13. Russian Views Of The Far East In The Period Of The Russo-Japanese War

Abstract

This chapter considers the case of Russia in the Russo-Japanese War by addressing two premises. The first is to understand the political decision-making process. The second premise is the nature of the Russian Empire, that is, especially the conditions at its frontiers. In Japanese historiography regarding the Russo-Japanese War, a new tendency is developing that discards traditional viewpoints. The chapter addresses the location of the Far East in the Russian Empire. It examines the Russian Far East policy through special councils and concentrates on opposition to the government, particularly the hitherto neglected views of Russian liberals. The Russo-Japanese War developed from two states of affairs in East Asia. The first was that two empires, Russia and China, had come in contact with each other. The second was that two such empires had encountered the newly formed nation-state of Japan that was seeking to expand its territory. Keywords: China; political decision-making process; Russian Empire; Russian far east policy; Russo-Japanese war