Diplomatic Agency of the Russian Empire in Mukden in 1901-1904 and Activities of the Diplomat S.A. Kolokolov

Abstract

At the end of the nineteenth century, Tsarist Russia's foreign policy in the Far East, particularly in China, became considerably more active. One of the main regions of China within the sphere of interest of the Russian Empire was the so-called «Three Eastern Provinces» (Manchuria), where the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER) was laid and the Kwantung Province of the Russian Empire was established. In 1900, the Russian armed forces, led by Admiral E.I. Alexeyev, were forced to temporarily occupy the entire territory of Manchuria in order to suppress an uprising organized by followers of the anti-foreign Yihetuan movement, also known as the Boxer Rebellion. This included the then capital of one of the Three Eastern Provinces, Fengtian Province, the city of Mukden. The importance of Mukden as an administrative and business center and one of the largest railway stations on the CER line made the presence of an official representative of the Tsarist authorities in the city necessary. As the Boxer Rebellion was suppressed, a growing number of diverse firms and trading enterprises began to appear in the region, and foreign powers sought to expand their presence here. In 1901, Sergey Aleksandrovich Kolokolov (1868-1921), then secretary of the Russian consulate in Kashgar and graduate of the Faculty of Oriental Languages at St. Petersburg University, was appointed as diplomatic agent of the Russian Empire in Mukden. He served at this post in Mukden until the beginning of hostilities between Russia and Japan in 1904. S.A. Kolokolov was one of those diplomatic personnel in China at the turn of the 19th — 20th centuries who, thanks to their personal professionalism and loyalty to their work, ensured the safety of Russian interests in the region. This article gives the first detailed look at key aspects of the Russian diplomatic agency in Mukden.