Non-Belligerent Belligerent Russia and the Franco-Austrian War, Alexander Mikaberidze

Though often overlooked in histories of the 1809 war, the political manœuvrings and the military operations in Austrian Galicia played an important role in the conceptualization, conduct, and outcome of the war. The operations in Galicia affected the Habsburg political–military calculus against Napoleon and had important repercussions for the future in Franco-Russian and Austro-Russian relations. This article examines the intricacies of the Russian involvement in the Galician affairs, a topic that has been long ignored, based on Russian archival material. It focuses on the interplay of military action and diplomacy between France, Austria and Russia as all sides tried to pursue their own interests while avoiding direct combat.