G creation of the entente. Triple Alliance and Entente

BRITISH-RUSSIAN NEGOTIATIONS IN 1907

At the beginning of 1906, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Count Lamzdorf, resigned. Instead, Izvolsky, a former envoy to Copenhagen, who had long moved in the Germanophobic Danish court environment, was appointed. Izvolsky was very inclined towards Anglo-Russian rapprochement. He was very afraid of new complications with Japan and sought to prevent them through an agreement with England. He also hoped that such an agreement would allow Russian diplomacy to resolve the issue of the straits.

In March 1907, the Russian fleet visited England, in Portsmouth. A group of Russian officers, at the invitation of the king, came to London; Here they were warmly welcomed. Gray himself attended the performance organized for Russian sailors.

Izvolsky's fears about Japan had serious grounds. Negotiations for a fishing convention, initiated by the Treaty of Portsmouth, did not proceed smoothly. At the beginning of 1907 they led to a new aggravation of Russian-Japanese relations. Petersburg was afraid that Japan would use Russia's temporary impotence to take away her Far Eastern possessions. Izvolsky believed that an agreement with England would the best way obtain certain guarantees against Japan. The foreign office also understood that it was necessary to provide a Russian rear in the Far East in order to fully use Russia against Germany. However, England and Japan remained allies. In August 1905, during the Portsmouth negotiations, the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Alliance was renewed. At the same time, allied obligations were also extended in the event of an attack by any power on India. The treaty effectively recognized Japan's protectorate over Korea. Thus, British diplomacy retained Japanese insurance both against Russia and in case of war with Germany. But now England had to improve Russian-Japanese relations in order to extend insurance to its future Russian ally.

On July 28, 1907, the fishing convention was finally signed; On July 30, 1907, a Russian-Japanese political agreement was also signed. Japan recognized Northern Manchuria - north of the Hunchun line, Lake Birten, the mouth of the Nonni River - as a sphere of influence of Russia. For its part, tsarist Russia recognized South Manchuria and Korea as the sphere of Japan. This agreement significantly improved Russo-Japanese relations. If Russian fears for the security of Vladivostok, Primorye and the CER were not completely dispelled, they were nonetheless weakened. Shortly before the conclusion of the Russian-Japanese agreement, an agreement between Japan and France (June 10, 1907) also took place.

Finally, on August 31, 1907, the Anglo-Russian agreement was signed with the assistance of France. From the Russian side it was signed by Izvolsky, from the English side - by the ambassador in St. Petersburg, the champion of the English-Russian Entente A. Nicholson.

The agreement covered Afghanistan, Tibet and Persia. Persia was divided into three zones: northern - Russian, southern (more precisely, southeastern) - English and middle - neutral. Each side undertook not to seek concessions of a political or commercial nature in a "foreign" zone and not to prevent their partner from obtaining them. In the neutral zone, each side retained the right to seek concessions without interfering with the same actions of the other party to the agreement.

The agreement provided for the right to control the revenues of the Persian government in the Russian and English zones. Control was supposed to be introduced in the event of a malfunction of the Persian government in payments on loans to the Russian Accounting and Loan Bank or the English Shahinshah Bank. At the same time, the Russian government could establish control over the income of the Persian treasury coming from the regions assigned to the Russian zone. The British government received appropriate opportunities within its zone. Both governments pledged "to enter into a preliminary friendly exchange of opinions in the form of determining by mutual agreement the indicated control measures."

Tsarist Russia recognized Afghanistan as being "outside the sphere of Russian influence" and pledged "to use the mediation of the British government for all its political relations with Afghanistan."

Both Russia and England pledged not to interfere in the internal affairs of Tibet, not to violate its territorial integrity, and to communicate with it exclusively through the suzerain Chinese government.

Contrary to the efforts of Izvolsky, Constantinople and the straits were not mentioned in the agreement: England did not give Russia any obligations in this regard.

The agreement of 1907 created the so-called Triple Entente - a triple Entente consisting of England, France and Russia, opposing the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy.

World history of diplomacy.

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THE END OF THE ENGLISH-RUSSIAN "GREAT GAME" IN ASIA

Russia's foreign policy for turning points as if faded into the background before the inner one, but it was during this time that a significant turn took place in it. Until then, the main features of Russian policy were an alliance with France, good relations with Germany, an agreement with Austria on Balkan affairs, rivalry with England along the entire "front" of Asia, and open hostility with Japan, which had just been interrupted by the Treaty of Portsmouth.

The new British ambassador, Sir Arthur Nicholson, arrived in St. Petersburg in May 1906 with instructions to establish an Anglo-Russian rapprochement; he met in this a sympathetic attitude from the new Minister of Foreign Affairs A.P. Izvolsky. The British government at first counted heavily on the Russian "Cadet" circles; but Sir A. Nicholson soon came to the conclusion that the stake should not be placed on the Duma, but on Stolypin, and was greatly alarmed when the English Prime Minister Campbell-Bannermann exclaimed at an inter-parliamentary banquet after the dissolution of the First Duma: "The Duma is dead - long live the Duma" . King Edward VII was no less annoyed by this than the ambassador.

Back in the summer of 1906, the visit of British ships to Russian ports was canceled at the request of Russia. But negotiations on the settlement of disputed Asian issues nevertheless began.

On August 18 (31), 1907, the Anglo-Russian agreement was signed. England abandoned Tibet; both powers recognized China's sovereignty over that country. Russia was relinquishing claims to Afghanistan; both powers pledged to respect its independence and inviolability. Persia was divided into three zones: northern, with Tabriz, Tehran, the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and the central region, up to Ispagan and Khanikin, was part of the Russian sphere of influence; the southeastern part, adjacent to Afghanistan and India, was considered the British zone; and between them remained "neutral" common lane, which included almost the entire coast of the Persian Gulf. Both powers at the same time mutually undertook to protect the integrity and independence of Persia.

The Russian press, in general, greeted the agreement sympathetically. Novoye Vremya called the agreement with Japan and England “liquidation”, the completion of old calculations, and wrote: “The agreement of August 18 marks a new phase in the Asian grouping: it means a rejection of that Indian campaign, which has more than once inflamed the imagination in Russia ...” A similar idea was expressed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs A. P. Izvolsky, defending the draft agreement in the Council of Ministers. "We must put our interests in Asia to the right place otherwise we ourselves will become an Asian state, which would be the greatest misfortune for Russia.”

S.S. Oldenburg. Reign of Emperor Nicholas II

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ROLE A.P. Izvolsky IN CONCLUDING THE ENGLISH-RUSSIAN AGREEMENT

After the formation of the Anglo-French Entente, Russian diplomacy had to balance between its ally and the recent implacable enemy - England. Russia needed the support of England to stabilize the situation in the Far East: while still an envoy to Japan, Izvolsky came to the conclusion that the key to mutual understanding between St. Petersburg and Tokyo lay in London. The course towards an agreement with England meant a turn in the country's foreign policy. However, influential conservative circles in Russia insisted on the need to maintain and strengthen ties with the monarchist governments of Germany and Austria-Hungary in the conditions of the revolutionary crisis. Izvolsky had to reckon with these views. He also took up the reorganization of his own department, in which, according to the minister, "stagnation and decay" reigned. The minister brought the information service of the ministry to a modern level, put into practice the systematic distribution of copies of the main diplomatic documents to foreign missions. He managed to change the entire ministerial elite. The new minister reduced the number of diplomatic missions in Germany and increased the number of full-time consulates abroad. This increased the efficiency of the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The first stage of Russia's negotiations, which began in May-June 1906 with England, Japan and Germany, can be viewed as a period of diplomatic sounding and identification of mutual demands. The weakness of Russia's foreign policy positions dictated to Izvolsky the tactic of putting forward non-principal issues at the talks at first, as well as convincing the governments of the three powers that the policy of agreement with each of them was not directed against the other and did not aim to disrupt the balance of power that had developed in Europe and the Far East. The tactic of maneuvering suggested to Izvolsky the diplomatic methods of its implementation - intensive and systematic personal contacts with his foreign colleagues and heads of government, both official and private, first used on such a large scale by the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs.

However, Izvolsky's main difficulties at this stage were related to domestic political problems. Already in June 1906, having barely mastered the duties of a minister, Izvolsky was forced to join in the liquidation of the government crisis that arose in connection with the dispersal of the Duma and the resignation of the government of I.L. Goremykin. Negotiations with England were suspended. Izvolsky proposed the creation of a "responsible ministry" with the participation of the liberal opposition. But the most difficult thing for Izvolsky was to overcome the resistance in the ruling circles of Russia to his new course when working out the terms of agreements with England and Japan. During the discussion of the terms of the agreement with England on the delimitation of spheres of influence in Persia and Afghanistan, his main opponent was the Chief of the General Staff F. Palitsyn, who insisted on expanding the "Russian zone" in Persia. In the SGO (Council of State Defense), Izvolsky was forced to fight against plans for a revanchist war with Japan. In developing and discussing the terms of agreements with Japan and England, Izvolsky showed flexibility, perseverance, and especially the ability to convince. Subsequently, he confessed to the French ambassador in Paris: "You cannot imagine all the struggle that I had to endure in 1907 with everyone, right down to my employees in the ministry."

At the beginning of 1907, Izvolsky managed to win Stolypin over to his side and, with the help of Kokovtsov, change the mood of the members of the special meeting, as well as break the resistance of the military in the SGO. He skillfully used the press, convincing the public of the benefits of rapprochement with England and Japan. The final stage of negotiations with these powers covers the period from the beginning of 1907 until the signing of conventions in June - August of the same year.

Izvolsky's approach to working out the terms of the agreements was distinguished by realism. Realizing clearly the weakening of Russia's positions in Central Asia, the need to abandon, at least temporarily, active policy in this region, but at the same time defend the conquests already made, he agreed to the British proposal to divide Persia into three zones: northern ("Russian"), southern ("English") and neutral, with equal opportunities for the two countries. Thus, the real situation in the whole complex of relations between the two rivals in Persia was consolidated. The principle of consolidating the status quo extended to Tibet, whose territorial integrity under the sovereignty of China was recognized by Russia and England. Bitter disputes were connected with Afghanistan, which Russia for the first time recognized as lying outside the sphere of its interests. For concessions in Iran and Afghanistan, Izvolsky did not fail to receive from British diplomacy an important compensation for his future policy in the Middle East: a promise to support Russia in resolving the issue of the straits. In setting the terms of a political demarcation with Japan, Izvolsky rejected Japanese demands that went far beyond the Treaty of Portsmouth, and at the same time, in the name of reaching an agreement, he paid for it with significant concessions, mainly in economic matters.

Alexander Petrovich knew how to single out the main problems, to subordinate secondary issues to the main - political ones. So, by the end of 1906, negotiations with Japan on the implementation of the terms of the Portsmouth Treaty, which had reached an impasse, he proposed to raise more high level negotiations on the conclusion of a general political convention. In pursuing the "policy of agreements," Izvolskoy quite successfully applied the tactics of active foreign policy maneuvering, using the interest in Russia of both blocs of powers. In practice, this position was expressed in not speeding up negotiations with England without first improving relations with Germany, and just as much as necessary so as not to sow illusions in Germany about the possibility of reviving the monarchical Union of the Three Emperors and at the same time not to arouse the suspicions of the Entente. . At the same time, it was supposed to prevent the anti-German orientation of the agreement with England. In negotiations with Japan and England, the goal was to use Tokyo's dependence on London and Paris, the interest of the Entente in the speedy return of Russia to Europe; therefore, it was necessary to coordinate the negotiations with both countries, giving them a certain synchronicity, giving priority to the agreement with Britain, because this, as it was thought, would also advance the conclusion of the Russo-Japanese agreement. However, the feedback was also meant: in negotiations with Japan, they expected to use the American card.

Izvolsky managed to reach generally acceptable terms of agreements with England and Japan. Although contemporaries accused Izvolsky of being too compliant with his partners, the latter were reproached for the same by their compatriots. Most historians admit that both agreements generally corresponded to the real balance of power in the Far East and Central Asia and fixed the positions of the powers occupied by that time. And yet the diplomatic art of Izvolsky was defeated in negotiations with Germany. The scale and severity of the contradictions between the two powers, and most importantly, the alliance with France and the policy of political rapprochement with England limited the "tactics of the possible" used by the Russian minister. In view of the cardinal disagreements on the main issues (Balkan and Middle Eastern), Izvolsky had to be satisfied with the conclusion of the so-called Baltic Protocol (October 1907) on maintaining the status quo in the Baltic region, which was not of fundamental importance for relations between Russia and Germany. This protocol created only the appearance of restoring the balance between Russia and the German bloc, since Russia's real tilt towards the Entente increased. In the chain of agreements concluded by Izvolsky, the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 occupied a key position. Its objective general political significance, like the Anglo-French agreement of 1904 on delimitation in Africa, was that it laid the foundation for the formation of the Triple Entente.

The formation of the opposing blocs took place over a number of years. Their configuration changed under the influence of the dynamics of foreign policy contradictions.

Triple Alliance - the military-political unification of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy - was created back in 1882. However, distinct forms of bloc confrontation emerged during local armed conflicts at the turn of the century. These were the first wars for the redistribution of territories: the Spanish-American War (1898), the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). The Moroccan crises, the Balkan wars, and the national liberation revolutions in a number of colonial and semi-colonial countries had no less active influence on the formation of the system of bloc confrontation.

At the time of the signing by England and France of the Entente Cordiale, Russia was at war with Japan. Before signing the treaty with France, England had already concluded a military-political alliance with Japan directed against Russia, thus the Anglo-French alliance was directed mainly against Germany. Under the circumstances, Germany tried to take advantage of the Russo-Japanese War to weaken the political and economic positions of Russia, but at the same time took into account the danger of the emerging alliance between England and France, inclining Russia towards an alliance. This was evidenced by the meeting of the German Kaiser Wilhelm II and the Russian Emperor Nicholas II in the summer of 1905.

The further aggravation of the contradictions between Germany, France and England served First Moroccan Crisis 1905-1906 At the Algeciras (Spain) conference on the problem of Morocco, France received firm support not only from England, but also from Russia, which was a step towards Russia's entry into the Entente. A member of the Triple Alliance - Italy - also supported France, recognizing its claims to Morocco, thereby moving away from Germany and Austria-Hungary.

A year after the end of the Russo-Japanese War, England, taking into account the imbalance of power in the East and the growing hostility on the part of Germany, signed an agreement with Russia, which determined the spheres of influence of the two countries in Iran, Afghanistan, Northeast China and Tibet.

The agreement between England and Russia finally formalized the bloc Entente.

The steady growth of the power of the German navy led to an intensification of its confrontation with the first maritime power in the world - England.

The main epicenter of controversy on the eve of the First World War was Balkans, where the interests of not only the great derwarriors of the Zhavs, but also the small peoples inhabiting this

region. Traditionally oriented towards Russia, Bulgaria and Serbia in 1912 concluded an alliance treaty with a number of secret annexes, which provided, in case of violation of their sovereignty, a joint armed action, as well as attempts to partition Macedonia. This treaty was directed primarily against Austria-Hungary and Turkey. It was soon joined by Greece and Montenegro, forming a broad coalition that went down in history as Balkan union.

In the autumn of 1912, the First Balkan War established military-political alliance with Turkey. The reason for the war was the anti-Turkish uprising in Albania and Macedonia and Turkey's refusal to grant autonomy to Macedonia. Intervention in the conflict of the great powers (Austria-Hungary, Russia and

The Franco-Prussian War and its aftermath profoundly changed the system of international relations in Europe. First, the contradictions between France and Germany not only were not overcome, but, on the contrary, became even more aggravated. Each article of the Frankfurt Peace of 1871 concealed the danger of a new war, giving rise to revanchist sentiments in France and, at the same time, the desire of Germany to get rid of this danger by the final defeat of its western neighbor.

On the other hand, the consequences of the war and the Franco-German contradictions had a rather noticeable impact on the relations of other European states. Intensifying its foreign policy expansion, Bismarck's Germany took into account that in the event of a conflict with any European state, France would certainly take advantage of the opportunity for revenge, and therefore sought to leave her in international isolation. France, weakened after the war, sought to buy time to restore its military potential and was actively looking for allies on the continent.

From 1871 until his resignation (March 17, 1890), the de facto ruler of the German Empire was Chancellor Prince Otto von Bismarck. The Chancellor understood that Germany, with all her strength, was surrounded by terrible dangers from outside, that for her the loss of a big war due to geographical and economic conditions was always more dangerous than for any other power, and that defeat for her could be tantamount to the destruction of great power.

His entire policy was aimed at preserving what was mined, and not at acquiring a new one. Even when he intended to attack France in 1875, this was due to Otto von Bismarck's fear of an undeniable future war. He deliberately tried to discount everything that in any way increased the likelihood of a war between Germany and any great power or coalition of powers. "Nightmare of coalitions" - this is how Otto von Bismarck's state of mind was defined.

After 1871, a new alignment of forces emerged in Europe. During the Franco-German war, the unification of the country of Germany was completed, the German Empire arose, the regime of the Second Empire collapsed in France and the Third Republic arose.

The peace treaty was signed on February 26, 1871 in Versailles. Departed for Germany French provinces Alsace and East Lorraine. In addition, a huge indemnity of 5 billion francs was imposed on France. Then negotiations between Germany and France in Frankfurt am Main led on 10 May to the signing of a final peace.

The Frankfurt Peace Treaty confirmed the annexation of Alsace and East Lorraine to Germany. In addition, Germany additionally annexed the iron ore region west of Thionville, returning to France the insignificant fortress of Belfort. The treaty thus established a new Franco-German frontier. He also determined the procedure for paying the 5 billion indemnity. France assumed the costs of maintaining the German occupation troops, who remained on its territory until the final payment of indemnity.

Russia viewed France as a counterbalance to a united Germany, but having deep contradictions with England in Central Asia, the Near and Middle East, she cherished Germany's benevolent position on the Eastern question. Austria-Hungary also counted on German support in the South Eastern Europe. Otto von Bismarck sought to play the role of mediator in resolving disputes between Russia and Austria-Hungary in the Balkans.

Thus, after the Franco-German war, the diplomatic and military-strategic situation changes dramatically: France loses its role as a leader in European affairs, Italy is unified, Russia strengthens its positions, and most importantly, another new state is created - the German Empire, which very quickly begins to strengthen their positions and claim hegemony in Europe.

The foreign policy line of Otto von Bismarck, which most contributed to the formation of the Triple Alliance, is a very interesting question. Otto von Bismarck himself believed that his main task as an imperial chancellor was to constantly protect the German Empire from danger from outside. Accordingly, he assessed internal political conflicts mainly in relation to the sphere of foreign policy, that is, to a possible threat to the empire from international revolutionary movements. The uprising of the Paris Commune in the spring of 1871, which was perceived everywhere in Europe as the "lightning lightning" of social revolutions, helped Otto von Bismarck to convince Europe of the danger coming from France, not for the first time since 1789, and of the need to unite all conservative forces in the face of the coming revolutionary upheavals.

The implementation of the policy according to the logic of Otto von Bismarck is closely linked to the existence of a strategic alliance of Germany, Austria and Russia. Moreover, Otto von Bismarck emphasizes its significance precisely as an alliance based on an objective awareness of each of the participating powers of its need, and not on the thesis of monarchical and dynastic solidarity (on the contrary, in a number of places Otto von Bismarck complains about the too strong dependence of the foreign policy of monarchist countries from the personal will of the emperors and the presence of certain dynastic interests).

After the Russian-Turkish war, England for a time actually became the mistress of the Black Sea straits. She received the island of Cyprus, and her squadron was stationed in the Sea of ​​Marmara. British warships could freely enter the Black Sea and threaten the southern shores of Russia, which did not yet have a fleet there. Despite the contradictions, Russia and Germany were linked by economic interests, the relationship of the Romanovs with the Hohenzollerns, monarchist solidarity and fear of revolution. With the support of Berlin, Petersburg hoped to neutralize Vienna in the Balkans and prevent the British occupation of the Black Sea straits.

Even when the direct "alliance of the three emperors" broke up, Otto von Bismarck made a lot of efforts to ensure Germany's bilateral relations with Austria and Russia. Otto von Bismarck considers wars between these three powers to be contrary to any logic and their own interests. In addition, by maintaining good relations With both Austria and Russia, Germany is able to overcome the danger of isolation on the continent, as well as the no less formidable danger of the "Kaunitz coalition" between Austria, France and Russia. And the fact that in 1879 Otto von Bismarck was inclined to conclude a separate treaty with Austria directed against Russia does not at all mean, according to Otto von Bismarck, that the strategy of "wire to Russia" was abandoned.

On the contrary, it is the alliance with Russia (and not with Austria, the progressive decline, the inconsistency of the internal political structure and the growing social contradictions within which Otto von Bismarck was well aware) that he focuses on in his foreign policy doctrine, and if the anti-Russian agreement was signed, then, as Otto von Bismarck emphasizes, it was due primarily to an aggressively pan-Slavic foreign policy Russia, which did not correspond to genuine Russian interests, and was emphatically temporary, and not durable. Otto von Bismarck repeatedly emphasizes that "between Russia and Prussia-Germany there are no such strong contradictions that they could give rise to a break and war."

But after the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. relations between Russia and Germany deteriorated. Berlin supported Vienna in the European commissions on establishing new borders for the Balkan states, and in connection with the global agrarian crisis began to pursue a protectionist policy. It consisted, in particular, in an almost complete ban on the import of livestock and the establishment of high duties on bread from Russia. Germany also protested against the return of the Russian cavalry to the Baltic provinces after the war with Turkey. The "newspaper war" was added to the "customs war". Throughout 1879, the Slavophiles accused Germany of "black ingratitude" for Russia's benevolent neutrality during the Franco-German war, and Berlin recalled its role in the partial preservation of the Treaty of San Stefano.

In St. Petersburg, the mood in favor of rapprochement with France intensified, but in the late 1870s and early 1880s. there were no conditions for the implementation of this course. Russia, which was on the verge of war with England in Central Asia, was interested in the security of the western borders, and France, which pursued an active colonial policy in Africa and Southeast Asia, in turn, did not want complications with London and Berlin.

Otto von Bismarck, in conditions of cool relations with Russia, was preparing the conclusion of the Austro-German alliance, an agreement on which was signed on October 7, 1879 (Appendix 1)

Initially, Otto von Bismarck sought from D. Andrássy such an agreement, which would be directed both against Russia and against France, but failed. According to the treaty, in the event of a Russian attack on one of the parties, the other was obliged to come to her aid, and in the event of an attack by another power, the other side had to observe benevolent neutrality, if Russia did not join the attacker.

Otto von Bismarck, who was familiar with the terms of the treaty, made it clear to Alexander II that Russia should not count on Germany's support in the event of an Austro-Russian conflict. The chancellor insisted on a tripartite alliance of Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary.

The Austro-German Treaty of 1879 continued to exist independently of the "Union of the Three Emperors". The Austro-German Treaty of 1879 is an event that is called a milestone in the foreign policy of the German Empire. The Austro-German treaty proved to be the most durable of all the treaties and agreements concluded by Otto von Bismarck. He laid the foundation for a "dual alliance" that lasted until the First World War. So, the initial link in the system of imperialist coalitions, strangling each other in the world battle, was created by Otto von Bismarck 35 years before it began.

In 1882, Italy joined him, dissatisfied with the transformation of Tunisia into a French protectorate.

Here the best diplomatic skills of Otto von Bismarck were manifested. Encouraging the French government to seize Tunisia, Otto von Bismarck made a clever diplomatic maneuver. He involved Italy and France in a bitter struggle over this piece of North Africa. Paradoxical as it may sound, but by giving France diplomatic support against Italy, Otto von Bismarck made the Italians his allies. It can be said that he drove the small Italian predator into his political camp. At the time of the capture of Tunisia by the French in Italy, the ministry of B. Cairoli was in power. B. Cairoli was an ardent supporter of the annexation of Trieste and Tretino, which remained under the rule of the Habsburgs.

Shortly before the invasion of French troops in Tunisia, Cairoli publicly assured the alarmed Parliament that France would never commit such a treacherous act, but when this step was nevertheless taken, B. Cairoli resigned. As he left, he announced that the last Francophile ministry in Italy was leaving the stage in his person. The conflict with France prompted Italy to seek rapprochement with the Austro-German bloc. The strong indentation of the coast of Italy made it especially vulnerable to the English fleet, so allies were needed, especially in view of the possible aggravation of relations with England, with the beginning of the African colonial policy by Italy. To make up elsewhere for what she missed in Tunisia, Italy could only rely on a strong military power. Otto von Bismarck dismissively but aptly called the Italians jackals that stalk after larger predators.

In January 1882, the Italian ambassador Beauvais addressed Otto von Bismarck with a wish on behalf of his government to strengthen Italy's ties with Germany and Austria-Hungary. For Germany, Italy was an ally in the past, for Austria an enemy. This circumstance was taken into account by Otto von Bismarck when he formulated his reply to the ambassador. Bismarck expressed doubts about the possibility of formalizing friendly relations between the three countries in the form of a written treaty and rejected the ambassador's request to draft it, but he did not completely reject this idea. Particularly persistently sought an alliance with the Italian king Humbert I and the industrial bourgeoisie of Italy, seeking to protect themselves from French competition, advocated an alliance with Germany, but Otto von Bismarck let them know that "Italy can find the keys to the German doors only in Vienna." russia germany emperor entente

No matter how difficult it was for him, the Italian government decided to make an attempt to get closer to Austria. In January 1881, an Italian secret agent also appeared in Vienna. The addiction to secret agents instead of the usual methods of diplomatic communication was not an accident. It testified to the weakness of Italy; from this weakness stemmed the Italian government's self-doubt and fear of embarrassment if its advances were rejected. In view of this, it sought to act in the least official way possible.

For Austria, rapprochement with the Italians promised the provision of rear in case of war with Russia. Therefore, Vienna, after a series of delays, agreed to an alliance with Italy, no matter how much the Austrian court despised this country. Otto von Bismarck needed Italy to isolate France. All this led to the signing of an alliance treaty between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy (Appendix 2).

The secret treaty between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy was signed on May 20, 1882 and was called the Triple Alliance. Concluded for five years, it was repeatedly extended and lasted until 1915. The parties to the agreement pledged not to take part in any alliances or agreements directed against one of them. Germany and Austria-Hungary pledged to help Italy if she was attacked by France, and Italy pledged to do the same in the event of an unprovoked French attack on Germany. As for Austria-Hungary, it was exempted from rendering assistance to Germany against France, it was assigned the role of a reserve in case Russia entered the war.

In the event of an unprovoked attack on one or two parties to the treaty by two or more great powers, all three states enter the war with them. If England is one of the powers that attacked Italy's partners, then Rome is freed from military assistance to its allies (the coast of Italy was easily vulnerable to the English navy).

In the event of an unprovoked attack on one of the parties to the treaty by one of the great powers not participating in this treaty (except France), the other two parties were obliged to maintain benevolent neutrality in relation to their ally. Thus, the neutrality of Italy was guaranteed in the event of a Russo-Austrian war. Following the signing of the treaty, Germany and Austria-Hungary took note of Italy's declaration that Italy withdrew military assistance to its allies in the event of their war with Great Britain. In 1887, additions were made to the agreement in favor of Italy: she was promised the right to participate in resolving issues relating to the Balkans, Turkish coasts, islands in the Adriatic and Aegean seas. In 1891, a decision was made to support Italy in its claims in North Africa (Cyrenaica, Tripoli, Tunisia).

In the event of a common participation in a war, the powers were obliged not to conclude a separate peace and to keep the treaty secret. The 1882 treaty existed in parallel with the Austro-German alliance of 1879 and the "Union of the Three Emperors" of 1881. Being at the center of the three alliances, Germany was able to exert a huge influence on international relations. Joined the Austro-German bloc and Romania. In 1883, she concluded a secret treaty with Austria-Hungary, according to which Austria-Hungary was obliged to provide assistance to Romania in the event of an attack by Russia. The Romanian ruling elite linked itself with the Triple Alliance, on the one hand, because of the fear of Russia seizing the Black Sea straits, which could lead to Russian dominance over the economic life of Romania, on the other hand, because of the desire to increase the territory of the Romanian state at the expense of Bessarabia, and also Silistria, Shumla and other Bulgarian cities and regions. The formation of the Triple Alliance marked the beginning of the formation of those military coalitions that later clashed in the First World War. The German military clique sought to use the Triple Alliance to carry out its aggressive designs against France. Such an attempt was made at the end of January 1887, when it was decided in Germany to call up 73,000 reservists for training camps. Lorraine was chosen as the place of collection. Inspired articles appeared in the newspapers about France's supposedly intensified preparations for a war with Germany. Crown Prince Friedrich, the future Emperor Frederick III, wrote in his diary on 22 January 1887 that, according to Otto von Bismarck, the war with France was closer than he expected. However, the German chancellor failed to secure Russia's neutrality in the event of a Franco-German conflict. And Otto von Bismarck always considered a war with France without confidence that Russia would not intervene in the conflict to be dangerous and risky for Germany.

The emergence of the Triple Alliance in the center of Europe, the continuing deterioration of Franco-German relations, which reached its greatest tension by 1887, required the French government to quickly find ways to get out of the political isolation that had created for France. For a weakened France, which needed peace and at the same time did not leave the thought of revenge, time was needed to eliminate the consequences of the war of 1870-1871. French politicians clearly understood that if new war with Germany (and the danger of new aggression from Germany was quite real), then France needs to have reliable allies, because single combat with the German armed forces will not bring success. And France saw such an ally in the first place in the largest state located in the east of Europe - in Russia, with which France began to seek cooperation the very next day after the signing of the Frankfurt Peace.

At the end of 1870s. the struggle between the great powers and their allies for the final division of spheres of influence in the world is becoming most acute. The main reason for the intensification of colonial expansion was the rapid growth of industrial production in Western countries, caused by the advent of new technologies, which led to the desire of governments to find new markets for the export of capital and marketing finished products. An equally important task was to seize sources of raw materials, the free exploitation of which allowed the industry of these countries to constantly increase production volumes without attracting additional funds.

Having the opportunity to decide economic problems with the help of unlimited exploitation of colonies and dependent countries, the governments of many European powers managed to mitigate internal social contradictions by redistributing the income received. This allowed the most economically developed metropolitan countries of Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and Belgium to subsequently avoid the social upheavals that Russia, Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Spain and Portugal faced. The latter, for a number of reasons, have not been able to economically develop and effectively exploit the markets of their no less extensive territorial possessions. At the same time, most of these states, compensating for their economic weakness with military force, were able to take an active part in the struggle for the final division of spheres of influence in the world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

For this reason, despite the difference in expansion methods, all these countries can be classified as colonial empires, because their policy was based on the desire to seize or take control of the largest possible territory, in relation to the population of which the Europeans were obliged to carry out a "civilizing mission" .

Thus, the active trade, economic and military-political penetration of Western states into all regions of Asia and Africa was the final stage in the formation of the world economic system, within which competition continued between the great powers for control over the most profitable both in economic and military terms. strategic territories. By the end of the XIX century. a significant part of the Southern Hemisphere was divided between the great powers and their allies. Only a very few countries managed to maintain formal sovereignty, although they also became completely economically dependent on colonial empires. This happened with Turkey, Persia, Afghanistan, China, Korea, Siam, Ethiopia, which, thanks to strong centralized power and a tough government policy towards national minorities, managed to avoid the fate of India, Burma, Vietnam and other feudal states that fell apart and were captured colonizers. The sovereignty of individual countries (Liberia, Uryankhai region) was guaranteed by the great powers (USA, Russia).

Particularly important in this regard are the aggravated contradictions between Germany and Great Britain - by and large the main factor in the international situation.

The alliance between Russia and France was dictated not only by the common military-strategic interests of both powers, the presence of a threat from common enemies. By that time, a solid economic foundation was already in place for the union. Russia since the 70s was in dire need of free capital to invest in industry and railway construction, France, on the contrary, did not find a sufficient number of objects for its own investment and actively exported its capital abroad. Since then, the share of French capital in the Russian economy has gradually begun to grow. For 1869-1887. 17 were founded in Russia foreign enterprises, of which 9 are French.

French financiers very productively used the deterioration of Russian-German relations. The economic prerequisites for the union also had a special military-technical aspect. Already in 1888, the brother of Alexander III, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, who arrived in Paris on an unofficial visit, managed to place a mutually beneficial order for the manufacture of 500,000 rifles for the Russian army at French military factories.

The cultural prerequisites for an alliance between Russia and France were long-standing and strong. No other country had such a powerful cultural impact on Russia as France. The names of F. Voltaire and J.J. Rousseau, A. Saint-Simon and C. Fourier, V. Hugo and O. Balzac, J. Cuvier and P.S. Laplace, J.L. David and O. Rodin, J. Wiese and C. Gounod were known to every educated Russian. In France, they always knew less about Russian culture than in Russia - about French. But since the 80s. the French, as never before, are joining the Russian cultural values. In the context of the growing rapprochement between Russia and France, champions of an active offensive policy against Germany advocated for an alliance in both countries. In France, as long as she was on the defensive with Germany, an alliance with Russia was not a burning need. Now, when France has recovered from the consequences of the defeat of 1870 and the question of revenge has become the order of the day for French foreign policy, among its leaders (including President S. Carnot and Prime Minister Ch. Freycinet) the course towards an alliance with Russia has sharply prevailed.

In Russia, meanwhile, the landlords and the bourgeoisie were pushing the government towards an alliance with France, offended by the economic sanctions of Germany and therefore advocating a turn in the domestic economy from German to French loans. In addition, wide (politically very different) circles of the Russian public were interested in the Russian-French alliance, which took into account the totality of mutually beneficial prerequisites for this alliance. A "French" party began to take shape in society, in the government, and even at the royal court. Its forerunner was the famous "white general" M.D. Skobelev.

True, the "German" party was also strong at the court and in the government of Russia: Minister of Foreign Affairs N.K. Gire, his closest assistant and future successor V.N. Lamzdorf, Minister of War P.S. Vannovsky, ambassadors in Germany P.A. Saburov and Pavel Shuvalov. In terms of influence on the tsar and the government, as well as in terms of energy, perseverance and "caliber" of the composition, the "German" party was inferior to the "French", but on the other hand, a number of objective factors that prevented the Russian-French rapprochement had an effect in favor of the first.

The first of these was the geographical factor of remoteness. The differences in their state and political system hindered the alliance between Russia and France more. Therefore, the Russo-French alliance took shape, albeit steadily, but slowly and with difficulty. It was preceded by a series of preliminary steps towards rapprochement between the two countries - mutual steps, but more active on the part of France.

Otto von Bismarck concluded an alliance with Austria in 1879, an alliance with Italy in 1882 (thus creating the Tripartite Alliance), in order to have support in case of war with Russia or France. He encouraged the aggressive policy of France in Africa and Asia in every possible way, firstly, in order to distract the French from the idea of ​​​​revenge - about the reverse conquest of Alsace and Lorraine, and secondly, in order to thereby contribute to the deterioration of France's relations with England and Italy. Finally, he very sparingly and reluctantly went to the creation of German colonies, so that, in turn, he would not get involved in dangerous quarrels with the great maritime power - England. This policy of abstinence and caution required many sacrifices, which irritated the German ruling circles. But Otto von Bismarck, yielding to them, nevertheless tried to yield as little as possible.

Using the idea of ​​monarchical solidarity in maintaining "order" in Europe, in 1873 Otto von Bismarck managed to create an "Union of three emperors" - Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia. The agreement was of a consultative nature, but Germany's role in international relations immediately increased. However, Soyuz was not and could not be stable. Too significant were the contradictions between its participants. And although in 1881 the agreement was renewed, and already in the form of a treaty of neutrality, by the mid-80s. Soyuz has completely exhausted its possibilities.

After the Russian-Turkish war at the Berlin Congress in 1878, Germany did not support Russia's claims in the Balkans. In turn, Russia refused to remain neutral in the event of a war between Germany and France. This three times (in 1875, in 1885 and 1887) kept Otto von Bismarck from a new attack on France. In addition, after the mutual increase in customs duties on the import of goods between Germany and Russia in the late 70s. a real customs war began.

The deterioration of relations with Russia led to the military-political rapprochement between Germany and Austria-Hungary. In 1879, the governments of the two countries entered into a secret alliance treaty, which provided for mutual assistance in the event of a Russian attack on any of these states and benevolent neutrality during a war with any other European country, unless Russia joined it. Defensive in form, the treaty had an aggressive character, since it provided for a real situation in which, in the event of a military conflict between Germany and France, if Russia provided assistance to the latter, Germany would receive Austrian support, and the war would acquire a European scale.

Undoubtedly, Otto von Bismarck was the only outstanding diplomat of the German Empire. He was a representative of the Prussian Junkers and the German bourgeoisie during the struggle for the national unification of Germany, and then for the strengthening of the state he created. He lived and acted in an epoch when imperialism was far from taking shape.

A distinctive feature of the foreign policy activity of Otto von Bismarck was its aggressive nature. When Otto von Bismarck saw an enemy in front of him, the first move of the chancellor was to find his most vulnerable places in order to hit them as hard as possible. Pressure and blow were for Otto von Bismarck a means not only to defeat the enemy, but also to get friends. To ensure the loyalty of an ally, Otto von Bismarck always kept a stone in his bosom against him. If a suitable stone was not at his disposal, he tried to intimidate his friends with all sorts of imaginary troubles that he supposedly could cause them.

If pressure did not help, or for all his ingenuity, Otto von Bismarck could not find any means of pressure or blackmail, he turned to another of his favorite tricks - bribery, most often at someone else's expense. Gradually, he developed a kind of standard of bribes. He bought the British with assistance in Egyptian financial affairs, the Russians with the provision of assistance or freedom of action in one or another of the Eastern problems, the French with support in the seizure of a wide variety of colonial territories. Otto von Bismarck's arsenal of such "gifts" was quite large.

Otto von Bismarck was less willing to use such a diplomatic device as a compromise. It wasn't his style. Otto von Bismarck was a great realist. He liked, when necessary, to talk about monarchist solidarity. However, this did not prevent him from supporting the republicans in France, and in 1873 in Spain, as opposed to the monarchists, since then he believed that the republican governments in these countries, from the point of view of the German Empire, would be the most convenient

Otto von Bismarck did not give scope to feelings in his politics, but he always tried to be guided solely by calculation. If some feeling sometimes interfered with his logic, then most often it was anger. Anger and hatred were, perhaps, the only emotions that could sometimes divert the chancellor from the path of cold and sober calculation - and then only for a while.

Another trait of Otto von Bismarck's character was exceptional activity. The first chancellor of the German Empire was an energetic, extremely active person who literally did not know peace. Simplicity did not belong to the features of Bismarckian politics, despite the fact that its goal was usually expressed with the utmost clarity. Otto von Bismarck almost always clearly knew what he wanted, and was able to develop an amazing effort of will to achieve his goal. He walked towards her sometimes ahead of her, but more often - complex, sometimes confusing, dark, always varied and restless ways.

Foreign policy riveted the gaze of Otto von Bismarck. One of the reasons that led directly to his resignation was the disagreement between the Chancellor and the Kaiser on the question of their attitude towards Russia.

General Waldersee, who replaced the decrepit General von Moltke as Chief of the German General Staff in 1888, continued to insist on a preventive war against Russia. The young Kaiser leaned towards this point of view. Otto von Bismarck considered the war against Russia disastrous.

Sometimes in Western historiography, Otto von Bismarck is portrayed as almost a friend of Russia. This is not true, he was her enemy, because he saw in her the main obstacle to German superiority in Europe. Otto von Bismarck always tried to harm Russia, trying to draw her into conflicts with England and Turkey, but the chancellor was smart enough to understand what a huge power lurks in the Russian people. Harming Russia in every possible way, Otto von Bismarck tried to do it by proxy.

The lines dedicated by Otto von Bismarck to the problem of the Russian-German war sound like a terrible warning. "This war with the gigantic size of its theater would be full of dangers," said Otto von Bismarck. "The examples of Charles XII and Napoleon prove that the most capable commanders only with difficulty extricate themselves from expeditions to Russia." And Otto von Bismarck believed that a war with Russia would be "a great disaster" for Germany. Even if military happiness smiled at Germany in the fight against Russia, then even then " geographical conditions would make it infinitely difficult to bring this success to an end."

But Otto von Bismarck went further. He not only realized the difficulties of the war with Russia, but also believed that even if, contrary to expectations, Germany managed to achieve complete success in the purely military sense of the word, then even then she would not achieve a real political victory over Russia, because it is impossible to defeat the Russian people. Arguing with supporters of an attack on Russia, Otto von Bismarck wrote in 1888: “This could be argued if such a war really could lead to the fact that Russia would be defeated. But such a result would even after the most brilliant victories lies beyond all probability.Even the most favorable outcome of the war will never lead to the disintegration of the main force of Russia, which is based on millions of Russians proper ... These latter, even if they are divided by international treatises, will just as quickly reunite with each other , like particles of a cut piece of mercury. This indestructible state of the Russian nation is strong in its climate, its spaces and its limited needs ... ". These lines do not at all testify to the chancellor's sympathy for Russia. They talk about something else - Otto von Bismarck was cautious and far-sighted.

Bismarck was to a large extent a kind of personification of the alliance between the bourgeoisie and the Junkers. But as imperialist tendencies matured in the economy and politics of Germany, his policy became more and more the policy of "state capitalism".

Bismarck's policy was aimed at preserving what was mined, and not at acquiring a new one. He intended to attack France, this was due to Otto von Bismarck's fear of an undeniable future war. He deliberately tried to discount everything that in any way increased the likelihood of a war between Germany and any great power or coalition of powers.

Over time, using the Italo-French colonial rivalry, Otto von Bismarck managed to attract Italy to the coalition. In 1882, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy concluded a secret allied treaty of mutual assistance in case of war with France and a common action in the event of an attack on one of the participants in two or more European countries. This is how the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy arose, which marked the beginning of the split of Europe into warring military groups.

Deftly playing on the differences of European states, the Triple Alliance soon managed to win over Romania and Spain. However, all attempts by Otto von Bismarck and his successors to achieve participation in the union of England proved fruitless. Despite the sharp colonial contradictions with France and Russia, England, as before, did not want to bind itself to an agreement with any European state, remaining true to the policy of "brilliant isolation".

However, the likely accession of England to the German-Austrian bloc accelerated the military-political rapprochement between France and Russia. In 1891, the Franco-Russian alliance was formalized by a consultative pact, and in 1892, representatives of the general staffs of both countries signed a secret military convention on joint actions in the event of war with Germany. The Convention, which was to remain in force for the duration of the Triple Alliance, was ratified in late 1893 and early 1894.

90s 19th century characterized by a sharp intensification of Germany's foreign policy and a change in its direction. The rapid development of industry, which had outgrown the possibilities of the domestic market, forced the ruling circles of the country to support German trade expansion in Europe, to look for "new independent territories" for the sale of goods. Having embarked on the path of colonial conquests later than other countries, Germany was significantly inferior to them in terms of the size of the occupied territories. The German colonies were twelve times smaller than the English ones, and in addition, they were poor in raw materials. The imperial leadership was acutely aware of this "injustice" and, activating the colonial policy, for the first time raised the question of redistributing the world already divided by European countries.

Germany's transition to "world politics was embodied in its claims to dominance in Europe, the desire to gain a foothold in the Near, Middle and Far East, the desire to redistribute spheres of influence in Africa." The main direction of German expansion was the Middle East. In 1899, the Kaiser obtained from the Turkish Sultan consent to the construction of a transcontinental railway that was supposed to connect Berlin and Baghdad, after which the active penetration of German capital into the Balkans, Anatolia and Mesopotamia began.

The advance of the Germans to the east and the undisguised territorial claims of Germany led to a sharp aggravation of its relations with the largest colonial state in the world - England. By the beginning of the XX century. Anglo-German contradictions become central to the system of international relations. The economic, political and colonial rivalry between the two countries was supplemented by a naval arms race. Having deployed in 1898 the construction of a powerful navy, Germany challenged the "mistress of the seas", threatening her intermediary trade and ties with the colonies.

For a long time, confident in the invulnerability of the island position of England and in the advantage of her navy, British diplomats considered it the best foreign policy not to tie their hands with alliances with other states, to encourage conflicts between them and to benefit from these conflicts for England. To maintain the "European balance" Great Britain usually opposed the strongest continental state, not allowing it to take a dominant position in Europe.

However, deterioration international position countries at the beginning of the 20th century. forced the British government to change its foreign policy. The sharp increase in the military and naval power of Germany, its undisguised territorial claims created a real threat to the existence of the British Empire. The policy of isolation was becoming dangerous, and British diplomacy began to look for allies on the Continent in a future clash with Germany.

In 1904, after the settlement of mutual colonial claims in Africa, England concluded a military-political agreement with France, which was called the Entente ("cordial consent"). In 1907, the Entente became tripartite: having signed a convention with England on the division of spheres of influence in Iran, Afghanistan and Tibet, Russia also joined it. Thus, as a result of the agreements of 1904-1907. the military-political bloc of three states, which opposed the countries of the Triple Alliance, finally took shape.

The formation of the Entente in 1904 was a serious warning to Germany in its expansionist plans. On the eve of the inevitable clash with England, the Franco-Russian alliance of 1891-1893 also became much more dangerous for her. Therefore, the Kaiser and German diplomacy repeatedly made attempts to break the hostile encirclement, inspiring the aggravation of Anglo-Russian differences and inciting distrust of the Russian ruling circles towards France.

After France had established "cordial agreement" with England, all that remained was to close the ends: to convince England and Russia of the need for rapprochement. It was not an easy task.

Anglo-Russian relations after the Crimean War were very tense. Despite the defeat of Russia in this war, Great Britain continued to be disturbed by its activity in the zones of British interests. The British were also worried about the prospect of the Russians taking possession of the Black Sea straits. After all, it was from the Mediterranean that the shortest route to India began - the Suez Canal. The defeat of Russia in Russian - Japanese war and the revolution of 1905-1907. finally convinced England that it was not Russia that now posed a danger to British interests. England, like France, needed a military alliance against Germany more than Russia. Therefore, the old Russian-English differences in the face of general German aggression were settled. In 1907 England and Russia managed to agree on the division of spheres of influence in Iran, Afghanistan and Tibet. So in 1907. Russia joined the Entente.

The results of the development of international relations from 1871 to 1893 can be summarized in the words of Engels: "The major military powers of the continent were divided into two large camps threatening each other: Russia and France on the one hand, Germany and Austria on the other." England remained for the time being outside these two blocs; she continued to base her policy on their contradictions. However, until the mid-90s. its diplomacy gravitated rather towards the German grouping, although objectively Anglo-German antagonism had been growing for quite a long time.

Therefore, in his work, V.P. Potemkin - "The History of Diplomacy" put it this way: "If the imperialist struggle for colonies and spheres of influence is overlooked as a factor in the impending world war, if the imperialist contradictions between England and Germany are also overlooked, if the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine by Germany, as a factor of war , is relegated to the background before the desire of Russian tsarism for Constantinople, as a more important and even determining factor in the war, if, finally, Russian tsarism represents the last stronghold of pan-European reaction, is it not clear that a war, say, between bourgeois Germany and tsarist Russia is not an imperialist, not a predatory, not an anti-people war, but a liberation war, or almost a liberation war?

After Russo-Japanese War In 1904-1905, using the family connections of the Romanovs and the Hohenzollerns, Wilhelm II increased pressure on Nicholas II, arguing in correspondence that the neutrality of France during the war bordered on treason, and that the Anglo-French agreement of 1904 was directed against Russia. During a personal meeting in Björk (Finland) in 1905, he managed to convince the Russian emperor to conclude a secret mutual assistance treaty with Germany, however, this diplomatic success remained inconclusive. Under pressure from the highest dignitaries of the empire, Nicholas II was soon forced to cancel this agreement. Just as futile was the attempt by German diplomacy to tear Russia away from her allies in the Entente during the Potsdam meeting of the two emperors in 1910.

Stirring up disagreements between European states, Germany sought, among other things, to ensure unhindered penetration into the Middle East. At the same time, she tried to establish herself in North Africa, claiming a part of Morocco that had not yet been captured by Europeans. Nevertheless, on the European "colonial exchange" Morocco has long been recognized as a sphere of French interests, and the intervention of William II in Moroccan affairs in 1905 caused a sharp aggravation of international relations. The Moroccan crisis almost led to the start of a European war, but the conflict was overcome through diplomacy. Convened in Algeciras (Spain) in 1906, an international conference, contrary to the expectations of the Germans, recognized the priority rights to Morocco for France.

In 1911, taking advantage of the unrest in the Fez region, France, under the pretext of "appeasement", sent its troops to the Moroccan capital. This caused an unexpected demarche of Germany. "After a noisy campaign raised in the press demanding the partition of Morocco, the German government sent the Panther gunboat, and then a light cruiser, to its shores, provoking a second Moroccan crisis." The French government took the "Panther jump" as a challenge and was ready to defend its colonial "rights". However, the war that threatened to take on European proportions did not start this time either. The resolute statement of the British government about the readiness to fight on the side of France forced Germany to retreat and recognize the French protectorate over most of Morocco.

The Bosnian crisis of 1908 also led to an acute international conflict. Under the terms of the Berlin Treaty of 1878, Bosnia and Herzegovina were occupied by Austria-Hungary, but formally remained part of the Ottoman Empire. After the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, the Austrian government came to the conclusion that the moment had come for the final annexation of these two Slavic provinces. At the same time, Russia's consent was secured by a promise to support its demands regarding the opening of the Black Sea straits for Russian warships. But this promise was never fulfilled, since Russia's claims were not supported by either England or France. At the same time, the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina strengthened the Austrian position in the Balkans and dealt a strong blow to the national liberation movement of the southern Slavs.

The annexation provoked a sharp protest from Serbia, which publicly declared its disrespect for the rights of the Slavic peoples and demanded that Austria-Hungary grant political autonomy to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Russia supported it, proposing to convene an international conference to resolve the Bosnian problem. Nevertheless, Russia's allies in the Entente took a neutral position, and the German government frankly invited Russia to confirm the annexation and force Serbia to do so. Having received an ultimatum warning from Berlin that in case of refusal, Germany would support Austria-Hungary in an attack on Serbia, and left alone, Russia was forced to yield.

Italy also took advantage of the weakening of the once powerful Ottoman Empire, which had long encroached on its possessions in North Africa. Enlisting the support of large European states, in 1911 she began military operations against Turkey and captured two of its provinces - Tripolitania and Cyrenaica. Political isolation and the beginning of a new crisis in the Balkans forced the Turkish government to make concessions, and under the Lausanne Peace Treaty, Turkey renounced the rights to Cyrenaica and Tripolitania, which became part of the Italian possessions in North Africa under the name of Libya. Under the treaty, Italy undertook to return the occupied Dodecanese Islands to Turkey, but never fulfilled the promise.

The aggravation of international relations at the beginning of the 20th century, the confrontation between the two warring military-political blocs - the Triple Alliance and the Entente was accompanied by an unprecedented arms race. The parliaments of European countries, one after another, pass laws on additional appropriations for the rearmament and increase in the size of armies, the development of fleets, and the creation of military aviation. So, in France in 1913, a law was adopted on a three-year military service, which increased the size of the French army in peacetime to 160 thousand people. In Germany, during the five pre-war years (1909-1914), military spending increased by 33% and accounted for half of the entire state budget. In 1913, its army numbered 666 thousand people.

Table 1

The degree of militarization of European countries in the 80s. XIX - early XX century

Long before the start of the war, the British government began to heavily arm the country. During the ten years before the war, Britain's military spending tripled. Created in 1910, the Imperial Defense Committee developed a strategic plan on an imperial scale. Along with the strengthening of the fleet in England, an army was created, ready, if necessary, for battles on the continent.

The burdensome naval arms race prompted British diplomacy to make one last attempt to reach a compromise with Germany.

To this end, in 1912, Minister of War Lord Holden was sent to Berlin, who proposed that the German government stop the competition in the construction of battleships in exchange for colonial concessions in Africa.

But the desire of England to maintain its naval superiority at all costs doomed Holden's mission to failure. Germany was not going to concede in anything to the "mistress of the seas", and by the beginning of 1914 she already had 232 new warships at her disposal.

Everyone is looking for and not finding the reason why the war began. Their search is in vain, they will not find this reason. The war did not start for any one reason, the war started for all reasons at once.

(Thomas Woodrow Wilson)

Already with late XIX For centuries, European politicians have been haunted by the feeling of an impending catastrophe. The world was shaken by the Anglo-Boer, then the Spanish-American, then the Russian-Japanese, Italian-Turkish and endless Balkan wars, but they did not develop into a big war. And the political crises that disturbed Europe could lose count.

In 1905, Germany concluded an alliance treaty with Russia (Bjork Treaty), but it never entered into force. By 1914, two powerful military-political blocs had already taken shape. The Old World was divided into two warring camps - the Triple Alliance and the Entente. A clash between these groups seemed inevitable, but hardly anyone could have imagined then what catastrophic consequences it would lead to. Twenty million killed, hundreds of millions maimed, razed to the ground once flourishing cities and villages - such was the result of the First World War ...

All the major states of the planet have been preparing for a world war since the 1880s. Somewhere at the beginning of the second decade of the 20th century, preparations for big war was generally completed, that is, a huge amount of weapons and military equipment was accumulated in the European states, an infrastructure aimed at war was created. It remains only to find a suitable occasion. And they found him. On June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo, the Serbian patriot Gavrila Princip assassinated the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Habsburg dynasty, deputy commander-in-chief of the empire's army. And all the major powers considered it necessary to start a war. And the war began. The terrorist act was just an excuse that everyone was waiting for.

Long before that, a tangle of contradictions was growing in Europe between the great powers - Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Great Britain, and also Russia. The growing economic power of Germany required the redistribution of world markets, which was opposed by Great Britain. French and German interests clashed in the disputed frontier areas that changed hands over the centuries - Alsace and Lorraine. In the Middle East, the interests of almost all powers clashed, striving to be in time for the division of the crumbling Ottoman Empire.

Block Entente(formed after the Anglo-Russian alliance in 1907):

Russian Empire, Great Britain, France.

Block Triple Alliance:

Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy.

However, during the war there were some reshuffles and replacements: Italy entered the war in 1915 on the side of the Entente, and Turkey and Bulgaria joined Germany and Austria-Hungary, forming Quadruple Union(or bloc of the Central Powers).

Central Powers:

Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire (Turkey), Bulgaria.

Allies of the Entente:

Japan, Italy, Serbia, USA, Romania.

Friends of the Entente(supported the Entente in the war):

Montenegro, Belgium, Greece, Brazil, China, Afghanistan, Cuba, Nicaragua, Siam, Haiti, Liberia, Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica.

A lot of oddities in the Entente camp happened due to the fact that Russia and France were in its composition ... France is an ally of Russia; France's ally is Great Britain. Eternal enemy Great Britain becomes an ally of Russia. An ally of Great Britain... Japan! As a result, a recent enemy - Japan becomes an ally of Russia.

On the other hand, the obvious enmity between Turkey and Russia led to the fact that this country, which was under strong British influence, turned out to be an ally of Germany. Italy, which was part of the Triple Alliance and for many years considered a natural ally of Germany, ended up in the camp of the Entente countries.

A hodgepodge. Kish-mish in Turkish.

As a result, 38 states participated in the war, in which 70% of the world's population lived. The Entente forces, led by France, Russia, Great Britain, from 1915 Italy, and from 1917 the United States defeated the states of the Quadruple Alliance (also known as the Central States) led by Austria-Hungary, Germany, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria.

In August 1914, the world did not yet know how grandiose and catastrophic the war declared on the first day of the last summer month would become. No one knew yet what incalculable victims, disasters and upheavals it would bring to humanity and what an indelible mark it would leave in its history. As a result of the war, the armies of the participating countries lost about 10 million soldiers killed and 22 million wounded. And it was precisely those terrible four years of the First World War that, despite the calendars, were destined to become the true beginning of the 20th century.

In September 1914, the first Battle of the Marne took place. The war unfolded in two main theaters of military operations - in Western and Eastern Europe, as well as in the Balkans and Northern Italy, in the colonies - in Africa, in China, in Oceania. Very soon after the start of the war, it became clear that the clash would take on a protracted character. The uncoordinated actions of the Entente countries, which had a noticeable superiority, allowed Germany - the main military force of the Triple Alliance - to wage war on an equal footing.

Despite fierce resistance, by 1917 it became clear that the victory would go to the Entente. In 1915, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary. The United States came out on the side of the Entente (after the famous “Zimmermann telegram”). In August 1916, Romania, which also hesitated for a long time, joined the Entente, but it turned out very unsuccessfully; soon its territory was occupied by the countries of the German bloc (much later, regarding the reliability of Romania as an ally, A. Hitler said: “If Romania ended the war on the same side as it started, it means that it defected twice!”).

The internal situation led to February Revolution in Russia, and later to the October Revolution, as a result of which Russia separately withdrew from the war on extremely unfavorable conditions (the capitulation Brest peace was concluded - an “obscene peace”, in the words of V. I. Lenin), since by 1917 Russia had already was unable to conduct any fighting. This allowed Germany to continue the war for another year.

After the failure of another offensive on the Western Front in November 1918, a revolution also began in Germany (ending on November 9 with the overthrow of Kaiser Wilhelm and the establishment of the Weimar Republic).

On November 11, 1918, the German and Allied command signed a truce in Compiègne, which ended the First World War. In the same month, Austria-Hungary ceased to exist, disintegrating into several states; the monarchy was overthrown.

The result of the First World War was the disintegration and liquidation of four empires: the German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman (Ottoman), the latter two were divided, and Germany and Russia, ceasing to be monarchies, were cut down territorially and weakened economically. Germany lost its colonial territories. Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Yugoslavia gained independence. The war set the stage for the future collapse of the British Empire.

First World War determined the end of the old world order that developed after the Napoleonic Wars. The outcome of the conflict proved to be an important factor in the outbreak of World War II. It was the revanchist sentiment in Germany that actually led to the Second World War.

In addition, the world war became one of the main reasons that turned the life of Russia over the revolutions - the February and October. Old Europe, which for centuries maintained its leading positions in political, economic and cultural life, began to lose its leading position, giving way to the emerging new leader - the United States of America (or the USA - the North American United States, as it was customary to call this country at that time).

This war raised the question of the further coexistence of various peoples and states in a new way. And in the human dimension, its price turned out to be unprecedentedly high - the great powers that were part of the opposing blocs and assumed the brunt of the hostilities lost a significant part of their gene pool. historical consciousness peoples turned out to be so poisoned that for a long time it cut off the path to reconciliation for those of them who acted as opponents on the battlefields. The World War “rewarded” those who passed through its crucible and survived with a bitterness that constantly reminded of itself. People's faith in the reliability and rationality of the existing world order was seriously undermined.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the balance of power in the international arena changed dramatically. The geopolitical aspirations of the great powers - Great Britain, France and Russia on the one hand, Germany and Austria-Hungary on the other - led to an unusually sharp rivalry.

In the last third of the 19th century, the geopolitical picture of the world looked like this: the United States and Germany, in terms of economic growth, began to outpace and displace the "old" great powers - Great Britain and France, on the world market, while simultaneously claiming their colonial possessions. In this regard, relations between Germany and Great Britain became extremely aggravated in the struggle both for colonies and for dominance in the open spaces of the ocean. In the same period, two unfriendly blocs of countries formed, finally delimiting relations between them. It all started with the Austro-German Union, formed in 1879 on the initiative of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Subsequently, Bulgaria and Turkey joined this alliance. Somewhat later, the so-called Quadruple Alliance, or Central Bloc, was formed, which marked the beginning of a series of international treaties that led to the creation in 1891-1893 of the opposing Russian-French bloc.

Shooting chain. Before the run

In 1904, Great Britain signed three conventions with France, which meant the establishment of the Anglo-French “cordial agreement” - “Entente cordiale” (this bloc began to be called the Entente later, when a short rapprochement was outlined in the conflicting relations between these two countries). In 1907, in order to settle colonial issues regarding Tibet, Afghanistan and Iran, a Russian-English treaty was concluded, which actually meant the inclusion of Russia in the Entente, or "Triple Agreement". In the growing rivalry, each of the great powers pursued its own interests.

The Russian Empire, realizing the need to curb the expansion of Germany and Austria-Hungary in the Balkans and strengthen its own positions there, counted on the conquest of Galicia from Austria-Hungary, not excluding the establishment of control over the Black Sea straits of the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, which are in the possession of Turkey.

The British Empire aimed to eliminate its main competitor - Germany and to strengthen its own position as a leading power, while maintaining dominance at sea. At the same time, Britain planned to weaken and subjugate its allies - Russia and France - to its foreign policy. The latter longed for revenge for the defeat suffered during the Franco-Prussian War, and most importantly, she wanted to return the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine lost in 1871.

Germany intended to defeat Great Britain in order to seize her colonies rich in raw materials, defeat France and secure the border provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. In addition, Germany sought to seize the vast colonies that belonged to Belgium and Holland, in the east its geopolitical interests extended to the possessions of Russia - Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states, and it also hoped to subjugate the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey) and Bulgaria, after which, together with Austria-Hungary to establish control in the Balkans. Aiming at the speedy achievement of their goals, the German leadership in every possible way looked for a reason to unleash hostilities, and he eventually found himself in Sarajevo ...

The military euphoria that engulfed European countries gradually turned into military psychosis. On the day the hostilities began, Emperor Franz Joseph published a manifesto, which, among other things, contained the famous phrase: “I weighed everything, I thought everything over” ... On the same day, a meeting was held Russian Council ministers. The military leadership of the country considered it necessary to conduct a general mobilization, conscripting 5.5 million people into the army. War Minister V. A. Sukhomlinov and Chief of the General Staff N. N. Yanushkevich insisted on this in the hope of a fleeting (lasting 4-6 months) war. Germany presented Russia with an ultimatum demanding an end to the general mobilization within 12 hours - before 12:00 on August 1, 1914. The ultimatum expired, and Russia found itself at war with Germany.

Further events developed rapidly and inevitably. On August 2, Germany entered the war with Belgium, on August 3 - with France, and on August 4, official notice was received in Berlin about the start of hostilities against her by Great Britain. Thus, diplomatic battles in Europe were replaced by bloody battles on the battlefield.

Russian three-inch shoes at a military review

Probably, the top leadership of Germany and Austria-Hungary did not imagine what disastrous consequences their actions would lead to, but it was the political short-sightedness of Berlin and Vienna that made such a fatal development possible. In conditions when there was still the possibility of resolving the crisis peacefully, neither in Germany nor in Austria-Hungary was there a single politician who would come up with such an initiative.

Interestingly, by the beginning of the 20th century, there were no such insurmountable contradictions between Germany and Russia, which inevitably had to develop into such a large-scale military confrontation. However, the desire of the German Empire for European and world domination was obvious. The Habsburg Empire was guided by similar ambitions. With their military and political power growing, neither Russia nor France, much less Great Britain, could afford to be on the sidelines. As Russian Foreign Minister S. D. Sazonov noted on this occasion, in case of inaction, one would have to “not only abandon Russia’s age-old role as the protector of the Balkan peoples, but also recognize that the will of Austria and Germany standing behind her back is the law for Europe ".

By the beginning of August 1914, the prospect of a "great European war" was in sight. The main powers of the opposing alliances - the Entente and the Central Bloc - began to put their armed forces on alert. Millions of armies went to their original combat positions, and their military command was already looking forward to a quick victory. Then few could have imagined how unattainable it was ...

At first glance, there was no logic in the fact that the further events of August 1914 unfolded according to a scenario that no one could have imagined. In fact, such a turn was predetermined by a number of circumstances, factors and trends.

On August 8, representatives of the majority of political parties and associations expressed at a meeting of the Russian State Duma loyal feelings to the emperor, as well as faith in the correctness of his actions and readiness, putting aside internal disagreements, to hold the soldiers and officers who found themselves on the fronts. The national slogan "War to the bitter end!" was picked up even by liberal-minded oppositionists, who until quite recently stood up for Russia's restraint and caution in foreign policy decisions.

After the announcement Supreme Manifesto about the war from all over the country, from all the provinces, assurances of loyal feelings poured into St. Petersburg. A week later, response telegrams arrived: “I thank the population of the province for their devotion and readiness to serve Me and the Motherland. Nicholas."

Soldiers of the First World

“Everyone is looking for and not finding the reason why the war began. Their search is in vain, they will not find this reason. The war did not start for any one reason, the war started for all reasons at once” (Thomas Woodrow Wilson). The First World War covers the period from July 28, 1914 to November 11, 1918. It was a large-scale armed conflict. The war divided world history into two eras, opening a completely new page of it, filled with social explosions and upheavals.
This name of the war was established in historiography after the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Prior to this, the name Great War" (eng. TheGreatWar, fr. La grande guerre), in the Russian Empire it was called the "Second Patriotic War", and also informally (both before the revolution and after) - "Germanic"; then in the USSR - "imperialist war".

For almost the entire 19th century, the main powers were heading towards open conflict, as a result of which the fate of not just Europe, but the whole world, was to be decided. England, France, Russia, a little later Germany and Austria-Hungary were not going to compromise.

The threat of war could not be prevented either by the numerous unions formed, since almost all of them turned out to be fictitious, or even by the close relationship of almost all the reigning families. In fact, future enemies - the rulers of Russia, England and Germany - were cousins. But national interests for them stood above reason and family ties.

38 independent states out of 59 that existed at that time were involved in a military conflict on a global scale. And each side had its own reasons for participating in the war.

The First World War is a war between two coalitions of powers: the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria) and the Entente (Russia, France, Great Britain, Serbia, later Japan, Italy, Romania, the USA, etc.).

World at the turn of the century

At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. capitalism has grown into imperialism. The world was almost completely divided between the major powers. But this section could not be final. There were always parts of disputed territories, remnants of crumbling empires (for example, Portuguese possessions in Africa, which, according to a secret agreement concluded by Great Britain and Germany in 1898, were subject to division between the two powers; Ottoman Empire slowly fell apart throughout the 19th century and were tidbits for young predators). Having colonies means not only having markets and sources of raw materials, but also being a great and respected power.

The beginning of the 20th century was also marked by the emergence of a number of unifying tendencies: Pan-Germanism, Pan-Slavism, and so on. Each of these movements demanded for itself a vast homogeneous space and sought to break up the existing heterogeneous formations, primarily Austria-Hungary, a mosaic state, united only by the belonging of each of its parts to the Habsburg dynasty.

The global confrontation between the great powers, primarily England and Germany, escalated, and the struggle for the redivision of the world, including the redistribution of colonies, began.

Contradictions manifested themselves in certain regions: the confrontation in the Balkans between Russia and its ally Serbia and Austria-Hungary, along with allied Bulgaria, became especially acute. The situation was aggravated by the fact that England, Germany, France and Italy also pursued their interests here. By 1914, Germany had become the dominant military power in the Balkan region, taking control of the Ottoman army. Russia's desire to master the Black Sea straits was now blocked not only by England, but also by the German-Turkish military alliance.

In the Middle and Far East, the new superpowers of the United States and Japan sought to spread their influence.

In Europe, the political and economic rivalry between Germany and France was obvious, fighting for hegemony in the field of production and marketing in Europe.

Country interests

Great Britain (as part of the Entente)

She was afraid of a potential German threat, so she switched to the policy of forming an anti-German bloc of states.

She did not want to put up with the penetration of Germany into areas that she considered “her own”: East and South-West Africa. She also wanted to take revenge on Germany for supporting the Boers in the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902. Therefore, in fact, she was already waging an undeclared economic and trade war against Germany and was actively preparing for a war with her.

France (as part of the Entente)

She wanted to recoup the defeat inflicted on her by Germany in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. She wanted to return Alsace and Lorraine, separated from France in 1871. She fought with Germany for sales markets, but at the same time she was afraid of German aggression. It was also important for France to keep its colonies (North Africa).

Russia (as part of the Entente)

The main interest for Russia was control over the Dardanelles, she wanted to have free passage for her fleet in the Mediterranean.

In the construction of the Berlin-Baghdad railway (1898), Russia saw an unfriendly act on the part of Germany, an encroachment on its rights in Asia, although in 1911 these differences with Germany were settled by the Potsdam Agreement.

In the Balkans, the influence of Austria was growing, which Russia also did not want to put up with, as well as with the fact that Germany was gaining strength and began to dictate its terms in Europe.

Russia considered itself the main among the Slavic peoples, and tried to support the anti-Austrian and anti-Turkish sentiments of the Serbs and Bulgarians.

Serbia (as part of the Entente)

She wanted to establish herself in the Balkans as the leader of the Slavic peoples of the peninsula, to form Yugoslavia, including all the Slavs living in the south of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Unofficially supported the nationalist organizations that fought against Austria-Hungary and Turkey.

German Empire (Triple Alliance)

Strived for military, economic and political dominance on the European continent. She sought to gain equal rights in the colonial possessions of England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal.

In the Entente, she saw an alliance against herself.

Austria-Hungary (Triple Alliance)

Due to its multinationality, it played the role of a constant hotbed of instability in Europe. She fought to keep Bosnia and Herzegovina captured by her in 1908. Opposed to Russia, because Russia took on the role of defender of all Slavs in the Balkans, and Serbia.

USA before World War I they were the world's largest debtor, and after the war they became the sole world creditor.

Preparing for war

The preparations for a world war as a means of resolving external and internal contradictions of the state were carried out for many years, the creation of a system of military-political blocs began. This was initiated by the Austro-German treaty of 1879, the participants of which pledged to assist each other in case of war with Russia. In 1882, Italy joined them, seeking support in the fight against France for the possession of Tunisia. Thus arose the Triple Alliance of 1882, or the alliance of the Central Powers, directed against Russia and France, and later against Great Britain. In opposition to him, another coalition of European powers began to take shape. The Russo-French alliance of 1891-93 was formed, which provided for the joint actions of these countries in the event of aggression from Germany or aggression from Italy and Austria-Hungary, supported by Germany. The growth of the economic power of Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. forced Britain to gradually abandon the traditional policy of "brilliant isolation" and seek rapprochement with France and Russia. Anglo-French agreement of 1904. disputes between Great Britain and France on colonial issues were settled, and the Anglo-Russian agreement of 1907 consolidated the agreement between Russia and Great Britain regarding their policy in Tibet, Afghanistan, and Iran. These documents formalized the creation of the Triple Entente, or Entente- a bloc of Great Britain, France and Russia, opposed to the Triple Alliance. In 1912 the Anglo-French and Franco-Russian maritime conventions were signed, and in 1913 negotiations began on concluding an Anglo-Russian maritime convention.

In preparation for the world war, the states created a powerful military industry, the basis of which was large state-owned factories: weapons, gunpowder, shell, ammunition, shipbuilding, etc. Private enterprises were involved in the production of military products: in Germany - Krupp factories, in Austria-Hungary - Skoda , in France - Schneider-Creusot and Saint-Chamond, in the UK - Vickers and Armstrong-Whitworth, in Russia - the Putilov Plant, etc. Achievements in science and technology were put at the service of preparing for war. More advanced weapons appeared: store-bought rapid-fire rifles and machine guns, which greatly increased the firepower of the infantry; in artillery, the number of rifled guns of the latest systems has sharply increased.

big strategic importance developed railways, which made it possible to significantly accelerate the concentration and deployment of large troop masses in theaters of operations and to ensure the uninterrupted supply of active armies with human reinforcements and all types of logistics. Road transport began to play an increasingly important role. Military aviation emerged. The use of new means of communication in military affairs (telegraph, telephone, radio) facilitated the organization of command and control. The number of armies and trained reserves increased rapidly. In the field of naval armaments, there was a stubborn rivalry between Germany and Great Britain. Since 1905, ships of a new type have been built - dreadnoughts. By 1914, the German fleet had firmly taken second place in the world after the British fleet. Other states also sought to strengthen their navies.

An ideological preparation for war was also carried out: the peoples were inspired by the means of propaganda that it was inevitable.

It is known that the reason for the outbreak of hostilities in 1914 was the assassination in Sarajevo of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife by a Serbian nationalist, a member of the Young Bosnia organization Gavrilo Princip. But that was just an excuse. As one of the historians put it, this murder can be called setting fire to the fuse, behind which was a barrel of gunpowder.