Career Strategies of Russian Diplomats in the Second Half of the Eighteenth Century (the Cases of I.M. Simolin and P.A. Levashev)

The article examines the careers of the famous eighteenth-century Russian diplomats Ivan Matveevich Simolin and Pavel Artemyevich Levashev, whose paths repeatedly crossed – in Copenhagen, Vienna, and Regensburg, creating tension between them. Analysing the correspondence of diplomats preserved in the Archives of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire and the Russian State Archive of Ancient Documents, the author concludes that they acted in the same way to get a promotion: they constantly reminded of themselves to the superiors in the College of Foreign Affairs A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, M.I. Vorontsov, N.I. Panin, and A.M. Golitsyn, devoting their literary works to them, helping purchase pieces of art or luxury goods, and keeping a keen eye on their real and potential rivals. Their lack of moderation in the implementation of such a strategy, blatant attempts to show off or to compromise colleagues were discouraged by the leadership of the Russian foreign office. There were also objective factors that hindered the career advancement of the two diplomats, which they were not always ready to take into account: the lack of vacant posts, the successful activities of their rivals, as well as conflicts with foreign courts, that, under certain circumstances, did not allow Russian monarchs to make necessary replacements for reasons of state prestige. The cases of I.M. Simolin and P.A. Levashev show how the principle of personal service, fixed by Peter I in the Table of Ranks of 1722, worked in the Collegium of Foreign Affairs and how it regulated its personnel policy.

Keywords

Russian diplomacy, Collegium of Foreign Affairs, career strategies, I.M. Simolin, P.A. Levashev, A.M. Golitsyn

Acknowledgment

The article was prepared at the Institute of the World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences within the state assignment.

Received

14.07.2021

Publication date

11.10.2021

Number of characters

37522

Cite

GOST	Petrova M. Career Strategies of Russian Diplomats in the Second Half of the Eighteenth Century (the Cases of I.M. Simolin and P.A. Levashev) // Novaia i noveishaia istoriia – 2021. – Issue 5 C. 10-22 [Electronic resource]. URL: https://nni.jes.su/S013038640014907-5-1 (circulation date: 23.04.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S013038640014907-5
MLA	Petrova, Maria "Career Strategies of Russian Diplomats in the Second Half of the Eighteenth Century (the Cases of I.M. Simolin and P.A. Levashev)." Novaia i noveishaia istoriia 5 (2021):10-22. DOI: 10.31857/S013038640014907-5
APA	Petrova M. (2021). Career Strategies of Russian Diplomats in the Second Half of the Eighteenth Century (the Cases of I.M. Simolin and P.A. Levashev). Novaia i noveishaia istoriia (5), pp.10-22 DOI: 10.31857/S013038640014907-5

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