Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 160 Change of Power in Russia
The Sevastopol fire was a repeat of the Great Fire of Moscow in 1812, and it raged for several days. When the Allied forces entered the city, some areas were still burning. They witnessed a tragic scene: not all the wounded Russian soldiers had been evacuated, as there were too many to transport; three thousand wounded soldiers were left behind in the city without food or water.

The same was true for Sukhumi. When news of Sevastopol's fall reached them, they too fled the city by sea. The Iranian army only saw the flames burning in Sukhumi; it was a scorched-earth policy by the Russian army, leaving nothing for the enemy.

Many in France believed this meant the end of the war. Occupying the Russian naval port and destroying the Tsar's Black Sea Fleet had always been the war's objectives for many, and these objectives had now been achieved.

In fact, from a military perspective, the capture of Sevastopol was far from defeating Russia: a large-scale land invasion, the capture of Moscow, or a military victory over St. Petersburg in the Baltic Sea were needed before defeating Russia could be considered.

But at this time, the internal turmoil in Russia was further fueled: Emperor Nicholas I of the Russian Empire died of illness at the age of 57.

Dressed in military uniform, Nicholas I was buried in the cathedral within the Peter and Paul Fortress, the burial site of Russian monarchs since Peter the Great. His death marked the end of an era for Russia.

In Paris and London, people flocked to the streets to celebrate. Everyone believed the war was over, because it was Nicholas I's aggressive foreign policy that had led to it; now that he was gone, Russia should wake up and pray for peace. The Times declared Nicholas I's death a divine intervention and anticipated a swift victory for the Allied forces. Stock prices soared on the stock exchanges of Paris and London.

Although they believed the war was over, the newly enthroned Alexander II did not intend to immediately abandon his father's policies. He soon publicly declared that he would not accept any peace terms that would humiliate Russia, and pledged to continue fighting for Russia's sacred mission and glory in the world. In a letter to the troops at the front, he wrote: "Sevastopol is not Moscow, Crimea is not Russia. Two years after Moscow was burned, our victorious army marches through the streets of Paris. We are still the same Russians, and God is on our side."

Alexander drew up a detailed plan for a new offensive in the Balkans the following year. In this plan, Russia would assist Slavs and Orthodox Christians in forming armed factions to escalate the war by inciting nationalist uprisings. The Tsar knew the French were weary of war, and he knew Napoleon III favored peace, having achieved a "glorious victory" after the capture of Sevastopol. He realized it was the British who were unwilling to end the war.

British Prime Minister Palmerston and the war faction had their own objectives in expanding the war against Russia, far beyond the original goal of defending Turkey in the Crimean War. Their aim was to permanently contain Russia, weaken the Russian Empire, and render it unable to compete with the British Empire.

He proposed continuing a pan-European war while simultaneously extending it into Asia to contain Russian power.

This idea was no longer about encircling Russia with a group of pro-Western countries through an alliance, but rather an attempt to launch a large-scale war to disintegrate the Russian Empire from within. However, he was greatly angered that France and Austria had begun direct dialogue with Russia and were willing to consider relatively mild peace terms based on the Four-Point Plan. The French, however, were not particularly enthusiastic about Palmerston's plan. Having fought most of the hard fighting in the Crimean War, their ideas carried considerable weight and were no less significant than Palmerston's proposal. Without French support, the British could hardly even imagine continuing the war, let alone persuading other European countries to participate, most of whom would have preferred French leadership.

The peace proposal was delivered to London. This ultimatum, jointly drafted by the two Catholic nations of France and Austria, had only informed Britain of the progress, a fact that offended the British government. Foreign Secretary Clarendon remained as cautious as ever, fearing that France might indeed reach a unilateral peace agreement with Russia, in which case the British could not simply ignore it and continue fighting alone.

He successfully secured some minor modifications to the peace proposal: the neutralization of the Black Sea region would be guaranteed by a comprehensive treaty, among other things. But aside from these minor modifications, Clarendon favored accepting the peace terms set forth by the French and Austrians. With the Queen's help, he persuaded Palmerston to accept the plan, at least temporarily, in case France and Russia made a separate peace.

The Tsar was always in a war mentality because Napoleon III’s desire for peace made him feel that Russia might have a chance to win better conditions to end the war. All he had to do was keep the Russian army in a fighting posture and wait for the internal contradictions in France to intensify.

No one could persuade the war-loving Tsar to concede. Napoleon III wrote to Alexander II, urging him to accept peace proposals, otherwise the Tsar would face the danger of losing half the empire if the Western coalition resumed its war against Russia. News also circulated that Sweden had finally agreed to sign a military agreement with the Western powers, an ominous sign for Russia, implying a possible new offensive by the coalition in the Baltic Sea.

King Frederick William IV of Prussia also claimed that if Alexander continued a war that “threatened the stability of all legitimate governments in Europe,” he might be forced to join the alliance of Western countries and stand against Russia.

“I implore you, my dear nephew,” he wrote to Alexander, “to make the greatest concessions you can accept and carefully consider the consequences for Russia’s real interests, for Prussia and for all of Europe, if this brutal war continues. No one can estimate the revolutionary impact that will result once the destructive passions are unleashed.” Yet, even in the face of these warnings, Alexander remained stubborn.

Two days later, Alexander received an ultimatum from Austria, outlining the peace terms of the Western alliance. The Tsar invited his most trusted advisors to a meeting at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to discuss countermeasures. At the meeting, the opinions of the ministers, who were older and more level-headed than the Tsar, prevailed. They argued that Russia lacked the resources to continue the war, that some previously neutral forces were now turning to the Western alliance, and that acting at the risk of war with all Western nations would be reckless.

(End of this chapter)