THE FRANKFURT PROPOSALS OF 1813: HISTORICAL REALITIES IN THE MYTHS OF RUSSIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE SECOND QUARTER OF THE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURY

Оleh Zaharchuk,

Ph.D. in History, Associate Professor
State University «Kyiv Aviation Institute», Kyiv, Ukraine

 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/2524-048X.2025.31.5

 

Abstract. One of the events in the diplomatic history of the Napoleonic Wars (1799–1814), namely the Frankfurt proposals of 1813 (also called the Frankfurt memorandum), remains little known not only to the general public but also to scholars of the Napoleonic Wars (здається, тут стилістична помилка. Читається так, неначе тема Франкфуртських переговорів залишається маловідомою для її ж дослідників). This article analyzes the concepts of the main representatives of the official-patriotic historiography of the Napoleonic Wars regarding the actions of Napoleon Bonaparte’s diplomacy and his allies during the negotiations, which took place at the end of the Sixth Anti-French Coalition (1813–1814).

The purpose of the article is to critically rethink the works of Russian researchers on the diplomatic history of the Napoleonic Wars and to deconstruct established concepts.

Research methods involve a systematic adherence to the principles of historicism and impartiality. A problem-chronological and comparative-historical approach has been applied, incorporating historiographical analysis and a critical-analytical perspective.

The scientific novelty. For the first time in modern domestic historiography, an attempt has been made to trace the emergence and dissemination of myths in Russian official historiography concerning the actions of Napoleonic and Coalition diplomacy during the Frankfurt proposals of 1813, drawing on a wide range of sources. In particular, the study refutes a widely held claim in imperial Russian historiography, as well as among the majority of Soviet and contemporary Russian historians of the Napoleonic Wars, which asserts that the French emperor deliberately delayed accepting the Allies’ proposals during the Frankfurt memorandum and agreed to their terms only after they appealed to the French people.

Conclusions. The author studied the origins and dissemination of Russian myths and falsifications regarding the diplomatic confrontation between Napoleonic and Coalition diplomacy during the Frankfurt proposals of 1813. Based on a critical analysis of the scholarly contributions of representatives of Russian official historiography, it has been established that the distortion of historical realities was largely driven by political directives from the authorities.

Key words: Russian historiography, myths, Napoleon Bonaparte, K. Metternich, N. Saint-Aignan, the Allies’ Frankfurt offers and declaration, Sixth Anti-French Coalition.

 

Submitted 03.03.2025

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