Стр. 15 - V

http://interaffairs.ru
Author : V. Medvedeva
Journalist
THREE HUNDRED YEARS of diplomatic relations
between Russia and France filled with political alliances,
disrupted ties or even six wars have not diminished the
two countries' mutual cultural attraction.
For the first time in its history, the International Peter
the Great Congress was held outside Russia, in France,
from 20 to 22 April, 2017. It marked the 300th anniver-
sary of Peter the First's unofficial visit to France on
from April 21 to June 24, 1717 that opened the history of diplomatic relations between the two
countries. The Congress was hosted by Paris and Reims, two of fifteen cities the Russia czar had
visited 300 years ago. In line with the very special cultural traditions, the Congress presented Parisians
with a month-long exhibition "Pierre le Grand, un tsar en France. 1717" held at the Russian Ortho-
dox Cultural and Spiritual Center.
In France, the Russian czar discovered French craftsmen who would define one of Russia's cultural
development vectors for several centuries. It was on his invitation that French specialists started
moving to Russia in great numbers. The political results, however, were more modest and open to
various interpretations since the Amsterdam Treaty of 1717 was short-lived.
The political dialogue between Paris and Moscow defies one-sided interpretations. Sergey Mezin,
author of Pyotr Pervy vo Frantsii and one of the speakers at the Congress, had the following to
say about the first treaty between Russia and France.
"Today, what young people think about Peter the Great and his life is very different from what we,
the older generation, were taught to think. We have inherited the post-revolutionary ideas about the
royal house, its life and its members as poorly educated, and some of them short of mad. This was
presented as a fact. Today, we know that members of the royal family were unique people who did
a lot for Russia. This has been amply confirmed by the Congress and the exhibition.”
Ambassador of the Russian Federation to France Alexander Orlov, who has been studying the re-
lations with France for 45 years now, spoke of the International Peter the Great Congress as "un-
precedented" and added: "I would like to point to good or even excellent preliminary work. The
Congress presented 45 papers and five new books on Peter the Great's European visits, including
his French visit.
After the 1717 visit, political France never let the Russian czar out of sight. When he died, Gazette
de France, an influential periodical of the time, wrote about Peter the First in the terms previously
reserved for the monarchs of France's closest allies: "Born with the greatest virtues and great talents,
he from his early days was a far-sighted genius capable of realizing the most ambitious plans."
Russia and France: A 300-Year Dialogue