RUSSIA AND THE CONTINENTAL SYSTEM IN THE END OF 1810 – EARLY 1811. THROUGH THE PRISM OF A.B. KURAKIN’S ACTIVITIES

This article highlights the political position in Paris of the Russian Ambassador, Prince A.B. Kurakin, regarding the Continental System of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1810-1811. The activity of the prince was out of sight of historians for a long period because of their biased attitude towards his figure. This article includes the analysis of highlights of Prince Kurakin’s activities according to the Continental System declared by Napoleon (negotiations on new tariffs between Russia and France, regulation of neutral trade, actions of French corsairs etc.). This analysis is based on published sources on the history of diplomacy: the fundamental publication «Foreign Policy of Russia in the XIX-early XX centuries», the collection of A.B. Kurakin’s dispatches and first-introduced documents of the Russian Empire’s Foreign Policy Archive. The conclusion of this article is that A.B. Kurakin was worthy to defend the interests of Russia in France at the rejection of the Trianon tariff and at the introduction of new conditions of the Russian-French trade. A.B. Kurakin became active as ambassador: he systematically contacted the French Foreign Minister J.-B. Champagny, filed notes, collected information, etc. However, Alexander I was not pleased with his actions, considering them insufficiently effective.