In 1798 he was appointed dramatist to the court theatre in Vienna, but differences with the actors soon obliged him to resign.
In 1806, after Napoleon's victory in the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, Kotzebue fled to Russia and, in the safety of his estate in Järlepa, Estonia, wrote many satirical articles against Napoleon Bonaparte, published in his journals Die Biene (The Bee) and Die Grille (The Cricket).