France–Russia relations
Encyclopedia
France–Russia relations date back to the early modern period
.
, with sporadic contact even earlier, when both countries were ruled by absolutist monarchies, the Kingdom of France
(843–1792) and the Tsardom of Russia
(1547–1721). Diplomatic ties go back at least to 1702 when France had an ambassador (Jean-Casimir Baluze) in Moscow. Following Russia's victory over Sweden in the Great Northern War
, the foundation of Saint Petersburg
as the new capital in 1712, and declaration of an empire in 1721, Russia became a major force in European affairs for the first time. The geographical separation between the two countries meant that their spheres of influence rarely overlapped. When involved in the same war, their troops rarely fought together as allies in or directly against each other as enemies on the same battlefields. However both were crucial states in the European balance of power
. They were on opposite sites of the 1733–1738 War of the Polish Succession
and were allies during the Seven Years' War
of 1756 to 1763.
After the French Revolution Russia became a centre of reactionary
antagonism against the revolution, and Russia fought in the War of the Second Coalition
. Once Napoleon Bonaparte (later Emperor Napoleon I) came to power in 1799, Russia remained hostile and fought in the Wars of the Third and Fourth
Coalitions, which were victories for France and saw French power extent into Central Europe. This led to the establishment of a French-backed Polish state, the Duchy of Warsaw
in 1807, which threatened Russia and caused tensions that led to the French invasion of Russia
in 1812. This was major defeat for France and a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars, leading to Bonaparte's removal and the Bourbon Restoration
. Russia was part of the conservative Concert of Europe
which sought to stifle revolution. Russia was again hostile when the Revolutions of 1848
broke out across Europe, bringing Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte
(later Emperor Napoleon III) to power in France. Napoleon III favoured a "policy of nationalities" (principe des nationalités) or support to national revolutions in multinational countries like Austria-Hungary
and the Ottoman Empire
, something fervently opposed by the Tsarist regime in Russia. France's challenges to Russia's influence led France to participate in the Crimean War
, which saw French troops invade the Crimean peninsula.
In 1902, the Japanese Empire formed an alliance with the British Empire
, which built up an Anglo-Japanese alliance
. In response, the Russian Empire became allied with France in order to renege on agreements to reduce troop strength in Manchuria
. On March 16, 1902, a mutual pact was signed between France and Russia. Japan later fought Russia in the Russo-Japanese war
. France remained neutral in this conflict.
During World War I, France was allied with Great Britain and the Russian Empire. The alliance between the three countries formed the Triple Entente
. However after the Bolshevik
s seized control of the Russian government in 1917, Russia left the war.
France's bilateral relations with the Soviet Union
have experienced dramatic ups and downs due to Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia
, and France's alliance in the NATO. Previous Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev
made a visit to France in October 1985 in order to fix the strains in the Franco-Soviet relations. Nevertheless, France's bilateral activities continued with NATO, which furthermore strained the bilateral relations between France and the Soviet Union.
After the breakup of the USSR, bilateral relations between France and Russia were initially warm. On February 7, 1992 France signed a bilateral treaty, recognizing Russia as a successor of the USSR. As described by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
, the bilateral relations between France and Russia remain longstanding, and remain strong to this day.
During the 2008 Georgia-Russia War, Sarkozy did not insist on territorial integrity of Georgia
. Moreover, there were no French protests when Russia failed to obey Sarkozy's deal to withdraw from Georgia and violated international law by recognizing governments in Georgia's territories.
One of the major news has been the sale of Mistral class amphibious assault ships to Russia. Due to be signed by the end of 2010, the deal be the first major arms deal between Russia and the Western world
since World War II
.
The deal has been criticized for neglecting the security interests of Poland, the Baltic states, Ukraine, and Georgia.
targeted French public opinion. Some indication of the success is given by polls that showed more French support to the Soviet Union than the United States.
According to French counterintelligence sources in 2010, Russian espionage operations against France have reached levels not seen since the 1980s.
Early modern period
In history, the early modern period of modern history follows the late Middle Ages. Although the chronological limits of the period are open to debate, the timeframe spans the period after the late portion of the Middle Ages through the beginning of the Age of Revolutions...
.
History
France–Russia relations date back to early modern periodEarly modern period
In history, the early modern period of modern history follows the late Middle Ages. Although the chronological limits of the period are open to debate, the timeframe spans the period after the late portion of the Middle Ages through the beginning of the Age of Revolutions...
, with sporadic contact even earlier, when both countries were ruled by absolutist monarchies, the Kingdom of France
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France was one of the most powerful states to exist in Europe during the second millennium.It originated from the Western portion of the Frankish empire, and consolidated significant power and influence over the next thousand years. Louis XIV, also known as the Sun King, developed a...
(843–1792) and the Tsardom of Russia
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia was the name of the centralized Russian state from Ivan IV's assumption of the title of Tsar in 1547 till Peter the Great's foundation of the Russian Empire in 1721.From 1550 to 1700, Russia grew 35,000 km2 a year...
(1547–1721). Diplomatic ties go back at least to 1702 when France had an ambassador (Jean-Casimir Baluze) in Moscow. Following Russia's victory over Sweden in the Great Northern War
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...
, the foundation of Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
as the new capital in 1712, and declaration of an empire in 1721, Russia became a major force in European affairs for the first time. The geographical separation between the two countries meant that their spheres of influence rarely overlapped. When involved in the same war, their troops rarely fought together as allies in or directly against each other as enemies on the same battlefields. However both were crucial states in the European balance of power
European balance of power
The Balance of Power in Europe is an international relations concept that applies historically and currently to the nations of Europe...
. They were on opposite sites of the 1733–1738 War of the Polish Succession
War of the Polish Succession
The War of the Polish Succession was a major European war for princes' possessions sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II, King of Poland that other European powers widened in pursuit of their own national interests...
and were allies during the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
of 1756 to 1763.
After the French Revolution Russia became a centre of reactionary
Reactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
antagonism against the revolution, and Russia fought in the War of the Second Coalition
War of the Second Coalition
The "Second Coalition" was the second attempt by European monarchs, led by the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria and the Russian Empire, to contain or eliminate Revolutionary France. They formed a new alliance and attempted to roll back France's previous military conquests...
. Once Napoleon Bonaparte (later Emperor Napoleon I) came to power in 1799, Russia remained hostile and fought in the Wars of the Third and Fourth
War of the Fourth Coalition
The Fourth Coalition against Napoleon's French Empire was defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. Coalition partners included Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Sweden, and the United Kingdom....
Coalitions, which were victories for France and saw French power extent into Central Europe. This led to the establishment of a French-backed Polish state, the Duchy of Warsaw
Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw was a Polish state established by Napoleon I in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. The duchy was held in personal union by one of Napoleon's allies, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony...
in 1807, which threatened Russia and caused tensions that led to the French invasion of Russia
French invasion of Russia
The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe...
in 1812. This was major defeat for France and a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars, leading to Bonaparte's removal and the Bourbon Restoration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
. Russia was part of the conservative Concert of Europe
Concert of Europe
The Concert of Europe , also known as the Congress System after the Congress of Vienna, was the balance of power that existed in Europe from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to the outbreak of World War I , albeit with major alterations after the revolutions of 1848...
which sought to stifle revolution. Russia was again hostile when the Revolutions of 1848
Revolutions of 1848
The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...
broke out across Europe, bringing Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte
Louis Napoleon may refer to:* Louis Bonaparte or Louis Napoléon Bonaparte, , King Louis I of Holland, brother of Napoleon I* Napoléon Louis Bonaparte , King Louis II of Holland, second son of Louis Bonaparte...
(later Emperor Napoleon III) to power in France. Napoleon III favoured a "policy of nationalities" (principe des nationalités) or support to national revolutions in multinational countries like Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
and the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, something fervently opposed by the Tsarist regime in Russia. France's challenges to Russia's influence led France to participate in the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
, which saw French troops invade the Crimean peninsula.
In 1902, the Japanese Empire formed an alliance with the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, which built up an Anglo-Japanese alliance
Anglo-Japanese Alliance
The first was signed in London at what is now the Lansdowne Club, on January 30, 1902, by Lord Lansdowne and Hayashi Tadasu . A diplomatic milestone for its ending of Britain's splendid isolation, the alliance was renewed and extended in scope twice, in 1905 and 1911, before its demise in 1921...
. In response, the Russian Empire became allied with France in order to renege on agreements to reduce troop strength in Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
. On March 16, 1902, a mutual pact was signed between France and Russia. Japan later fought Russia in the Russo-Japanese war
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
. France remained neutral in this conflict.
During World War I, France was allied with Great Britain and the Russian Empire. The alliance between the three countries formed the Triple Entente
Triple Entente
The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....
. However after the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s seized control of the Russian government in 1917, Russia left the war.
France's bilateral relations with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
have experienced dramatic ups and downs due to Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, and France's alliance in the NATO. Previous Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
made a visit to France in October 1985 in order to fix the strains in the Franco-Soviet relations. Nevertheless, France's bilateral activities continued with NATO, which furthermore strained the bilateral relations between France and the Soviet Union.
After the breakup of the USSR, bilateral relations between France and Russia were initially warm. On February 7, 1992 France signed a bilateral treaty, recognizing Russia as a successor of the USSR. As described by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Minister of Foreign Affairs (France)
Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs ), is France's foreign affairs ministry, with the headquarters located on the Quai d'Orsay in Paris close to the National Assembly of France. The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in the government of France is the cabinet minister responsible for...
, the bilateral relations between France and Russia remain longstanding, and remain strong to this day.
During the 2008 Georgia-Russia War, Sarkozy did not insist on territorial integrity of Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
. Moreover, there were no French protests when Russia failed to obey Sarkozy's deal to withdraw from Georgia and violated international law by recognizing governments in Georgia's territories.
One of the major news has been the sale of Mistral class amphibious assault ships to Russia. Due to be signed by the end of 2010, the deal be the first major arms deal between Russia and the Western world
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
since World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The deal has been criticized for neglecting the security interests of Poland, the Baltic states, Ukraine, and Georgia.
Russian intelligence services in France
During the Cold War, Russian active measuresActive measures
Active Measures were a form of political warfare conducted by the Soviet security services to influence the course of world events, "in addition to collecting intelligence and producing politically correct assessment of it". Active measures ranged "from media manipulations to special actions...
targeted French public opinion. Some indication of the success is given by polls that showed more French support to the Soviet Union than the United States.
According to French counterintelligence sources in 2010, Russian espionage operations against France have reached levels not seen since the 1980s.
Examples of operations
Examples of suspected or verified Soviet and Russian operations:- Agence France-PresseAgence France-PresseAgence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
- The Mitrokhin archive identified six agents and two confidential contacts. - Le MondeLe MondeLe Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
- The newspaper (codename VESTNIK, "messenger") was notable for spreading anti-American, pro-Soviet disinformation to the French population. The Mitrokhin archiveMitrokhin ArchiveThe Mitrokhin Archive is a collection of notes made secretly by KGB Major Vasili Mitrokhin during his thirty years as a KGB archivist in the foreign intelligence service and the First Chief Directorate...
contains two senior Le Monde journalists and several contributors. - La Tribune des Nations - Effectively KGB-run.
- Various bogus biographies.
- Infliration of Gaullist movement: "More than any other political movement, Gaullism was swarming with agents of influence of the obliging KGB, whom we never succeeded in keeping away from de Gaulle"
- Almost 15 million francs to De Gaulle's campaign, delivered by a businessman recruited by the KGB.
- KGB hired people close to Francois MitterrandFrançois MitterrandFrançois Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
. - Agents close to President Georges PompidouGeorges PompidouGeorges Jean Raymond Pompidou was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968, holding the longest tenure in this position, and later President of the French Republic from 1969 until his death in 1974.-Biography:...
were ordered to manipulate him with disinformation so he would become suspicious of the United States. - Pierre Charles Pathé - KGB codename PECHERIN (later MASON) run one of Moscow's disinformation networks for 20 years until French counterintelligence decided to arrest him during a financial transaction.
See also
- Franco-Russian AllianceFranco-Russian AllianceThe Franco-Russian Alliance was a military alliance between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire that ran from 1892 to 1917. The alliance ended the diplomatic isolation of France and undermined the supremacy of the German Empire in Europe...
- French invasion of RussiaFrench invasion of RussiaThe French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe...
- Russians in FranceRussians in FranceThere are 115,000 people of Russian origin living in France, mostly in Paris, Lyon, and Nice.-History:In the 18th century, the first Russians came to France for diplomatic, technical or commercial purposes...