The Seven Years’ War and Caucasian Outlines of the Greak Project

Abstract

The Seven Years' War played a crucial role in defining the world historical process of the 60-ies of the XVIII century and later period. It radically changed the European diplomatic configuration of that time and replaced the French dominance by the English one. An analysis of the documentary sources and secret treaty concluded between the states reveals that the main ideological architect of the unusual end of the Seven Years' War, in particular, the withdrawal of Russian troops from Berlin, was King Friedrich II of Prussia. It was the idea of Friedrich II to change the vector of Russian foreign policy. As a result, the idea of neutralizing the Ottoman Empire southern direction turned out to be preferential for the Imperial Court of St. Petersburg compared with the previous northern vector. The article shows that these processes are caused by the Russian-Austrian "Greek Project", the concept of European redistribution, which takes its final shape in 1782. These conceptual problems are connected absolutely to all problems existing in the Caucasus, including the ones related to the foreign strategy or internal political processes of the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti. On the one hand the contradictions created by the Imperial Court of St. Petersburg against Erekle II in regard of formation a Unified Caucasus State and the solution of other conceptual issues, fulfilled through intrigues, coups d'etat, planning the assassination of kings and the assassinations of European ambassadors, the systemic problems posed by the Ottoman Empire to the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti and on the other hand, the consequences of the Greek Project implementation could bring to Georgia, the Caucasus region as a whole, to Europe and Russia, are reviewed in the current article. The organic union of these topics unequivocally confirms that the key for solving all problems of Georgia of the 50-90-ies of the XVIII century was related to the concept of European redistribution, the Greek Project, one of the main political products of the Seven Years' War.