Prussian-Russian Alliance Treaty (1726)
The Prussian-Russian Alliance Treaty of August 10, 1726 was a defensive alliance between Prussia and Russia . In addition to defense policy agreements, the treaty contains provisions on Poland-Lithuania and against Denmark .
Historical background
The upheaval in foreign policy that was rooted in the Great Northern War also changed the position of Poland-Lithuania in the European system of power. From 1721 a rapprochement between the two stronger neighboring powers Prussia and Russia became apparent. Poland, geographically in the middle, became the subject of Russian-Prussian diplomacy.
Immediately after the death of Emperor Peter I , Berlin was anxious to secure an agreement with Russia under the new ruler, and on May 26, 1725 , the ambassador in Petersburg, Gustav von Mardefeld , was given the idea of one with the Russian Government sent to close alliance. However, the contract was not concluded in the next few months, mainly because the question of the succession in the Duchy of Courland had still not been finally decided and because the Russian government was reluctant to accept the agreement between Prussia and the Western powers sealed by the Herrenhausen Treaty saw. It was only in April 1726 that Mardefeld was able to send the Russian counter-project to Berlin. From now on, the negotiations progressed more quickly, as Austria sought closer ties with Prussia and Russia, and King Friedrich Wilhelm I moved more and more away from his Herrenhausen allies. On August 6, a defensive alliance between Emperor Charles VI was established in Vienna . and the Russian Empress Catherine I , four days later the alliance between Catherine I and Count Gabriel Iwanowitsch Golowkin and King Friedrich Wilhelm I's ambassador, Gustav von Mardefeld , was signed in Petersburg .
Content of the contract
In 16 articles of the treaty, both parties guaranteed each other to provide each other with auxiliary troops of 5,000 men in the event of an attack by the attacked party. The alliance was set for 18 years.
For the first time, a contractual agreement between the two powers contained provisions on Poland aimed at cementing the political and territorial status quo. The allies undertook not only to maintain the Duchy of Courland in its previous status (first secret article), but also to preserve the electoral monarchy and the constitutional status of Poland (third secret article) and to protect the elected monarchy against any attempt at dynastic consolidation.
Diplomatic consequences of the alliance
In the so-called Loewenwold Treaty of 1730, Vienna joined the alliance ( the Three Black Eagles or Entente Cordiale) for the first time , which established a common Polish policy, especially in view of the upcoming Polish kingship. For Polish domestic policy, it was not only the question of the position towards the election of a king that was important, but also the clearly expressed will of the later partitioning powers not to permit any constitutional reform that would strengthen the Polish state.
The Polish War of Succession (1733-1735 / 38) finally brought the confirmation of the Wettin August III. on the Polish royal throne. Russia had thus triumphed against French interests, and the protectorate system of the Three Black Eagles had reaffirmed its mechanism for the political control of Poland.
literature
- Schmidt-Rösler, Andrea, Before the partitions. The »Eternal Peace« (1768) between Poland and Russia, in: Publication portal European Peace Treaties, ed. from the Institute for European History, Mainz November 18, 2008, section 1–15.
- Victor Loewe (Hrsg.): Prussian State Treaties from the reign of King Friedrich Wilhelm I (= publications from the Prussian State Archives. Vol. 87, ZDB -ID 503432-2 ). Hirzel, Leipzig 1913.