Toward the Rising Sun: Russian Ideologies of Empire and the Path to War with Japan

by David Schimmelpenninck van der Oye

What drove Russia to its disastrous war with Japan in 1904? Was it corruption at the highest levels, ignorance of Japan's naval capabilities, or overconfidence in Russia's own military power? In this highly original study, Schimmelpenninck argues that the conflict came about because of St. Petersburg's erratic and confused diplomacy. The key to understanding tsarist involvement in East Asia, he explains, is to examine the ideas of those who competed to impose their visions of destiny on the Pacific. Drawing from previously inaccessible archives in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Schimmelpenninck presents a new approach to understanding the causes of the Russo-Japanese War. He begins with lively sketches of Tsar Nicholas II and the four leading proponents of expansion in East Asia―famous Inner Asia explorer Nikolai Przhevalskii, Sinophile newspaper publisher Prince Esper Ukhtomskii, Finance Minister Sergei Witte, and War Minister Aleksei Kuropatkin. In each case, ideologies of empire are explored in the context of both European and Russian thought. Toward the Rising Sun goes on to reinterpret tsarist prewar democracy―from Russia's involvement in East Asia during the 1890s to Admiral Togo's surprise attack at Port Arthur in 1904―using extensive archival sources. Throughout, Schimmelpenninck demonstrates the ties between ideas and policy. Interweaving intellectual and cultural history with international perspectives, he addresses an important aspect of Russian national identity at a crucial point in history and helps to elucidate the struggle between East and West that continues in Russia today.

Genres: Russian History, History, Japan, Nonfiction

345 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2001

About the author

Education: Yale University

B.A. (Russian and East European studies; cum laude), 1988
M.Phil. (History), 1994
Ph.D. (Russian history), 1997

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Russia's priority in its Asian relations were with China in the decade from the ascension of Nicholas II to the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904. While some Russians reviled China's weaknesses in the last years of the Qing dynasty and yearned to take advantage and seize territories, others wished for good relations, based on (potential) financial and business rewards and/or respect for their common "Oriental heritage." Either way, in that era of rampant aggressive imperialism, Russia couldn't seem to help tearing off bits of China, just as the Europeans and Japanese were doing: Port Arthur after the Germans helped themselves to Tsingtao, and most of the rest of Manchuria after the Boxer Rebellion. This last expansion put them in the sights of the Japanese who had tried to come to an agreement with the Russians for years, allowing them primacy in Manchuria if the Japanese were allowed the same in Korea. The Russian government arrogantly brushed the Japanese approaches aside, feeling that it was beneath their dignity to negotiate away what they thought Russian arms could take by force; an attitude which would cost them dearly in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5. There was not a little racism involved as well. The magnificently-named Professor Schimmelpenninck van der Oye narrates the ups and downs of the various ideological trends vis a vis Russia's Far Eastern policies, and comes to the startling conclusion that it was complicated. A good overview of the period leading up to the war that started Tsarist Russia on its decline.

[Brendan Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best book I’ve read for Russia history

[Biblioworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ровно 40% книги - библиография.
Т.е. это научный труд, а не художественная литература.
В книге встречаются любопытные факты, но в целом не сказал бы чтобы она что-то для меня прояснила в том периоде истории России.