A Non-unexpected Event in Preparation for the Greek Revolution: Kapodistrias and the “Galatis Affair”
Stelios Alifantis
PhD in Political Science and International Relations
The preparation of the 1821 Revolution has been inextricably linked with the action of the “Society of Friends” (“Filiki Etairia”). In fact, the Society’s renewed secret activity was part and parcel of the incremental relaunch of the “Greek question” in the diplomatic arena, by I. Kapodistrias and the Greek Diaspora in Russia after Kapodistrias joined the Russian diplomatic service in 1809. The “Galatis Affair” is one of the most complicated issues of three interrelated processes: the pre-revolutionary preparation, the first years of the “Society of Friends” appearance and Kapodistrias’ mindful and delicate handling of the Greek pre-revolutionary affairs. The sequence of events that make up the “Galatis affair” reveal that it was from the beginning a political project intended to create an opportunity for Kapodistrias to investigate the Czar’s disposition towards the Greek secret society in the context of Russian Eastern policy. The Czar’s tolerance of the Society allowed it to function undisturbed, but the Greek revolt, ultimately, developed without being in the intentions of Alexander 1st.
Keywords: Eastern Question; 1821 Greek Revolt; Ioannis Kapodistrias; “Galatis Affair”; “Society of Friends”; Russian Imperial policy
