Arthur Cassini

Arturo Paul Nicholas Cassini, Marquis de Capuzzuchi de Bologna, Count de Cassini (1836–1913), was a Russian aristocrat and lifelong diplomat who served in the Diplomatic Service of the Imperial Russian Government for 55 years during the 19th and early 20th centuries. During his tenure, he served most prominently as Ambassador to China during the Triple Intervention and negotiation for the lease of Port Arthur; as Ambassador to the United States for seven tumultuous years which saw the Spanish–American and Russo-Japanese wars; and as Ambassador to Spain during the Algeciras Conference.

Early life

Arthur Paul Nicholas (or Arturo Pavlovich Nicolas) Cassini was born in 1836 into a noble Russian family of Italian lineage which first entered the service of the Czar during the Napoleonic Wars. His father, Paul Viktorovich Cassini, had served as Russian Consul at Trieste and as a State Counsellor to Venice. Although his titles suggest Italian origin they were, in fact Russian, and by imperial decree of October 14, 1892 Arthur, his brother Michael, and their off-spring were entitled to use the title Count.

Having graduated from the prestigious Imperial Alexander Lyceum in 1854, Cassini entered into Government service on December 18, 1854, by joining the Foreign Office in St. Petersburg at age 18. In 1862 he was granted the title "gentleman of the bedchamber", in 1880—that of "Chamberlain", and on April 1, 1881 he was promoted to "State Councillor".

Cassini was married to Zoe Dmitrievna Bibikova (1840 – December 5, 1906), daughter of Russian Minister of Internal Affairs between 1852 and 1855, Dmitry Bibikov .

Diplomatic career

In 1854 Count Cassini entered Imperial Service in the Ministry of foreign affairs. In 1864 he was attached to the Dresden mission and soon afterward he was promoted to the office of the first secretary of the legation. The held the same position subsequently at the Russian missions in Baden, Copenhagen and Hamburg.

By September 25, 1884 he was the chargé d'affaires, and on May 10, 1888 Minister Resident at Hamburg. After 10 years at Dresden, on November 17, 1891, Czar Alexander III appointed him to the key post of envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the Chinese Imperial Court at Beijing.

Cassini's time in China was marked by fierce great-power competition as each tried to advance and protect their commercial interests in the Middle Kingdom, and Russia—then constructing the Trans-Siberian Railroad and seeking a warm-water port in the far-East—more so than most. Then a seasoned diplomat, upon his arrival at Beijing, Cassini took the apparently unprecedented step of refusing to present his credentials to anyone other than the Emperor himself. Although the Chinese Foreign Office tried to assuage him from that position, he was granted an audience.

Having set out the tone of his mission, when the Sino-Japanese war ended, he led the way for the combination of European powers which compelled Japan to withdraw her demands for territory amongst her war gains. Immediately after, and against the efforts of the British Government he was instrumental in arranging for the acquisition for Russia of long term concession of Port Arthur and Talien Bay on the Liaotung peninsula, as well as rights to link these by railroad to Russian lines. Recognizing the strategic importance of his role, Cassini is said to have told his niece and adoptive daughter Marguerite that "To possess the East, Russia must possess the Liaotung peninsula."

Upon the announcement of his dispatch to Washington, the St. Petersburg Novoye Vremya, offered the following appraisal of the Count's tenure in China:

“Our constant and watchful rival in the far East, England, was at the time still at the very height of her political supremacy in that quarter, and she used her predominance to secure every advantage and create for our Government new difficulties. At the same time our diplomacy had already outlined those broad historical questions which it was necessary for us to solve in connection with our plans in Asia and the construction of the Siberian line. The credit of thoroughly preparing the ground in China for the recent and current events unquestionably belongs to Count Cassini. Having studied the Chinese character and followed the policy and needs of the Chinese Government—taking advantage, moreover, of every failure and blunder of English diplomacy in that sphere—the count, in his six-year term at Peking, succeeded in displacing England step by step and entirely removing her from her position of vantage.

Most striking is this state of affairs show in the Anglo Chinese press, which has almost continuously betrayed irritation and intense dislike of Russia's representative at Peking and attributed to him and his Government all sorts of aggressive designs.”

Service in the United States

Cassini remained ambassador to China until October 3, 1896, and having gained the reputation of an astute, resourceful, and brilliant diplomat, he was appointed Ambassador to the United States in early 1898, shortly after the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. Cassini's tenure in Washington saw a great deal of activity on behalf of his Government as a result of the number of incidents which occurred during his posting—including the Kishinev incident, Russian occupation of Manchuria, and the Russo-Japanese War.

At the outset of his time in Washington, Cassini allegedly saw some coolness to his Government in official circles in the United States as a result of his Government’s perceived position with respect to Spain. Cassini advised the Czar that an impartial course between the combatants would be the best one for his Government, and that advice was followed. While that was the case, Cassini's task was not an easy one in light of the fact that Russian actions and interests often conflicted, directly or indirectly, with those of the United States, especially during the Roosevelt Administration, with the result that the Count was not popular with, or trusted by, the President and went to great lengths to defend his Government's actions with both the administration and press. Indeed, Cassini's mendacity on occasion resulted in direct friction with the White House. He was seen as being too much of an old school diplomat, and although his adroitness worked well in Beijing, the American Press reported that this was too much the diplomacy of previous generations and as a result, Cassini "as such was unable to secure the confidence of either the people or the government of the United States".

While that was the case, Cassini's service at Washington was not short lived and he rose to be Dean of the Diplomatic Corps there as a result of his length of service. As a result, he headed the line of ambassadors accredited to the United States, and headed the Diplomatic Corps at occasions such as the second inauguration of President Roosevelt. Cassini's niece and adopted daughter, Marguerite, indeed, was close friends with President Roosevelt's eldest Child, Alice, during much of the Ambassador's time in Washington. Upon his reaching 50 years of Imperial Service, in 1905, (then aged 68), Cassini received an autographed letter from the Czar and was awarded the Order of Aleksander Nevensky.

Edmund Morris describes Cassini's position in Washington as follows:

Hay cautioned that Cassini could not be trusted. For all his Italian nomenclature, he was as Russian as borscht, and lied with fabled virtuosity. The Ambassador, who mysteriously depended on his teenage daughter, Marguerite, for social purposes, introduced her around town as "Princess Cassini," when she was neither a princess nor, according to rumor, a Cassini. His numberless jeweled decorations may not all have been earned in the Tsar's service, but they were the glittering envy of Embassy Row. When he stood under a chandelier at receptions, he looked like a section of the Milky Way.

Amongst the most eventful issues to emerge during Cassini's tenure at Washington was an alleged plot to kill the emissary, which resulted in the Russian Legation in Washington being placed under armed guard for a period in 1904. No known effort was allegedly made on his life, however, it was rumoured that Russian nihilists and pro-Japanese sympathizers were behind the plot and Federal Authorities took it seriously enough for him to be accompanied by armed guards during a trip to the Opera in New York in October 1904. Although Cassini was said to have refused to believe the plot existed and the offer of protection, President Roosevelt himself was reported as having insisted on protection being extended.

Reports differ as to the reason for his withdrawal as Ambassador, with the New York Times reporting differences over the strategy to pursue peace with Japan following the Battle of Tsu Shima, but Morris charging that "Cassini, having lied to Roosevelt once too often, had been tactfully recalled by the Tsar". Whatever the reason, Cassini was recalled prior to the beginning of the peace talks which would lead to the Peace of Portsmouth and following then end of his service at Washington, Cassini was appointed as Ambassador to Spain and posted to Madrid. As part of his duties there, he acted as signatory for the Russian Government to the agreement prepared following the Algeciras Conference on April 7, 1906.

Later life

Cassini retired in 1909, after having spent 55 years in the service of the Czar. He died in May 1913, aged 77.

Honors and Awards

For his service, Cassini was awarded decorations, including:

• Order of St. Stanislaus 1st degree (1884)
• Order of St. Anne 1st degree (1889)
• Order of St. Vladimir 2nd class (1895)
• Order of the White Eagle (1898)
• Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (April 6, 1904, diamond signs this order granted on December 18 of that year)