ქართლ-კახეთის სამეფოსა და რუსეთის იმპერიის ურთიერთობა 1774-1782 წლებში

Abstract

In 1769 king Erekle II of Kartli-Kakheti agreed to participate in war against the Ottoman Empire in favor of the Russian Empire. This was marked with active military actions. Alliance with Russia brought negative results for Ereke II. Therefore, he decided to terminate relations with the Russian Imperial court in 1775. After Russia gained the upper hand in the war against Ottomans, even the Imperial government lost interest in obtaining support from the Georgian kingdoms. Consequently, on the behalf of the order issued on October 7, 1775 the Georgian emissaries were deprived the right to enter in the Russian territory. Since Ereke II finished his negotiations successfully with the Ottomans Empire and started active foreign policy in Caucasus he openly faced the Russian diplomacy.

In summer 1782 the Russian attitude towards the Georgians kingdoms was radically changed. The representatives of the Russian government informed the Georgians kings (Erekle II and Solomon I of Imereti) that Catherine II was ready to accept these kingdoms under protection immediately. They were required to send the official note to Empress for this purpose.

As it has been established, the rapid change of the Russian policy was a result of the following. In the early summer of 1782, the Russian imperial court decided to finally settle the issue of Crimea, Taman, and Kuban. The Russian government believed that the annexation of these territories would lead to war with the Ottomans. Therefore, active preparations for the impending war began. For the successful implementation of the developed plan, the relevant order of the emperor was issued and its implementation swiftly began. One of the most important components of the plan was a stealth attack throuth the Caucasus. The Georgian kings were to help the Russian army through “sabotage” against the Ottomans. Without their participation in the war, it would have been almost impossible to successfully carry out the planned operation in the South Caucasus. Accordingly, according to the plan of Catherine II, a significant part of the mission was assigned to the Georgian kingdoms.

The above circumstances prompted the Russian government to radically change its attitude towards Erekle II and Solomon I. For this very purpose, the Russian imperial court decided to raise the issue of patronage and began negotiations with the Georgian side.