The Western Caspian in Russia’s foreign policy at the beginning of the XVIII century (to the tercentenary of the Persian campaign of Peter I)

10.54398/1818510Х_2023_3_21

Annotation

The article examines the place of the Western Caspian Sea in the foreign policy of Russia of the Peter the Great era on the basis of archival documents and special historical literature, pays attention to the intelligence activities of Russian envoys in Persia, their role in the study and collection of information of a military-political, geographical and economic nature concerning theCaucasus region. It is stated that at the beginning of the XVIII century, the North Caucasus turned from a peripheral direction into an independent vector of the foreign policy of Peter the Great Russia. The analysis of the political situation in the Caucasus-Caspian region in the process of the decline of the Safavid state and the strengthening of the Ottoman-Russian contradictions for spheres of influence here is carried out. The emphasis is placed on the plans of the Russian monarch Peter I for the development of natural and economic resources of the Caspian provinces of Persia. It is emphasized that the military intelligence missions of Russian embassies in the region were an important link in the process of developing the Western Caspian. The information received during the military-diplomatic missions in Persia gave the Russian government a clear picture of the economic and military-political state of the region, and allowed it to build an algorithm of actions in planning strategic plans for the upcoming campaign in the Caspian Sea. It is concluded that during the strengthening of the Ottoman-Russian contradictions in the Caucasus-Caspian region, the final transition of local rulers to a pro-Russian foreign policy orientation is taking place, which was an important prerequisite in the preparation of Peter I's Persian campaign.

Keywords

• Russia
• Peter I
• foreign policy doctrine
• Western Caspian
• Persia
• Port
• intelligence mission
• embassy
• politics
• campaign
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References

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