Metternich persuaded the tsar to stick to orthodoxy
Although Alexander I wanted to take the opportunity to expand into the Mediterranean, the complex reality forced him to make other considerations.
As the main architect of the Holy League and the Vienna system, the tsar explained to the French foreign minister, Chateaubriand, "There is no doubt that nothing is more pleasing to my interests than a religious war with Turkey."
But what happened in the Peloponnese. I see signs of revolution. After much deliberation, he finally made the decision not to interfere in the Greek independence movement.
The Tsar's decision not to intervene in the Greek question was largely due to the following reasons:
Metternich had an important influence on the decisions of Alexander I.
The Austrian Empire was the architect and one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Vienna system, and it was natural for Metternich to uphold the banner of orthodoxy.
In Metternich, "the Ottoman Empire was not within European civilization, and the Sultan was the legitimate ruler of Greece," so he regarded the Greek rebels as a flood beast and tried his best to persuade the tsar to agree with him.
After the outbreak of the Greek independence movement, Mei convinced the tsar that the Austrian secret police had received news from St. Petersburg and Odessa that the Russian revolutionaries were on the move.
As expected, the news evoked the shadow left in the Tsar's mind by the rebellion of the Russian Guards a year earlier.
Therefore, Alexander was also considering whether the Greek uprising would become a repeat of similar conspiratorial rebellion.
While the Tsar hesitated, Metternich took the opportunity to warn him that Russia had begun to undergo events similar to those in Spain and Naples, and that the Greek revolutionaries could no longer be appeased, thus fueling the revolutionary momentum in Europe.
"Tsar Alexander I wholeheartedly accepted the policy of the Marquis of Metternich".
"Agreed not to go to war against the Ostos Empire for the time being.
At the beginning of the Greek independence movement, Britain and Austria paid close attention to Russia's actions, and eventually the two countries united to force Russia not to intervene unilaterally in the Greek situation.
For Britain, on the one hand, although she was not a participant in the Holy League, the British rulers at that time generally approved of the principles of orthodoxy, which King George IV once praised as "the great principle of the years of 1814 and 1815", @外交大臣卡斯尔累也一再默许梅特涅援引此原则镇压革命.
However, because of the opposition in the British Parliament and the diplomatic tradition of continental balance, British diplomats were unable to openly support orthodoxy in the international arena.
On the other hand, as early as 1799, when the Russian-Turkish alliance was formed against Napoleon, Britain was deeply concerned about the possible long-term presence of Russian troops in the Near East waters, believing that this would pose a great threat to the British Near East shipping route to India.
The Austrian Empire was originally a loyal adherent of orthodox principles, and after receiving British support, Metternich was even more fearless, and Metternich intervened with Alexander I as the "Prime Minister of Europe" to force Russia to make concessions.
In the end, Russia succumbed to the Anglo-Austrian power, which was superior in economic and military power, and Alexander I made the decision not to intervene unilaterally in the situation in Greece.
Fear of revolution, British attitudes, and the unity of the Holy League all conditioned St. Petersburg.
Schroeder, a historian of international relations, claims that the main reason for Alexander's restraint was his desire to save the League, as the Tsar's determination to join the Holy League in confronting the revolutionary threat explained his commitment to European coordination.
Alexander I met in Verona
His speech summed up his fear of revolution and his contentment with the status quo.
"There is no doubt that nothing in my country's opinion is in my interest more than a religious war with Turkey, but in the midst of the riots of my opponents, I believe I see signs of revolution.
So I backed off... No, I will never break away from the monarchs with whom I have made an alliance.
The king should be allowed to make open alliances to protect himself from secret societies.
What can tempt me? What do I need to expand my emperor? God sent me 800,000 soldiers not to satisfy my ambitions, but to protect religion, morality and justice, and to popularize the principles of order on which human society depends.
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(iii) Alexander I's fear of revolution
In 1801, he participated as crown prince in the bloody coup that killed his father, Paul I, a scene that forever etched his mind and created his divisive character, and his confidant Prince Adamm Jezy Czaitoryski said that "Alexander was tormented throughout his life by the mental wounds he suffered when he ascended the throne."
His responsibility to the emperor, though insignificant, led his sensitive nature to the extremes of great Confucianism and mysticism.
"The outbreak of the Anti-Napoleonic Wars in 1812 was another turning point in Alexander I's life.
He was completely transformed from a liberal-minded man to a conservative evangelical after this war, and he himself said that "the fire of Moscow illuminated his soul".
In the tsar's view, it was thanks to the light of God that Russia was able to withstand the mighty army of Napoleon.
