Conclusion 1856 and a “Peace that Sticks in the Throat”
Journal: Palgrave Macmillan US eBooks
Year: 2015

On January 1, 1856, a "pale and upset" Czar Alexander II summoned his most influential advisors to the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg for an early-morning meeting.1 At issue was a single question: should the Russian Empire accept an Austrian-mediated peace proposal or continue fighting an expanding Allied coalition. The arguments offered in response to Austria's proposal were complex. Regardless of whether they emphasized military, economic, diplomatic, or territorial concerns, however, all tho