Translated from bolg. N. Lakichevich, Moscow: Tsentrpoligraf Publ., 2006, 524 p.

The monograph of the famous Bulgarian researcher Kalina Kaneva is the result of more than forty years of searching for materials, documents, testimonies and memoirs about the bright life and activities of the Russian general, diplomat and orientalist Nikolai Pavlovich Ignatiev (1832-1908), who made a huge contribution to the formation and implementation of Russia's eastern policy in the middle of the XIX century.from the Far East to the Balkans. The Soviet Encyclopedia (Moscow, 1981, p. 480) says very little about him: "... count, Russian statesman, diplomat, general of infantry (1878). In 1864 - 77th Ambassador to Constantinople. Participated in the preparation of the San Stefano Peace Treaty of 1878. In 1881-1882 min. internal affairs".

The book contains dozens of rave reviews and brilliant characteristics given to N. P. Ignatiev by his contemporaries, who represented various circles of both Russian society and foreign countries. So, the French correspondent of the newspaper "Figaro" I. du Vestin, after visiting Constantinople and meeting with N. P. Ignatiev, noted that this is "the most prominent person in the East", and stressed: "The diplomat is considered the second person in the Ottoman Empire. The people call him the second sultan. There is a Turkish sultan and a Russian Sultan" (p. 26).

Kaneva's book is dedicated to the 130th anniversary of the anti-Turkish uprising of the Bulgarians in 1876 and the Constantinople Conference of the Great Powers of 1876-1877. The monograph consists of 31 chapters combined into two parts (11 in the first and 20 in the second), a preface and appendices. In the preface, Kaneva cites Ignatiev's motto, which he followed throughout his life: "Without failures and trials, it would be too easy to live on earth, and we are sent here to fight and work" (p. 4).

The first part of the book entitled "My Heart belongs to the Bulgarians..." is devoted to the actual description of the origin of the Ignatiev family and the life of N. P. Ignatiev, the analysis of his multifaceted, mainly military and diplomatic activities. K. Kaneva notes that the ancestor of the ancient Ignatiev family is considered to be the Chernihiv boyar Fyodor Akinfievich Byakont, who was forced to move to Moscow after the destruction of Chernigov by the Tatar-Mongols and go to the service of Prince Daniel Alexandrovich. N. P. Ignatiev's godfather was Tsar-liberator Alexander II. In 1851, Nikolai Pavlovich entered the Nikolaev Military Academy of the General Staff, where he studied Turkish. He began his diplomatic career immediately after the end of the Crimean War of 1853-1856, and worked in a number of European countries.

When Ignatiev was 25 years old, he was offered, given his Oriental studies training, the post of ambassador to Persia, but he refused, considering that he was still too young for such a post. In 1857, Emperor Alexander II summoned him from Rome and appointed him head of the mission to Khiva and Bukhara, where he was to conduct a topographical survey of the Amu Darya and conclude trade agreements with the Khanates of Khiva and Bukhara. Ignatiev fulfilled the task with honor, for which he received the rank of Major General, becoming the youngest (26 years old) general of the Russian Empire and the owner of the Order of St. Nicholas. Annas of the 2nd degree with a crown. K. Kaneva rightly notes: "His authority and fame as a fearless officer and clever diplomat grew and determined his future career" (p. 20).

After Central Asia, he is assigned with a mission to China to resolve the border issue. He concludes a treaty with China (1859), according to which, without any military actions, Russia receives a territory with natural and strategic borders of 800 thousand square kilometers (more than England and France combined), recognition of land trade rights, privileges in diplomatic relations, river navigation, etc. Friendly relations are established between the two countries for a long time. On the way back from China, Ignatiev again stops in Irkutsk. Showing the treaty with China to the Governor-General N. N. Muravyov-Amursky, he utters the famous words: "And now, father, build a city, port and fortress. And own the East!" Therefore, Ignatiev went down in history as the "godfather of Vladivostok" (p. 22).

In 1861-1864. Ignatiev is Director of the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The activities of this department were spread over the territory of the Ottoman Empire,

page 199
Central Asian and Far Eastern countries and included consular, administrative, legal and personnel issues. In this post, Ignatiev disagreed with Minister Gorchakov on a number of issues, in particular on Central Asia and the Balkans. Kaneva notes that, in Ignatiev's opinion, Russia's Balkan policy should have been based on the task of creating national states in the Balkans that would be a strong support for Russia and a means of putting pressure on Turkey. A federation of these states under the auspices of Russia, he believed, would help solve the problem of the Straits in its interests and block the path of expansion of Western countries to the East. Gorchakov also believed that too active a policy of Russia will cause the creation of a European coalition against it, as it was during the Crimean War.

Because of these disagreements, Ignatiev decided to leave his post in the Foreign Ministry. But Gorchakov persuaded Alexander II to appoint Ignatiev as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Turkey. On August 30, 1865, Ignatiev was promoted to Lieutenant-General and from March 25, 1867 to Lieutenant-General. He is the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Ottoman Empire. The period from 1868 to 1878 was the pinnacle of his political career. K. Kaneva meticulously and thoroughly describes Ignatiev's activities as an ambassador. She quotes from his notes kept in Bulgarian archives: "By maintaining excellent relations with the Porte, without ceasing to guide the development of Christian peoples and the autonomy of countries, we were able to gain significant influence in Turkey and prepare for solving difficult issues of the future" (p. 27). In his descriptions, relations with representatives of Western countries looked different the powers in the Turkish capital, which provided every possible resistance even in minor matters: "Whenever we had to defend a just cause, if only Russia's interests in the East were directly or indirectly involved in it, we always remained alone in the face of Europe rallying against us. If it was possible to reach agreement with some ambassadors, others opposed it. All were guided by their own interests, which rarely coincided " (p. 33).

Ignatiev's activities in Constantinople were hindered not only by the obvious opposition, but also by the sometimes hostile attitude of his Western colleagues, who did not want to strengthen Russia's influence in the Ottoman Empire. The same, if not greater, obstacle was the envy and intrigues of Russian diplomatic officials, and the dislike of Gorchakov himself. Any other person in Ignatiev's position might not have been able to stand the strain. In a letter to his father, he writes:: "Another person would have given up everything and run away, so as not to be personally defeated, but our brother serves the fatherland faithfully, not as a hired German. I will drag on as long as I have enough strength, not relying on the diligence of others and not chasing cheap rewards, but for the satisfaction of conscience " (p. 39).

The anti-Turkish uprising of the Bulgarians in April 1876 was brutally suppressed, as it was poorly prepared. The Bulgarian rebels had neither sufficient forces nor weapons to resist the regular Turkish units and bashi-bazouks. During the uprising, more than 30 thousand people were killed, 80 were burned and more than 200 settlements were completely destroyed (p. 52). Ignatiev took an active part in helping the victims of the Turkish terror, so the Turks considered him the culprit of all the troubles of the Ottoman Empire. Articles were published against him, the Turks insisted on his expulsion from the country, even organized assassination attempts.

Still trying to resolve the Eastern question peacefully, Emperor Alexander II held several meetings in Livadia in the autumn of 1876 to discuss preparations for war. Ignatiev's note was approved, which stated that it was time to come to the aid of the Bulgarian people. Kaneva, assessing Ignatiev's actions during this period, states:"...no matter how soberly Ignatiev assessed the situation, he had to obey the instructions received from the Russian government" (p.57).

At the end of 1876, to discuss the fate of the enslaved Bulgarians, on the initiative of England, a conference of envoys of the then great powers was convened, which went down in history as the Constantinople conference (December 23, 1876 and January 20, 1877). The second part of K. Kaneva's book under review is dedicated to this conference. N. P. Ignatiev represented Russia at the conference. The main issue was the fate of Bulgaria. Although the conference did not fulfill its main task of preserving the unity of Bulgaria and granting it independence due to the opposition of the Porte, Ignatiev nevertheless managed to achieve official unanimity of Europe on the issue under discussion for the first time. As a follow-up to the decisions of the Constantinople Conference, representatives of the great Powers signed a protocol in London on March 31, 1877, stating the desirability of introducing reforms in the Christian provinces of Turkey. But it ignores this protocol by a special circular. Russia has no choice, and

page 200
April 12, 1877 it declares war on Turkey. Ignatiev is present at the Racetrack in Chisinau, where the tsar's manifesto is solemnly read out. Russian regiments and Bulgarian militia squads defile in front of the emperor.

At the front, in the retinue of the emperor, Ignatiev felt unclaimed. He didn't have any specific responsibilities. In addition to his duties under the tsar, he negotiated with incoming delegations from other countries, communicated and sent military correspondents, organized their meetings with the emperor and other military leaders, talked with foreign military representatives, and prepared answers to official requests.

After the end of the war, as a result of the extremely complex multi-way political and diplomatic combinations described in the book, a peace treaty was signed on March 3, 1878 in San Stefano, a suburb of Constantinople. However, the Western powers are demanding a revision of the terms of the treaty. This task was dedicated to the Berlin Congress in June 1878. Giving an assessment of the results of its work, Ignatiev, in particular, wrote: "... not only the basic idea of the San Stefano Treaty was distorted, but also its integrity was completely violated: favorable provisions for Russia were crossed out and reduced, and unfavorable ones were left, enlarged and new additions were made openly to the detriment of Russian interests. Only the ruins of the building built in San Stefano remain" (p. 84). According to Ignatiev, the Congress destroyed Russia's preponderance in the Balkans, and the main blame for this lay with the Russian Foreign Ministry, which relied too much on the support of its allies.

V. M. Khevrolina, a Russian researcher of Ignatiev's life and work, believes that the weak side of Ignatiev's position in this case was an inadequate understanding of the forces of Russia and European states. The country's military capabilities were much weaker than he expected, and the resistance of European countries to restoring and strengthening Russia's role in the Balkans was much stronger.

After the collapse of the Treaty of San Stefano, N. P. Ignatiev was out of business. His health deteriorated sharply, and he settled on his estate near Kiev. For a short time, Alexander II appoints him Governor-General of Nizhny Novgorod. Soon, at the request of the local community, Ignatiev is declared an honorary citizen of Nizhny Novgorod. Scholarships are established in his name for students.

In 1881, after the death of Alexander II, Ignatiev was appointed Minister of State Property for several months and Minister of Internal Affairs for one year. K. Kaneva rightly notes that these posts were alien to him.

In Soviet historiography, the author emphasizes, this brief period of Ignatiev's activity is regarded as reactionary. Conservative circles accuse him of liberalism. At the same time, when it was necessary to sign laws and regulations in defense of the dynasty against terrorism and underground organizations, he is preparing a project for the restoration of zemstvo cathedrals in order to bring the autocracy closer to the people and their real demands, implementing the liberal reforms initiated by Alexander II, which were supposed to free the peasants from a number of taxes, and which encourages the development of agriculture, etc.

N. P. Ignatiev, as a creatively thinking person, became interested in the idea of zemstvo councils - an ancient form of"Russian parliamentarism". Not recognizing the spirit of the era and not guessing the mood of the new tsar, in 1883 he presented Alexander III with a corresponding project, in which he proposed to mark the days of the new tsar's coronation with the opening of the All-Russian Cathedral. K. Kaneva quotes an excerpt from the memoirs of A. A. Ignatiev (nephew of N. P. Ignatiev) "Fifty years in the ranks", in which, In particular, it is said that Alexander III listens to N. P. Ignatiev and seems to agree, "but a few hours later, after returning from the Gatchina Palace to St. Petersburg, Nikolai Petrovich received a handwritten note from Alexander III:" After weighing our morning conversation, I came to the conclusion that we cannot serve Russia together. Alexander" " (p. 89). This was the end of N. P. Ignatiev's state career, but his life continued and he did not stop being awarded high orders.

In the memoirs of his nephew about the last years of N. P. Ignatiev's life, it says:: "Once upon a time, Nikolai Pavlovich Ignatiev was the pride of the family, but he ended up half-poor, having ruined himself on his fantastic financial adventures. Although he owned forty Russian estates scattered all over the world, mortgaged and re-mortgaged, at the same time, as my father told me, he was the only member of the State Council whose salary was seized" (p.88).

page 201
But N. P. Ignatiev does not give up and develops a rapid social activity, being a member and heading many public organizations. In 1882, he was elected an honorary member of the Russian Geographical Society, and from 1897, he headed the committee for the construction of a memorial church on the Shipkinsky Pass, the idea of which was born in 1879 in the company of Olga Nikolaevna Skobeleva-the mother of the great Russian commander M. D. Skobelev - and the Ignatievs. Celebrations on the occasion of the opening of the church were held in September 1902 as part of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Shipkin epic. Count Ignatiev also took part in them. On March 3, 1908, he made his last appearance in the St. Petersburg Slavic Society at the celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the liberation of Bulgaria.

The second part of Kaneva's book is devoted to her efforts to find relatives and descendants of N. P. Ignatiev, documents and materials about his life and activities. To do this, she had to overcome sometimes huge difficulties, if only to see Ignatiev's grave near Kiev in Soviet times.

In modern times, the names of the great sons of the past are returned to the people who raised them. A significant contribution to this is made by both domestic historians and foreign researchers, among whom a prominent place was occupied by the Bulgarian Kalina Kaneva.

Permanent link to this publication: