Gorchakov, Aleksandr Mikhaylovich, Prince. Article #13. Vol 5, pg 368.
It happened like this. It’s 1856 and the Russians have just gotten their butts kicked in the Crimean War. Arguably, given the casualty lists, everybody got their butts kicked. (More dead on the Russian side, but technically a victory for the Ottoman, French, and British allies). Russia loses its fleet on the Black Sea and is forced to recognize the independence of the Ottoman Empire.
As the war ends, Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Gorchakov is appointed Russian Foreign Minister and begins the job of rebuilding Russia’s relationships with the rest of Europe. Russia announces that they’re thinking they won’t get quite so involved in foreign affairs for a while. I.e. “we’re taking our ball and we’re going home”. Gorchakov famously announces, “Russia is not sulking. She is composing herself”.
“Gorchakov, Aleksandr Mikhaylovich, Prince.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 15th ed. 2010. Vol 5, pg 368.
