Curzon, George Nathaniel

The eldest son of the 4th Baron Scarsdale , a member of the House of Commons , a conservative; spoke mainly on foreign, especially Eastern policy.

In 1891 - 1892 he was Assistant Minister for Indian Affairs. Since 1895 - in the office of the Marquis of Salisbury, served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and was the chief leader of the policy of England in Asia . In 1898, he was granted the title of "Baron Curzon of Kedleston " in Derbyshire ( peerage of Ireland ). In January of the following year, Baron was appointed Vice-King of India . In this post he implemented tax reform, paid much attention to the problem of preserving ancient Indian monuments: thanks to Curzon, the Taj Mahal was saved from destruction and restored. In 1903, the Public Library of Calcutta, which had existed since 1836, merged into the Imperial Library, established in 1891; In 1948, it was renamed the National Library of India and is now the largest library in the country.

Baron Curzon was considered an extreme Tory . On the issue of protecting the borders of the British Empire and the interests of England in Asia, he was an ardent defender of the theory of buffer states ( Buffer-states ); these views are expressed in the article "India between two fires" ("Nineteenth Century", 1893 ). Curzon was also a supporter of Japan and an antagonist of China , to whom he considered it necessary to apply firm policies. The question of the security of India , according to Curzon, was central to the state policy of England.

In the years 1908-1925. was a member of the House of Lords of Ireland, served as Lord Guardian of the Seal, leader of the House of Lords , Lord Chairman of the Privy Council . In 1911 he was elevated to the county title with the title "Earl Curzon Kedleston" in the United Kingdom peerage.

In 1921 he became the Marquis - Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (Marquis Curzon Kedleston).

In 1919 - 1924 as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Great Britain became one of the organizers of the intervention against Soviet Russia . During the Soviet-Polish war in July 1920, he sent a note to the Soviet government demanding to halt the advance of the Red Army along the line recommended by the High Council of the Entente in December 1919 as the eastern border of Poland (" Curzon Line ").

At the Lausanne Conference of 1922-1923, he achieved a solution to the question of the Black Sea straits, according to which the Black Sea countries were deprived of any special rights.

Note Curzon

He sent a memorandum (known as a note or an ultimatum to Curzon), handed over to the NKID of the USSR on May 8, 1923 , by the British government, containing the threat of a complete break in relations with the USSR.

The memorandum accused the Soviet government of violating the terms of the Anglo-Russian trade treaty of 1921, primarily in terms of preventing anti-British propaganda in the East: the note claimed that Russian political agents in Persia , Afghanistan and India continue to carry out an inflammatory campaign against Britain. In addition, the note read (paragraphs 21 and 22): “During the past year a number of events took place in Russia that led to the process, condemnation and repeatedly execution of prominent Russian clergymen holding high positions in the hierarchy of Orthodox and Catholic churches in Russia. <...> In Russia itself, however, no attempt is made to deny that these persecutions and executions are part of a deliberate campaign undertaken by the Soviet government with the specific goal of destroying any religion in Russia and replacing it with godlessness. As such, these acts caused deep horror and indignant protests throughout the civilized world. <...> ” ^[3] In connection with religious persecution, the note mentioned the Catholic Archbishop Jan Tseplyak , who had been arrested and sentenced earlier to death, and who was shot by the prelate Konstantin Butkevich , as well as then in custody and the investigation of Patriarch Tikhon .

The note notified of the inevitability of a breakup in case of dissatisfaction with all claims and claims within 10 days from the day it was received.

On May 11, 1923, the Soviet government rejected the British ultimatum and inspired mass demonstrations.

On May 14, 1923 in London, an official response was received from the RSFSR government signed by Deputy Commissar for Foreign Affairs Litvinov ^[4] ; the note did not deny that "the Soviet government <...> really sent money to its representative in Persia, and it did it quite openly through the London banks" (paragraph 7), but rejected most of the claims, citing, in particular, that there is the “abnormality of the current relationship and the insufficiency of the existing base of the agreement” (paragraph 8); the note also read: “Despite repeated misunderstandings, the Soviet republics highly value current relations with Great Britain and seek to preserve and develop them in the interests of world peace <...> and therefore are ready for the most benevolent and peaceful resolution of existing conflicts <...> The Russian government states that there are no grounds for breaking relations <...> ”(paragraphs 15 and 16); Finally, the note offered negotiations to the British government (paragraph 17). ^[5] The Izvestia number of May 15, where the text of the response note was published, also printed the “Russian Clergy Appeal” signed by the renovation Metropolitan of Moscow Antonin (Granovsky) and others, where it was stated that freedom of religion was unprecedented in Russia ^[6] .

On May 17 of the same year, Curzon accepted Envoy Krasin , reiterating to him the demands of the British side ^[7] .

On May 23, the Soviet government expressed its readiness to accept almost all the requirements of Curzon. “The sensational conflict with England ended quietly, peacefully and shamefully. The government made the most humiliating concessions, including the payment of monetary compensation for the execution of two British citizens, whom Soviet newspapers persistently called spies "(July 11, 1923, Mikhail Bulgakov ).

He wrote articles from the Far East and from the Russian Trans-Caspian possessions. Listed in the system, the latter made a great work “Russia in Central Asia in 1889 and the Anglo-Russian question” (London, 1889 ). As a special correspondent for the Times, he traveled to Persia and wrote “Persia and the Persian question” (London, 1892 ). In 1893 he made a new trip to the Far East, traveled around Burma and all of Indochina , visited Japan , Korea and China . In 1894 he published the first half of the description of his journey: “Problems of the Far East. Japan, Korea, China ”(London, 1894 , 2 ed., 1896 ).

George was married twice. In his first marriage since 1895, with Mary Victoria Leiter , who bore him three daughters: Mary Irene, Cynthia and Alexander Nulder. This union was happy, and the death of his wife was a great loss for George. In the second marriage since 1917 with Grace Elvina Hinds , the marriage was childless.

• Sergeev E. Yu. British politician Lord Curzon // New and newest history. - 2012. - № 6. - p. 154-168.

• Curzon Line
• Zakerzone

• Vodovozov V.V. Curzon, George Nathaniel // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extras). - SPb. , 1890-1907.