Previous to the Partition of Poland, Prussia Proper and her dominions, Brandenberg and Silesia, were separated, Poland being between them. The First Partition joined the Prussian kingdom to the main body of the Monarchy; by the Second and Third Partitions Prussia obtained the then South Prussia and East Prussia, thereby uniting all into one compact body.
Thus unconsciously a powerful Russian enemy was being formed in the Baltic. Thus Russia had three great enemies—England, Holland, and Prussia, joined by Sweden and Denmark, on the Baltic.
Catherine had already obtained a firm footing on the Black Sea coast, and was confident of her ability to occupy Constantinople and make it a Russian southern capital; the French Revolution attracting the attention of Western Europe, the Ottoman Empire was left at the mercy of Russia. Again a Russian occupation would give a fine prospect of extending Russian authority into Danubian territory, Central Asia, and Asia Minor.
So we may conclude that Catherine’s annexation of Poland was only a step towards attaining her great aim, and gave her time to mature her plans.
At this juncture Catherine died, and was succeeded by Paul (1796). He reversed his mother’s policy by concluding an alliance with Turkey against Napoleon, seeing that the latter’s policy was to destroy the Turkish Empire for the benefit of France. He changed his policy later, however, after his unsuccessful campaign in Holland, and threw himself into Napoleon’s arms by establishing an armed neutrality in the north against England.
Alexander I. (1801–1825).
Catherine died (1796), but her plan did not perish with her. Alexander I. proved a faithful expounder of the late Czarina’s schemes.
His strong-handed policy was chiefly directed against Armenia and the Persian frontier, although the Danubian territory, Poland and Finland, did not escape his watchful eyes. Mingrelia and Imeretia were conquered in 1803, Shiroan in 1805–1806.
At last Alexander’s policy took a definite form at the Treaty of Tilsit (1807), for by the first provision “Russia was to take possession of Turkey in Europe, and push on her conquests in Asia as she thought proper.” This secret treaty, which was made with Napoleon I., caused great uneasiness in England, and a coolness sprang up between the two Powers (1807–1812), although England had adhered to an Anglo-Russian Alliance during Chatham’s administration, and Alexander joined the coalition of 1805.
In 1809 Russia gained Finland, with the whole of East Bothnia and part of West Bothnia, as far as the River Tornea, by the Treaty of Friedrichsham. The Peace of Bucharest (1812) was the result of England’s mediation, by which Russia added Bessarabia, and the Pruth was made the boundary between Russia and Turkey, while Russia gave up Moldavia and Wallachia, which at that time were occupied by her.