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One month before his fateful invasion of Russia, Napoleon articulated his motives and views on the Russian Emperor Alexander I during a conversation in Dresden with Duke Carl August of Saxe-Weimar and Eisenach, a member of the Confederation of the Rhine. Napoleon likely anticipated that the contents of his remarks would be relayed to the Tsar, as Carl August was the father-in-law of Alexander’s sister, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, who was also the hereditary princess of Saxe-Weimar and Eisenach. This chapter explores not only how Napoleon framed his motives against Alexander but also how Carl August and Maria Pavlovna navigated this complex pre-war diplomatic landscape. Acting in their respective roles, they managed delicate communications between the two powerful adversaries, France and Russia, from the pivotal vantage point of Weimar. The analysis draws on Maria Pavlovna’s recounting of Carl August’s recorded minutes of the conversation, as well as on her accompanying correspondence with him and Alexander I between May and June 1812.

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Last-Minute Diplomacy from Rheinbund to Russia. The Uneasy Role of Maria Pavlovna of Saxe-Weimar on the Eve of the War of 1812

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    2025年

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  • Franziska Schedewie

摘要

One month before his fateful invasion of Russia, Napoleon articulated his motives and views on the Russian Emperor Alexander I during a conversation in Dresden with Duke Carl August of Saxe-Weimar and Eisenach, a member of the Confederation of the Rhine. Napoleon likely anticipated that the contents of his remarks would be relayed to the Tsar, as Carl August was the father-in-law of Alexander’s sister, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, who was also the hereditary princess of Saxe-Weimar and Eisenach. This chapter explores not only how Napoleon framed his motives against Alexander but also how Carl August and Maria Pavlovna navigated this complex pre-war diplomatic landscape. Acting in their respective roles, they managed delicate communications between the two powerful adversaries, France and Russia, from the pivotal vantage point of Weimar. The analysis draws on Maria Pavlovna’s recounting of Carl August’s recorded minutes of the conversation, as well as on her accompanying correspondence with him and Alexander I between May and June 1812.