Franco - Russian Alliance The Franco - Russian Alliance was a military alliance between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire that ran from 1892 to 1917 . The alliance ended the diplomatic isolation of France and undermined the supremacy of the German Empire in Europe . France would remain the principal ally of Russia until 1917 , from an economical , financial and military point of view . History . The 1882 Triple Alliance of Germany , Austria - Hungary and Italy had left Russia vulnerable , while France had been diplomatically isolated since its defeat in the 1871 Franco - Prussian War and the subsequent policies of Otto von Bismarck . Despite the political differences between France , a republic , and Russia , an absolute monarchy , relations between the two countries rapidly improved . From 1888 , Russia was provided with cheap loans floated on the Paris Bourse , essential to rebuild the technologically deficient Russia n military and to build strategic railways that could bring the troops to the German front . In 1891 , the French Fleet visited the Russian naval base at Kronstadt and was warmly welcomed by Tsar Alexander III . This visit marked the first time " La Marseillaise " was played on an official occasion in Russia ; to play it previously had been a criminal offence . The new German Emperor Wilhelm II , after dismissing Bismarck , oversaw a change in the direction of German foreign policy . The secret Reinsurance Treaty with Russia was allowed to expire in 1890 , despite Russian requests to renew it . The German Chancellor Caprivi advised Wilhelm II not to renew the treaty , because by this treaty Germany promised to remain neutral if Russia were to occupy the Straits ( i . e . Constantinople ) . Such a treaty , if made public , would enrage both the British and the Ottoman empire . After extensive negotiations , the Franco - Russian alliance was drafted August 17 , 1892 . It became final on January 4 , 1894 . The alliance was to remain in place as long as the Triple Alliance existed . The secret treaty between France and Russia stipulated that if one of the countries of the Triple Alliance ( Germany , Austria - Hungary and Italy ) attacked France or Russia , its ally would attack the aggressor in question , and that if a Triple Alliance country mobilized its army , France and Russia would mobilize . France would engage 1 . 300 . 000 troops and Russia 700 . 000 - 800 . 000 . This treaty formed a crucial step towards the first world war . As opposed to treaties and alliances that were meant to solve conflicts of interest between the countries party to the treaty , the Franco - Russian alliance was an alliance directed against another country , Germany . In this regard , it presented a countervailing force against the Dual Alliance ( 1879 ) of Germany and Austria - Hungary , which provided for mutual aid against an attack by Russia and mutual neutrality in the event of attack by another power ( such as France ) . The Franco - Russian Alliance , along with the Anglo - Russian Entente and the Entente Cordiale formed the so - called Triple Entente between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , France and Russia . References . Notes Cited sources