Russia: Early 20th Century Expansion

Early in the 20th Century, Russia began a continued process of expansionism that relied on its military, economic, and political superiority to conquer Korea and Manchuria. Hoping to establish a warm water seaport and further increase the land needed for the Trans-Siberian railroad, Russia moved its army and navy further east.[1] This growth did not go unnoticed. Russian expansionism was met with resistance by the smaller world power of Japan. The Japanese saw Russia territorial conquests as encroaching on their sphere of influence and believed it necessary to take preventive measures against such a power.[2] Japan was originally believed to be of no imminent threat by Vise Admiral Alexeieff as well as the majority of Russian population. Japan soon proved to be a formidable force at the Battle of Port Arthur and eventually won the war against the Russians. This was accomplished because of Japanese popular support, economic superiority, and better military strategic planning. This was far different from Russia where the economy was faltering, the people were rebelling against the tsarist regime, and the military was overconfident. Japan’s surprise attack took advantage of Russian military arrogance, allowing a smaller army to overpower the powerful tsarist controlled army of Russia. In 1903, Japanese Minister Kirino contacted Czar Nicholas 2 to try and stop Russian expansion in East Asia implying that Russia was imposing on their sphere of influence.[3] This was after the Russians had signed a treaty with China allowing the Russian occupation of Manchuria and never stopped gaining more territory.[4] Japan, with its growing economy, sought to expand into the rich country of Korea and eventually conquered the country in the Sino-Japanese war.[5] Russia also hoped to strengthen its power in East Asia by building the Trans-Siberian Railroad in 1891 and took over a lot of Manchuria during the Boxer Rebellion.[6] As a compromise, on January 13, 1904, Japan stated that

Bibliography: Fuller, William C. Jr.. Strategy and Power in Russia. New York: The Free Press, 1992. Kaisha, Maruzen. The Russo-Japanese War Fully Illustrated. Vol. 1. Tokyo: Kinkodo Co., 1904. Martin, Christopher. The Russo-Japanese War. New York: Abelard-Schuman, 1967. Nish, Ian. The Origins of the Russo-Japanese War. New York : Longman, 1985 White, John Albert ----------------------- [1] Christopher Martin, The Russo-Japanese War (New York: Abelard-Schuman, 1967), 16. [2] John Albert White, The Diplomacy of the Russo-Japanese War (Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press, 1964), 77. [9] Negatane Soma, The Russo-Japanese War Fully Illustrating (Tokyo: Kinkodo Publishing, 1904), 65. [17] Ian Nish, The Origins of the Russo-Japanese War (New York: Longman Group UK Limited, 1985), 16.