| Titre | La Russie d'Élisabeth vue par des diplomates prussiens (2) | |
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| Auteur | Francine-Dominique Liechtenhan | |
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Revue | Cahiers du monde russe |
| Numéro | volume 39, no 4, octobre-décembre 1998 | |
| Rubrique / Thématique | Articles |
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| Page | 439-485 | |
| Résumé anglais |
Francine-Dominique Liechtenhan, The court of Elisabeth as described by Prussian diplomats (2). Carl Wilhelm von Finckenstein was sent to Russia as ambassador plenipotentiary by Frederick II. He took his king's secret "Instructions" ordering him to win Elisabeth over to the Prussian cause. Once there, the ambassador was reduced to silence and a wait-and-see position. Russia had decided to take part in the War of the Austrian Succession against France, which was then an ally of Prussia. Finckenstein resigned himself to observing ministers, courtiers and foreign representatives and taking note of the reactions of the latter 's sovereigns to the reversal of the international situation. The result of his observations is a vivid depiction of the Russian empire under Elisabeth I, focusing on the court, the military system, or the financial situation, depending on Frederick II's concerns. His conclusions are clear: Russia was either on the brink of decline if power remained in the hands of the successive tsarinas, or at the threshold of a new economic development if a man such as Peter I took power. In either case, Western states must not interfere: like the Porte, the empire of the tsars was not supposed to integrate the continental political group. Source : Éditeur (via Persée) |
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| Article en ligne | http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/cmr_1252-6576_1998_num_39_4_2536 |
