Mediterranean Hegemony Road

Time passed quickly, and it was at the end of 1891, and the long-sawed Russian-Palestinian negotiation was finally coming to an end.

The negotiation, which lasted for more than a year, involved more than 500 clauses, covering all aspects of political, economic, military and cultural exchanges.

On December 15, 1891, the two sides finally reached an agreement and signed the Russian Empire and the Principality of Bulgaria Political, Economic, Military and Cultural Friendly Exchange Treaty, referred to as Russian-Paul Treaty, also known as: Russian Bulgarian Alliance.

On the day of the signing of the Russian-Russian Alliance, Ferdinand approved it. Only after being sent to St. Petersburg, it can be formally established with the approval of Alexander III.

The Russian delegation, who had been in Bulgaria for more than half a year, was busy rushing back to Christmas and declined Ferdinand's stay.

Ferdinand, who was in a good mood, also personally attended the farewell banquet and practiced it for the Russian delegation.

To be honest, Ferdinand did not expect that this negotiation went so smoothly.

Taken together, the Russian-Paul Alliance is an equal treaty for both parties. At the end of the 19th century, a small country signed an equality treaty with the great powers, and the difficulties were unimaginable in later generations.

That is to say, Ferdinand came from later generations and knew that Russia's diplomatic dilemma was time-consuming. The Franco-Russian alliance is already underway in secret. At the time, the diplomatic risk borne by an alliance with Russia was also enormous.

Historically, Bulgaria has been relying on Russia since 1894. At that time, the Franco-Russian alliance had been established, and it was dispensable to Bulgaria, so naturally it would not cost a lot to win over.

In Ferdinand's view, with the establishment of the Russian and Bulgarian Alliance, Bulgaria has obtained raw materials for industrial development from Russia, as well as a vast market. It is an indispensable part of the industrialization process of Bulgaria.

At that time, no other country except the Russian Empire could provide Bulgaria with these two points.

At the end of the 19th century, in addition to Russia and Britain and France, resource-rich countries had large colonies. However, the British and French industries are developed, and they are basically self-sufficient and do not need to import industrial products at all.

But what about other countries?

Germany's typical industrial development, he still has to import resources and find a market!

Austro-Hungarian industry is not bad, and industry and commerce are closely linked with Germany, how can it not be Bulgaria!

Don't think about Italy, he is still a diaosi, with poor resources and a backward industry, and he has not yet had the confidence to reach out to the Balkans.

The United States is not yet the world police of later generations, and its hands cannot reach the Mediterranean Sea. Even if the two sides trade, the freight alone is higher than the price of the raw materials themselves.

So Russia is the only option for Bulgaria. Russia is rich in resources, and it is close to Bulgaria, connected to the Black Sea, and it can come soon. Moreover, the industry is not good, and a large number of industrial products are imported every year.

Not only did Ferdinand feel that the Russian and Bulgarian Alliance was good, but Alexander III, who was far away in St. Petersburg, was also in a good mood now.

Alexander III, the thirteenth emperor of the Russian Empire, reigned from 1881 to 1894.

The reign of Alexander III began under the prosperity created by Alexander II, and Alexander III had no intention of establishing a new deal or interfering too much in actual government affairs.

He adopted a method of governing the country similar to the chairman's style: the organization appointed a group of capable people and formed a think tank circle, and let these people first study the country's government affairs, come up with several solutions, and then report it to the emperor himself, Make a final decision.

During the period of Alexander III, Russia's economic development reached a peak, not only militarily, but also economically, becoming the world's leading power.

However, due to the reverse reform measures implemented by the upper Russian ruling group, ideological development was suppressed,

It seriously hindered the popularization of education, affected the general improvement of the national quality, accelerated the confrontation between social classes, and laid the groundwork for the historical process of promoting social development through violent revolution and civil war.

In terms of diplomacy, Alexander III actively pursued Pan-Slavism, which is of course related to the significant enhancement of Russia's national strength and the continuous rise of its international status.

The pan-Slavism pursued by Russia has a strong diplomatic pertinence, mainly targeting the Balkans and the Black Sea coast. This is obviously to expand Russia’s influence in these regions and consolidate Russia’s dominance in the Slavic ethnic settlements.

On the one hand, Russia's policy in the Balkans has played a positive role in enhancing its international status and promoting the development of the local national liberation movement.

But the negative factors are also obvious. Activities in the Balkans provided the fuse for the First World War and laid a hidden danger for the fall of the Russian Empire.

In addition to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the German Empire is also competing with Russia in the Balkans.

Germany has always hoped to obtain a warm port in the Mediterranean, open up the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, and cut off Europe in the middle, so it has accelerated its expansion in the Balkans. This is one of the reasons why the German-Russian relationship is breaking down.

In general, Russia in the period of Alexander III was the most culturally and economically close period to Europe. There was a mutual sense of identity between Europe and Russia, and Russia at this time was completely free of force and only through diplomatic efforts. achieve political intent.

Alexander III's most famous and confident sentence in foreign affairs is: the Russian tsar is still fishing, and Europe can wait for the time being (once Alexander III went fishing while on vacation, and his vassals in charge of European affairs came to Alexander. The third reported urgent business, and Alexander III said this).

Alexander III is arguably the most powerful ruler in the history of Russia in the nineteenth century.

During the reign of Alexander III, Russia launched only one foreign war: the small Battle of Merv Oasis under the command of Skobelev.

Merv is an oasis city located in Turkmenistan in Central Asia. It is called Ma Lei in Chinese Han Dynasty documents. In the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it is called the Last Kingdom. In Yuan Dynasty documents, it is called Maliwu, or Malan.

After Merv was incorporated into Russia, Turkmenistan officially became part of the Russian Empire.

1 Due to the influence of the assassination of Alexander II, Alexander III had a shadow in his heart and was afraid of being assassinated, and often lived in Gatchina, the palace on the outskirts of the capital.

Known as the hermit of Gatchina, and because he rarely waged war, Alexander III was also known as a peacemaker.