The religious policy of Peter I on the southern borders of Russia before and during the Great Northern War

The article is the first attempt in historiography to examine the role of the religious factor in the diplomacy of Peter I on the southern borders of Russia during the Great Northern War, particularly, after the Prut River Campaign. A series of diplomatic measures by Peter I related to the area of religion, the background to and key directions of his religious policy pursued on the south of the country are presented on the basis of little-known archival and other published materials. In particular, the author uses a selection of documents, practically unknown to specialists, from the Collegium of Foreign Affairs concerning European Christian confessions in southern regions of Russia in the first half of the 18th century and their connections with other confessions. Special attention is paid to Orthodox churches on the Balkans and in the Middle East. The author evaluates geopolitical projects aimed at establishing buffer state formations based on the ethnic and religious unity with Russia to counter the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire. Also, the author analyzes measures toward Catholic missioners, supported by the Habsburg monarchy, who moved eastward to Russia. Finally, the article describes the efforts made by Russian diplomacy to settle religious difficulties and conflicts in Caucasus. The author arrives at the conclusion about the crisis of the Russian diplomatic approaches based on confessional solidarity with Orthodox churches and peoples in the early 18th century. According to the author, this made Peter I depart from medieval stereotypes and embark upon new ideological imperatives in the area of foreign policy.