Water transport of Russia: ice-free ports. How Port Arthur became a Russian stronghold

The reason for the capture of Port Arthur. Qingdao

The question of occupying an ice-free port in the Far East has been a constant problem for Russia in the Far East since the second half of the 19th century. The final impetus that forced St. Petersburg to hasten with this issue was the actions of Germany and England.

In 1896-1897 Berlin began to put pressure on Beijing, demanding that Qingdao be transferred to Germany. However, the Chinese resisted, citing that the Qing Empire had decided to create a military fortification on this site that would protect against attacks from the sea and a naval base for the restored Chinese fleet. In addition, Russia claimed Qingdao as a winter anchorage for the fleet. Indeed, back in 1895, during the period of negotiations with Japan, Vice Admiral Tyrtov 2nd, who at that time commanded the united squadrons in the Pacific Ocean, at a meeting with his closest employees - Vice Admiral S. O. Makarov and Rear Admiral E I. Alekseev pointed specifically to Qingdao as the most convenient winter anchorage for Russian ships. This anchorage was necessary for the Russian fleet, since Vladivostok was freezing, and the Korean ports were inconvenient because the telegraph there was in the hands of the Japanese. And parking in Japanese ports, which Russia had previously used, after Russia in 1895, together with other great powers, took away a significant part of the “Chinese pie” from Japan, became impossible in the future.

However, the Germans did not wait for Beijing to give permission and decided to take the port by the right of the strong, fortunately there was a reason for this. On November 4, 1897, Chinese peasants on the Shandong Peninsula killed two German Catholic missionaries. So Germany received a reason for aggression. The German press immediately portrayed the murder of the two missionaries as a threat to the entire German nation. Having received this message, Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered the fleet to capture the Shandong port of Kiao Chow. Berlin has made impressive claims to the Celestial Empire. One of the points was the “lease” of the port of Qingdao (Kiao-Chou) for 99 years as a German naval base, plus a strip of adjacent territory with the port of Jingtang, the right to build a railway, to exploit local natural resources, etc.

William II sent a telegram to the Russian Tsar in which he reported on the very fact of the Chinese attack on Catholic missionaries under his personal patronage. The Kaiser wrote that he was obliged to punish these Chinese, and expressed confidence that Nicholas would have nothing against his decision to send a German squadron to Qingdao to act against the “Chinese robbers.” William II noted that Tsingtao was the most suitable station for the German fleet, and that punishments were necessary and would make a good impression on all Christians.

Nicholas II, who promised the Chinese to preserve the integrity of their territory, could show firmness and prevent the Germans from gaining a foothold on the continent, and even near Russian bases, de facto in the Russian sphere of influence. The Chinese dignitary Li Hongzhang, having learned about the Germans’ determination to occupy Qingdao, rushed to the Russians and hoped for the fulfillment of secret promises and assistance in expelling the Germans from Shandong. However, Nikolai did not harshly oppose Germany's plans. The squadron, which had already gone to sea to help the Chinese, was recalled and the Tsar, in the gentlest manner, wrote to Wilhelm that he was “very surprised” by Germany’s plans in China, that he could be neither for nor against sending the German squadron to Qingdao, since recently it turned out that the parking there was reserved for Russian ships only temporarily, namely for the winter of 1895-1896. At the same time, Nicholas II expressed fears that strict punitive measures would only cause unrest, make a difficult impression in the Far East and widen or deepen the gap that already existed between Christians and the Chinese. The Kaiser responded by inviting the Russian fleet to spend the winter at Kiao Chow.

The German line won and Nikolai once again showed gentleness. St. Petersburg's policy of not allowing Western powers into Central and Northern China received a decisive blow. On the morning of November 2, 1897, three German ships under the command of Rear Admiral Otto von Diederichs entered Qingdao Bay, landed 200 troops and destroyed the telegraph line. Yielding to the threat of the German admiral, the head of the Chinese garrison cleared the port and fortifications and retreated, leaving guns, ammunition and all supplies in German hands. The 2nd Cruiser Division, newly formed of four ships, under the command of the Emperor's brother, Prince Henry, was immediately sent to help the German Pacific squadron. The departure of these ships took place with great noise and a number of patriotic manifestations.

Having lost hope of outside help, China entered into new negotiations with Germany and at the end of December 1897 concluded a special agreement with it, according to which Germany received the right to lease use of Qingdao Bay for 99 years. The Germans acted very quickly: in a few years, Qingdao turned from a small fishing village into a city of 60 thousand with numerous industrial enterprises and a powerful fortress. The East Asian cruiser squadron began to be based on Qingdao. Thus, the German Empire received a strategic stronghold in the Asia-Pacific region and began to lay claim to a piece of the “skin of the Chinese dragon.” The German government took advantage of the Shandong incident and introduced a project to strengthen the fleet to the Reichstag. True, the Japanese will not forget the insult and in 1914, taking advantage of the First World War, they will take Qingdao from Germany.

Capture of Port Arthur

It is clear that this event caused a chain reaction. New seizures of Chinese territories were inevitable, and the first in line was one of the most delicious pieces of China, Port Arthur, which could be occupied by the British or Japanese. Now Russia had no choice but to join the division of the Celestial Empire and occupy Port Arthur and Dalny. Nicholas II informed Witte: “You know, Sergei Yulievich, I decided to occupy Port Arthur and Dairen. Our ships with troops have already been sent here.” Witte, who during this period insisted on a more cautious policy in China, said to Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich: “Your Highness, remember this day: this fatal step will have unhappy results.”

It is worth noting that the convenient harbor at the southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula received its name from the British. This harbor was first used by the British during the Second Opium War. The nearest base of the British squadron operating in Pechili Bay was Hong Kong, located many hundreds of miles away. Therefore, the British created a temporary base on the Liaodong (Kwantung) Peninsula. In August 1860, the ship of the English Lieutenant William K. Arthur was being repaired in this harbor, after whom the port was named. According to another version, the harbor was named in honor of the legendary Celtic king Arthur.

After the end of the Second Opium War, Port Arthur harbor was empty, with only a small Chinese fishing village. It was not until the 1880s, when the confrontation with France over Vietnam began, that the Chinese began building a naval base in the strategically important Lushun Bay. Here it was decided to build two strong sea fortresses on both sides of the strait leading to the Gulf of Pechili - Port Arthur (Chinese name Lushun) and Weihaiwei (Weihei). The distance between these ports is about 160 km. The choice of location for both fortified ports was very successful. In fact, these fortresses became the second line of defense of Beijing, after the forts of the port of Dagu. The construction of the fortifications of Port Arthur was supervised by the German engineer Major Konstantin von Hanneken. For about ten years, over four thousand Chinese built the fortress and port. In 1892 the work was largely completed.

Lushun became one of the bases of the Beiyang fleet of the Qing Empire. To improve the port, the Eastern Pool was dug with dimensions of 530 x 320 m and a depth of 5 m at low tide, and more than 8 m at high tide, with granite lining. The width of the entrance to the pool was 80 m. Around the pool there were workshops and other port facilities, which made it possible to repair ships of any complexity. As a result, the main repair facilities of the Beiyang Fleet were located in Lushun: two docks opened into the Eastern Basin - a 400-foot (120 m) dock for repairing battleships and cruisers, and a small dock for repairing destroyers. Dredging work carried out in the bay made it possible to bring the depth of the inner roadstead and entrance to the bay to 20 feet (6.1 m).

On November 21, 1894, during the first Sino-Japanese War, Lushun fell due to the complete collapse of the defense system and desertion of the Chinese command, as well as the ban on the Beiyang Fleet from giving a decisive battle to the Japanese fleet on the outer roadstead of Lushun. The remnants of the garrison under the command of General Xu Bandao broke through and linked up with the main forces of the commander-in-chief of the Chinese troops in Manchuria, General Song Qing. Lushun was occupied by the Japanese, who captured huge trophies in the fortress. At the same time, Japanese troops carried out a merciless 4-day massacre in Lushun under the pretext that the remains of captured Japanese soldiers had been discovered in the city. About 20 thousand Chinese were slaughtered, regardless of gender and age. Only a few dozen people were left alive to bury the dead. Thus, Japanese atrocities during World War II had a long history.

Port Arthur. View of the Tiger Tail Peninsula

Port Arthur. View of the inner roadstead

In 1895, according to the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Port Arthur passed to the Japanese Empire. However, under pressure from Russia, Germany and France, Japan was forced to return the bay to China. And in 1897, Russia had to decide whether to occupy Port Arthur, or whether others would occupy it. In addition, the Russian squadron in the Far East has long needed an ice-free port. The only naval base in the Pacific Ocean, Vladivostok, froze in winter. There were no good icebreakers, and it was necessary to either lay up the ships for six months or go on a visit to the ports of Japan or China for the winter. Usually our ships spent the winter in Japan. However, now Japan was becoming our enemy. The Navy Ministry considered several options for creating an ice-free naval base. Moreover, the sailors gave preference not to Port Arthur, but to a base in the south of the Korean Peninsula. A naval base in Korea gave control of the strategic Tsushima Strait, protected the Kingdom of Korea from Japanese invasion, and Vladivostok was twice as close (almost 800 miles).

The head of the Naval Ministry, Vice Admiral Tyrtov, noted: “It will be much more difficult for us to prevent Japan’s preparations for the sudden occupation of Korea from distant Port Arthur than for the English squadron from Bezique Bay to seize the Bosphorus. In order ... to destroy such a plan of capture in a timely manner and so that Japan does not decide on this enterprise in the knowledge of the risk of failure and inevitable enormous losses, it is necessary to have a strong point in the south of Korea. This base... is also needed as a link between Vladivostok and Port Arthur. A station in South Korea would also pose a strong threat... to Japan's larger merchant fleet. The acquisition of such a port should be a goal towards which we must strive steadily... To ensure our peace and development in the Far East, we do not need further acquisitions in China... but to achieve predominance at sea. But such a predominance cannot be achieved by simply equalizing our forces in the Pacific with the Japanese and even by some surplus on our part, as long as the distances of our bases from the object of action, i.e. Korea, will be as great as they are now in comparison with Japan, for which there will always be serve as a great temptation for the opportunity... to transfer an entire army to Korea before it is even known in Vladivostok or Port Arthur. Therefore, we need to strive to acquire ... a protected base in the southeastern part of Korea, preferably Mozampo, in order to protect ourselves from any surprises from Japan."

Thus, Russian sailors saw the vulnerability of Port Arthur from Japan and preferred a port on the Korean Peninsula, which would be easier to defend. In addition, the base in Korea linked Vladivostok and Port Arthur into a single system and made it possible to protect the Korean Peninsula from Japanese landings and, accordingly, strengthened the security of Port Arthur. However, the matter was decided by the alleged economic interests and actions of Witte and Co. Witte and other schemers hoped that Port Arthur would allow for trade expansion in China. But formally, for the Tsar and for the Russian public, they put forward a completely fair argument - if we don’t capture, others will.

In November 1897, at a meeting of the Russian government, a note from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Count Muravyov, was discussed with a proposal to occupy Port Arthur or nearby Dalianwang - using as a convenient pretext the fact that the Germans had recently occupied the Chinese port of Qingdao. Muravyov said that he considers this “very timely, since it would be desirable for Russia to have a port on the Pacific Ocean in the Far East, and these ports ... due to their strategic position are places that are of enormous importance.” Admiral General Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich stated: “We must send a strong squadron to Arthur.”

Witte was formally against it. However, he had already done everything to ensure that Russia got involved in China headlong; now it was possible to go into the shadows, blaming future blame on others. A few days after the meeting, Nikolai decided to occupy Port Arthur and Dalny so that they would not be occupied by the British.

Indeed, the capture of Qingdao by the Germans forced Britain to begin concentrating its Pacific squadron near the Chusan Islands. The British plans were obvious. Individual ships of the British squadron appeared in the Gulf of Pechili. From the end of November, alarming news began to arrive in St. Petersburg that a full British squadron was expected in Chief, and that it would then go to Port Arthur to get ahead of Russia. Ambassador Pavlov reported this to St. Petersburg on November 25, 1897. On November 27, the Russian consul Ostroverkhov reported this from Chief himself. In addition, the German ambassador Baron Geiking also hinted about similar plans for England to the Russian representative in Beijing.

The commander of the Pacific Squadron, Rear Admiral Fyodor Vasilyevich Dubasov, proposed that the Navy Ministry occupy the South Korean port of Mozampo in response. According to Dubasov, the Russian naval base made it possible to resolve the issue of strategic strengthening of Russia on the shores of the Eastern Ocean and gave the Russians a stronghold dominating communications between Korea and Northern China and Japan. In addition, this point was connected with Seoul by the main high road in Korea, a distance of only 400 miles.

Commander of the Pacific Squadron Fyodor Vasilyevich Dubasov. Under his command, in December 1897, the squadron entered Port Arthur, although Dubasov himself was opposed to establishing a Pacific Fleet base in this port, preferring Mozampo Bay to him

However, St. Petersburg decided to occupy Port Arthur. On November 29, 1897, Rear Admiral Dubasov was sent by telegraph with an order to immediately upon receipt of this telegram send a detachment of three ships to Port Arthur. “The detachment must hurry,” the dispatch said, “and upon arrival, remain in this port until further notice, and the ships must be prepared for any contingencies. Keep the assignment in the strictest confidence even from commanders; Only you and Reunov should know it. Officially schedule the detachment to be sent to some other port. Keep the remaining ships of the squadron in full readiness; notify urgently of the receipt of the telegram and the departure of the detachment.”

On the night of December 1, Rear Admiral Reunov's squadron left Nagasaki. If the British were in Port Arthur, then Reunov should have waited for instructions from St. Petersburg and limited himself to protest. But there were no British in Port Arthur. When on December 4, Reunov’s detachment, delayed on the way by a fresh wind, appeared in the outer roadstead, there were only Chinese ships there. The English gunboat Daphne arrived in Port Arthur only on December 6 and left some time later.

Rear Admiral Dubasov considered it necessary to occupy Talienvan along with Port Arthur. He telegraphed to St. Petersburg: “Without the support of Talienvan, Port Arthur could be isolated, and the connection of both of them with the inland base could be interrupted.” On December 3, at three o'clock in the morning, Dubasov was sent an order from Tsar Nicholas II to immediately send one cruiser and two gunboats to Talienvan Bay. “It is impossible to allow the British to rule in the north,” Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich telegraphed.

On December 8 and 9, the cruiser "Dmitry Donskoy" and the gunboats "Sivuch" and "Gremyashchiy" entered Talienvan harbor. There were no British ships there. On December 17, the gunboat “Korean” arrived in Port Arthur. At the same time, two British cruisers arrived at the outer roadstead and anchored, but they soon left. Thus, the Russian fleet occupied Port Arthur. Now it's the turn of diplomacy.

To be continued…

03/15/1898 (03/28). – A Russian-Chinese agreement was signed on Russia’s lease of the Liaodong Peninsula from China with the cities of Port Arthur and Dalniy (for a period of 25 years)

Port Arthur, CER, "Russian Harbin"

This port city was built for the Chinese by German engineers in 1884 on the site of the Chinese fishing village of Lushun. The English name Port Arthur was given to it by the British due to the fact that the ship of the English lieutenant William K. Arthur was repaired there. This name was later adopted in Russia and other European countries. The construction of a naval base there was started by China. In 1894, Japan occupied this area, but under pressure from Russia, Germany and France, Japan was soon forced to return the bay to the Chinese.

In those years, England, France and Germany competed with each other in the predatory division of weak China, which increasingly affected Russia's strategic interests in the Far East and its security. China turned to Russia for help. In November 1897, at a meeting of the Russian government, a note from Count Muravyov (Minister of Foreign Affairs) was discussed with a proposal to occupy ice-free Port Arthur - using as a convenient pretext the fact that the Germans had recently occupied the Chinese port of Qingdao. S.Yu. Witte expressed disagreement: after the Russian-Chinese secret defense treaties, in which we “undertook to protect China from any attempts by Japan to occupy any part of Chinese territory... after all this, such a seizure would be an outrageous and highly insidious measure. .. This measure is dangerous... it will arouse China and from a country that is extremely favorable and friendly to us, it will turn into a country that hates us, as a result of our deceit.”

Nevertheless, he decided that it was possible to mutually beneficially agree with China on leasing the port for the purposes of mutual defense, without encroaching on the annexation of the peninsula. On March 15, 1898, a Russian-Chinese agreement was signed in Beijing on the transfer of Port Arthur, along with the adjacent Liaodong (Kwantung) Peninsula, to Russia for 25 years. It was stated that the lease would not violate China's sovereign rights to this territory. Generous compensation (bribes) were given to Chinese officials in Port Arthur so that they would not feel offended by their forced departure. Therefore, both parties considered the agreement mutually beneficial. This solved the problem of an ice-free naval base in the Pacific Ocean for Russia, which was an urgent need in the threatening military confrontation with Japan and its behind-the-scenes allies: England and the United States.

Thus, Russia and an increasingly weakening China became open allies in the smoldering Far Eastern conflict. As a result of this agreement, China was able to tell the European colonial powers that it would no longer allow them to seize new territories. Access for their military vessels to the peninsula was prohibited. Truth and suspicion against Russia were sown in China and flared up from time to time due to the rapid Russian colonization of this empty land.

In December 1897, the Russian squadron entered Port Arthur. Construction of the fortress began in 1901 and by the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War, about 20% of the total volume of work had been completed. Admiral Stark's 1st Pacific Squadron (7 battleships, 9 cruisers, 24 destroyers, 4 gunboats and other vessels) was based in the port. The Port Arthur Fortress Infantry Regiment, consisting of 4 battalions from the troops of European Russia, was stationed in the fortress.

The Liaodong (Kwantung) Peninsula with the adjacent islands later formed the Kwantung Region and in 1903, together with the Amur Governorate-General, became part of the Far Eastern Viceroyalty. Statistics for 1903: 42,065 inhabitants, of which 13,585 were military personnel, 4,297 women, 3,455 children; Russian citizens 17,709, Chinese 23,394, Japanese 678, various Europeans 246. Residential buildings 3,263. Brick and lime factories, alcohol purification and tobacco factories, a branch of the Russian-Chinese Bank, a printing house, the newspaper "New Land".

For transport provision of the region in 1897–1903. was built by Russia Chinese Eastern Railway(CER) as a southern branch connecting Chita with and Port Arthur. The CER was built under an agreement with China, but was Russian property and was served by Russian subjects along its entire length (these were tens of thousands of people of the sedentary population), which actually led to the Russian colonization of Manchuria, where a Russian “state within a state” arose. In the administrative center of the CER, the city of Harbin, founded by the Russians in 1898 on the Songhua River, in 1903 there lived 16 thousand Russian citizens, who made up the highest cultural and administrative layer, and 28 thousand Chinese. (Such a rapid Russian colonization caused fears among the Chinese government, reaching the point of everyday and political excesses - what an irony of fate, if you look at the Russian Far East in our days at the end of the twentieth century...)

On January 26, 1904, the Japanese struck Port Arthur for the first time in what they launched without announcement. The garrison of Port Arthur withstood almost a year of heroic defense, inflicting enormous damage on the enemy, but the command decided to surrender the fortress. The lease rights of Port Arthur were ceded by Russia to Japan. However, when the lease expired in 1923, Japan refused to return Port Arthur to China, turning it into its colony.

After the revolution of 1917 and the civil war, the CER and Harbin, replenished with tens of thousands of refugees, turned into one of the most prominent Russian emigrant colonies with its own autonomous administrative infrastructure (Harbin, for example, had its own diocesan administration and the Russian spiritual mission, 22 churches built mainly emigrants; their paramilitary security units and Cossack villages, many professional and political associations, hospitals, orphanages and homes of mercy, opera and drama theaters, dozens of newspapers and publishing houses, six Russian universities: the Faculty of Law, the Polytechnic Institute, the Institute of Oriental and Commercial Studies. Sciences, Pedagogical Institute, Higher Theological School, Higher Medical School; in 1934, the Institute of St. Vladimir was created, uniting the theological, Eastern economic and newly created polytechnic faculties).

In the post-revolutionary period, the status of the CER changed several times. At first, the territory along the Chinese Eastern Railway came under the control of the Chinese. On May 31, 1924, the USSR and China signed an agreement on the USSR’s renunciation of “special rights and privileges,” after which Russian concessions in Harbin, Tianjin and Hankou were liquidated, with the Chinese government undertaking not to transfer these rights and privileges to a third power. The CER remained under the control and maintenance of the Soviet side. On March 30, 1926, the commander-in-chief of the Chinese troops in Harbin disbanded all elected bodies of Russian public self-government, in their place a Provisional Committee was formed, which included only the Chinese. In July 1929, Chinese troops captured the Chinese Eastern Railway, arrested over 200 Soviet railway employees and deported 35 of them to the USSR. In November 1929, Soviet troops carried out an operation to restore control over the Chinese Eastern Railway.

In September 1931, Harbin was occupied by Japanese troops and included in the state of Manchukuo. On March 23, 1935, an agreement was signed with the USSR on the sale of the Chinese Eastern Railway to the government of Manchukuo. But the Russian colony continued to exist unhindered even under Japanese rule. Russian Harbin was a remarkable concept in the history of the Russian diaspora and ceased to exist only with the establishment of the communist regime in China in the late 1940s.

In August 1945, the Soviet army took Port Arthur and returned the Chinese Eastern Railway to Soviet control. However, on February 14, 1950, the Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance between the USSR and the People's Republic of China was signed in Moscow, while the CER, Port Arthur and Dalny were transferred free of charge to China.

Discussion: 14 comments

The Jews prevented the development of the Liaodong Peninsula with their revolution, and now the Chinese are ready to seize Siberia without fighting...

Oh, what hot topics have the leaders of the Russian people been talking about lately!!! Keep it up until the last Russian in the Russian Federation!!!

As long as the Jews have power in Rasey, the Arthurs can only be forgotten and not remembered

To a commoner. Judging by your remark, you are not Russian, you are not interested in the history and fate of the Russian people. Moreover, you hope that the Russian people will cease to exist altogether. What did you forget on this site? Go to yourself, to yours.

Good article. We must remember our history, our great ancestors, in order to look confidently into the future.
I would like to draw attention to the fact that in conditions of a controlled global crisis, Russia is used as a bargaining chip by those who are not on the Forbes list, for example, Morgan, Rockefeller, although according to some sources they have 7-9 trillion dollars each.

R.B.Dimitri. What are you talking about, dear? About the fact that a truly Russian person will never visit this site and will never write anything here in his life? Personally, I don’t see that anyone on this site is interested in the fate of the Russian people at the present time; everyone is trying to take people somewhere away from real reality and let off steam. And as soon as a shout is heard: “What did you do yourself?” But we ourselves do not strive to become the leaders of the Russian people with such zeal and according to the principle: “We don’t need impostors, I will be the leader of the Russian people!” The result is before everyone's eyes.

In this church, in August 1942, I was baptized by Archpriest Valentin Nizkovsky. Then, and at least until 1956, the temple was called St. Alexievskaya Church in Modyagou. This is evidenced by the “Extract from the Register of Births” about those born in 1942, issued by the Harbin Diocesan Council. Apart from the House of Mercy on Batalionnaya Street, I have not heard of other “houses of mercy” on the CER. The House of Mercy is known throughout the Orthodox World.
Gentlemen! The history of the Far Eastern Russian Abroad is unique and requires careful treatment and approaches.

Thank you for your kind expert advice. But why do we have a careless attitude? Is it that the name Aleksievskaya is given as Alekseevskaya? Or is it that, in your opinion, there was one single house of mercy, and not, say, two? If so, we offer you our deepest apologies.

The worst thing is that we, Russians, are not capable of self-organization. If a Russian is killed nearby, we will pass by. We are used to judging something with great profundity, and we are too lazy to tear our butts off the sofa on election day. And then drink some vodka with beer we complain in the kitchen about how bad our lives are, that we don’t trust politicians, that vote or don’t vote, everyone is bought anyway. I feel sorry for my people. I’m ashamed of my people.

Over the past century, it turns out that Russia and China have changed places: now we are not colonizing, but everything is heading towards the fact that we will soon be colonized. And this is not an irony of fate, but the result of Russia leaving its historical path and religious calling. Over the past century, the population of Japan has quadrupled, the population of China has doubled, the population of the Russian Empire, according to D. Mendeleev’s forecasts, should also have increased within these limits... But as a result, we have what we have. This is the whole result of the temptation of false slogans like land for the peasants, factories for the workers, power for the soviets, this is the result of our religious, ideological defeat in 1917, this is the result of more than a century of life without a Tsar. And where else can we be beaten, how else should we be taught the opposite...
“The enemy rejoices - the problem has been solved, the Russian Idea has been buried...” The Russian idea is the guarantee under which God’s Providence provided us with 1/6 of the land.

Sorry, friends, but something is wrong in this reasoning:! Vadim writes: “The worst thing is that we Russians are not capable of self-organization. If a Russian is killed nearby, we will pass by.”
Why are they incapable of self-organization? Russia is a predominantly Russian state, the percentage of the Russian population is high. Yes, there is a significant percentage of citizens with dual citizenship in government and in the economy, but could it have been different in the 90s, when Yeltsin and his comrades were building a new Russia under the leadership of the United States? The enormous riches of Russia's mineral resources, which were primarily managed by citizens with dual citizenship, were a good prize for the United States. A political cover was also built for them (for example, the Liberal Democratic Party), but what would they do without it.
As for the “killing of a Russian”. In England, an English soldier was killed in front of passers-by, and no one stood up either. In Germany, refugees raped and beat women on the streets, and passersby also did not intervene. Maybe for a peaceful person living in his own country and accustomed to the protection of the state, the constant feeling of being a hero is not normal?
The newcomers behave like wolf cubs, ready at any moment to form a gang and act. How do football fans behave while abroad?
I believe that the history of the development of Russian society has left its mark on our behavior: we were not taught to live without the Tsar. Good government - we live well, bad government - we live poorly! We have been living under elected government for 28 years. (According to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, the overall turnout in the presidential elections in Russia on March 18, 2018 was 67%. 76.69% of those who came to the elections voted for Putin. The percentage of those eligible to vote was 51.4%.)
True, they say that Russians abroad live more unitedly.
The bad thing is that all our conversations are at the everyday level. It would be great to see these issues covered by a good psychologist at RI, but it turns out that we are just “letting off steam”!
There is too much despondency, and we all have children and grandchildren. How will they live in the sea of our tears?

“There will be a storm. And the Russian ship will be broken... Just don’t be afraid. God will not abandon those who trust in Him. We must pray, we must all repent and pray fervently... A great miracle of God will be revealed, yes. And all the chips and fragments will be by the will of God and by His power they will gather and unite, and the Russian ship will be recreated in all its glory and will go its way, as intended by God. So it will be, a miracle obvious to everyone" (St. Anatoly of Optina).
So, as St. Petersburg also said. Seraphim of Sarov, there is no way for us to become discouraged.

Comrade Stalin hit the bar - while the Kuomintang was trying to create a Manchurian People's Republic in Harbin, like the Mongolian People's Republic. And Mao missed this, there’s nowhere to go. And now there was a buffer from the PRC, and more borders with the DPRK.

It was necessary to simply build a bridge to Russky Island from Vladivostok, and build the Russky port there, and they would have a harbor that was ice-free all year round. But for some reason something was missing

The reason for the capture of Port Arthur. Qingdao

The British Empire already had several naval bases in the Far East - Singapore, Hong Kong and others, but planned to get a new base in Northern China. The attention of the British, Germans and Russians was attracted by Qingdao Bay (Kiao-Chow). The Russian Foreign Ministry noted: “The strategic importance of Qingdao (Kiao-Chou), due to its geographical location, is enormous; it puts all of Shandong into the hands of the one who occupied it and opens up free access to Beijing, abolishing all Pechili fortifications as a means of defending the approaches to the capital against owner of the said bay."

In 1896-1897 Berlin began to put pressure on Beijing, demanding that Qingdao be transferred to Germany. However, the Chinese resisted, citing that the Qing Empire had decided to create a military fortification on this site that would protect against attacks from the sea and a naval base for the restored Chinese fleet. In addition, Russia claimed Qingdao as a winter anchorage for the fleet. Indeed, back in 1895, during the period of negotiations with Japan, Vice Admiral Tyrtov 2nd, who at that time commanded the united squadrons in the Pacific Ocean, at a meeting with his closest employees - Vice Admiral S. O. Makarov and Rear Admiral E I. Alekseev pointed specifically to Qingdao as the most convenient winter anchorage for Russian ships. This anchorage was necessary for the Russian fleet, since Vladivostok was freezing, and the Korean ports were inconvenient because the telegraph there was in the hands of the Japanese. And parking in Japanese ports, which Russia had previously used, after Russia in 1895, together with other great powers, took away a significant part of the “Chinese pie” from Japan, became impossible in the future.

Capture of Port Arthur

Port Arthur. View of the Tiger Tail Peninsula

Port Arthur. View of the inner roadstead

The issue of occupying an ice-free port in the Far East has been constantly discussed by the leadership of the Naval and Military Departments since the 70s of the 19th century. The final push that forced Russia to rush into this matter was the actions of Germany and England.

England already had several naval bases in the Far East - Singapore, Hong Kong and others, but dreamed of capturing a new base in Northern China.

The attention of British, German and Russian admirals was attracted by Qingdao Bay (Kiao-chow). A collegiate adviser to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote: “The strategic importance of Qingdao (Kiao-chow), due to its graphical position, is enormous; it puts all of Shandong into the hands of the one who occupied it and opens up free access to Beijing, abolishing all Pechili fortifications as a means of defending the approaches to the capital against the owner of the said bay."

In 1896-1897 The German ambassador to China, Baron Geikang, raised the issue of transferring Qingdao to Germany several times. The Chinese government always responded to Germany with a decisive refusal, citing, on the one hand, its own intention to use this bay as a parking lot for the Chinese fleet that was reviving in those days, and on the other hand

us, to the right of primacy that belonged to this bay of Russia.

Indeed, back in 1895, during the period of negotiations with Japan, Vice Admiral Tyrtov 2nd, who at that time commanded the united squadrons in the Pacific Ocean, after a meeting with his closest employees - Vice Admiral S.O. Makarov and Rear Admiral E.I. Alekseev, pointed specifically to Qingdao as the most convenient winter anchorage for Russian ships. This same anchorage was necessary for Russia because Vladivostok was freezing, the Chifoo roadstead had major drawbacks, the Korean ports were inconvenient because the telegraph there was in the hands of the Japanese, and the anchorage in Japanese ports, which Russia had used before, after the events of 1895, turned out to be completely inconvenient politically. “Kiao-chow meets the conditions, there is a telegraph and provisions,” wrote Vice Admiral Tyrtov.

On October 20, 1897, in Shandong, near Qingdao, two Catholic missionaries of German nationality were killed by the local population. Now Germany has a reason to seize Qingdao. On October 26, Wilhelm II sent a telegram to Peterhof, in which he reported on the very fact of the Chinese attack on Catholic missionaries under his personal patronage, wrote that he was obliged to punish these Chinese, and expressed confidence that Nicholas II would have nothing against his decision send a German squadron to Qingdao in order to act from this point against the “Chinese robbers.” William II wrote that Qingdao was the most suitable station, that punishments were necessary and would make a good impression on all Christians, that he, the emperor, had certain obligations to Catholics in Germany and must show himself capable of providing them with patronage.

Nicholas II responded to this telegram that he could be neither for nor against sending the German squadron to Qingdao, since it had recently become clear that the parking there was reserved for Russian ships only temporarily, namely for the winter of 1895-1896. At the same time, Nicholas II expressed fears that strict punitive measures would only cause unrest, make a difficult impression in the Far East and widen or deepen the gap that already existed between Christians and the Chinese.

On the morning of November 2, 1897, three German ships entered Qingdao Bay, landed 200 troops and destroyed the telegraph line. Yielding to the threat of the German admiral, the head of the Chinese

The Russian garrison cleared the port and fortifications and retreated, leaving guns, shells, ammunition and supplies in the hands of the Germans. General Zhang, who went to the German admiral for an explanation, was disarmed and detained by the Germans.

The German press presented the murder of the two missionaries as a threat to the entire German nation. The 2nd Cruiser Division, newly formed from four ships, under the command of the Emperor's brother Prince Henry, was immediately sent to help the German Pacific squadron. The dispatch of these ships took place with great pomp and a number of patriotic manifestations.

The German government took advantage of the Shandong incident and introduced a project to strengthen the fleet to the Reichstag.

The Chinese government tried to resist. A detachment of five thousand was sent to Qingdao, and Prince Gong28 turned to the Russian ambassador A.I. Pavlov with a request to send a Russian squadron to Qingdao. Nicholas II rashly gave the order for the squadron to go to Qingdao, but on November 8 this order was canceled.

It is curious that the Qingdao region was subordinated to the Navy, and not to the German Colonial Ministry. In just a few years, Qingdao has transformed from a small fishing village into a city of 60,000 people with numerous industrial enterprises and a powerful fortress. A squadron of German ships began to be based on Qingdao.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that the annexation of Qingdao would trigger an avalanche-like series of seizures of other Chinese territories by other imperialist states, among which the first would be England and Japan. One of the most tasty morsels of China was Port Arthur. His capture was inevitable. The only question was who would do it.

A convenient harbor at the southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula received the name Port Arthur in 1858. This deserted harbor was first used by the British during the Second Opium War. The nearest base of the British squadron operating in

28 A dignitary who served as prime minister.

Pechili Bay was Hong Kong, many hundreds of miles away. Therefore, the “enlightened sailors” created a temporary base on the Liaodong (Kwantung) Peninsula.

The base was named Port Arthur either after the surname of Captain 1st Rank Arthur, commander of one of the British ships located in these waters, or in honor of the semi-mythical king of the British Celts Arthur (V-VI centuries AD). In any case, by that time the British named three ports after Arthur: in the southeast of the island of Tasmania (Australia), on the western shore of Mountain Lake (continental Canada) and in the Gulf of Mexico (USA).

After the end of the second Opium War, the harbor of Port Arthur was empty, or rather, a small Chinese fishing village remained there. Only in 1882, the governor of Hubei Province, Li Hong Chang, decided to build two strong sea fortresses on both banks of the Liaoteshan Shuidao Strait leading to Pechili Bay - Port Arthur (Chinese name Lushun) and Weihaiwei (modern name Weihai). The distance between these ports is about 160 km. The choice of location for both ports (sea fortresses) was very successful. In fact, these fortresses became the second line of defense of Beijing, after the forts of the port of Dagu.

The construction of the fortifications of Port Arthur was supervised by the German engineer Hanneken. For about ten years, over four thousand Chinese built the fortress and port. In 1892 the work was largely completed.

To improve the port, the Eastern Pool was dug with dimensions of 530 g 320 meters and a depth of 5 meters at low tide, and more than 8 meters at high tide, with granite lining. The width of the entrance to the pool was 80 meters. Around the pool there were workshops and other port facilities, which made it possible to repair ships of any complexity. Two docks opened into the East Basin. The port and workshops had electric lighting.

The fortifications of Port Arthur were divided into two defense fronts: coastal and land. The coastal front was divided into two parts by the passage to the harbor: eastern (Tiger Peninsula) and western (City side). On the eastern part there were three coastal forts armed with 32 coastal guns, and on the western part there were five coastal forts with 30 coastal guns of the Krupp system. All forts were long-term, with a large number of casemated premises. Material-

The scrap for building the forts was mainly clay and stone, and only here and there the top layer of earth on the parapets and slopes was reinforced with a thin layer of “bad concrete.”

So, Russia had to decide whether to occupy Port Arthur, or whether others would occupy it. In addition, the Russian squadron in the Far East has long needed an ice-free port. The only naval base in the Pacific Ocean, Vladivostok, froze in winter. There were no good icebreakers, and the squadron had to either be laid up for six months or go to the ports of Japan or China for the winter. Usually our admirals preferred to visit Japan. And not the last argument for basing in Nagasaki was the loving geisha. The Navy Ministry considered several options for creating an ice-free naval base. The sailors preferred not Port Arthur, but a base in the south of the Korean Peninsula. The main arguments: control over the strategic Tsushima Strait, protection of Korea from the Japanese invasion and, finally, Vladivostok was twice as close (almost 800 miles).

The head of the Naval Ministry, Vice Admiral Tyrtov, wrote: “It will be much more difficult for us to prevent Japan’s preparations for the sudden occupation of Korea from distant Port Arthur than for the English squadron from Bezique Bay to seize the Bosporus. In order ... to destroy such a plan of capture in a timely manner and so that Japan does not decide on this enterprise in the knowledge of the risk of failure and inevitable enormous losses, it is necessary to have a strong point in the south of Korea. This base... is also needed as a link between Vladivostok and Port Arthur. A station in South Korea would also pose a strong threat... to Japan's larger merchant fleet. The acquisition of such a port should be a goal towards which it is necessary to strive steadily...

To ensure our peace and development in the Far East, we do not need further acquisitions in China..., but to achieve dominance at sea. But such predominance is unattainable by simply equalizing our forces in the Pacific with the Japanese and even some surplus on our part, as long as the distances of our bases from the object of action, i.e. Korea will be as large as it is now compared to Japan, for which it will always be a great temptation to ... transfer an entire army to Korea before it is even known in Vladivostok or Port Arthur. Therefore, we need to

strive to acquire ... a protected base in the southeastern part of Korea, preferably Mozampo, in order to protect themselves from any surprises from Japan.”

As we see, even then our admirals clearly saw all the shortcomings of Port Arthur. But the matter was decided by economic interests, and not so much of Russia as of the offices of Witte and Co. They needed Port Arthur not as a naval base, but as a stronghold for trade expansion in Northern China. But formally, a completely fair argument is put forward for the tsar and the public - if we don’t seize, others will.

Indeed, the German capture of Qingdao forced England to begin concentrating its Pacific squadron at the Chusan Islands, not far from the mouth of Yantsekiang. The British intentions were known. Separate ships of the English squadron appeared in the Gulf of Pechili. From the end of November, alarming news began to arrive in St. Petersburg that a full British squadron was expected in Chief, and that it would then go to Port Arthur in order to warn Russia.

Ambassador Pavlov reported this to St. Petersburg on November 25, 1897. On November 27, the Russian consul Ostroverkhov reported this from Chief himself. Finally, the German ambassador Baron Geiking also hinted about similar plans for England to the Russian representative in Beijing.

When news of the British intentions reached the commander of the Pacific squadron, Rear Admiral Fyodor Vasilyevich Dubasov, he proposed to the Naval Ministry to occupy the Corgodo archipelago with the port of Mozampo. A Russian naval base there, as Dubasov reported, would completely resolve the issue of Russia’s strategic strengthening on the shores of the Eastern Ocean and would give the Russians a stronghold dominating communications between Korea and Northern China and Japan, and also connected to Seoul by the main highway in Korea , a distance of only 400 versts. On November 27, 1897, Dubasov reported to St. Petersburg: “I could occupy this base and hold it by mining the secondary passages and protecting the main ones with a squadron.” This telegram was received on the evening of the 30th, after on November 29 at 3 o’clock in the morning completely different orders were sent to Nagasaki, where the Russian squadron was located, which diverged from the opinion of the commander of the Pacific squadron. However, even if his telegram had been received before these orders, it is unlikely that St. Petersburg would have changed its decision to occupy Port Arthur rather than Mozampo.

Baron Rosen, the Russian envoy in Tokyo, wrote: “It is obviously dangerous for us to leave this most important position for us in the powerless hands of China.” The same opinion was held in St. Petersburg. The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Count Muravyov, found that now, having received the consent of the Chinese government for Russian ships to freely visit Chinese closed ports, he finds it quite possible and timely to immediately send several Russian ships to Port Arthur, “in order to prevent the occupation of this harbor by another nation.”

Admiral General Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich stated: “We must send a strong squadron to Arthur.” Nicholas II, as always, had neither his own opinion nor any ideas at all in the field of Far Eastern policy. He traditionally hesitated. Finally, on November 28, Uncle Alexei persuaded the Tsar to agree to send a Russian squadron to Port Arthur.

On November 29, 1897, at 3 o'clock in the morning, Rear Admiral Dubasov was sent by telegraph with an order to immediately send a detachment of three ships to Port Arthur upon receipt of this telegram. “The detachment must hurry,” the dispatch said, “and upon arrival, remain in this port until further notice, and the ships must be prepared for any contingencies. Keep the assignment in the strictest confidence even from commanders; Only you and Reunov should know it. Officially schedule the detachment to be sent to some other port. Keep the remaining ships of the squadron in full readiness; notify urgently of the receipt of the telegram and the departure of the detachment.”29

On December 1, new news arrived in St. Petersburg that 4 English ships were hastily loading coal at Chefa and that they were apparently heading to Port Arthur. Obviously, the British could have warned the Russians: from Chief to Port Arthur it was a few hours' journey, from Nagasaki to Kwantung - two and a half days. The Navy Ministry began to worry. Finally, on December 2, a telegram was received from Dubasov about the orders he had made and a dispatch about the departure of Rear Admiral Reunov from Nagasaki on the night of December 1.

It was assumed that British ships might already be in Port Arthur. Therefore, Reunov was ordered to immediately upon arrival in Port Arthur declare to the local authorities that the Russian ships, having the right by virtue of the agreement

29 Russia and Japan at the dawn of the 20th century. P. 78.

to use Chinese arsenals, came to actually exercise this right; that after Reunov’s detachment other ships of the Russian squadron will come, for which it is necessary to carry out some work with the help of the local arsenal; that the Chinese authorities should convey this statement to the British ships, if they are in Port Arthur or come there, and ask the British to clear the place for the Russian squadron. If the British did not accept the authorities’ statements and began to occupy the port, then Reunov should have limited himself to energetic protest until receiving certain instructions from St. Petersburg. In any case, he did not have the right to directly demand from foreign ships that they leave the port, much less begin any hostile actions against them.

But there were no British in Port Arthur. When on December 4, Reunov’s detachment, delayed on the way by a fresh wind, finally appeared in its outer roadstead, there were only two military ships there, and even then they were Chinese. The English gunboat Daphne arrived in Port Arthur only on December 6th. Despite the prohibition of the Chinese authorities, she entered the internal raid and, after standing for 3 hours, went back.

Rear Admiral Dubasov considered it necessary to occupy Talienvan along with Port Arthur. On March 2, 1898, he telegraphed to the Admiral General in St. Petersburg: “Without the support of Talienvan, Port Arthur could be isolated, and the connection of both of them with the internal base could be interrupted.”

The head of the Maritime Ministry, Count Muravyov, spoke about this on November 27, believing that simultaneously with the occupation of Port Arthur, ships should also be sent to Talienvan. Just on December 2, a new rumor was transmitted from Chief that England had already captured Talienwan. Therefore, on December 3 at three o’clock in the morning, Dubasov was sent an order from Nicholas II to immediately send one cruiser and two gunboats to Talienvan Bay. “It is impossible to allow the British to rule in the north,” Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich telegraphed.

On December 8 and 9, the cruiser "Dmitry Donskoy" and the gunboats "Sivuch" and "Gremyashchiy" entered Talienvan harbor. There were no English ships there. On December 17, the gunboat “Korean” arrived in Port Arthur. At the same time, the English cruisers Immortalite and Iphigenia arrived in the outer roadstead and anchored. The Chinese signaled to them that entry into the port was prohibited, and the British left after a while.

The initial relations between the Russians and the Chinese were the most friendly. Russian Ambassador Pavlov wrote: “The Chinese authorities in Port Arthur and Talienwan are paying our ships the widest attention.” Three Chinese ships took turns going to Chifoo to deliver provisions to the Russian ships. The Chinese land authorities warned every desire of the Russian sailors. There was a mutual exchange of gifts, dinners and courtesies. The entire supply of coal in Port Arthur was transferred to Rear Admiral Reunov completely free of charge, then, by order of the central Chinese government, an additional supply of coal was sent from Shanghai for Russian ships. Our ships arrived in Port Arthur with a minimal supply of coal and without money, since when leaving Nagasaki the commanders were given to know that they were going to Fuzan. And in Fuzan the coal had already been prepared, and the distance was short. When the sealed envelopes with the order were opened at sea, it turned out that the detachment was heading to Port Arthur. “Fortunately, there was enough coal, but there were also ships that were hanging by a thread,” wrote one of the eyewitnesses. Upon arrival in Port Arthur, the Russians were rescued by the Chinese.

Following instructions from the capital, Governor General Pechili told the British consul in Tianjin that “the Russians came to Port Arthur to protect the interests of China.”

The news of the appearance of Russian ships in Port Arthur caused alarm in England and Japan. On December 18, 1897, the English squadron of Admiral Buller, consisting of six ships (total displacement 24,940 tons), appeared in the Chemulpo roadstead. At the same time, rumors spread about the British intention to land troops on the Chusan Islands and the port of Hamilton. On January 10, 1898, the London Standard newspaper published a most militant article in its columns; Lord Walsney declared that if war began, it would find the British army in brilliant condition. The Russian ambassador in London was ordered to tell the English government that Russia was extremely surprised by the alarm that had arisen both in the London press and in the public spheres of the capital, and that, in the opinion of the Russian government, the interests of Russia and England in the Far East could not come into serious conflict. From further explanations with the English Prime Minister, it became obvious that London was quite satisfied with this answer. In general, Russia’s solidarity with Germany involuntarily forced England to act with extreme caution. Already on January 10, 1898, that

The very day when the article in the Standard appeared in London, Rear Admiral Dubasov reported that the general mood had become calmer, that relations between Russian and English courts were friendly, and meetings between the admirals of the Russian and English squadrons were particularly courteous.

In Japan, the appearance of Russian ships near Kwantung led to a number of warlike preparations. All admiralties were ordered to keep ships in full combat readiness, to rush to repair them, and to carry out work even at night.

Japanese Foreign Minister Nissi asked the Russian envoy what goals Russia was pursuing in occupying Port Arthur, and whether the Russians meant promoting or opposing German enterprises in China. Baron Rosen replied that the occupation of Port Arthur was in direct connection with the occupation of Qingdao, that the act of the Germans was prompting Russia to look for a secure anchorage near the Shandong Peninsula, that “our policy is entirely aimed at maintaining peace and tranquility in the Far East,” and that sending a detachment for temporary parking in Port Arthur is obviously just a precautionary measure, “not directed against anyone and taken with the consent of the Chinese government.”

At the same time, the Japanese envoy in Beijing demanded an explanation from the Chinese and reminded them of the promise made upon the return of the Liaodong Peninsula not to cede this area to any other power. The Chinese replied that there was no question of the territorial cession of Port Arthur, and that, by a friendly agreement with Russia, its fleet was only given the right to use Port Arthur and Talienwan for temporary anchorage.

Like England, Japan did not dare to actively protest. She could not help but see that the “triple alliance” with which she had already dealt during the ratification of the Shimonoseki Treaty had not collapsed, but lived on. So coordinated were all the operations of the German and Russian squadrons, which in just one month occupied the three best northern harbors from China. Of course, Japan would be even more convinced of the strength and durability of this alliance if it could hear what Emperor Wilhelm II said to the Russian ambassador in Berlin on December 5, 1897, talking with him about Qingdao and Port Arthur: “Your enemies - be then the British or the Japanese become my enemies, and no matter how aggressive they may be, no matter how opposed to your interests, be

We are confident that the German squadron will stand side by side with your warships.”30

Thus, the manager of the Naval Ministry was right when he informed Dubasov on January 9 that “there is no reason to fear hostile actions from Japan or England.”

The day before the Russian squadron arrived in Port Arthur, the Chinese asked Russia for a new loan of one hundred million lan. China desperately needed money to pay Japan the last installments of the monetary indemnity. December 2, 1897 D.D. Pokotilov31 conveyed to the Russian Minister of Finance a request from China that Russia guarantee this loan as well, just as it had already guaranteed the loan of 1895.

In response to this, S.Yu. On December 4, Witte notified Pokotilov that Russia would undertake a new loan on the condition that China: 1) provides it with adequate guarantees that its payments on this loan will be in order; 2) confirm in unconditional form the permission of the southern direction of the Chinese Eastern Railway (i.e., the direction planned at that time to Bodong and Ninguta instead of the current direction to Qiqihar and Ninguta); 3) will undertake the obligation not to allow any foreigners, except Russians, to the construction of railways and to the operation of other industrial enterprises in all three provinces of Manchuria, as well as in Mongolia, etc. And, in addition, China will allow Russia to choose a harbor to establish a port for the Voluntary Fleet, and all ships flying the Russian flag will have the right to enter the new port.

On March 12, 1898, the armored cruisers Rurik and Dmitry Donskoy, which arrived from the Baltic, entered the Yellow Sea. But back on March 11, Chinese dignitaries in Beijing, during negotiations with Pavlov, agreed to lease Port Arthur and Talienwan and adjacent territories to Russia for a period of 25 years. Article 6 of the agreement determined that Port Arthur would be considered a closed port for military and commercial ships of other states, but Talienwan, except for one of its internal bays, would be considered open to foreign trade and access to it would be provided to commercial ships of all nations .

30 Russia and Japan at the dawn of the 20th century. P. 81.

31 D.D. Pokotilov is the representative of the Russian Ministry of Finance in Beijing and the director of the Beijing branch of the Russian-Chinese Bank.

In parallel with the negotiations in Beijing, the Russian command conducted negotiations in Port Arthur itself with the local authorities - generals Song-Qing and Ma-Yukun. Under their command in Port Arthur alone there were 7,500 infantry and cavalry men with 20 field guns. In the end, General Song-Qing received 100 thousand rubles, and General Ma-Yukun - 50 thousand rubles. Petty officials also got it.

On February 28, Pavlov informed Kolesov, seconded as a translator to the Russian squadron: “... funds have already been provided at my disposal to issue benefits to the Chinese authorities of Port Arthur and Dalianwan in order to attract them to our side... I believe that officials of the category Gu, Li, Ho are more practical in total, now determine monthly from 100 to 200 lan from the day our ships arrive in Port Arthur and promise a larger lump sum of several thousand lan.”32

It is difficult now to say what made a greater impression on the Chinese military - the order from Beijing, “real” money or the 12-inch guns of the battleships “Sisoi the Great” and “Navarin”. But in less than a day (from March 15 to 16), all Chinese soldiers left Port Arthur. The bribe to the Chinese generals paid off at least because they abandoned dozens of powerful fortress guns in Port Arthur in good condition, many of which later participated in the defense of the fortress in 1904.

On the morning of March 16, 1898, the Volunteer Fleet steamship Saratov arrived in Port Arthur from Vladivostok. A landing party consisting of two hundred Transbaikal Cossacks, a field artillery division and a fortress artillery team was landed.

At 8 o'clock in the morning on March 16, while the landing was underway, on the mast of the Golden Mountain (the peak dominating Port Arthur), Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich33 raised the St. Andrew's flag next to the Chinese yellow flag. The squadron's salute rang out - Port Arthur officially became a Russian naval base.

On the same day, March 16, the landing at Talienvan took place. Rear Admiral Reunov was sent here the day before from Port Arthur with the cruiser Dmitry Donskoy, the gunboat Koreets and the clipper Vsadnik. In total there were

12 Datsyshen VT. Russian-Chinese War of 1900. March on Beijing. P. 26.

33 He then served as a watch commander on the armored cruiser Rossiya.

180 people with three guns were landed on the shore. Order was not violated either in Port Arthur or Talienvan. A significant part of the population left both cities. The Chinese well remembered the massacre committed by the Japanese during the occupation of Port Arthur, and chose not to tempt fate. The Russian command was only too happy about this and stationed troops in administrative buildings, shrines and private houses abandoned by the Chinese.

30 miles from Port Arthur there is a group of islands that the Chinese called Miao-dao. The islands were of strategic importance, and Rear Admiral Dubasov decided to occupy them. On November 16, 1898, the cruiser "Dmitry Donskoy" landed a small force on the islands, and proclamations were distributed to the population of the islands on the annexation of the islands to the territory leased by Russia. However, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Count Muravyov, got scared and persuaded Nicholas II to give the order for the withdrawal of Russian forces from the Miao Dao Islands. In return, Russian diplomats concluded a separate agreement with the Chinese on these islands, according to which China promised not to transfer them to other countries and not to allow foreign ships to be based on them.

This was another naivety of our diplomats. A few days before the start of the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese captured the islands and then began to use them as a naval base for the blockade of Port Arthur.

On March 19, an order from Nicholas II was issued: “The Sovereign Emperor declares the highest gratitude to the Commander of the squadron in the Pacific Ocean, Rear Admiral Dubasov and the Royal Grace to all ranks of the squadron and ground detachment entrusted to him for the excellent execution of the instructions assigned to them for the occupation of Port Arthur and Talienvan.” .

Four days later, “Royal favor” was announced to the commanders of the squadron battleships “Sisoy the Great” and “Navarin” and the 1st rank cruiser “Russia”, captains 1st rank Paregago, Yenish and Domozhirov. In December 1898, Dubasov and Reunov were awarded the Order of St. Anne, 1st degree. On September 14, 1899, the emperor granted “For the labors in occupying the ports of the Kwantung Peninsula Arthur and Talienwan” orders to the officers of the headquarters of the head of the Pacific squadron, the ships “Sisoi the Great”, “Navarin”, “Russia”, “Rurik”, “Memory of Azov”, “ Admiral Kornilov”, “Dmitry Donskoy”, “Vladimir Monomakh”, “Bully”, “Horseman”, “Thundering”, “Brave”, “Co-

Reets", "Manzhur", "Sivuch" and the Voluntary Fleet steamships "Yaroslavl", "Saratov", "Ekaterinoslavl", "Vladimir", "Petersburg" and "Voronezh". Orders for the occupation of Port Arthur were awarded until June 1900.

England responded to the occupation of Port Arthur with traditional British blackmail - it sent a powerful squadron to the Yellow Sea. This squadron was superior in strength to the Russian one, but our admirals this time had strong nerves, and they simply ignored the British. England would not have dared to dare to go to war against Russia without allies.

Since the mistress of the seas failed to defend Chinese sovereignty over Port Arthur, she decided to take away the port of Weihaiwei and its surroundings from the Celestial Empire. On March 25, 1898, England demanded that the Chinese government cede Weihaiwei on the northern coast of Shandong in order to have its own base on the outskirts of Beijing. At the same time, the British government declared claims to increase its possessions on the Kowloon Peninsula on the mainland opposite Hong Kong. The lease of Kowloon was formalized by the Anglo-Chinese treaty of June 9, and the lease of Weihaiwei on July 1, 1898.

At the same time, British diplomacy achieved the expansion of English navigation rights on the rivers of China. So, for example, she received an agreement to recognize the Yangtze River basin, the richest part of China, as the sphere of influence of England.

France was not left without a jackpot either. On March 7, 1898, she demanded for herself a “coal station” (actually a naval base!) in South China, a railroad concession from the Vietnamese border to the city of Yunnan-fu and some other advantages. On April 9-10, 1898, an exchange of notes took place, which recorded the agreement of the Chinese government to French demands. At the same time, the port of Guangzhouwan in Guangxi province was ceded to France as a “coal station” on a lease basis.

So, China was robbed by all and sundry. The Italians also came to their senses. On February 17, 1899, the Italian envoy presented China with a demand for the cession of Sanmen Bay to Italy and the recognition of the entire Zhe-jian province in the sphere of Italian influence. This influence was to be reflected, firstly, in the construction of the railway from Sanmen Bay to the Yangtze River, and secondly, in the subordination of all silk trade in Zhe-tsien to Italian control. The claims were quite significant, since this

trade was one of the main sources of income for the Chinese state treasury.

The Italian note has filled the Chinese government's patience. Having received the Italian note and the Prime Minister's report on it, Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908, reigned 1861-1908) threw them on the floor. The note was returned back with a private letter from the Prime Minister, which stated that the latter had no right and would not enter into a discussion of such a proposal, since it exceeded his competence. The return of the officially sent note was taken as an insult by the Italian government.

In the last days of February 1899, Italy presented an ultimatum to China and assigned its envoy in China, Martino, a four-day period to respond. When that deadline expired on March 2 with no response, Martino said he would wait another 24 hours. But March 3 passed, several more days passed, and China remained silent.

PART 4 Studying the behavior of brands CHAPTER Developing a system for controlling and managing brand equity 8

Lushun, in the historical context Port Arthur, under Japanese rule Ryojun is a port city (ice-free port, naval base) in China on the Yellow Sea, since 1950 it has been part of the city of Dalian with 5 million inhabitants.
Located on the southeastern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula in Guangdong (Kwantung Region), at 38° 48' north latitude and 121° 20' east longitude. The port, with a rather shallow, but deep enough bay for large ocean-going ships, 1.5-2 km across, forms an excellent, partly artificially deepened harbor with a wide roadstead in the open sea. At the beginning of the 20th century, the city consisted of two parts: the old - eastern, the new - western, with the suburb of Tiger Tail.
The emergence of the city
The port city arose on the site of the Chinese fishing village of Lushun in the 1880s (“it was built for the Chinese by German engineers only in 1884”). Port Arthur received its English name due to the fact that in August 1860, the ship of English Lieutenant William K. Arthur was being repaired in the harbor there. This English name was later adopted in Russia and other European countries.
The construction of a naval base in the strategically important Lushun Bay was started by the Chinese government, but on November 21, 1894, during the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan occupied this area and the base was destroyed. In 1895, under the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Port Arthur passed to Japan, but due to strong pressure from Russia, Germany and France (Triple Intervention), Japan was soon forced to return the bay to China.
Russian possession
In November 1897, at a meeting of the Russian cabinet, a note from Count Muravyov (Minister of Foreign Affairs) was discussed with a proposal to occupy Port Arthur or nearby Da-lian-wan - using as a convenient pretext the fact that the Germans had recently occupied the Chinese port of Qingdao. At this meeting, Count Muravyov stated that he considered this “very timely, since it would be desirable for Russia to have a port on the Pacific Ocean in the Far East, and these ports ... due to their strategic position are places that are of enormous importance.”
S. Yu. Witte protested against such a proposal: after the Russian-Chinese secret defense agreements, in which we “undertook to protect China from any attempts by Japan to occupy any part of Chinese territory... after all this, such a seizure would be an outrageous measure and in highly insidious... This measure is dangerous... The occupation of Port Arthur or Da-lian-wan will undoubtedly arouse China and from a country extremely favorable and friendly to us will turn into a country that hates us, as a result of our perfidy.”
Then Count Muravyov’s proposal was rejected, however, “a few days after the meeting... The Sovereign Emperor, apparently a little embarrassed, told me...: “Do you know, Sergei Yulievich, I decided to take Port Arthur and Da-lian-wan and sent our flotilla with military force is already there,” and added: “I did this because the Minister of Foreign Affairs reported to me after the meeting that, according to his information, English ships were cruising in areas near Port Arthur and Da-lian-wan and that “If we don’t capture these ports, the British will capture them.”
At first it was announced to the Chinese that Russian ships with troops “came to defend China from the Germans and as soon as the Germans leave, we will leave... But soon the Chinese government learned from its ambassador in Berlin that we were acting under an agreement with Germany and therefore began to treat us extremely incredulous." The Chinese government at first did not agree to the transfer of the Kwantung region to Russia, but did not have the strength to prevent this.
This is what A.V. Shishov writes in his book:
At the same time, Russia resolved the problem of an ice-free naval base, which was an urgent need in the military confrontation with Japan. In December 1897, the Russian squadron entered Port Arthur. Negotiations about its occupation were conducted simultaneously in Beijing (at the diplomatic level) and in Port Arthur itself. Here, the commander of the Pacific squadron, Rear Admiral Dubasov, under the “cover” of the 12-inch guns of the battleships “Sisoy the Great” and “Navarin” and the guns of the 1st rank cruiser “Russia”, held short negotiations with the leadership of the local fortress garrison, generals Song Qing and Ma Yukun .
Dubasov quickly resolved the problem of the landing of Russian troops in Port Arthur and the departure of the Chinese garrison from there. After distributing bribes to minor officials, General Song Qing received 100 thousand rubles, and General Ma Yukun - 50 thousand (not in banknotes, of course, but in gold and silver coins). After this, the local 20,000-strong garrison left the fortress in less than a day, leaving the Russians with 59 cannons along with ammunition. Some of them will later be used for the defense of Port Arthur.
The first Russian military units came ashore from the Volunteer Fleet steamship Saratov, which arrived from Vladivostok. These were two hundred Transbaikal Cossacks, a field artillery division and a fortress artillery team.
All-Russian Emperor Nicholas II on this occasion issued the following order:
“The Sovereign Emperor declares the highest gratitude to the Commander of the squadron in the Pacific Ocean, Vice Admiral Dubasov, and royal favor to all the ranks of the squadron and ground detachment entrusted to him for the excellent fulfillment of the instructions assigned to him for the occupation of Port Arthur and Tallienvan.”
After large bribes to local dignitaries (500,000 rubles to Li Hongzhang and 250,000 rubles to Chang Yinghuang), an agreement (Russian-Chinese Convention) was signed on March 15 (27), 1898 in Beijing. The port, together with the adjacent Liaodong (Kwantung) Peninsula, was leased to Russia for 25 years. The Liaodong (Kwantung) Peninsula with the adjacent islands later formed the Kwantung Region and in 1903, together with the Amur Governor-General, became part of the Far Eastern Viceroyalty.
The powerlessness of the Chinese imperial power in this matter became one of the reasons for its overthrow that soon followed.
In St. Petersburg they intended to turn Port Arthur into the second, along with Vladivostok, naval base of the Russian Pacific Fleet. Construction of the fortress began in 1901 according to the design of military engineer K. Velichko.
By 1904, about 20% of the total work had been completed. Admiral Stark's 1st Pacific Squadron (7 battleships, 9 cruisers, 24 destroyers, 4 gunboats and other vessels) was based in the port. The Port Arthur Fortress Infantry Regiment was stationed in the fortress under the command of Vice Admiral Evgeniy Ivanovich Alekseev (since 1899), formed on June 27, 1900, consisting of 4 battalions from the troops of European Russia.
On December 6, 1902, N. R. Greve was appointed commander of the port of Arthur; in 1904 he was replaced by I. K. Grigorovich.
Statistics for the beginning of the 20th century: 42,065 inhabitants (as of 1903), of which 13,585 were military personnel, 4,297 women, 3,455 children; Russian subjects 17,709, Chinese 23,394, Japanese 678, various Europeans 246. Residential buildings 3,263. Brick and lime factories, alcohol refinery and tobacco factories, a branch of the Russian-Chinese Bank, a printing house, the newspaper “New Territory”, the terminus of the southern branch of the Manchurian Railway railway. City revenues in 1900 amounted to 154,995 rubles.
Siege of Port Arthur
Near Port Arthur on the night of January 27, 1904, the first military clashes of the Russo-Japanese War began, when Japanese ships fired torpedoes at Russian warships stationed in the inner roadstead of Port Arthur. At the same time, the battleships Retvizan and Tsesarevich, as well as the cruiser Pallada, were seriously damaged. The remaining ships made two attempts to escape from the port, but both were unsuccessful. The Japanese attack was carried out without a declaration of war and was condemned by most countries in the world community. Only Britain, then an ally of Japan, celebrated the attack as a “great deed.”
The feat of the crew of the cruiser “Varyag”, who sank their ship so that it would not fall to the Japanese in the harbor of Chemulpo (now Incheon, South Korea), is widely known.
The Russian Pacific Fleet was commanded by Vice Admiral Makarov until his death on March 31, 1904.
During the war, the Japanese army under the leadership of General Maresuke Nogi, supported by the Japanese fleet under the command of Admiral Togo, began a siege of the fortress of Port Arthur, which lasted for five months, despite the fact that the Japanese used the most modern 280 mm howitzers at that time.
On December 20, 1904 (January 2, 1905, new style), after the death of General R.I. Kondratenko, “the fortress was treacherously surrendered to the Japanese on the 329th day after the start of the war by General. Stessel."
Japanese possession
After the end of the Russo-Japanese War, according to the Portsmouth Peace Treaty of 1905, lease rights to Port Arthur and the entire Liaodong Peninsula were ceded to Japan. In 1923, after the lease expired, the territory was not returned by Japan to China, but remained occupied.
Soviet possession
During the Soviet-Japanese War of 1945, Soviet troops liberated the city from Japanese military forces on August 22, 1945. According to the Soviet-Chinese agreement of August 14, 1945, the Port Arthur area was transferred by China to the Soviet Union for a period of 30 years as a naval base. (According to other sources, joint Soviet-Chinese use of the base was envisaged.)
On February 14, 1950, an agreement was concluded with China on the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Port Arthur and the transfer of structures in the area to China after the signing of an agreement with Japan, but no later than the end of 1952. On September 15, 1952, after an exchange of notes between China and the USSR, the deadline for the withdrawal of Soviet troops was extended until the conclusion of peace treaties between China and Japan, and the USSR and Japan. The withdrawal of Soviet troops and the transfer of territory to Chinese jurisdiction was completed in May 1955.
Lushun today
Lushun is a closed city for foreigners, but citizens of Russia and Japan have access to some memorial buildings. The most significant attractions are:
Russian 15th battery of the Electric Cliff (access for Chinese citizens only)
Fort No. 2 - the place of death of General R.I. Kondratenko (access only for Chinese citizens)
height 203
Memorial Russian military cemetery with a chapel (15 thousand soldiers, sailors and officers of the Port Arthur garrison and fleet; dedication: “Here lie the mortal remains of the valiant Russian soldiers who died defending the fortress of Port Arthur”)
railway station (built 1901-03)
Russian battery on Mount Vantai.
In addition, a significant portion of Russian houses built in 1901-04 have been preserved. and most of the Russian fortifications: forts, batteries and trenches. However, due to the closed nature of the city, outsiders have no access to them.

Dalian (Far) is a city in northeastern China, a port in the Dalian Bay of the Yellow Sea at the southern tip of the Guangdong Peninsula. Population is about 6 million people.
Under the name Far City, it was founded by the Russians in 1898 on the site of the Chinese fishing village of Qinniwa on territory leased from China. Consisted of three parts: Administrative town, European city, Chinese city. Russia spent 30 million gold rubles (about 11.5 billion current rubles) on the construction of the city. Construction took about 7 years. With its architectural and planning advantages, Dalny stood out not only among the cities of the Chinese Eastern Railway, but also, according to Russian experts of that time, among the new cities of Russia it was the only one that was planned both beautifully and interestingly. In terms of population, it quickly took second place in Manchuria after Mukden (Shenyang). The well-equipped and mechanized port received ocean-going ships for that time and in a short time took second place (after Shanghai) in terms of cargo turnover on the entire continental coast from the Okhotsk to the South China Sea.
In 1904, during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05, it was taken by the Japanese and, according to the Portsmouth Peace Treaty, was under Japanese rule. Its development was continued by the Japanese according to the plans of Russian engineers. In August 1945, the city was liberated by Soviet troops. In 1945-1950, it had the status of a free Chinese port, leased by the USSR. In 1950, it was transferred free of charge by the USSR government to China.
Economy
Currently, it is part of the administrative urban area of Luida, Liaoning Province, China. A large port with a cargo turnover of over 40 million tons per year, a significant foreign trade and industrial center of China. Developed metallurgy, mechanical engineering, shipbuilding, chemical, oil refining, electronic, construction, textile, food industries. It is a major fishing base in China.
Tourism
Dalian is one of the centers of sea recreation and resort treatment. The beaches of Dalian have a length of more than 900 km. There are both sandy and pebble beaches. Xinghaiwan Beach can accommodate up to 30 thousand people; most of the city's water sports competitions are held here.
The city has Xinghai Park with a thousand-year history. The park has an amusement town, a sea beach, a swimming pool, fountains, recreation areas and the largest marine aquarium in China with an underwater tunnel 118 m long, home to more than 10,000 fish.
5 km south of Dalian is Ban Chui Island with a long white sand beach.
Four international airlines connecting Dalian with Vladivostok, Irkutsk, Khabarovsk and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk make visiting the city convenient for Russian tourists. Local travel agencies have developed tourist routes for tourists from Russia.