Russia in the Experiences of Francisco de Miranda

Francisco de Miranda (1750–1816) was the first South American to become fully aware of the oppression that Spanish America endured, as well as the right of its inhabitants to a distinct identity and to pursue their own historical, political, and economic destiny—all of which had been continuously violated by the Spanish Crown since 1492. As a pioneer, he designed the first liberation projects for the continent and coined the name for the new nation: Colombia. This nation was to be born once the Crown’s armies were expelled from South American soil, an endeavor for which he organized the first liberating expedition and conceived political organization models that would later be implemented by the future liberators of Our America. His participation between 1781 and 1783 as a soldier of the Spanish Empire in the North American Wars of Independence forced him into a deep self-confrontation. This led to his decision to desert and dedicate the rest of his life to achieving the liberation of South America. To accomplish this, he focused on seeking governance models that would ensure the happiness of the people, alongside the necessary financing to organize a Liberating Expedition. With these goals in mind, he traveled across almost all of Europe and parts of Asia without finding any support for his liberating project, until he landed in Russia during the reign of Catherine the Great. She became the first ruler to understand and morally and financially support the political and military project of Miranda, the first liberator of South America, named by him as Colombia. Furthermore, Miranda recorded everything he experienced in a personal diary, preserving—alongside his own notes—every official, journalistic, or personal document he deemed relevant to that liberation project. Today, this collection constitutes the Archive of General Miranda, which has been declared a Memory of the World by UNESCO.

1. Miranda, F de. (1929 a 1950) Archivo del General Miranda [General Miranda Archive].

2. Caracas, Ediciones de la Academia Nacional de la Historia, Tomo I al XXIII.

3. Miranda, F de. (1978 a 2007) Colombeia [Colombeia], Caracas, Ediciones de la Presidencia de la República, Tomo I al XX.

4. Miranda, F de. (2022) Colombeia [Colombeia], Caracas, Ediciones de la Presidencia de la República. Tomo XXI, 930 p.

5. Miranda, F de. (2023) Colombeia [Colombeia], Caracas, Ediciones de la Presidencia de la República, Tomo XXII, 1133 p.

6. Miranda, F de. (2010) Colombeia [Colombeia], Francisco de Miranda, 26.06.2010.

7. www.franciscodemiranda.org (fecha de acceso: 25.03.2026)