Презентация "British-Russian Relationships"

TEST

1. The first contacts between England and Russia were set during the reign of:

А) Ivan the Terrible Б) Peter the Great В) Catherine the Great

2. The first English merchants came to Russia in search of new territories in

А) India В) America С) the North-East

3. After an exchange of circular letters of introduction between the two countries____________ were established:

А) military relations В) trading relations С) diplomatic relations

4. The Residence of Muscovy Company was founded in:

А) Arkhangelsk В) Kholmogory С) Moscow

5. The execution of Charles 1 occurred during the reign of:

А) Alexey Mikhailovich В) Boris Godunov С) Empress Elizabeth

6. During the Great Embassy Peter the Great became acquainted with:

А) shipbuilding В) architecture С) book printing

7. Russia joined in a restricted circle of the” Great Powers” in the reign of:

А) Empress Elizabeth В) Catherine the Great С) Nicholas I

8. The Russian Empire was forced to join the Continental blockade of Britain in:

А) 1805 В) 1807 С) 1812

9. Russia and Britain agreed on the Anglo-Russian Entente in:

А) 1907 В) 1905 С) 1914

10. During the First World War, Russia and France were allies with:

А) Great Britain В) Germany С) Italy

11. Britain restored diplomatic relations with Soviet Russia in:

А) 1917 В) 1920 С) 1924

12. Diplomatic relations were restored on the initiative of:

А) W. Churchill В) Benjamin Disraeli С) David Lloyd George

13. During the Second World War the Allies were:

А) The USA, Great Britain and the Soviet Union

В) The USA, Japan and the Soviet Union

С) The USA, Great Britain and Japan

14. The sword was presented by the King of Great Britain as a symbol of admiration for the courage of the inhabitants of:

А) Stalingrad В) Leningrad С) Sevastopol

15. The "Cold War" between the Soviet Union and Western countries began in:

А) 1946 В) 1953 С) 1968

16. A new period in the relations between the countries began when British Prime Minister was:

A) Toni Blair B) Margaret Thatcher C) John Major

17. The Visit of Queen Elizabeth II to the Russian Federation took place in:

А) 1991 В) 1994 С) 1996

Keys: 1A 2C 3B 4C 5A 6A 7A 8B 9A 10A 11C 12C 13A 14A 15A 16B 17B

Russia – Great Britain

The History of Relationships

First Contacts

On the 28 th of August, 1553 three vessels during their expedition to the North-East reached the shores of Russia.

Richard Chancellor

The Queen Elizabeth

Tsar Ivan the Terrible

The first contacts were set between the English Queen Elizabeth and the Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible

Russia exported to England wax, tallow, tar, hemp, flax, and furs. And imported from England military stores – lead, copper, saltpeter, sulfur, and gunpowder.

After the returning of R. Chancellor to England it was decided to establish the new trading company the “Fellowship of English Merchants for the discovery of New Trades” (1555)

Old English Yard. Moscow

(4 Varvarka Street)

The Residence of Muscovy Company

Russian Company Seal

Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich

Charles I

Oliver Cromwell

News of the execution of Charles I in 1649 was received in Russia with indignation. Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich immediately published a decree banning the English from trading in the Muscovite state (except Archangel). Even though representatives of both camps – the Royalists and envoys of the ‘perfidious thief and rebel’ Oliver Cromwell - petitioned Alexey Mikhailovich to restore trading links, the ‘golden chain of traffic’ had been broken. The restoration of the monarchy in 1660 brought about a temporary warming of relations between the two countries.

Tsar Peter the Great spent in England 3 months (1698)

Peter’s important  step was quite untypical of a Russian ruler up to that time: he made a long visit to Europe (1697-1698) known as the ‘Great Embassy’.

It’s known, that Peter during the above-mentioned mission stayed in England for 3 months, where the Tsar conducted negotiations with William III of England, acquainted himself with shipbuilding visited shipyards and artillery plants, and recruited about 60 foreign specialists. Among them were doctor Robert Areskin, mathematician, who founded The Navigation School in St. Petersburg in 1701 and captain John Perry, who was responsible for the building of Volga-Don channel. A lot of doctors were among the tsar court during 18 th century.

The 18 th century

George II left the conduct of domestic affairs in the hands of his wife and his great minister, Sir Robert Walpole. In 1743 he concluded with the Tsarina Elizabeth a defensive treaty which marked the entrance of Russia into restricted circle of the “Great Powers”. Elizabeth was involved in Westminster Convention The old friendship of England and Russia, thus, was ensured by different international coalitions.

To characterize the Russian-British relationships in the 19 th century, Great Britain had a rivalry with Russia. During the 19th century, both countries vie we d to fill the power vacuums that had been left by the declining Ottoman , Persian empires. This rivalry in Eurasia came to be known as the “Great Game “ (1813-1907) . The Great Game or Tournament of Shadows in Russia, were terms for the strategic rivalry and conflict between the British Empire and the Russian Empire for supremacy in Central Asia . T he two countries reached an agreement on their respective spheres of influence in the region in 1878 .

The 19 th century

“ Great Game”

the cartoon from 1878

The 20 th century

In 1907 Britain and Russia agreed on the Anglo-Russian Entente , thus the two countries were allies in the 1 st World War .

After the revolution of 1917 Great Britain was the first country to sign an agreement on trading and diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union (1924) .

Prime Minister David Lloyd George

The Second World War

In 1939 after the seizure by Germany of the rump of Czechoslovakia the British Government began to coordinate their policy with the Soviet Union. The bilateral British-Soviet relationships were significant during the war years. Churchill’s visit (Churchill was the Prime Minister at that time) to Moscow in 1942 was the first East-West summit.

On the 29 th of November 1943 The Sword of Stalingrad was presented to Stalin by Winston Churchill as a token of homage from the British people to the Soviet defenders of the city.

A big period of time, approximately. 1945-1979, is known in history as the “Cold War”. 1946 at Fulton Winston Churchill publicly declared the emergence of a 'Cold War' between east and west.

After coming to power Mikhail Gorbachev Margaret Thatcher's government moved quickly to establish close ties to the USSR.

Thatcher was one of the first Western leaders to respond warmly to reformist Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Following Reagan–Gorbachev summit meetings and reforms enacted by Gorbachev in the USSR, she declared in November 1988 that "We're not in a Cold War now"

In 1994, Queen Elizabeth visited Russia, the first royal visit by an English monarch since the execution of Nicholas II in 1918.

In nowadays the bilateral relations remain stable. The two governments primarily focus on economic issues between the two countries. Currently, Russian-British foreign trade turnover is in excess $20 billion per year, with Britain ranking as a leader of foreign investment in the Russian Federation. British oil companies, such as BP and the Royal Dutch Shell, have been partially active in the Russian sector, as well as developing pipelines in Russia’s near abroad.