Prerequisites for the Franco-Russian Rapprochement of the Late 19th Century: Financial and Economic Aspect

Abstract. The article traces the prehistory of the Franco-Russian rapprochement in the 1890s from the point of view of economic cooperation between the two countries. The author shows the results of the experience exchange and cooperation in the banking sector and industry, as well as examples of private initiatives of French specialists who sought to offer their services and inventions to the Russian government. The emphasis is placed on the continuity of economic cooperation between the future allied countries, even despite periods of tension in international relations. Despite the fact that it is traditionally customary to talk about weak economic ties between Russia and France in the mid-1850s–mid-1870s, the article demonstrates evidence on concrete examples confirming the preservation of commercial contacts between the countries during these years. Since the 1880s, the foreign policy environment had predetermined a surge in the activity of French investors who wanted to finance Russian industry, as well as the intensification of the activities of major French banks in Russia. However, the prerequisites for these processes were largely laid down in the previous period of “unfriendly” relations between the two states. The economic foundations of the FrancoRussian rapprochement were based on a stable mutual interest, and the initiatives often came from the French side.

Keywords: economic cooperation, Franco-Russian alliance, French banks in Russia, economic diplomacy, the second half of the 19th century, Russian industry, foreign specialists.