International and Military Factors of Consolidation of the German Nation in the Second Half of the 19th Century

The article is based on the basis of a wide range of archival and published sources - official documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Prussian Kingdom, and since 1866 - the North German Union, the personal correspondence of the Prussian Minister-President Bismarck, as well as Russian and German periodicals of the 19th century, studies including through the prism of RussianGerman relations, the international aspect of the consolidation of the German nation. Much attention is paid to the military factor in the process of political unification of Germany. This formulation of the problem contributes to a better understanding of the mechanisms of formation of German national identity in the second half of the 19th century.