DISGRACE AND EXILE^181Sardinian Ambassador were very similar indeed to those of the Moscow
nobility. There is no certain proof that de Maistre participated directly
in the intrigues which contributed to Speransky's downfall. But he was
not ignorant of them, and certainly he helped provide an ideological
justification for the inchoate sentiments of all those who disliked
Speransky for one reason or another. Through Counts Tolstoi and
Razumovskii and other influential personages at Court, de Maistre
roused the suspicions and fanned the hatred of the courtiers and
dignitaries close to the Emperor.^1
The "dirty work" of the intrigue against Speransky was carried out
by foreign adventurers who enlisted the help and participation of
some Russian high officials. Among the main participants in this
cab ale was first the Chevalier de Vernegue, a French emigre, adven-
turer and intriguer by nature, who at the time represented the interests
of the Comte de Provence (the future Louis XVIII). De Vernegue
hoped that Speransky's fall would lead to a change in Russian policy
towards France and towards his master, the Comte de Provence. But
because of his semi-official status, and the understandable desire of
hiding the participation of an emigre in a Russian affair, de Vernegue
worked through others. The second leader of the cab ale was Count
Armfelt, whose name was associated with the administration of Fin-
land. A Swedish nobleman by birth and a Finnish landowner, Count
Armfelt had had a long, brilliant, and checkered career before he
entered Russian service on the eve of the Russo-Swedish war of 1809.
After having been a Swedish envoy to St. Petersburg, he played a
prominent role in bringing about the annexation of the Grand Duchy
of Finland to the Russian Empire. Armfelt was a typical courtier of
the 18th century, homme du monde, roue, intriguer; he had no true
political principles and chose sides only for reasons of personal con-
venience and interest. He was vaguely anti-French and opposed to
Russia's alliance with Napoleon. This attitude he derived not so much
from any deeply felt conviction or clear political principle, as from
his belief that it was the best way to succeed in his new country of
adoption. As to his dislike for Speransky, it had a more personal
reason. As Armfelt had been instrumental in securing Finland for the
Russian Crown, he hoped to play the first role in the administration
vol. III, p. 237 (letter of 8/20. IV. 1809 to the Chevalier de Rossi No. 282). See
also ibid., p. 385 (letter to King Victor Emmanuel, December 1809, No. 298).
1 A summary of the evidence concerning df.1 Maistre's role is to be found in the
somewhat confused and fragmentary paper of Ar. Fateev, "La disgrace d'un homme
d'etat," Zapiski russkogo nauchno-issledovatel'skogo ob'edineniia v Prage, X (Praha
1940), pp. 33-73.