Academica Press America, Russia, and the Birth of Modern Greece

In 1806 an anonymous Greek book called for a republican government, patterned upon that of the young United States, to be established in Greece, then long the rule of the Ottoman Empire. The "Americanization" of Greece presupposed independence. The book's author, Count John Capo d'Istria, was carried away by his own version of the "American Dream," but was also in touch with another inspirational power, Russia, which made him its foreign minister despite his attraction to the ideas of revolutionaries, Russia's Decembrists, who wanted democratic government in their country. Capo d'Istria was only identified as the early author of calls for a Greek Republic in the 2010s. In this revelatory new book, Dimitris Michalopoulos follows his career and that of Alexander Hypsilantis, a Greek who became a general of the Russian army and tried to attract Russia's interest in a democratic revolution for Greece. About the Author Dimitris Michalopoulos holds a Ph.D. from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris). From 1980 to 1982, he was curator of the archives of Constantine Karamanlis, then President of the Hellenic Republic. In 1982, he joined the faculty of the University of Salonika's Law School and was promoted to Assistant Professor there in 1988. In 1990 he was appointed Director of the Museum of the City of Athens. Further, he taught History at the Naval War College of Greece (1990-1997) and Naval History at the Naval Academy of Greece (1994-1997). He subsequently served as an academic adviser to the Society of People's Friends, Athens, and Director of the Institute for Studies on Eleutherios Venizelos and his Era (2004-2011). Today Dr. Michalopoulos is Professor of History at the University of the People, Athens; an academic contributor to the Institute of Hellenic Maritime History, Piraeus; and a member of the Tsakonian Archives Working Team, Leonidion.