?
Записка А. С. Стурдзы «Применение Священного союза к текущему положению дел»
This publication introduces a previously unpublished note by prominent conservative thinker and diplomat Alexandru Sturdza, "The Application of the Holy Alliance to the Current Situation," written in October 1820. The document emerged in the context of an acute crisis of the Vienna system caused by a wave of revolutionary uprisings in Southern Europe (Spain, Portugal, Naples) and reflected the desire of the Russian government to develop collective measures to counter the revolutionary threat based on the ideology of the Holy Alliance. The preface of the note reveals the historical context of the note's appearance and shows the influence of Ioannis Kapodistrias' ideas on Sturdza's views. This work illustrates the attempts of the Russian diplomats to combine the mystical rhetoric of the Holy Alliance Act with pragmatic political mechanisms. Sturdza proposed a large-scale reform program. In domestic politics the draft provided for strengthening the position of the Church, the establishment of church "courts of conscience" and introducing specific censorship prohibiting criticism of religion but allowing discussion of political issues. These initiatives are combined with a guarantee of the inviolability of private property of citizens, a demand to resume the activities of representative bodies and restore the operation of fundamental laws in accordance with the traditions of European countries. The note places a special emphasis on the project to ensure “perpetual peace.” Sturdza, sharing the conservatives' belief about the inextricable link between war and revolution, proposed limiting the sovereign right of states to declare war, as well as concluding acts guaranteeing the territorial integrity of European countries and the preservation of power in the hands of legitimate governments. The publication traces the connection of Strudza's ideas with the views of Russian and European conservatives of the Restoration period. The note demonstrates Russian diplomats` commitment to peaceful methods of countering revolutions, their focus is not on fighting the already begun uprisings but on creating conditions that will allow to overcome the revolutionary danger at the initial stage. Thus, the publication allows us to significantly deepen our understanding of the ideology of Russian conservatives during the Restoration period and the working methods of Russian diplomacy in the 1820s.