Reinsurance contract

The reinsurance contract of 1887 ( German Rückversicherungsvertrag ) is the common name (in diplomatic circles of Germany and Russia) for the secret agreement between Russia and Germany , signed in Berlin on June 6 (18), 1887, by Chancellor Bismarck and Russian ambassador P. A. Shuvalov , including same month ratified by both parties.

In the conditions of the collapse (after the Serbian-Bulgarian war of 1885 - 1886 ) of the " Union of Three Emperors " Germany, seeking to avoid a Russo-French rapprochement, went to a bilateral agreement with Russia. Having “insured” for a new war against France by an alliance with Austria and Italy, Germany decided to “be safe” with an agreement with Russia. In January 1887, negotiations in Berlin were started by Peter Shuvalov , together with his brother Pavel Shuvalov, originally with the State Secretary of the German Foreign Office, the eldest son of Otto von Bismarck, Herbert Bismarck ^[1] . Peter Shuvalov offered Germany complete freedom of action with respect to France - in exchange for Germany’s obstruction of Russia's control of the Bosporus and Dardanelles and its restoration of control over Bulgaria ^[2] ; Otto Bismarck was pleasantly surprised by the proposals of Shuvalov ^[2] .

After a period of cooling relations between Berlin and St. Petersburg, in May 1887, negotiations between Pavel Shuvalov and Otto Bismarck resumed, ending with the signing of a secret agreement. According to its terms, both sides were to remain neutral in the war of one of them with any third great power, except in cases of German attack on France or Russia on Austria-Hungary.

A special protocol was attached to the treaty, according to which Germany pledged to provide diplomatic assistance to Russia if the Russian emperor found it necessary to "assume the defense of entering the Black Sea" in order to "keep the key to his empire." Germany also promised never to give consent to the restoration of Prince Battenberg on the Bulgarian throne, which for Emperor Alexander III was a matter of personal prestige and pride.

In 1890, the reinsurance contract expired. At the initiative of Baron Holstein, the new German government, headed by General Leo von Caprivi, refused to renew it.