Imperial Policies and Perspectives Towards Georgia, 1760-1819 (St. Antony's Series)

This text examines how the Russian Empire expanded across the barrier of the Caucasus mountains to take control of the Georgian lands at the close of the 18th century. With no organized plan for conquest, Imperial policy fluctuated based both on personnel changes in the Imperial government and strategic re-evaluations of Imperial interests. Particular attention is paid to the role of two significant individuals - Princes Potemkin and Tsitsianov - in pushing the Empire toward total incorporation. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 List of Maps......Page 9 Foreword......Page 10 A Note on Terms, Transliterations and Dates......Page 12 List of Abbreviations......Page 15 Acknowledgements......Page 16 Introduction......Page 17 Medieval Georgia......Page 24 Contacts between Russia and Georgia......Page 28 Direction of Russian Foreign Policy in the Eighteenth Century......Page 32 2 The Embassy of Teimuraz II......Page 37 3 Russia and Georgia during the Turkish War (1768–74)......Page 49 4 The Treaty of Georgievsk (1783) and its Aftermath......Page 69 5 Georgia Abandoned (1787–97)......Page 86 6 The Incorporation of Eastern Georgia into the Russian Empire (1798–1801)......Page 100 7 Tsitsianov and the Consolidation of Imperial Power in Georgia (1802–6)......Page 122 8 Solidifying the Russian Presence in Georgia (1806–12)......Page 140 9 Final Consolidation (1812–19)......Page 158 Concluding Thoughts......Page 164 Notes......Page 166 Bibliography......Page 194 A......Page 207 B......Page 208 C......Page 209 E......Page 210 G......Page 211 I......Page 212 L......Page 213 M......Page 214 O......Page 215 P......Page 216 R......Page 217 S......Page 218 T......Page 219 Z......Page 220 "The image of an Empire relentlessly gobbling up the Eurasian steppe has dominated Western thinking about Russia for centuries, but is it accurate? Far from being motivated by a well-organized plan for territorial conquest, the Imperial government of the late eighteenth century had no consistent or coherent policy towards the Georgian lands which lie south of the Caucasus mountains. Seen both as co-religionist allies and as troublesome nuisances by different factions in St. Petersburg, Russian attitudes towards Georgia fluctuated as Emperors and Empresses, along with their favourites and enemies, rose and fell from supreme power. Thanks to the determined efforts of two princes, Grigorii Potemkin and Dimitri Tsitsianov, a vision of Georgia linked firmly to Russia was imposed upon a sceptical St. Petersburg. This led to its complete incorporation into the Russian Empire, forever changing the destinies of Russia, the Caucasus, and all Eurasia."--BOOK JACKET. This book examines how the Russian Empire expanded across the barrier of the Caucasus mountains to take control of the Georgian lands at the close of the eighteenth century. With no organized plan for conquest, Imperial policy fluctuated based both on personnel changes in the Imperial government and strategic re-evaluations of Imperial interests. Particular attention is paid to the role of two significant individuals - Princes Potemkin and Tsitsianov - in pushing the Empire toward total incorporation. This book focuses on the question of whether or not the Russian Empire represented a well-organized plan for territorial conquest.