“And the Time Now is Not Different, but Still the Present ...”: The Problem of the Ratification of the Adrianople Peace Treaty (1713)

Abstract

Introduction. The Peace of Adrianople (June 13, 1713) ended the Russian-Turkish war of 1710– 1713. The Prut (1711) and Constantinople (1712) treaties signed by the Russian ambassadors were not ratified by the Turkish side. In Adrianople, there were also problems related to the confirmation of the treaty. Methods and materials. The source base was formed by documents stored in the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts (F. 89 “Relations between Russia and Turkey”), as well as in the Scientific and Historical Archive of the Saint Petersburg Institute of History of RAS (F. 83 “Field Chancellery of Alexander D. Menshikov”). A comprehensive study of archival and published materials, a comparison of the information contained in them made it possible to formulate and analyze the main problems associated with the signing and ratification of the peace treaty. Analysis. The basis of the Adrianople peace, which the ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary P. Shafirov and M. Sheremetev concluded with the Sublime Porte, was the provisions of the Peace Treaty of Constantinople (April 5, 1712). The additions made by the Ottoman ministers related to the Polish and Crimean problems did not meet the interests of Peter I. The wording “on the Crimean payment” was the result of a long diplomatic struggle and left the problem open. On June 22, 1713, Russian ambassadors and Ottoman ministers exchanged by the texts of the treaty. The countdown of the delivery time (90 days) of the confirmation of the peace agreement by Peter I began on June 13. The demand to send an ambassador with the ratification is also connected with the intention of the Sublime Porte to continue negotiations on Crimean payments. Results. The Russian ambassadors managed to prevent the revision of the agreement confirmed by the tsar. The Sublime Porte was no less interested than Russia in ending the war. The provisions of the Adrianople peace reflected the interests of the Ottoman government, which refused to support by force the demands of the Crimean Khan.