Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Горчако́в; 15 July 1798 – 11 March 1883) was a

diplomat and statesman from the Gorchakov princely family. He has an enduring reputation as one of the most influential and respected diplomats of the mid-19th century. Scholars agree that the termination of the demilitarisation of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

was Gorchakov's greatest accomplishment but add that he stayed too long as foreign minister.

Early life and career

Gorchakov was born at

Haapsalu Haapsalu () is a seaside resort town located on the west coast of Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Lääne County, and on 1 January 2020 it had a population of 9,375. History The name ''Haapsalu'' derives from the Estonian words ' ...

Governorate of Estonia The Governorate of Estonia, also known as the Esthonia (Estland) Governorate, was a province (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire. It was located in the northern Estonia with some islands in the West Estoni ...

, and was educated at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, where he had the poet

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

as a school-fellow. He became a good classical scholar, and learned to speak and write in French with facility and elegance. Pushkin in one of his poems described young Gorchakov as ''Fortune's favoured son'', and predicted his success. On leaving the lyceum Gorchakov entered the foreign office under Count

Nesselrode The House of Nesselrode is an old German nobility, German noble family originating in the Duchy of Berg. Over the centuries, the family expanded their possessions through marriage with the most powerful families of the region. As a former Imperi ...

. His first diplomatic work of importance was the negotiation of a marriage between the Grand Duchess Olga and the crown prince Charles of Württemberg. He remained at

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

for some years as Russian minister and confidential adviser of the crown princess. He foretold the outbreak of the

revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

ary spirit in Germany and Austria, and was credited with counselling the abdication of

Ferdinand I of Austria Ferdinand I ( 19 April 1793 – 29 June 1875) was Emperor of Austria from March 1835 until his abdication in December 1848. He was also King of Hungary, King of Croatia, Croatia and King of Bohemia, Bohemia (as Ferdinand V), King of Lombardy– ...

in favour of Francis Joseph. When the

German Confederation The German Confederation ( ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved ...

was re-established in 1850 in place of the

Frankfurt Parliament The Frankfurt National Assembly () was the first freely elected parliament for all German Confederation, German states, including the German-populated areas of the Austrian Empire, elected on 1 May 1848 (see German federal election, 1848). The ...

, Gorchakov was appointed Russian minister to the diet. It was here that he first met Prince Bismarck, with whom he formed a friendship which was afterwards renewed at

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. The Emperor

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

found that his ambassador at Vienna, Baron Meyendorff, was not a sympathetic instrument for carrying out his schemes in the East. He therefore transferred Gorchakov to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, where the latter remained through the critical period of the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

. Gorchakov perceived that Russian designs against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, which was supported by

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, were impracticable, and he counselled Russia to make no more useless sacrifices, but to accept the basis of a pacification. At the same time, although he attended the Paris conference of 1856, he purposely abstained from affixing his signature to the treaty of peace after that of Count Alexey Fyodorovich Orlov, Russia's chief representative. For the time, however, he made a virtue of necessity, and Alexander II, recognising the wisdom and courage which Gorchakov had exhibited, appointed him

minister of foreign affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

in place of Count Nesselrode.

Minister of foreign affairs

Not long after his accession to office, Gorchakov issued a circular to the foreign powers in which he announced that Russia proposed, for internal reasons, to keep herself as free as possible from complications abroad, and he added the now-historic phrase, ''La Russie ne boude pas; elle se recueille'' ('Russia is not sulking, she is composing herself'). During the

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

, Gorchakov rebuffed the suggestions of Britain,

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and France for assuaging the severities employed in quelling it, and he was especially acrid in his replies to Earl Russell's despatches. The

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n support was assured by the Alvensleben Convention. In July 1863 Gorchakov was appointed Chancellor of the Russian Empire, expressly in reward for his bold diplomatic attitude towards an indignant Europe. The appointment was hailed with enthusiasm in Russia. A rapprochement now began between the courts of Russia and Prussia, and in 1863, Gorchakov smoothed the way for the occupation of Schleswig-Holstein by German troops. That seemed equally favourable to Austria and Prussia, but it was the latter power that gained all the substantial advantages. When conflict arose between Austria and Prussia in 1866, Russia remained neutral and permitted Prussia to reap the benefits arising from the conflict and establish its supremacy in Germany. In 1867 Russia and the United States concluded the sale of Alaska, a process which had begun as early as 1854 during the Crimean War. Gorchakov was not against the sale but always advocated for careful and secret negotiations and saw the eventuality of the sale but not the immediate necessity. When the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

of 1870–1871 broke out, Russia argued for the neutrality of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. An attempt was made to form an anti-Prussian coalition, but it failed because of the cordial understanding between the German and the Russian chancellors. In return for Russia's service in preventing Austro-Hungarian support being given to France, Gorchakov looked to Bismarck for diplomatic support on the Eastern Question, and he received an instalment of the expected support when he successfully denounced the

clauses of the Treaty of Paris ( Treaty of London (1871)). That was justly regarded by him as an important service to his country and one of the triumphs of his career, and he hoped to obtain further successes with the assistance of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. However, the cordial relations between the cabinets of Saint Petersburg and Berlin did not last much longer. Gorchakov by Pushkin

In 1875, Bismarck was suspected of having designs to again attack France, and Gorchakov let him know in a way that was not meant to be offensive, but roused Bismarck's indignation, that Russia would oppose any such scheme. The tension thus produced between the two statesmen was increased by the political complications of 1875–1878 in

Southeastern Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe is a geographical sub-region of Europe, consisting primarily of the region of the Balkans, as well as adjacent regions and Archipelago, archipelagos. There are overlapping and conflicting definitions of t ...

, which began with the Herzegovian insurrection and culminated at the

Congress of Berlin At the Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878), the major European powers revised the territorial and political terms imposed by the Russian Empire on the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of San Stefano (March 1878), which had ended the Rus ...

. Gorchakov hoped to use the complications of the situation in such a way as to recover, without war, the portion of

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

ceded by the Treaty of Paris, but he soon lost control of events, and the Slavophile agitation produced the Russo-Turkish War (1877-78). The Peace of San Stefano, drafted by Gorchakov, Aleksandr Nelidov, and Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatyev, redrew Ottoman boundaries to further Russia's economic and strategic plans. A key goal was control of the port city of

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...

on the eastern shore of the Black Sea, in addition to several strategic points in the Caucasus. Most importantly,

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

was greatly enlarged to serve as the dominant power in the Balkans and be under Russian control. Britain,

, Germany and Austria-Hungary objected and radically reduced Russia's gains at the

(13 June to 13 July 1878). Gorchakov was honored as first plenipotentiary, but he left to the second plenipotentiary, Count Pyotr Andreyevich Shuvalov, not only the task of defending Russian interests but also the responsibility and odium for the concessions which Russia had to make to Britain and Austria-Hungary. He had the satisfaction of seeing the lost portion of Bessarabia restored to Russia but at the cost of greater sacrifices than he anticipated. On the whole Russia was humiliated again. Gorchakov considered the treaty the greatest failure of his official career. He continued to hold the post of foreign minister but lived chiefly abroad, with Dmitry Milyutin taking responsibility for foreign affairs.

Later life

Gorchakov resigned formally in 1882 and was succeeded by Nicholas de Giers. He died at

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

and was buried at the family vault in Strelna Monastery.

Assessment

Prince Gorchakov devoted himself mostly to foreign affairs but also took some part in the great internal

reforms Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

of Alexander II's reign: for example he submitted four projects of emancipation reform and also presented to analysis of the foreign experience of various reforms to Alexander II. As a diplomat, he displayed many brilliant qualities: adroitness in negotiation, incisiveness in argument and elegance in style. His statesmanship, though marred occasionally by personal vanity and love of popular applause, was far-seeing and prudent. In the latter part of his career, his main object was to raise the prestige of Russia by undoing the results of the

, and it may fairly be said that he greatly succeeded.

Honours

Alexander Gorchakov 2023 stamp of Russia

* : Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen, ''1857''; in Diamonds, ''1872'' * : Knight of the House Order of Fidelity, ''1857''; in Diamonds, ''1863'' * : ** Grand Cross of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

, ''8 July 1852'' ** Knight of the

Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in ...

, ''16 September 1857'' * : Grand Cross of the Ludwig Order, ''2 July 1857'' * Mexican Empire: Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Guadalupe, ''1864'' * : Knight of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau, ''August 1864'' *

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

: Knight of the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle () was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I of Prussia, Friedrich I, King in Prussia, the ...

, ''24 June 1856''; in Diamonds, ''1859'' *

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...

: Knight of the

Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation The Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation () is a Catholic order of chivalry, originating in County of Savoy, Savoy. It eventually was the pinnacle of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Italy#The Kingdom of Italy, honours system in the ...

, ''30 October 1859'' * : Knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

, ''17 February 1857'' * Sweden-Norway: Knight of the

Royal Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim (; '' Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is the highest order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Sweden. It was created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Ord ...

, ''16 May 1860'' *

Grand Duchy of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (; ) was an Italian monarchy located in Central Italy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1860, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In the 19th century the population ...

: Commander of the

Order of Saint Joseph The Order of Saint Joseph was instituted on 9 March 1807 by Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany during his reign as Grand Duke of Würzburg. It was transformed into a Tuscan Roman Catholic Dynastic Order in 1817. The constitution of the Orde ...

* : Knight of the Order of Saint Januarius, ''1845'' * : Grand Cross of the Order of the Württemberg Crown, ''1846''

References

Bibliography

* Clark, Chester W. "Prince Gorchakov and the Black Sea Question, 1866 A Russian Bomb that did not Explode." ''American Historical Review'' (1942) 48#1: 52–60
online
* Golicz, Roman, "The Russians shall not have Constantinople: English Attitudes to Russia, 1870–1878", ''History Today'' (November 2003) 53#9 pp 39–45. * Hauner, Milan. "Central Asian geopolitics in the last hundred years: a critical survey from Gorchakov to Gorbachev." ''Central Asian Survey'' 8.1 (1989): 1–19. * Jelavich, Barbara. ''St. Petersburg and Moscow: Tsarist and Soviet Foreign Policy, 1814–1974'' (1974), pp 133–91. * Meyendorff, Alfred. "Conversations of Gorchakov with Andrássy and Bismarck in 1872." The Slavonic and East European Review 8.23 (1929): 400–408
online
* Saul, Norman E. ''Distant Friends: The United States and Russia, 1763–1867'' (UP of Kansas, 1991). * Seton-Watson, Hugh. ''The Russian Empire 1801–1917'' (1967) * Splidsboel-Hansen, Flemming. "Past and future meet: Aleksandr Gorchakov and Russian foreign policy." ''Europe-Asia Studies'' 54.3 (2002): 377–396
online
* Stevens, John Knox. "The Franco-Russian Treaty of 1859: New Light and New Thoughts." ''Historian'' 28.2 (1966): 203–223
online

External links

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English translation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorchakov, Alexander Mikhailovich 1798 births 1883 deaths People from Haapsalu People from Kreis Wiek Alexander Mikhailovich Russian princes Foreign ministers of the Russian Empire Chancellors of the Russian Empire Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to Austria Diplomats of the Russian Empire 19th-century politicians from the Russian Empire Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum alumni Honorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Russian people of the Crimean War Russian people of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 1st class Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 2nd class Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Knights Commander of the Order of Saint Joseph