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PHJ № 4 (44) 2024 – L. A. Sadova. RUSSIA AND NORWAY: FEATURES OF BILATERAL RELATIONS IN 1891–1905

Russian-Norwegian relations at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries are usually considered separately from Russian-Swedish relations in the same period. This was due to the peculiarities of the legal formalization of the Swedish-Norwegian union in 1814, according to which Norway received significant independence in the management of domestic policy. Based on diplomatic documents from the Archive of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire, the author raises the question of the specifics of bilateral relations between Russia and Norway. Archival documents indicate the multilevel nature of the interaction between Norway and Russia. From the point of view of diplomatic practice, Norway was perceived in the Russian Foreign Ministry as an inseparable part of Sweden, with which interaction at the official level was carried out through Swedish state institution. On the other hand, direct Russian-Norwegian trade cooperation, including between the border northern suburbs of the two states, as well as Russia’s geopolitical interests in the region, required resolving issues precisely within the framework of direct Russian-Norwegian relations.

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PHJ № 2 (34) 2022 — N. A. Vlasov. “RUSSIA IS THE ONLY POWER WHICH COULD DISTURB THE PEACE”: “RUSSIAN THREAT” IN OTTO VON BISMARCK’S THOUGHT DURING THE 1880S

1879 became a major turning point in German foreign policy: the defensive alliance treaty was signed with Austria-Hungary against Russia. German chancellor Otto von Bismarck justified this step among other things by the supposed “Russian threat”. He also often spoke on this matter during the subsequent decade. But did Bismarck really believe the existence of such a threat or just used it as a cover-up? To answer this question, we need to examine the overall image of Russia in Bismarck’s worldview. The author of this article analyzed the whole set of published works of Otto von Bismarck using primarily the Grounded Theory methodology. Main outcome of this research was a complex reconstruction of Bismarck’s views and opinions about Russia. Since early 1860s the “Iron Chancellor” had growing concerns about inner development of Russian empire. He did not only regard Russian officials incompetent and corrupt but also believed the existence of a large and powerful liberal and nationalist opposition in Russian elite. Bismarck found the strength of this opposition steadily growing, making it dangerous for the Russian emperor and forming a sort of “parallel government”. The existence of this “muscovite” elite grouping led not only to destabilization inside of Russia but also heavily impacted the Russian foreign policy making it inconsistent and aggressive. Bismarck’s notions of Russian domestic and foreign policy, reflected in hundreds of texts stretched over decades, constitute a coherent unity. The main finding is that during the 1880s the “Iron Chancellor” really believed that Russia posed a threat to Germany.