Chapter 495： Alexandrovic (1/2)
France and Russia have moved closer than just talking. Although Napoleon III is now only conducting a tentative attempt, in an attempt to gain more voice in the Anglo-French-Austrian Alliance, it is necessary to take practical action.
On March 6, 1871, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire announced that the Crown Prince Alexandrovich would visit Europe, the first stop being France.
The cooperation of the Russians was surprising. Under normal circumstances, the first leg of the Crown Prince's overseas visit should be Vienna, or it could be started from Denmark.
The order of the crown prince's visits seems irrelevant, but it also contains a strong political meaning, which is a political signal to the outside world.
Austria was the most important ally of the Russian Empire and the only ally with a significant weight, occupying an important weight in diplomacy.
The Kingdom of Denmark is the in-laws of the Russian royal family, and the Crown Prince Alexandrovich married the Danish princess Maria Feodorovna.
Geographically, both countries border the Russian Empire. According to customary routes, visit Denmark first and place the last stop in Austria; or land, visit Vienna and finally Denmark.
These are all normal diplomatic visit procedures, which both embody diplomatic attention without losing courtesy.
It's very interesting now that the unconventionality starts in France. This is not a business trip abroad, so many countries along the way are the target of visits, so directly across the past, Alexandrovic's travel route is obviously awkward.
When it comes to politics, Crown Prince Alessandrović has to go all the way, which is related to the foreign policy of the Tsarist government.
It is widely believed that this is the tsarist government's dissatisfaction with the Vienna government. Not long ago, the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs disrupted the Tsarist government's ”debt payment plan”, and it is natural for the St. Petersburg government to have opinions.
Problems in Russia-Austria relations are something that European countries are happy to see. Many people who eat melon are ready to watch the excitement, and the international media have also expressed their opinions.
Everyone was waiting for the reaction of the Vienna government, and they were disappointed. Nothing happens, as if nothing happened.
This is just the opinion of ordinary people. From the perspective of government leaders in various countries, no response is the biggest response.
Either the two sides have communicated beforehand, so there is no problem; or the Vienna government does not care.
The former does not matter, the latter is different. If the Vienna government really doesn't care about the Russians, there are only two reasons:
Either the relationship between the two countries is very good, don't care about this little thing. This is obviously impossible. Although the relations between Russia and Austria are good, they are still far from intimate.
Either the Vienna government has lost confidence in the Russian-Australian alliance, or it is not fancy. No doubt, this is the truth of the facts.
In this way, the Tsarist government expressed its dissatisfaction. In addition to the appearance fee paid by the French, I am more likely to test the Vienna government and want to benefit Austria.
Without real money, Alexander II would not have given the French such a face, and cooperating with them in this performance, there has never been a so-called traditional friendship between the two countries.
Crown Prince Alessandrovich's appearance fee was France's agreement to provide a loan of 500 million francs to the Tsarist government.
This is not easy. Since the tsarist government announced that the account was closed, all international financial institutions have closed their doors to the tsarist government. No matter whether it is a bond or a loan, as long as it involves the tsarist government, no one will accept it.
There are gains and losses, the French's promises have not been fulfilled, and the Russian-Olympic alliance has a crisis first. The less the Vienna government behaves, the more worried the tsarist government is.
The Russian-Austrian alliance is not far from the expiration time. If the agreement cannot be renewed, the Russian empire will face unprecedented isolation in diplomacy when the agreement expires.
The pressure of Alexander II increased sharply, and there were many criticisms within the Tsarist government. Many people thought that the Tsar's unwillingness alone caused the alliance to break.
This is the stain left by Alexander II's young age. At the time, he was pro-Public on the issue of the German region, but also had a clear anti-Austrian tendency.
The Kingdom of Prussia was able to establish the German Empire, and Alexander II's personal political tendency also played a role.
It was normal to have a political tendency. After his succession, Alexander II did not compromise with Prussia because of pro-popularity; nor did he alienate Austria because of personal anti-Austrianism.
Even the inadvertent behavior caused the speculation of his men, which inadvertently caused the relations between the two countries to turn cold. Later, Alexander II also repaired it.
But the lords all have pride. At the beginning of Alexander II's succession, he was at the peak of the Russian Empire. Of course, pride was more.
The failure of the Prussian-Russian war, the decline of the Russian Empire, and Alexander II's failure to adjust the mentality in time, which made the subsequent restoration of Russia-Austria relations unsuccessful.
This tentative test of Austria has only worsened relations between the two countries. Opportunities have been given to conservatives in the country who are opposed to reform and to take advantage of it politically.
Internal pressure caused Alexander II to burn out. To tell the truth about diplomatic issues, Alexander II did not have much responsibility, and Russia-Olympic relations were more likely to be caused by conflicts of interest.
The diplomacy of the Tsarist government has always been known as ”rude”, this stuff is not Russians at all. For the most part, the diplomacy of the Tsarist government failed.