Reichstadt Convention
The Reichstadt Convention (also: Reichstadt Agreement ) was a foreign policy agreement between Austria-Hungary and the Russian Empire , which was concluded on July 8, 1876 in the Bohemian Reichstadt .
In the presence of Tsar Alexander II and Emperor Franz Joseph, as well as the politicians Alexander Michailowitsch Gorchakov and Gyula Andrássy , they agreed on a common concept for the solution of the Oriental question . This had become necessary due to the unrest in the Ottoman Empire and the power interests of both great powers in the Balkans.
shape
Andrassy
Franz Joseph
Alexander II
Gorchakov
The negotiations took place in a private and almost informal setting. It is significant that the results of the meeting were not recorded in writing, so that the Austrian and Russian views of the results differed significantly. No formal convention has been signed, and no protocol has been signed. Andrassy dictated the results to the Russian ambassador in Vienna, Gortschakow dictated a transcript to an official independently, neither of which was authenticated by the other party.
The scope of the Austrian annexations in Bosnia and Herzegovina was particularly controversial. Due to these discrepancies, the convention was negotiated again at the meeting in Istanbul and in the Budapest Treaty , but largely confirmed or supplemented.
content
In general, the following statements are considered core content of the Reichstadt Agreement
- Austrian neutrality in the event of a Russian attack on the Ottoman Empire ( see: Russo-Ottoman War of 1877/78 )
- Division of the Balkans into a Russian and an Austrian sphere of influence
- Annexation of Bosnian-Herzegovinian territory by Austria-Hungary
Both sides agreed, above all in the assurance of Russia vis-à-vis Austria-Hungary that no large Slavic state ( Greater Serbia and / or Greater Bulgaria ) would emerge in the Balkans. In the details, however, there are clear differences between the versions of Gorchakov and Andrassy:
| Territory, region, country | Austro-Hungarian transcript (Andrassy) | Russian transcript (Gorchakov) |
|---|---|---|
| Serbia | receives a certain magnification | receives parts of old Serbia and Bosnia |
| Montenegro | receives part of Herzegovina | receives the whole of Herzegovina and an Adriatic port |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | is annexed by Austria-Hungary - with the exception of the part of Herzegovina which falls to Montenegro | only the west ("Turkish-Croatia") and some bordering parts of Bosnia are annexed by Austria-Hungary, the rest falls to Serbia (no Austro-Hungarian rights to parts of Herzegovina mentioned) |
| Bulgaria and Rumelia | become autonomous provinces within the Ottoman Empire | become independent principalities |
| Albania | becomes an autonomous province within the Ottoman Empire | not mentioned |
| Greece | receives Epirus and Thessaly as well as Crete | receives Epirus and Thessaly (Crete not mentioned) |
Individual evidence
- ↑ Vladimir Petrovich Potjomkin : History of Diplomacy , Volume Two, Die Diplomatie der Neuzeit (1872-1919) , page 46f. Berlin 1948
literature
- Dietrich Geyer: The Russian Imperialism (= critical studies on historical science . Volume 6). 1977, ZDB -ID 184291-2 , pp. 56-71.
- Charles Jelavich, Barbara Jelavich: The Establishment of the Balkan national states. 1804-1920. University of Washington Press, Seattle 1977, ISBN 0-295-95444-2 , pp. 147 ff. ( A history of Central Eastern Europe 8).
- Serge Maiwald: The Berlin Congress 1878 and international law. The solution to the Balkans problem in the 19th century. Scientific publishing company, Stuttgart 1948.
- Alexander Nowotny: Austria, Turkey and the Balkan Problem in the year of the Berlin Congress. Böhlau, Graz et al. 1957 ( Sources and studies on the history of the Berlin Congress 1878.1 ), ( Publications of the Commission for Modern History of Austria 44).