The role of speed in diplomatic correspondence in Russia's foreign policy planning: The Olmütz Agreement of 1850
By the middle of the 19th century, the speed of information exchange had become a key factor in resolving international crises. This became particularly evident during the 1848-1849 revolution, exemplified by the Austro-Prussian conflict of 1850. For Russia, seeking to mediate between the warring powers, its geographic remoteness made it extremely difficult to respond to rapidly changing circumstances due to the lack of electrical telegraph communication. This factor, when applied to Russia's role in the German military crisis of the autumn of 1850, was viewed by some foreign historians as an argument for the inadequacy of Russia's influence, since Nicholas I and his ministers, operating with information that was already outdated by the time they received it, were unable to influence the course and outcome of the crisis, but merely reacted to the situation as it had already developed. However, this assessment was based on a limited number of published sources, providing an incomplete picture of Russia's foreign policy instruments. This article, using archival material from Russian and foreign diplomatic missions, as well as the correspondence of Nicholas I, his ministers, and diplomats, attempts to more fully assess the extent to which the Emperor and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were informed about the real situation, and to identify the mechanisms that allowed Russian diplomacy to overcome the problem of geographic distance.
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Sources
Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire (AVPRI), F. 133 “The Chancellery of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”.
State Archive of the Russian Federation (GARF), F. 573 “The Meyendorff family”.
Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts (RSAAA), F. 3 “Acts concerning domestic and foreign policy of Russia”.
Russian State Historical Archive (RGIA), F. 1018 “I.F. Paskevich-Erivansky”.
Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv München [Main Bavarian State Archive in Munich], “Legation St. Petersburg. No. 54. Political correspondence”.
Kelchner, E. and Mendelson-Bartholdy, K. (eds) (1873) Briefe des königlich Preußischen Generals und Gesandten Theodor Heinrich Rochus von Rochow an einen Staatsbeamten [Letters of the Prussian General and Envoy Theodor Heinrich Rochus von Rochow to a state official], Sauerländer, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany (in Germ).
Münster, H. (1913), “Political Lettres of Count Hugo zu Münster to Edwin von Manteuffel in the years 1850 to 1852”, Deutsche Revue [German Review], 38, 1, 9-25, 172-193, 297-308 (in Germ).
References
Datsenko, P. A. (2024), “On the Role of Russian Diplomacy in Resolving the Autumn Crisis of 1850: Diplomatic Correspondence between Peter von Meyendorff and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Punctation of Olmütz, 29 November 1850”, Modern and Contemporary History, 4, 186-197 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.31857/S0130386424040145; EDN: GVVQSL
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The article was prepared at the State Academic University for the Humanities as a part of the state project funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (Project theme: FZNF-2023-0003 «Traditions and values of the society: mechanisms of formation and transformation in the context of global history», no. 1022040800353-4-6.1.1;5.9.1).