Neill S. Brown - Minister To Russia

Minister To Russia

Following Brown's defeat in the Tennessee gubernatorial race of 1849, President Zachary Taylor, at the urging of Tennessee Whig Senator John Bell, appointed Brown U.S. Minister to Russia on May 2, 1850. Brown arrived in St. Petersburg in late July 1850, and was presented to Emperor Nicholas I on August 13, 1850. Unaccustomed to the harsh Russian winter, Brown fell ill just a few months after his arrival, and briefly resigned as minister in January 1851, stating that the Russian climate was "unfitting for the abodes of Man." Upon his recovery in March 1851, however, he withdrew his resignation.

Brown arrived in Russia at a turbulent time in Russo-American affairs. The Emperor was uneasy about the recent Revolutions of 1848, which consisted largely of democratic revolts against monarchies, and was aware that many Americans sympathized with these revolts. Americans, likewise, were angry over Russia's intervention in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and its deposing of pro-democracy leader Lajos Kossuth, and some Americans were calling for intervention on behalf of the revolutionaries. Though Brown personally disapproved of Nicholas's actions, he nevertheless warned American leaders that Kossuth was a troublemaker, and argued that American intervention would be disastrous.

Brown had a somewhat pessimistic view of Russian society. He stated that Russians lacked the spirit of invention, and were consistently copying other countries' innovations in both industry and art. "All they have is borrowed," he wrote, "except the miserable climate." While he praised Nicholas's work ethic, he thought the emperor micromanaged his various departments. Brown was constantly frustrated by bureacratic delays, and found Russian censorship of mail and media appalling. He was also puzzled by the rise of slavophilia, which he believed could not compete with western culture.

In spite of his misgivings about Russian society, Brown urged the United States to compete in the vast Russian market. He helped convince the Emperor to abandon an increase in duties on cotton imports, and secured Russian approval of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty between the U.S. and Britain. In his last weeks in office, Brown expressed concern over the build-up to the Crimean War, and the effect such a conflict might have on U.S. commercial interests.