him, partly to the peculiar circumstances in which Catherine had mounted the throne, and partly to his knowledge of foreign affairs. Although acting as minister of foreign affairs, he was never made chancellor. Panin was the inventor of the famous Northern Accord, which aimed at opposing a combination of Russia, Prussia, Poland, Sweden, and perhaps Great Britain, against the Bourbon-Habsburg League. Such an attempt to bind together nations with such different aims and characters was doomed to failure. Great Britain, for instance, could never be persuaded it was as much in her interests as in the interests of Russia to subsidize the anti-French party in Sweden. Yet, the idea of the Northern Accord, though never quite realized, had important political consequences and influenced the policy of Russia for many years. It explains, too, Panin's strange tenderness towards Poland. For a long time, he could not endure the thought of destroying her, because he regarded her as an indispensable member of his accord, wherein she was to replace Austria, which circumstances had temporarily detached from the Russian alliance. All of the diplomatic questions concerning Russia from 1762 to 1783 are intimately associated with the name of Panin. His influence began to wane only when the impossibility of realizing the Northern Accord, his pet scheme over which Russia had fruitlessly sacrificed millions of rubles, became evident. Decline After 1772, when Gustav III upset Panin's plans in Sweden, Panin pursued a policy of the Russo-Prussian alliance. As to Poland, his views differed widely from the views of both Frederick and Catherine. He firmly guaranteed the integrity of Polish territory, after placing Stanislaus II on the throne, so Poland, undivided and as strong as circumstances would permit, might be drawn wholly within the orbit of Russia. He did not foresee, though, the complications which were likely to arise from Russia's interference in the domestic affairs of Poland. Thus, the Confederation of Bar, and the ensuing Russo-Turkish War, took him completely by surprise and considerably weakened his position. He was forced to acquiesce in the first partition of Poland, and when Russia came off third-best, Grigori Orlov declared in the council that the minister who had signed such a partition treaty was worthy of death. Panin further incensed Catherine by meddling with the marriage arrangements of the grand duke Paul and by advocating a closer alliance with Prussia, whereas the empress was beginning to incline