St. Petersburg Union Treaty (1805)

The British government, which renewed the war with France in May 1803, proposed that Russia and Austria create a coalition against Napoleon . Alexander I , who broke off diplomatic relations with France after the execution of the Duke of Engien and worried about Napoleon’s aggressive actions, reacted favorably to the English proposals. In September 1804, personal representative of the Russian emperor N. N. Novosiltsov was sent to London to negotiate an alliance with Great Britain. Negotiations were continued in St. Petersburg and culminated in the signing of the St. Petersburg Union Treaty.

Along with these actions, Alexander I negotiated with the Austrian and Swedish governments, culminating in the signing of a secret declaration of alliance with Austria ( November 6 ( 18 ), 1804 ) and an alliance agreement with Sweden ( January 14 ( 26 ), 1805 ).

Russia and Great Britain decided to organize a pan-European coalition that could put out 500,000 soldiers to force France to peace and restore political balance in Europe (Article 1). Both sides agreed to start hostilities after the creation of an army of 400,000, of which Austria was to set up 250,000 and Russia 115,000. The rest (missing up to 500,000) were to be set up by Hanover, Sardinia and Naples. Great Britain pledged to help the coalition with its fleet and provide the Allied Powers with a cash subsidy of £ 1,250,000 annually for every 100,000 people (Art. 3). The Russian government, in addition, pledged to push the observational corps to the borders of Prussia and Austria. Later, Alexander I agreed to an increase in Russian troops to 180,000 with a corresponding increase in British subsidies (additional article, signed on May 10 ( 22 ), 1805 ).

At the same time, Great Britain agreed to extend its obligations to Austria and Sweden, provided that these countries begin military operations against France during 1805. In the event that Russia entered into an alliance with Prussia and Denmark, British assistance was also extended to these states on the same grounds, and Russia and Great Britain agreed, upon the accession of Prussia to the coalition, to provide her with the opportunity to return the lands lost under the 1795 Basel Peace Treaty . Russia pledged to make every effort to bring Spain and Portugal to the coalition and to promote an agreement between Spain and England.

The objectives of the contract were announced:

1. the cleansing of Northern Germany and Hanover from the French troops;
2. restoration of independence of Holland and Switzerland, with the first to be increased due to the accession of Belgium, and the second - due to Geneva and Savoy;
3. restoration of the kingdom of Sardinia;
4. complete purification by the French of Italy and a guarantee of the independence of the Kingdom of Naples;
5. the establishment in Europe of a procedure guaranteeing the future independence of all European states (Article 2).

Both sides also agreed to join Salzburg and Breisgau in Austria in southern Germany and the territory north of the Po and Adda rivers in Italy, which was provided for by the Austro-Russian Union declaration of November 6 ( 18 ), 1804 .

As a possible option to avoid a coalition war, France was supposed to offer peaceful conditions, negotiations on which, on behalf of the coalition, should have been Russia. In accordance with them, provided for the return of France to all its colonies captured by Britain, and the British abandonment of the island of Malta, which was supposed to be occupied by the Russian garrison. However, the last point caused serious disagreement between the allies. The British government, not wanting to renounce Malta, insisted on the exclusion of this clause from the treaty, and Alexander I, in turn, refused to ratify the treaty. Napoleon’s new aggressive actions in Italy (proclaiming him king of Italy and the annexation of Genoa and Lucca to France) forced Alexander to cede. An article of the St. Petersburg Treaty of Malta was deleted and the treaty itself was ratified by both parties on July 16 ( 28 ), 1805 .

On August 8 ( 20 ), 1805 , Austria joined the St. Petersburg Union Treaty. NN Novosiltsov, sent by Alexander according to the contract for negotiations with Napoleon, was recalled, not having time to get to Paris. The Allies began military preparations, and in September 1805, the anti-French coalition began military operations by the invasion of Austrian troops in Bavaria. However, the defeat of the allied forces near Austerlitz soon led to the collapse of the coalition.