1799 Cary Map of Prussia and Lithuania - Geographicus - Prussia-cary-1799

The Russo-Prussian alliance signed by the

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 ...

and the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

on 11 April 1764. It was pivotal to the people of Prussia and Russia, and it followed the end of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

. The alliance agreement expanded on the Treaty of Saint Petersburg of 1762, which ended the war between those two countries. It was a defensive alliance, in which each party declared it would protect the territorial stability of the other. It further allowed both countries to intervene in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

, which was one of the primary intentions of the treaty.

Genesis and intention

The treaty was a creation of the Russian diplomat

Nikita Panin Count Nikita Ivanovich Panin (; ) was an influential Russian statesman and political mentor to Catherine the Great for the first 18 years of her reign (1762–1780). In that role, he advocated the Northern Alliance, closer ties with Frederick the ...

. It expanded on the Treaty of Saint Petersburg of 1762, which ended the fighting in the

between Prussia and Russia. Signed on 11 April 1764, it laid the foundation for the "northern system" in Russian politics in which Russia and Prussia were allied with

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. Although the Anglo-Prussian Alliance had waned around that time, the ties between Great Britain and Russia strengthened, with a trade alliance signed in 1766. The alliance was defensive in nature, each party declaring it would protect the territorial stability of the other. This provided Prussia with important security on the international scene by turning its most dangerous enemy into an ally. The alliance was also aimed at counteracting the power of the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

. From Russia's perspective, Austria had been less willing to compromise on issues related to the expanding Russian

sphere of influence In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence (SOI) is a spatial region or concept division over which a state or organization has a level of cultural, economic, military, or political exclusivity. While there may be a formal a ...

and was thus less attractive as an ally at that time. According to some historians, Russia would become the dominating partner in the alliance, partially fulfilling one of its goals from the Seven Years' War: increased influence over Prussia. Others have taken the view that the treaty was a skillful victory for Prussia despite the tendency of Russia to treat Prussia as a junior partner. Shortly before his death,

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

of Prussia declared that it was the most advantageous treaty he had made. Not insignificantly, the treaty also allowed Prussia and Russia to exercise better control over the

; both parties agreed to prevent the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

of a third king from the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () was a dynasty which included Saxon monarch, kings, Prince Elector, prince-electors, dukes, and counts, who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynas ...

. The two countries thus worked together to ensure the election of their own candidate,

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, and as Stanisław August Poniatowski (), was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuani ...

, later that year. The treaty also included a provision allowing the signatories to intervene in Poland in case of an unapproved regime change. In fact, the two powers, together with Austria, would intervene jointly in Poland following the

War of the Bar Confederation The Bar Confederation (; 1768–1772) was an association of Polish nobles (''szlachta'') formed at the fortress of Bar in Podolia (now Ukraine), in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth a ...

, resulting in the

First Partition of Poland The First Partition of Poland took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that eventually ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The growth of power in the Russian Empire threatened the Kingdom of Prussia an ...

in 1772.

Dissolution and aftermath

However, over the next few decades, Russia's attention was increasingly drawn towards the south and 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 ...

. Advocated by

Grigory Potemkin Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (A number of dates as late as 1742 have been found on record; the veracity of any one is unlikely to be proved. This is his "official" birth-date as given on his tombstone.) was a Russian mi ...

, this new direction reduced the strategic value of Prussia as an ally to Russia, and made Austria once again a more appealing candidate. The Russo-Prussian alliance was again extended in 1777, but at the imperial court in

Saint 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 influence of Panin's pro-Prussian faction was eclipsed by Potemkin's pro-Austrian one. After the death of

Maria Theresa of Austria Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position in her own right. She was the sovereig ...

Joseph II of Austria Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...

favored improving relations with Russia, and secret negotiations began in early 1781, resulting in an Austro-Russian alliance formed around May and June 1781. The Russo-Prussian alliance existed formally until 1788, but it lost most of its significance upon the declaration of the Austro-Russian alliance, which isolated Prussia on the international scene. Prussia would hence seek a new alliance with Great Britain. The end of this alliance also marked the downfall of Panin, who once said that his own political survival was tied to this treaty.

Genesis and intention

Dissolution and aftermath

See also

References

Further reading