The Treaty of Paris
the river bank states plus the Turks, charged with setting up river police, customs and excise, and river maintenance devoted to keeping the river navigable along its length and in particular at its mouths which tended to silt up. This activity would be funded by a toll/navigation tax system as necessary, applied equally to all the states concerned. The contentious part for the Russians was the Austrian proposal that Russia should cede to the Principalities a huge chunk of her Bessarabian territory, the southern borders of which ran along the northern bank of the Danube. This was required, the argument went, to safeguard the independence of the River Commission - at the same time of course it was safeguarding Austria's primary position on the Danube.
Orlov vehemently opposed this resolution, but against a solid looking allied front he was forced to play his one and only trump card, Kars. Russia would return Kars to Turkey if the Bessarabia cession was dropped. No way, replied the allies, can we leave you sitting on the mouth of the Danube. Clearly a compromise was necessary. In return for Kars, Orlov was forced to cede the immediate area of the Danube mouth to Moldavia, but retained most of the territory claimed by Austria. Clarendon felt that the allies had come away with the advantage - they had got Kars back, and retained control of the mouths of the Danube, but Orlov was reasonably pleased with the outcome, and the Austrians were licking their wounds.
The Russians, were in fact playing a tricky hand with great aplomb and perspicacity. In open session Orlov treated Brunnow as little more than his bag carrier, thus dropping everyone's guard when Brunnow was intensely active in the wings. He exploited the fact that the British were overplaying their hand - thanks largely to Palmerston, abetted by Cowley's usual inaccurate forecast as to how the Emperor would jump. Some of their demands on the Russians - demilitarisation of the Sea of Azov, dismantling Russian bases at the mouths of the Dnieper and Bug, as well as Caucasian independence - could clearly be presented as unreasonable, particularly as the Russians were taking care to present their own attitude as helpful and reasonable. Orlov had accepted without demur Britain's demand to demilitarise the Aaland Islands. He also supported Napoleon's pet project of a referendum in the principalities of Maldavia and Walachia proposing eventual union
Latest Articles