Russian diplomat A.S. Ionin on the status of Montenegro after the Congress of Berlin and Russia's foreign policy plans in the west of the Balkan peninsula

Abstract

The article deals with the activities of the Russian diplomat A.S. Ionin working as au Consul General in Dubrovnik, and the fi rst Russian resident minister in the Montenegrin principality afterwards in 1878. Ionin was not only the initiator and creator of the mission in Cetinje. He actively helped the Montenegrin government to develop a framework for foreign policy after the signing of the San Stefano and Berlin treaties. He also analyzed the post-war situation in the Balkan Peninsula and contributed to the development of the status quo policy to consolidate Russia's successes achieved in the war of 1877-78 and neutralize the unfavourable political consequences of the concessions made under pressure from the European powers at the Congress of Berlin.