Alexandre Ier, Napoléon et les relations franco-russes

Abstract

Alejandro I, entronizado en marzo de 1801 y educado en el espíritu de las Luces, toma conciencia de la necesidad de reformar el imperio dando prioridad a las cuestiones internas; pero pronto la política exterior le absorbe totalmente, de forma que su reinado quedará marcado por el enfrentamiento con Napoleón. La alianza de Tilsit se revela ambigua y las relaciones franco-rusas se degradan hasta la tragedia de 1812. El zar, que salió victorioso y transformado de la prueba –se volvió profundamente religioso–, hace sentir su peso en la reconstrucción del continente europeo, jugando un papel personal importante en el Congreso de Viena y en Tratado de la Santa Alianza. Sin embargo, desde 1820-1821 Alejandro I tiene una visión del mundo cada vez más paranoica, y la Santa Alianza se convierte en una herramienta represiva al servicio del absolutismo.

Educated in the spirit of the Enlightenment, upon his accession to the throne in March 1801, Alexander I, intending to reform his empire, gave priority to domestic issues; but very quickly, foreign policy came to dominate the agenda, and his duel with Napoleon wholly absorbed his energies. Because of the ambivalence of the Tilsit alliance, Russian-French relations continuously deteriorated after 1807, leading to the 1812 tragedy. Vanquisher of Napoleon, the tsar who has been transformed by the ordeal (he became religious), became anxious to rebuild the European continent on a new basis. This explains the personal role he played during the Vienna Congress and the project of Holy Alliance that he encouraged. But by 1820-21, Alexander became more and more paranoiac in his political views and the Holy Alliance has been transformed into a tool to repress liberal ideas in the service of conservative regimes.