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Soviet Union [USSR] Imperialism in Asia and the Russo-Japanese War, 1894-1905
At the turn of the century, Russia gained maneuvering room in
Asia because of its alliance with France and the growing rivalry
between Britain and Germany. Tsar Nicholas failed to orchestrate a
coherent Far Eastern policy because of ministerial conflicts.
Russia's uncoordinated and aggressive moves in the region
ultimately led to the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05).
By 1895 Germany was competing with France for Russia's favor,
and British statesmen hoped to negotiate with the Russians to
demarcate spheres of influence in Asia. This situation enabled
Russia to intervene in northeastern Asia after Japan's victory over
China in 1895. Japan was forced to make concessions in the Liaotung
Peninsula and Port Arthur in southern Manchuria. The next year,
Witte used French capital to establish the Russo-Chinese Bank. The
goal of the bank was to finance the construction of a railroad
across northern Manchuria and thus shorten the Trans-Siberian
Railway. Within two years, Russia had acquired leases on the
Liaotung Peninsula and Port Arthur and had begun building a trunk
line from Harbin to Port Arthur.
In 1900 China reacted to foreign encroachments on its territory
with an armed popular uprising, the Boxer Rebellion. Russian
military contingents joined forces from Europe, Japan, and the
United States in restoring order in northern China. A force of
180,000 Russian troops fought to pacify part of Manchuria and to
secure its railroads. The Japanese, however, backed by Britain and
the United States, insisted that Russia evacuate Manchuria. Witte
and some Russian diplomats wanted to compromise with Japan and
trade Manchuria for Korea, but a group of Witte's reactionary
enemies, courtiers, and military and naval leaders refused to
compromise. The tsar favored their viewpoint, and, disdaining
Japan's threats--despite the latter's formal alliance with Britain-
-the Russian government equivocated until Japan declared war in
early 1904.
Japan's location, technological superiority, and better morale
gave it command of the seas, and Russia's sluggishness and
incompetent commanders were the cause of continuous setbacks on
land. In January 1905, after an eight-month siege, Port Arthur
surrendered, and in March the Japanese forced the Russians to
withdraw north of Mukden. In May, at the Tsushima Straits, the
Japanese destroyed Russia's last hope in the war, a fleet assembled
from the navy's Baltic and Mediterranean squadrons. Theoretically,
Russian army reinforcements could have driven the Japanese from the
Asian mainland, but revolution at home and diplomatic pressure
forced the tsar to seek peace. Russia, accepting American
mediation, ceded southern Sakhalin to Japan, and it acknowledged
Japan's ascendancy in Korea and southern Manchuria.
Data as of May 1989
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