REFRAMING RUSSIA IN FRANCE: "POPULAR DIPLOMACY" AND THE FRANCO- RUSSIAN MILITARY ALLIANCE, 1871-1901 by Mary Carol Matheson A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (History) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2018 © Mary Carol Matheson, 2018 Abstract In contrast to existing geopolitical, diplomatic and financial studies, this dissertation applies the tools of cultural history to investigate the genesis of the 1894 Franco-Russian alliance, from the French perspective. Drawing on a broad range of sources spanning the textual, audiovisual and material domains - many hitherto unexplored - it argues that after France's humiliating 1871 defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, a significant cadre of extra- governmental actors began to promote and enable the move by the early Third Republic to forge an alliance with Russia, considered by many to be an improbable ally. These actors engineered a radical reframing of attitudes towards Russia between 1871 and 1901, despite the substantial obstacles of diametrically opposed governments, entrenched stereotypes stemming from Napoléon's 1812 invasion of Russia and the Crimean War of 1854-1856, and French Catholic antipathy towards Russian repression of the uprisings in Poland in 1830 and in 1863. To forge an alliance, considerable geopolitical amnesia would be required; a new "politics of imagination" would be necessary, with a politics of persuasion to set it in place. Spurred by chronic government instability and the lack of directional foreign policy as the new Republic struggled to achieve its political equilibrium, and enabled by the evolving social, cultural and political structures that it unleashed, pro-alliance actors exemplified an engaged polity whose efforts targeted both the government and the public as they disseminated positive representations to present Russia as a worthy partner for France. Operating within the academic, literary, publishing, lobbyist, financial, entertainment, entrepreneurial and religious spheres, they worked either to counter anti-Russian tropes, to facilitate French loans to Russia as an inducement to alliance, to promote an alliance agenda, or to harness alliance popularity to their domestic social agendas. Above all, to enable the goals of "popular diplomacy" and inclusionary politics, pro-alliance elites employed a vast range of traditional and new mass media. Contributing to government decision-making and to wider public opinion, their actions ii demonstrated the intersection of domestic politics with foreign policy decisions, while helping to shape the political culture of the early Third Republic. iii Lay Summary This dissertation investigates the establishment of a momentous international military alliance in France, the Franco-Russian alliance of 1894. It argues that after France's 1871 humiliating defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, as the new Third Republic grappled with fears of further war with Germany and with domestic political instability, non-governmental elites in the academic, publishing, lobbyist, financial, entertainment, entrepreneurial and religious sectors worked to promote and enable the alliance with Russia, just as early democratic politics came into play. Unlike existing studies, this study employs the tools of cultural history to explore how these elites worked to reframe traditionally negative images of Russia, a former enemy, between 1871 and 1901. By examining the key social and media mechanisms they employed to reframe and to disseminate positive representations of Russia, the study reveals a public alliance consensus in the lead up to the catastrophe of 1914. iv Preface This dissertation is a completely original, independent work by Mary Carol Matheson v Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ii Lay Summary ............................................................................................................................... iv Preface .............................................................................................................................................v Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... ix Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................x Dedication ................................................................................................................................... xiii Introduction ....................................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: Conceiving the Alliance: The Quest for National Security in the Aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War ........................................................................................................... 31 1.1 Reasons against and for the alliance, in Russia and in France .................................. 35 1.2 French domestic politics and the fashioning of the alliance ..................................... 52 1.3 Opposition to the alliance in France ......................................................................... 61 Chapter 2: Promoting an Alliance with Russia: Prominent Elites Initiate a Nascent Civic Consensus..................................................................................................................................... 71 2.1 Elite public opinion and foreign policy in France .................................................... 73 2.2 Elite opinion versus popular support ........................................................................ 78 2.3 The role of elites in alliance promotion .................................................................... 88 Chapter 3: Publicizing Russia: Building Widespread Alliance Interest and Support via Print and Press .......................................................................................................................... 114 vi 3.1 Books: rehabilitating vestigial negative stereotypes of Russia by depicting it as a modernizing European and imperial power, a cultural leader, a Christian nation and a guarantor of peace ............................................................................................................... 118 3.2 Periodicals: echoing the depictions of books .......................................................... 135 3.3 Newspapers: disseminating knowledge of Russian affairs, creating/reflecting alliance support and encouraging government action ......................................................... 141 Chapter 4: Describing Russia: Engaging Wider Public Interest and Support via Popular Literature ................................................................................................................................... 161 4.1 Fiction: normalizing Russian social groups and emphasizing Russia as a civilizing force of empire .................................................................................................................... 166 4.2 Travel writing: naturalizing Russia's land- and cityscapes, its empire and its social and ethnic groups ................................................................................................................ 179 Chapter 5: Valorizing Russian Imperialism and Strength: Paris Theatrical Productions, Expositions universelles, Exhibits and Events Showcasing Virtual Travel to Russia and its Empire ........................................................................................................................................ 199 5.1 Theatrical productions: Michel Strogoff (1880), Skobeleff (1888) and others ........ 207 5.2 Russia at the Expositions universelles: 1878, 1889 and 1900 ................................ 223 5.3 Exhibits and Events: Popular displays at the Musée Grévin (1881-1896) and elite events including the Russian Exposition ethnographique et hippique (1895) .................... 234 Chapter 6: Affirming the Alliance: Production and Consumption of Material Culture ... 242 6.1 Political material culture: contexts, themes and functions ...................................... 246 6.2 Pro-alliance bibelots (souvenirs and novelties), domestic products and toys ......... 256 6.3 Pro-alliance communicative items: postcards and song sheets ............................... 268 vii Chapter 7: Extolling Russia as Family: Harnessing the Alliance to Promote Domestic Social Agendas via New and Existing Media ..................................................................................... 287 7.1 Emerging media and emerging readers ................................................................... 289 7.2 Winning Catholics over to the alliance with Orthodox Russia during calls for a Catholic "ralliement" to the Republic ................................................................................. 294 7.3 Linking the alliance with the domestic issues of depopulation and Republican education ............................................................................................................................. 314 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................338