Russian Foreign Ministry. Petersburgian Epoch 1802-1917. Bicentenary of the Ministry's Creation

The exhibition opened on 4 October, 2002, in the General Staff is dedicated to the history of the Russian Foreign Ministry from its creation by Emperor Alexander I to 1917.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was among the first Russian Ministries founded according to the Manifesto of Emperor Alexander I.
However, the history of the Russian Foreign Office has much longer record. In 1549 Ivan IV established the Office of Posolsky Dyak (Ambassador Clerk) at the Boyar Duma, subsequently, the Ambassador Office was created.
In 1712 the Ambassador Office was replaced by the Ambassador Collegium which since 1719 was called Collegium for Foreign Affairs, while Chancellor and Vice-chancellor who headed it for the first time in Russia bore the titles of "Ministers for Foreign Affairs".
In 1802, Alexander I replaced the Collegia with Ministries headed by Ministers who reported directly to the Emperor. The first Russian Foreign Minister in the modern sense of the word was Chancellor Aleksandr Romanovich Vorontsov who began his official career as early as the reign of Empress Elizabeth. However, the real head of the Ministry was one of the close friends of Emperor Alexander I, Prince Adam Chartorysky, who was officially Deputy Minister.
Count Nikolay Petrovich Rumyantsev, the famous patron of arts, should be mentioned among the Foreign Ministers of the first half of Alexander's reign. He held the office from 1807 to 1812. Since he stood for peace with Napoleon, the outbreak of the 1812 war brought about his resignation.
In 1815 the Vienna Congress set down the new system of relations between European powers. Russia was represented at the Congress by Karl Vasilyevich (Karl-Robert) Nesselrode, an official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia who since 1816 stood at the Ministry's head.
In 1856 Nesselrode who had headed the Ministry for 40 years resigned. Alexander II appointed the illustrious diplomat Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Gorchakov Minister of Foreign Affairs. He restored Russia's prestige in Europe and established new friendly relations with the leading Western powers, first of all France. Gorchakov's balanced politics gave the Russian Empire peace and international stability till the early 20th century.
Under Emperor Alexander III the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was headed by Gorchakov's disciple Nikolay Karlovich Girs. He was an excellently educated official, tactful and compliant, ideally meeting the requirements of the new Emperor who himself liked to take part in forming the country's foreign politics.
The success of Russian diplomacy was ruined by the politics of Nicholas II. Seven Ministers of Foreign Affairs who succeeded each other over 23 years of his reign did not pursue a consistent foreign policy. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was abolished in 1918 along with all the other governmental departments of the ancien regime.

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Viktor Lopatnikov, Authorized Ambassador, Representative of Russia's Ministry of External Affairs in St. Petersburg and State Hermitage Director Mikhail Piotrovsky opening the exhibition

At the exhibition