F.F. Martens’s views on the practice of appointments and personnel decisions in the sphere of Foreign Policy of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century

Fedor Fedorovich Martens is a widely recognized international lawyer who organized and conducted a number of international conferences, the author of studies in the field of international law, a high-ranking employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire. The activity of F.F. Martens was devoted to a fairly extensive research literature. Historians assess his personal qualities differently, but agree on the diplomatic and legal practice of F.F. Martens. The value of the diaries of F.F. Martens lies in the fact that they contain assessments of the activities of Russian and foreign diplomats, other statesmen and the organization of foreign policy of the Russian Empire as a whole. The analysis of the diary entries of F.F. Martens allows us to identify his personal position, which sometimes differed markedly from what he wrote in official documents reflecting the formal business side of the issue. This makes it possible to introduce significant elements in understanding how the practice of appointments and personnel decisions in the sphere of Russia’s foreign policy was formed. F.F. Martens criticized the principles on which the practice of appointments and personnel decisions in the sphere of Russia’s foreign policy was based, noting the phenomena that hindered a successful implementation of the foreign policy of the Russian Empire.