prawnych w Polsce doby stanisławowskiej

Józef Kazimierz Kossakowski is one of the best-known figures in the Polish ecclesiastical hierarchy, but, regrettably, he is also one of the most critically assessed. Being exceptionally gifted, he used his talents exclusively for personal and family benefits. Having great political aspirations, he tied their fulfillment with the support of Russia, its successive ambassadors in Warsaw (especially Otto Stackelberg, to whom he owed much). He became a supporter of Russia’s interests in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, remaining such until his death, one of the most subservient Polish politicians towards the Russian ambassadors. The decisions made by Kossakowski in 1772–1781 influenced the gradation of his future goals. After he became Bishop of Livonia he took a seat in the Senate, with an increasingly important role in it. His activism increased in particular as the Four-Year Sejm began its deliberations. Despite his seemingly good relations with the King, he vehemently opposed all proposals for reform, revealing his exceptionally adamant stance in this regard. As a senator, he spoke out against the reform party and the Constitution of 3 May 1791, because, like his family, he belonged to the fanatical proponents of gentry republicanism. He was among the most active leaders of the political opposition, flooding the country with hundreds of political writings opposing the reforms of the Four-Year Sejm. Appeals for respecting the rights of the people and reform of laws made for the government were a constant theme of Kossakowski’s arguments, who repeatedly opposed the bills for new laws which he had the chance to work on while he was a senator. His anti-reform stance intensified during the period of the Targowica Confederation and the Sejm of Grodno. During this time, the Livonian bishop and his brother Szymon practically ruled Lithuania, committing many violations. The result of the Kossakowski brothers’ policies, wanting full state hegemony in Lithuania, was also the aspiration expressed at the Sejm of Grodno for the complete separation of the Grand Duchy from the Crown. The dramatic events that led to the collapse of the Polish state, which were undoubtedly the single strongest highlight in Kossakowski’s life, determined his posthumous infamy, which primarily consisted of his personal traits. In terms of the two-facedness peculiar for the Kossakowski family, the Livonian bishop exceeded them all.