Russian Party (Greece)
Encyclopedia
The Russian Party one of the Early Greek Parties
, was an informal grouping of Greek political leaders that formed during the brief period of the First Hellenic Republic (1828-1831) and lasted through the reign of King Otto
. The parties of that era were named after one of the three Great Powers who had together settled the Greek War of Independence
in the Treaty of Constantinople (1832)
. The three rival powers, Russia, the United Kingdom
and France
came together in order to check the power of the other two nations and their representatives in Greece were not hesitant to develop and manipulate Greek political interests to advance their own national interests.
and English Party
. Eventually, the rivalries led to the assassination of Capodistrias. After a period of renewed civil war, King Otto was selected by the three Great Powers to become King of Greece in 1833. During the early period of the monarchy, the three parties remained active, although Otto was an absolute monarch.
When Otto arrived in Greece, he was a minor and thus a Regency Council made up of three Bavarians ruled in his name. The chief of the Council, Josef Ludwig von Armansperg
was a liberal Bavarian and he was perceived as being hostile to the Russian Party.
In 1833, the leaders of the Russian Party, including Theodoros Kolokotronis
, his son Gennaios
and Kitsos Tzavelas
, were implicated in a plot to seek Russian influence to remove von Armansperg and allow Otto to rule without a regent. They were arrested and imprisoned. Although eventually released, the leaders of the Russian Party were out of power and influence compared to the other parties until 1837.
After this period of decline, the mantle of leadership was placed on Gennaios Kolokotronis, Andreas Metaxas
and Konstantinos Oikonomos. The younger Kolokotronis served as a trusted aide-de-camp to King Otto, and began to rehabiliate the Russian Party in the Court.
Once Otto was free of the influence of his regents, he began to favor both Kolokotronis and Kitsos Tzavelas and the period 1838-1839 was seen as a period of Russian ascendancy..
In 1839, another Russian plot, this time called the "Philorthodox Plot", was hatched. According to news reports of the time, the younger brother of Ioannis Capodistrias, Georgios, was involved in this attempt to protect Orthodoxy in regions still under Ottoman control, and to kidnap the Catholic King Otto after church services on January 1, 1839, offering him the ultimatum of renouncing Catholicism to become Orthodox. The plot never materialized but the French and English parties made much of the scandal.
Early Greek Parties
Early Greek parties were not features of the provisional and regional governments that were set up between 1821 and 1832. Nascent political parties were organized around a variety of interests and backgrounds, but regardless of these various factors, the political formations were named after one of...
, was an informal grouping of Greek political leaders that formed during the brief period of the First Hellenic Republic (1828-1831) and lasted through the reign of King Otto
Otto of Greece
Otto, Prince of Bavaria, then Othon, King of Greece was made the first modern King of Greece in 1832 under the Convention of London, whereby Greece became a new independent kingdom under the protection of the Great Powers .The second son of the philhellene King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Otto ascended...
. The parties of that era were named after one of the three Great Powers who had together settled the Greek War of Independence
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...
in the Treaty of Constantinople (1832)
Treaty of Constantinople (1832)
The Τreaty of Constantinople was the product of the Constantinople Conference which opened in February 1832 with the participation of the Great Powers on the one hand and the Ottoman Empire on the other. The factors which shaped the treaty included the refusal of Léopold, King of Belgium, to...
. The three rival powers, Russia, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
came together in order to check the power of the other two nations and their representatives in Greece were not hesitant to develop and manipulate Greek political interests to advance their own national interests.
History and party development
Also known as the "Napist Party" (Ναπαίοι), the Russian Party was more philosophically-grounded than the other two parties. It represented more conservative elements in Greek society and was viewed as being more supportive of the primacy of the Orthodox church in Greek life. It received generous support from the Church and from several military commanders; but its greatest strength were the Peloponnesian families of notables, that enjoyed privileged access to the state machinery. Ioannis Capodistrias, who had served as Foreign Minister in the Russian government, was selected as Governor of the newly-independent Greek state in 1827. His support came from the Russian representatives in Greece and those Greeks who wanted closer relations with their sister Orthodox country and this grouping was the first modern party in Greece, called the Russian Party. Meanwhile Capodistrias' rule and attempts to centralize the government alienated a number of his fellow Greek leaders, most of whom were born in Greece and had fought to free Greece from Ottoman control. They began to form themselves into a rival French PartyFrench Party (Greece)
The French Party was one of the three informal Early Greek Parties that dominated the early political history of Modern Greece, the other two being the Russian and the English Party.-History and party development:...
and English Party
English Party (Greece)
The English Party , was one of the three informal Early Greek Parties that dominated the early political history of Modern Greece, the other two being the Russian Party and the French Party.-History and party development:...
. Eventually, the rivalries led to the assassination of Capodistrias. After a period of renewed civil war, King Otto was selected by the three Great Powers to become King of Greece in 1833. During the early period of the monarchy, the three parties remained active, although Otto was an absolute monarch.
When Otto arrived in Greece, he was a minor and thus a Regency Council made up of three Bavarians ruled in his name. The chief of the Council, Josef Ludwig von Armansperg
Josef Ludwig von Armansperg
Josef Ludwig, Graf von Armansperg served as the Interior and Finance Minister and Foreign and Finance Minister under King Ludwig I of Bavaria in the government of Bavaria...
was a liberal Bavarian and he was perceived as being hostile to the Russian Party.
In 1833, the leaders of the Russian Party, including Theodoros Kolokotronis
Theodoros Kolokotronis
Theodoros Kolokotronis was a Greek Field Marshal and one of the leaders of the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire....
, his son Gennaios
Gennaios Kolokotronis
Gennaios Kolokotronis , baptized Ioannis Kolokotronis in Stemnitsa, Arcadia, was the son of Theodoros Kolokotronis, a hero of the Greek War of Independence. He acquired the name "Gennaios" during the Greek War of Independence in which he fought valiantly despite his youth...
and Kitsos Tzavelas
Kitsos Tzavelas
Kitsos Tzavelas was a fighter in the Greek War of Independence and later Greek Army General and Prime Minister of Greece.-Early years and Greek War of Independence:...
, were implicated in a plot to seek Russian influence to remove von Armansperg and allow Otto to rule without a regent. They were arrested and imprisoned. Although eventually released, the leaders of the Russian Party were out of power and influence compared to the other parties until 1837.
After this period of decline, the mantle of leadership was placed on Gennaios Kolokotronis, Andreas Metaxas
Andreas Metaxas
Andreas Metaxas was a Greek politician born on the island of Cephalonia.During the latter part of the War of Independence he accompanied Kapodistrias to Greece, and was appointed by him Minister of War...
and Konstantinos Oikonomos. The younger Kolokotronis served as a trusted aide-de-camp to King Otto, and began to rehabiliate the Russian Party in the Court.
Once Otto was free of the influence of his regents, he began to favor both Kolokotronis and Kitsos Tzavelas and the period 1838-1839 was seen as a period of Russian ascendancy..
In 1839, another Russian plot, this time called the "Philorthodox Plot", was hatched. According to news reports of the time, the younger brother of Ioannis Capodistrias, Georgios, was involved in this attempt to protect Orthodoxy in regions still under Ottoman control, and to kidnap the Catholic King Otto after church services on January 1, 1839, offering him the ultimatum of renouncing Catholicism to become Orthodox. The plot never materialized but the French and English parties made much of the scandal.
Leaders of the party
Since the party was an informal grouping, there was no official leader. Certain factional leaders were important in the history of the party, including- Theodoros KolokotronisTheodoros KolokotronisTheodoros Kolokotronis was a Greek Field Marshal and one of the leaders of the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire....
- Constantine KanarisConstantine KanarisConstantine Kanaris or Canaris was a Greek Prime Minister, admiral and politician who in his youth was also a freedom fighter, pirate, privateer and merchantman.-Early life:...
- Kitsos TzavelasKitsos TzavelasKitsos Tzavelas was a fighter in the Greek War of Independence and later Greek Army General and Prime Minister of Greece.-Early years and Greek War of Independence:...
- Andreas MetaxasAndreas MetaxasAndreas Metaxas was a Greek politician born on the island of Cephalonia.During the latter part of the War of Independence he accompanied Kapodistrias to Greece, and was appointed by him Minister of War...