Napoleon and mirabeau

The article analyzes Napoleon’s attitude to Mirabeau’s ideas and identity. The author considers his judgments of Mirabeau, which are found in his correspondence, and the records he made while reading «Of lettres de cachet and of state prisons». After coming to power Napoleon didn’t seek to implement the scheme of interaction between legislative and executive authorities, which was so colorfully advocated by Mirabeau. But the judgments of the famous deputy about the head of state as a spokesman for the interests of the whole people could not help but impress young Napoleon. The author concludes that the ideas of Mirabeau could not have a defining influence on the formation of Bonaparte’s worldview, but they turned out to be firmly included in the intellectual atmosphere that served as a breeding ground for the thinking of the young officer. Criticism of the abuses of despotic power, combined with his passion for russoism, contributed to the development of Napoleon’s republican sympathies (albeit temporary) that played an important role in the first stage of his military career.