Revelations of the Diplomatic History of the 18th Century

91 This refers to the Act of Settlement of June 12, 1701 which fixed the succession to the throne on the Hanover royal family (see Note 40) and deprived the Stuarts of the right of succeeding to the English throne.

92 The reference is to the “glorious revolution” (see Note 54).

93 In this chapter Marx tried to outline Russia’s historical development from the ninth to the fifteenth centuries from the perspective of her role in international affairs, and attempted to reveal the historical roots of the foreign policy of Russian Tsarism in the nineteenth century. Marx did not intend to give a comprehensive analysis of Russian history and restricted himself to making “some preliminary remarks on the general history of Russian politics” (see p. 74). Marx’s main source was History of Russia and of Peter the Great (London, 1829), an English translation of a very unreliable book by the French aristocrat Philippe Paul Ségur. For comments on Marx’s other sources see pp. XXI and XXII.

94 Oleg, Prince of Kiev, raided Constantinople in 911. His successor Igor made war on Byzantium on two occasions, in 941 and 944, which resulted in the conclusion of a trade agreement in 944.

95 Anna, the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Romanus II, was married to Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich of Kiev (who after baptism adopted the name of Vasily) in 987, after her father’s death, by her brother, the Byzantine Emperor Basil II (976-1025). The name of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich is connected with the adoption of Christianity in Kiev Russia (988-989) and the latter’s growing might.

96 Presumably Marx is hinting at the so-called “Will of Peter the Great"-a spurious document, different versions of which were repeatedly published in Western Europe in the nineteenth century. Historians have since proved irrefutably that the “Will” was a complete forgery.

97 An inaccuracy in Marx’s text. The third prince of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality was Andrei Bogolyubsky’s brother, Vsevolod Bolshoye Gnezdo (1176-1212), during whose reign the territory of the principality was extended and its political ,and cultural significance grew considerably.

98 The Tartar-Mongol yoke in Russia ended in 1480 as a result of the long and heroic struggle by the Russian people.

99 Marx presumably means the rise of the Moscow Principality in the fourteenth century and the victories of the Russian troops under Dmitry Donskoi over the Golden Horde (battles on the Vozha River in 1378 and on Kulikovo Field in 1380). Later, in his Chronological Notes (1882), Marx wrote in particular: “September 8, 1380 — Battle on the broad field of Kulikovo; Dmitry’s complete victory; 200,000 said to he killed on both sides.”

100 An inaccuracy in Marx’s text: Yury Danilovich, the elder brother of Ivan I Danilovich Kalita, bore the title of Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1317; his brother inherited it in 1328.