Vol 22, No 1 (2023): The Peoples of Russia in the System of Transnational Relations in Siberia, China and Central Asia

THE PEOPLES OF RUSSIA IN THE SYSTEM OF TRANSNATIONAL RELATIONS IN SIBERIA, CHINA AND CENTRAL ASIA

Diplomat and Reformer S.L. Vladislavich-Raguzinsky: “...Eternal Peace Was Concluded and the Border Was Approved”

Zandanova L.V., Puzynya N.N.

Abstract

The authors consider the period of stay of Count Sava Lukich Vladislavich-Raguzinsky, from 1725 until 1728, in Eastern Siberia during and after his diplomatic mission to the Qing Empire. His role in the expansion and strengthening of Russia’s influence on the eastern borders is established. Particular attention is paid to the issue of streamlining relations between the local administration and the indigenous population, the restoration of bilateral trade between Russia and China, the arrangement of the border and trade territories, the organization of missionary activities of the Orthodox clergy in Siberia and the Qing Empire. All this significantly influenced the development of the peoples and territories of the region during the process of Russia’s expansion in the east, the change of its role in Russia's foreign policy in the Far East. Nowadays, especially relevant is the provision written by the ally of Peter the Great in the Treaty of Kyakhta that between Russia and China “peace should be sustainable and eternal” and the interstate border should become peaceful at all times.

RUDN Journal of Russian History. 2023;22(1):8-20
pages 8-20 views

Behind the Scenes of the Jam Expedition: Russia's Planning of Warfare in Central Asia in 1878

Alpeev O.E.

Abstract

The author examines Russia’s planning of warfare in Central Asia in 1878 while preparing for a possible war with the coalition of Great Britain, Austria-Hungary and Turkey. The development of the war plan was caused by the inability of the Russian army weakened by the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 to conduct active military operations in Europe. Instead, it was aimed to influence Great Britain by creating a threat to its richest colony - India. In the historical literature there is no clear answer to the question about the goals of the unsuccessful Jam expedition. In this regard, the aim of this research is to reveal the content of the failed campaign’s plan based on the available historical sources and try to reconstruct Russia’s war plan against Great Britain in Central Asia, as well as to show its significance in the further process of war planning in the region. The author comes to conclusion that the Russian military-political leadership initially expected to invade India, but due to the changed situation they conducted just demonstration actions. The failure of the Jam expedition showed the Russian commanders the need to search for a springboard for future actions against India. Moreover, based on the experience of the unsuccessful campaign, the Russian commanders began regular planning for war against Great Britain in Central Asia which provided for the conduct of offensive operations in the direction of Herat.

RUDN Journal of Russian History. 2023;22(1):21-33
pages 21-33 views

Shelter for the Afflicted: Migration from Xinjiang to Russia in the 1860s-1880s

Vasilyev D.V., Asanova S.A.

Abstract

The authors examine the history of the migration of Chinese subjects from the territory of Xinjiang in the 1860s-1880s and measures taken by the Russian administration aimed at adapting them to the new socio-political and economic conditions. On the basis of the research, the waves and scales of migration are established and their reasons are named. The study of the sources is implemented using the formal legal method, the comparative legal method, the methods of analysis and synthesis of written sources, as well as induction. The application of these methods made it possible to formulate a general conclusion concerning the policy of the Russian Empire in relation to the non-Russian population of the region, including Chinese immigrants. The study of the documents related to the migration of the Xinjiang population to the territory of Russian possessions in Central Asia convinces us that the authorities of the Russian Empire were interested in this process. They sought to find a place for new subjects in the socio-economic communities of the indigenous population of the Turkestan territories. At the same time, the Russian authorities applied to the Chinese settlers the norms characteristic of both nomadic and settled residents. Their goal was to bring the status of former Chinese subjects closer to the status of the main population of the state. The Russian government sought to complete this adaptation through the merger of the former Qing subjects with the population of the internal provinces of the Russian Empire.

RUDN Journal of Russian History. 2023;22(1):34-46
pages 34-46 views

Orthodoxy in Western China and Central Asia: Historical Background

Smirnova I.Y.

Abstract

The author discusses the prehistory of the spread of Orthodoxy among the residents of Western China that was inextricably linked to the policy of Russia in Central Asia in the second half of the 19th century and traces the first missionary projects carried out in Ghulja (1851) among the descendants of captive Albazinians exiled from Beijing to the Chinese Ghulja in 1712. While reconstructing the history of Orthodoxy in the Ile region, it was revealed that the initiative of Orthodox missionary work in Western China originally belonged to eminent churchman Parfeny (Aggeev); it was supported by Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov) of Moscow and brought to the attention of Emperor Nicholas I. The study of the official diplomatic correspondence in the period of the 1850-60s showed that the attitude of Russian diplomats to the missionary work of the Russian Orthodox Church in China was negative as this activity might exacerbate foreign policy relations between Russia and China. At the same time, the establishment of Orthodox churches at the Russian consulates in Ghulja and Chuguchak played a crucial role in the spread of Orthodoxy in Central Asia and Western China.

RUDN Journal of Russian History. 2023;22(1):47-56
pages 47-56 views

Relationship of Russian Merchants with the Tuvan Population in the Second Half of the 19th - Early 20th Century

Kiskidosova T.A.

Abstract

The author identifies the main factors that influenced the relationship between Russian merchants and the Tuvan population in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries taking into account a number of features and attracting new sources. The author studies the influence of debt trade on Russian-Tuvan relations, characterizes the policy of the Tuvan noions towards Russian merchants, determines the role of Chinese capital in the development of Russian trade in Tuva, considers the image of Russian merchant in the view of the Tuvans. In the course of the work, the system approach was used which allows us to consider the object of the study as a set of interrelated elements. The novelty of the study is the involvement of previously unused sources that considered the nature of the relationship between Russian merchants and the Tuvan population in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries: the materials of the State Archive of the Irkutsk Region, the Central Archive of the Republic of Tyva, the Scientific Archive of the Manuscript Fund of the Tuva Institute for the Humanities and applied research, the State Archive of the Tomsk Region. The author comes to the conclusion that in the second half of the 19th - early 20th century the Russian-Tuvan relations were contradictory. On the one hand, the Tuvan population that needed goods of Russian merchants showed interest and did not oppose the economic development of the region. Some of the Russian merchants managed to firmly adapt to the Tuvan territory and contact with the local population. On the other hand, the increased inflow of Chinese capital at the beginning of the 20th century, the hostility of the Tuvan noions incited by the Chinese side, as well as the terms of debt trade contributed to the aggravation of Russian-Tuvan economic relations. However, despite numerous difficulties and the unstable situation, Russian merchants managed to maintain their positions in Tuva.

RUDN Journal of Russian History. 2023;22(1):57-71
pages 57-71 views

Russian Architectural Heritage in the Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region of China as Manifestation of Interethnic and Intercultural Interaction in the 19th-21st Centuries

Nazemtseva E.N.

Abstract

The author identifies the Russian architectural heritage in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China in the process of intercultural and interethnic interaction of the Russian Diaspora with the peoples of the province. In this regard, the subject of the study is the preserved monuments of Russian culture - residential buildings, temples, cemeteries. The structure of the study is determined by the need to explore the mutual influence of the culture of the Russian diaspora and those of local peoples on the example of architectural structures. The research is based on modern literature, as well as documents of Russian archives: materials deposited in the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire, the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation, the State Archive of the Russian Federation, the Russian State Military Historical Archive. Most of them have not been introduced into scientific use before. The author identifies the features of intercultural and interethnic interaction of representatives of the Russian diaspora with local peoples for a long time and depending on the political situation in the region. It is noted that at the stage of the formation of the Russian Diaspora in the XUAR there were difficulties in the relations between Russians and representatives of local ethnic groups. At the same time, the local culture had a serious impact on the development of the Russian diaspora. There is noted the rather competent policy of the Chinese and Russian authorities at the present stage to support the culture of Russians in Xinjiang, although the author does not exclude difficulties in its further preservation. Therefore, according to the author, there is a need for further close interaction between the Chinese and Russian authorities in order to determine new courses of cooperation in this direction.

RUDN Journal of Russian History. 2023;22(1):72-84
pages 72-84 views

Trade, Economic and Political Relations between Soviet Russia and the Chinese Province of Xinjiang in 1921-1922

Shemetova T.A.

Abstract

The author analyzes the features and results of trade, economic and political relations of the Chinese province of Xinjiang with Soviet Russia and the USSR in 1921-1922. The main sources for the preparation of the article were historical and archival materials on the trade and economic relations of Xinjiang with Russia and the Soviet Union (1896-1949) in Chinese, as well as documents from a number of Moscow archives (the Russian State Archive of Economics, the Russian State Military Archive, the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation). The analysis showed that during the period under review the Soviet-Xinjiang trade, economic and political relations were rather ambiguous. This is evidenced by statistical data on the volume of trade for 1921 and 1922, which, despite the measures taken by Moscow, did not increase. In addition, it should be emphasized that the range and list of goods supplied by the parties changed significantly. The author comes to the conclusion that in 1921-1922 there did not take place the final restoration and development of all-round ties between the Soviet Union and the Chinese province of Xinjiang. It was the Soviet leadership that was the initiator of the bilateral rapprochement.

RUDN Journal of Russian History. 2023;22(1):85-96
pages 85-96 views

Searching for Forms and Methods of Acting on Indigenous Population by Turkestan Soviet and Communist Party Bodies in the Context of Fighting the Basmachi in 1918-1924

Barmin V.A.

Abstract

The protest movement of the Turkestani indigenous population against the Soviet rule known in history as “Basmachi movement” became the most important stage of the Civil War in the Central Asian territory of the former Russian Empire. This phenomenon, complicated in terms of motivating features, social composition, and ideological dimensions, had been researched throughout the entire period of Soviet Union. However, the researchers were conditioned by rigid ideological framework, the ban on access to documental sources, and several other restrictions, that excluded the possibility to provide unbiased objective assessment of the Basmachi phenomenon. Questions relating to the true causes of the movement, and specifically those that disclosed the support to the movement from the majority of Turkestani population, remained beyond the research scope. The collapse of the USSR, the access to formerly classified closed archives made it possible to largely change the view on the history of this popular protest. In the proposed paper, the author’s research is supported by materials from newly identified sources in the holdings of the Russian State Military Archive and the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History. The author claims in the paper that a significant part of the causes that boosted the scale of the movement and its support from the population resulted from gross mistakes of the Soviet government in socio-political reforms and especially in matters of nationalities policy. Correcting these mistakes, applying new forms and methods of acting on indigenous peoples made it possible for Bolsheviks to gain the victory over the Basmachi and bring the internal political situation in the region to stability.

RUDN Journal of Russian History. 2023;22(1):97-109
pages 97-109 views

The Fate of Harbin Repatriate in the Mirror of Anthropology: Liudmila Abramova (1914-2002)

Krotova M.V., Petin D.I.

Abstract

The research is devoted to repatriate Lyudmila Maksimilianovna Abramova (1914-2002) who was born in Harbin, lived in China for 40 years and moved to the USSR during the mass repatriation of the Russian population of Manchuria in the 1950s. Through the fate of Liudmila Abramova the authors attempt to reflect the peculiarities of the life of the emigrants in Northern Manchuria in the interwar period. They include the involvement of young people in fascist organizations, work in the Manchukuo authorities, survival strategies, repatriation motives, adaptation practices of repatriates, gender aspects - such as the role of a politician's wife, the participation of women in public organizations. The appeal to the personalized history is due to the fact that in the history of Russian emigration in Manchuria there are many mythologemes that distort the idea of the life and activities of emigrants. In addition, the authors had to face the problem of reconstructing the biography of a “little” person in the absence of ego documents (memoirs, letters, diaries); therefore, the research task was the use of the anthropological approach, microand macroanalysis, historical-biographical and historical-comparative methods. The article is based on unpublished archival documents involving memoirs and diaries of former Harbin residents and oral history materials.

RUDN Journal of Russian History. 2023;22(1):110-124
pages 110-124 views

Repressive Policy as a Tool of Resolving the “Chinese Issue” in the USSR in the 1930s

Ablazhey N.N., Potapova N.A.

Abstract

The authors analyze the dynamics of repressions in the 1920-1930s towards Chinese people permanently residing on the territory of the USSR. There is illustrated the interdependence of the naturalization of the Chinese and the punitive policy. It is shown that in the period of 1929-1936 there were several anti-Chinese campaigns in the Far East and Siberia, and there is given an assessment of their consequences. The authors refute the hypothesis of conducting a special “Chinese” operation in the USSR during the Great Terror of 1937-1938. Based on the materials of extrajudicial bodies and reporting statistics of the NKVD, it is concluded that this category of the population was referred to two “national” categories, namely, “Harbin” and “mixed.” It is proved that from February 1938 terror against the Chinese was escalated, but only in September 1938 did an independent “Chinese” category appear in the statistics of the NKVD; in total, during the years of the Great Terror, about 18,000 Chinese underwent “national” punitive actions. Repressions against them were justified by a single logic implemented in relation to foreign nationals, which nevertheless allowed some regions to intensify repressions against certain ethnic groups. It is well documented that the expulsions of Chinese outside the country were widely used; they were organized repressive campaigns. It is concluded that the political repressions and state actions in the field of naturalization led to the reduction in the size of the Chinese diaspora and changed the geography of its settlement.

RUDN Journal of Russian History. 2023;22(1):125-138
pages 125-138 views

ARTICLES

Curzon's Ultimatum and Its Impact on the USSR Policy Towards Poland

Sklyarov S.A.

Abstract

The author raises the issue that was practically unexplored on the impact of the British ultimatum delivered to the USSR in May 1923 on the relations between Moscow and Warsaw. The author cites new documents from the diplomatic correspondence of the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs' central office (NKID) with the Polish embassy which show that the uproar caused by the Curzon memorandum in the Soviet leadership extended far beyond the sphere of Soviet-British relations. There are analyzed the concessions that Moscow was ready to make in order to prevent Poland from joining the new anti-Soviet front. The comparative-historical analysis is used to examine the dynamics of changes in the nature and scale of these concessions depending on the tension in Soviet-British relations. The conclusion is made that the Curzon memorandum provoked a turn in the Soviet policy towards Poland which Moscow did not fully abandon even when the fears of forming a new anti-Soviet coalition were dispelled. The article also substantiates the reasons why the Soviet leadership decided not to give up its readiness to make a number of concessions to Poland, despite the fact that in June 1923 there was no threat of a new anti-Soviet intervention and Warsaw's participation in it.

RUDN Journal of Russian History. 2023;22(1):139-150
pages 139-150 views

BOOK REVIEW

Book Review of Petr Pervyi i osvoenie severa Tikhogo okeana [Peter the Great and the Development of the North Pacific] by A.Yu. Petrov. Ryazan: Ryazanskii gosudarstvennyi universitet imeni S.A. Yesenina Publ., 2022. 280 p. (in Russian)

Baghdasaryan V.E., Resnyansky S.I.

Abstract

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RUDN Journal of Russian History. 2023;22(1):151-156
pages 151-156 views

Book Review of Rethinking Post-Cold War Russian-Latin American Relations by Vladimir Rouvinski, and Victor Jeifets, eds. New York: Routledge, 2022. 302 p.

Chaguaceda A.

Abstract

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RUDN Journal of Russian History. 2023;22(1):157-160
pages 157-160 views

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