page_title: Kronstadt–Toulon naval visits
section_title: Kronstadt
hierarchical_section_title: Kronstadt–Toulon naval visits / Kronstadt
caption_attribution_description: English: Visit of of a French Navy squadron in Kronstadt, the Russian Tsar (Alexander III. or Nicolas II.?]] is uncovering his head when the Marseillaise begins to playFrançais&#160;: Visite de l'escadre française à Crondtat, le tsar se découvre au moment ou retentit la Marseillaise.
context_page_description: The Kronstadt–Toulon naval visits were reciprocal diplomatic visits carried out by the French and Russian navies in the lead up to the Franco-Russian Alliance. The visits served as cover to exchange letters between the countries' foreign offices making key defensive agreements. The French Navy visited Kronstadt on the Gulf of Finland on 23 July 1891 and the Russian Navy visited Toulon on 13 October 1893. Both visits were received by crowds of people, speeches from dignitaries and the singing of anthems. During the Toulon visit the Russians attempted to secure naval bases on the French Mediterranean coast but were unsuccessful. The Franco-Russian Alliance later, with the addition of Britain, developed into the Triple Entente that opposed Austria and Germany during the First World War.
context_section_description: A French Navy squadron visited the Russian port of Kronstadt on the Gulf of Finland on 23 July 1891.  The squadron remained in the port for ten days during which it was granted an enthusiastic reception by the Russian populace.  The French national anthem, La Marseillaise - previously banned in Russia as an anthem of republicanism, was sung by the Dmitri Slaviansky D'Agreneff choir.  The Russian Emperor Alexander III, though known to be unenthusiastic about closer relationships with France, agreed to stand to attention during the singing of the anthem.  Many notable people travelled to visit the port from the national capital, Saint Petersburg, just 19 miles (31 km) away and crowds on the quayside cheered "Vive la France".  On 2 August the French officers were hosted at a meal in the capital.  Some 600 guests attended and entertainment included the singing of both countries' national anthems and the performance of the second act of the French-language opera La fille du régiment.
  During the visit an agreement was reached, via an exchange of letters from the countries' foreign ministers, that if war was threatened in Europe then the two nations would agree on a joint response.  There was also an agreement that if any of the Triple Alliance powers mobilised then France and Russia would both respond in kind.  The agreement was kept secret but the naval visit served as a public indication of closer ties between the two nations and was viewed as an indication that a formal alliance was all but guaranteed to follow.
  The 1891 agreement was followed by more detailed arrangements including an 1892 mutual defence pact that the countries would come to one another's defence if either was attacked by Germany.  In the wake of the agreement France made large loans to Russia and increased investment in its industrial development campaign.  The British prime minister, Lord Salisbury, responded to the Kronstadt visit by inviting the French squadron to call at Portsmouth on its return journey to demonstrate that "England has no antipathy to France".
caption: Emperor Alexander III raises his hat during the singing of the Marseillaise
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop 7.0", "Image DateTime": "2006:02:04 13:49:25", "Image ExifOffset": "156", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "294", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5089", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "548", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "352"}