CARLO VI of Habsburg; TURINETTI, Hercules, Marquis of Priero (1658-1738). Diplomatic Paper on the flight and return to Russia of Zarevic Alexis Petrovič. 1718. Extraordinary testimony of the European diplomacy of the early eighteenth century, concerning one of the most dramatic episodes in the history of the Romanov dynasty: the escape of the Zarevic Alexis Petrovič (1690-1718), son of the Tsar Peter the Great, refugee in 1716 at the Habsburg imperial court after the irreparable break with his father. The presence of the prince in imperial territory caused a serious diplomatic crisis between Vienna and St. Petersburg, resolved only after long negotiations culminated in the voluntary return of Alexis to Russia in 1718, where he would be arrested, tried for high treason and died a few months later during the investigation. In the letter, Charles VI rejects the accusations made by the Russian court that the imperial government had induced or forced the prince to return to his homeland. Instead, the emperor reiterates that Alexis acted of his own accord, stating that the Habsburg monarchy would not prevent him from remaining under his own protection if he chose exile. The document thus constitutes a genuine official declaration of the imperial position on one of the most delicate diplomatic disputes in the kingdom. Of particular interest is the presence of the French translation, the language of European diplomacy, and the letter of transmission addressed to the Marquis of Priero, a very prominent figure of the Hapsburg foreign policy, intended to allow him to use the rescript in relations with the European courts. The set effectively documents the functioning of the Imperial Chancellery, showing the passage from the official Latin text to its diplomatic circulation in French. Rare and significant documentary complex, which combines the historical value of the Zarevic case with the direct testimony of the diplomatic activity of the Vienna court in the years immediately following the war of Spanish succession, offering a valuable source for the history of relations between the Habsburgs and the Russian Empire in the first quarter of the 18th century. Paper composed of 5 papers in Latin and French (indicative measures 320 x 200mm) comprising: official letter of Charles VI dated Laxenburg, 8 May 1718 addressed to the Marquis of Priero and with official seal in wax; unofficial copy of the same text in Latin; French translation coeva; accompanying letter of the Imperial Chancellery addressed to Hercules Giuseppe Ludovico Turinetti and a copy of the Marquis' reply in French. (5)