On 24 July 1905, aboard the imperial yacht at Björkö (Gulf of Finland), Tsar Nicholas II and Emperor Wilhelm II sign the Treaty of Björkö — a secret Russo-German defensive alliance pact.

The treaty provided mutual aid if attacked by a European power, amid the Russo-Japanese War and the reshuffling of European alliances.

Russian ministers, in particular, later rejected the instrument as incompatible with the Franco-Russian alliance; the treaty never effectively entered into force.

The episode illustrates the personal diplomacy of monarchs and the failure of a Russo-German rapprochement before the Entente.

For pre–First World War diplomacy, 24 July 1905 marks the ephemeral signature at Björkö.

The text is documented in diplomatic archives and secret-treaty collections.

The Treaty of Björkö of 24 July 1905 remains the milestone of the failed 1905 Russo-German alliance.

Image: Gulf of Finland / monarchs; Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Treaty of Bjorko. Treaty text: Treaty of Bjorko (text).