France has a longstanding historical relation with Russia dating back from Middle Ages even though both countries started to establish stronger diplomatic ties not before the westward expansion of Russia under the Romanov Dynasty from the 18th century. Relations between France and Russia varied depending the periods but anti-Russian sentiment was common in France after the French defeat by the Russians in the 1812 War. Fyodor Dostoyevsky also noted in "A Writer’s Diary" (1873-1876) the following: "Europeans do not trust appearances: “"Grattez le russe et vous verrez le tartare"”, they say (scratch a Russian and you’ll find a Tatar). That may be true, but this is what occurred to me: do the majority of Russians, in their dealings with Europe, join the extreme left because they are Tatars and have the savage’s love of destruction, or are they, perhaps, moved by other reasons?"