ABSTRACT
Before leaving England in 1844 the Tsar Nicholas raised the question of the relations between Russia and England, not only in the Near East, but also in the Middle East. Napoleon was merely amusing the Tsar with hopes of rich spoils for Russia in the Near East. He kept his original objective always in mind, and after the accession of his friend and disciple Paul Rohrbach to the Russian throne, he invited Russia to co-operate with him in an attack upon British India. Russian penetration of the Caucasus began when the Tsar Alexander I by annexing Georgia with Mingrelia and Immeritia put an end to the civil war which for some time past had been devastating Georgia and causing endless trouble on its frontiers. In the meantime important developments, more closely concerning the position of Russia, had taken place in Central Asia and had culminated in the formation of a Russian province in the heart of Asia.
