The course of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904. The Russo-Japanese War - reasons

p. 27. Questions and tasks

1. List the reasons for the Russo-Japanese War.

Causes of the war:

The rapid strengthening of Russia in the Far East (in 1898 the Chinese Eastern Railway was built in Manchuria, in 1903 - through the Trans-Siberian Railway to Vladivostok, Russia built naval bases on the Liaodun Peninsula; Russia's positions in Korea were strengthened) worried Japan, the USA and England. They began to push Japan to start a war against Russia in order to limit its influence in the region;

The tsarist government was striving for a war with Japan, it seemed, a weak and distant country - a "small victorious war" was needed, VK Pleve and others believed;

It was necessary to strengthen Russia's position in the international arena;

The desire of the Russian government to distract the people from revolutionary sentiments.

2. How did the fighting develop during this war? Track her progress on the map.

January 27, 1904 - a surprise attack by a Japanese squadron of Russian ships near Port Arthur. Heroic battle between Varyag and Koreyets. The attack was repulsed. Russian losses: Varyag flooded. The Korean is blown up. Japan secured superiority at sea.

February 24 - arrival in Port Arthur of the commander of the Pacific Fleet, Vice Admiral S.O. Makarov. Makarov's active steps to prepare for the general battle with Japan at sea (offensive tactics).

April 1904 - the landing of the Japanese armies in Korea, the crossing of the river. Yaly and entry into Manchuria. The initiative in action on land belongs to the Japanese.

May 1904 - Japanese siege Port Arthur. Port Arthur was cut off from the Russian army. An attempt to release it in June 1904 was unsuccessful.

August 13-21 - Battle of Liaoyang. The forces are approximately equal (160 thousand each). The attacks of the Japanese troops were repulsed. Kuropatkin's indecision prevented the development of success. On August 24, Russian troops withdrew to the river. Shahe.

October 5 - The battle begins on the Shahe River. Fog and mountainous terrain interfered, as well as Kuropatkin's lack of initiative (he acted only with part of his forces).

July 28 - December 20, 1904 - the besieged Port Arthur defended itself heroically. December 20 Stesil gives the order to surrender the fortress. The defenders withstood 6 assaults on the fortress. The fall of Port Arthur was a turning point in the course of the Russo-Japanese War.

February 1905 - Battle of Mukden. 550 thousand people participated from both sides. Kuropatkin's passivity. Losses: Russians - 90 thousand, Japanese - 70 thousand. The Russians lost the battle.

Tactical mistakes of Admiral Rozhdestvensky. Our losses - 19 ships were sunk, 5 thousand were killed, 5 thousand were taken prisoner. Defeat of the Russian fleet

By the summer of 1905 - Japan began to clearly feel a lack of material and human resources and turned to the USA, Germany, and France for help. USA stands for peace. Peace was signed in Portsmouth, our delegation was headed by S. Yu. Witte.

3. What were the reasons for Russia's military failures?

The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the reasons for which were of an economic and political nature, showed serious problems within the Russian Empire. The war revealed problems in the army, its weapons, command, as well as blunders in diplomacy.

4. Describe the main results of the war for Russia and Japan.

Japan agreed to sign the peace treaty with the complete surrender of Russia, in which the revolution had already begun. According to the Portsmoon Peace Treaty (08.23.1905), Russia was obliged to fulfill the following points:

Renounce claims to Manchuria. Give up in favor of Japan from the Kuril Islands and half of Sakhalin.

Recognize Japan's right to Korea.

Transfer to Japan the right to lease Port Arthur.

Pay an indemnity to Japan for "keeping prisoners."

In addition, defeat in the war had negative economic consequences for Russia. Some industries stagnated as foreign bank lending curtailed. Life in the country has risen significantly. The industrialists insisted on the speedy conclusion of peace. Even those countries that initially supported Japan (Great Britain and the United States) realized how difficult the situation in Russia is. The war had to end in order to direct all forces to fight against the revolution, which the world states were equally feared. Mass movements began among workers and military personnel. A striking example is the uprising on the battleship Potemkin.

Attack of the Japanese destroyers of the Russian squadron.

On the night of February 8-9 (January 26-27), 1904, 10 Japanese destroyers suddenly attacked the Russian squadron on the outer roadstead of Port Arthur. The squadron battleships "Tsesarevich", "Retvizan" and the cruiser "Pallada" received heavy damage from the explosions of Japanese torpedoes and ran aground in order not to sink. Return fire from the Russian squadron artillery damaged Japanese destroyers IJN Akatsuki and IJN Shirakumo ... This is how the Russo-Japanese War began.

On the same day, Japanese troops began a landing near the port of Chemulpo. While trying to leave the port and head to Port Arthur, the gunboat "Koreets" was attacked by Japanese destroyers, forcing it to return.

On February 9 (January 27), 1904, a battle took place at Chemulpo. As a result of which, due to the impossibility of a breakthrough, the cruiser "Varyag" was sunk by their crews and the gunboat "Koreets" was blown up.

On the same day, February 9 (January 27), 1904, Admiral Jessen headed the Vladivostok cruiser detachment at sea to begin military operations to disrupt the transport communication between Japan and Korea.

On February 11 (January 29), 1904, the Russian cruiser Boyarin was blown up by a Japanese mine near Port Arthur near the San Shan Tao Islands.

On February 24 (February 11), 1904, the Japanese fleet tried to close the exit from Port Arthur by sinking 5 ships loaded with stone. The attempt was unsuccessful.

On February 25 (February 12), 1904, two Russian destroyers "Fearless" and "Impressive" stumbled upon 4 Japanese cruisers during reconnaissance. The first managed to escape, and the second was driven into Golubaya Bay, where he was flooded by the order of Captain M. Podushkin.

On March 2 (February 18), 1904, by order of the Naval General Staff, the Mediterranean squadron of Admiral A. Virenius (battleship Oslyabya, cruisers Aurora and Dmitry Donskoy and 7 destroyers), heading for Port Arthur, was recalled to the Baltic Sea ...

On March 6 (February 22), 1904, a Japanese squadron fired at Vladivostok. The damage was negligible. The fortress was transferred to a state of siege.

On March 8 (February 24), 1904, the new commander of the Russian Pacific squadron, Vice-Admiral S. Makarov, arrived in Port Arthur, replacing Admiral O. Stark in this post.

March 10 (February 26) 1904 in the Yellow Sea, while returning from reconnaissance to Port Arthur, was sunk by four Japanese destroyers ( IJN Usugumo , IJN Shinonome , IJN Akebono , IJN Sazanami) Russian destroyer "Guarding", and "Resolute" managed to return to the port.

Russian fleet in Port Arthur.

On March 27 (March 14), 1904, the second Japanese attempt to block the entrance to the harbor of Port Arthur by flooding the fire ships was thwarted.

April 4 (March 22) 1904 Japanese battleships IJN Fuji and IJN Yashima fired at Port Arthur with fire from Pigeon Bay. In total, they fired 200 rounds and guns of the main caliber. But the effect was minimal.

On April 12 (March 30), 1904, the Russian destroyer "Terrible" was sunk by Japanese destroyers.

On April 13 (March 31), 1904, the battleship "Petropavlovsk" was blown up by a mine and sank with almost the entire crew. Among the dead was Admiral S.O. Makarov. Also on this day, the battleship Pobeda was damaged by a mine explosion and went out of action for several weeks.

April 15 (April 2) 1904 Japanese cruisers IJN Kasuga and IJN Nisshin fired on the inner raid of Port Arthur with throw-over fire.

On April 25 (April 12), 1904, a Vladivostok detachment of cruisers sank a Japanese steamer off the coast of Korea IJN Goyo-Maru, coaster IJN Haginura-Maru and Japanese military transport IJN Kinsu-Maru, after which he headed to Vladivostok.

May 2 (April 19) 1904 by the Japanese, with the support of gunboats IJN Akagi and IJN Chōkai , destroyers of the 9th, 14th and 16th Torpedo Flotillas, the third and final attempt was made to block the entrance to the harbor of Port Arthur, this time using 10 transports ( IJN Mikasha-Maru, IJN Sakura-Maru, IJN Totomi-Maru, IJN Otaru-Maru, IJN Sagami-Maru, IJN Aikoku-Maru, IJN Omi-Maru, IJN Asagao-Maru, IJN Iedo-Maru, IJN Kokura-Maru, IJN Fuzan-Maru) As a result, they managed to partially block the passage and temporarily make it impossible for the exit of large Russian ships. This facilitated the unhindered landing of the 2nd Japanese Army in Manchuria.

On May 5 (April 22), 1904, the 2nd Japanese Army under the command of General Yasukata Oku, numbering about 38.5 thousand people, began landing on the Liaodong Peninsula, about 100 kilometers from Port Arthur.

On May 12 (April 29), 1904, four Japanese destroyers of the 2nd flotilla of Admiral I. Miyako began sweeping Russian mines in Kerr Bay. While completing the assigned task, destroyer # 48 was blown up by a mine and sank. On the same day, Japanese troops finally cut off Port Arthur from Manchuria. The siege of Port Arthur began.

Doom IJN Hatsuse on Russian mines.

On May 15 (May 2), 1904, two Japanese battleships blew up and sank on a minefield set up the day before by the Amur minelayer. IJN Yashima and IJN Hatsuse .

Also on this day, a collision of Japanese cruisers occurred near Elliot Island. IJN Kasuga and IJN Yoshino , in which the second from the received damage sank. And off the southeastern coast of Kanglu Island, an aviso ran aground IJN Tatsuta .

On May 16 (May 3), 1904, two Japanese gunboats collided in a landing operation southeast of the city of Yingkou. A boat sank in a collision IJN Oshima .

On May 17 (May 4), 1904, a Japanese destroyer was blown up and sank by a mine IJN Akatsuki .

On May 27 (May 14), 1904, not far from the city of Dalny, the Russian destroyer "Attentive" was blown up by its command and was blown up by the stones. On the same day, a Japanese advice note IJN Miyako blown up by a Russian mine and sank in Kerr Bay.

On June 12 (May 30), 1904, the Vladivostok cruiser detachment entered the Korea Strait to disrupt Japan's sea communications.

On June 15 (June 2), 1904, the cruiser Thunderbolt sank two Japanese transports: IJN Idzuma-Maru and IJN Hitachi-Maru, and the cruiser "Rurik" with two torpedoes sank a Japanese transport IJN Sado-Maru... In total, the three transports carried 2,445 Japanese soldiers and officers, 320 horses and 18 heavy 11-inch howitzers.

On June 23 (June 10), 1904, the Pacific squadron of Rear Admiral V. Vitgoft made the first attempt to break through to Vladivostok. But upon finding the Japanese fleet of Admiral H. Togo, without engaging in battle, she returned to Port Arthur. On the night of the same day, Japanese destroyers launched an unsuccessful attack on the Russian squadron.

On June 28 (June 15), 1904, the Vladivostok detachment of Admiral Jessen's cruisers entered the sea again to disrupt the enemy's sea communications.

On July 17 (July 4), 1904, a Russian destroyer # 208 was blown up and sank in a Japanese minefield near Skryplev Island.

July 18 (July 5) 1904 was blown up by a mine of the Russian minelayer "Yenisei" in the Talienvan Bay and sank a Japanese cruiser IJN Kaimon .

On July 20 (July 7), 1904, the Vladivostok detachment of cruisers entered the Pacific Ocean through the Sangar Strait.

On July 22 (July 9), 1904, a detachment was detained with a contraband cargo and sent to Vladivostok with a prize crew of an English steamer Arabia.

On July 23 (July 10), 1904, the Vladivostok detachment of cruisers approached the entrance to Tokyo Bay. Here an English steamer with a contraband cargo was examined and sunk Night kommander... Also on this day, several Japanese schooners and a German steamer were sunk. Teagoing with a smuggled cargo to Japan. A later captured English steamer Kalhas, after an inspection, was sent to Vladivostok. The cruisers of the detachment also headed to their port.

On July 25 (July 12), 1904, a squadron of Japanese destroyers approached the mouth of the Liaohe River from the sea. The team of the Russian gunboat "Sivuch", due to the impossibility of a breakthrough, after disembarking ashore, blew up their ship.

On August 7 (July 25), 1904, Japanese troops fired on Port Arthur and its harbor for the first time from land. As a result of the shelling, the battleship "Tsesarevich" was damaged, the squadron commander, Rear Admiral V. Vitgeft, was slightly wounded. The battleship Retvizan was also damaged.

On August 8 (July 26), 1904, a detachment of ships consisting of the cruiser "Novik", the gunboat "Beaver" and 15 destroyers took part in the shelling of the advancing Japanese troops in Tahe Bay, causing heavy losses.

Battle in the Yellow Sea.

On August 10 (July 28), 1904, when a Russian squadron attempted to break through from Port Arthur to Vladivostok, a battle took place in the Yellow Sea. During the battle, Rear Admiral V. Vitgeft was killed, the Russian squadron, having lost control, disintegrated. 5 Russian battleships, the cruiser Bayan and 2 destroyers began to retreat in disarray to Port Arthur. Only the battleship "Tsarevich", the cruisers "Novik", "Askold", "Diana" and 6 destroyers broke through the Japanese blockade. The battleship "Tsesarevich", the cruiser "Novik" and 3 destroyers headed to Qingdao, the cruiser "Askold" and the destroyer "Grozovoy" - to Shanghai, the cruiser "Diana" - to Saigon.

On August 11 (July 29), 1904, the Vladivostok detachment left at a meeting with the Russian squadron, which was supposed to break through from Port Arthur. The battleship "Tsesarevich", the cruiser "Novik", the destroyers "Silent", "Merciless" and "Fearless" arrived in Qingdao. The cruiser Novik, having loaded 250 tons of coal into bunkers, went out to sea in order to break through to Vladivostok. On the same day, the Russian destroyer "Resolute" was interned in Chifu by the Chinese authorities. Also on August 11, the team sank the damaged destroyer Burny.

On August 12 (July 30), 1904, in Chifu, two Japanese destroyers captured the previously interned destroyer Resolute.

On August 13 (July 31), 1904, the damaged Russian cruiser Askold was interned and disarmed in Shanghai.

August 14 (August 1) 1904 in the Korea Strait four Japanese cruisers ( IJN Izumo , IJN Tokiwa , IJN Azuma and IJN Iwate) intercepted three Russian cruisers ("Russia", "Rurik" and "Thunderbolt"), which were going to meet the First Pacific Squadron. A battle took place between them, which went down in history as the Battle of the Korea Strait. As a result of the battle, the Rurik was sunk, while the other two Russian cruisers returned to Vladivostok with damage.

On August 15 (August 2), 1904, the German authorities interned the Russian battleship "Tsarevich" in Qingdao.

On August 16 (August 3), 1904, the damaged cruisers Gromoboy and Russia returned to Vladivostok. In Port Arthur, the proposal of the Japanese general M. Noga to surrender the fortress was rejected. On the same day in the Pacific Ocean the Russian cruiser "Novik" stopped and inspected the English steamer Seltic.

On August 20 (August 7), 1904, a battle took place off Sakhalin Island between the Russian cruiser "Novik" and the Japanese IJN Tsushima and IJN Chitose ... As a result of the battle, "Novik" and IJN Tsushima were seriously damaged. In view of the impossibility of repairs and the danger of the ship being captured by the enemy, the Novik commander M. Schultz decided to sink the ship.

On August 24 (August 11), 1904, the Russian cruiser Diana was interned in Saigon by the French authorities.

On September 7 (August 25), 1904, the submarine "Trout" was sent from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok by rail.

On October 1 (September 18), 1904, a Japanese gunboat was blown up by a Russian mine and sank near the island of Iron IJN Heiyen.

On October 15 (October 2), 1904, the 2nd Pacific Squadron of Admiral Z. Rozhdestvensky left Libava for the Far East.

November 3 (October 21) was blown up by a mine put up by the Russian destroyer "Skory" and sank in a Japanese destroyer near Cape Lun-Wan-Tan IJN Hayatori .

On November 5 (October 23), 1904, in the inner roadstead of Port Arthur, after being hit by a Japanese shell, the ammunition of the Russian battleship Poltava was detonated. As a result, the ship sank.

On November 6 (October 24), 1904, a Japanese gunboat ran into a rock in the fog and sank near Port Arthur IJN Atago .

On November 28 (November 15), 1904, the submarine "Dolphin" was sent from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok by rail.

On December 6 (November 23), 1904, the Japanese artillery, installed at the previously captured hill number 206, began a massive shelling of Russian ships stationed in the inner roadstead of Port Arthur. By the end of the day, they sunk the battleship Retvizan and received heavy damage to the battleship Peresvet. To keep it intact, the battleship "Sevastopol", the gunboat "Otvazhny" and the destroyers were taken out of the Japanese fire to the outer roadstead.

On December 7 (November 24), 1904, due to the impossibility of repair after the damage received from the Japanese shelling, the battleship "Peresvet" was sunk by the crew in the western basin of the harbor of Port Arthur.

On December 8 (November 25), 1904, Japanese artillery sank Russian ships in the inner roadstead of Port Arthur - the battleship Pobeda and the cruiser Pallada.

On December 9 (November 26), 1904, Japanese heavy artillery sank the cruiser Bayan, the minelayer Amur and the gunboat Gilyak.

December 25 (December 12) 1904 IJN Takasago while on patrol, he was blown up by a mine placed by the Russian destroyer "Angry" and sank in the Yellow Sea between Port Arthur and Chief.

On December 26 (December 13), 1904, the gunboat Beaver was sunk by Japanese artillery fire on the roadstead of Port Arthur.

Submarines of the Siberian Flotilla in Vladivostok.

On December 31 (December 18), 1904, the first four Kasatka-class submarines arrived in Vladivostok from St. Petersburg by rail.

On January 1, 1905 (December 19, 1904) in Port Arthur, by order of the crew command, the battleships Poltava and Peresvet, half-submerged in the inner roadstead, were blown up and the battleship Sevastopol was sunk in the outer roadstead.

On January 2, 1905 (December 20, 1904), the commander of the defense of Port Arthur, General A. Stessel, gave the order to surrender the fortress. The siege of Port Arthur is completed.

On the same day, before the surrender of the fortress, the clippers "Dzhigit" and "Robber" were flooded. 1st Pacific Squadron was completely destroyed.

On January 5, 1905 (December 23, 1904) the submarine "Dolphin" arrived from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok by rail.

January 14 (January 1) 1905 by order of the commander of the Vladivostok port from the submarines "Trout",.

On March 20 (March 7), 1905, the 2nd Pacific Squadron of Admiral Z. Rozhdestvensky passed the Malak Strait and entered the Pacific Ocean.

On March 26 (March 13), 1905, a submarine "Dolphin" left Vladivostok for a combat position on the Askold Island.

On March 29 (March 16), 1905, the Dolphin submarine returned to Vladivostok from combat duty near Askold Island.

On April 11 (March 29), 1905, torpedoes were delivered to Russian submarines in Vladivostok.

On April 13 (March 31), 1905, the 2nd Pacific Squadron of Admiral Z. Rozhdestvensky arrived in Cam Ranh Bay in Indochina.

April 22 (April 9) 1905 from Vladivostok to the coast of Korea, the submarine "Kasatka" set out on a military campaign.

On May 7 (April 24), 1905, the cruisers "Russia" and "Gromoboy" left Vladivostok to disrupt the enemy's sea communications.

On May 9 (April 26), 1905, the 1st detachment of the 3rd Pacific squadron of Rear Admiral N. Nebogatov and the 2nd Pacific Squadron of Vice Admiral Z. Rozhestvensky joined in the Cam Ranh Bay.

On May 11 (April 28), 1905, the cruisers Russia and Gromoboy returned to Vladivostok. During the raid, they sunk four Japanese transport ships.

On May 12 (April 29), 1905, three submarines - Dolphin, Kasatka and Som - were sent to the Preobrazheniya Bay to intercept the Japanese detachment. At 10 o'clock in the morning, not far from Vladivostok, near Cape Povorotny, the first battle with the participation of a submarine took place. The Som attacked the Japanese destroyers, but the attack ended in vain.

On May 14 (May 1), 1905, the Russian 2nd Pacific Squadron of Admiral Z. Rozhdestvensky left for Vladivostok from Indochina.

On May 18 (May 5), 1905, a submarine "Dolphin" sank from an explosion of gasoline vapors in Vladivostok near the quay wall.

On May 29 (May 16), 1905, the battleship "Dmitry Donskoy" was sunk by his team in the Sea of \u200b\u200bJapan near the island of Dazhelet.

On May 30 (May 17), 1905, the Russian cruiser "Izumrud" landed on the rocks near Cape Orekhov in the Gulf of St. Vladimir and was blown up by her crew.

On June 3 (May 21), 1905, in the Philippines in Manila, the American authorities interned the Russian cruiser Zhemchug.

On June 9 (May 27), 1905, the Russian cruiser Aurora was interned by the American authorities in Manila in the Philippines.

On June 29 (June 16), 1905, the Russian battleship Peresvet was raised from the bottom in Port Arthur by Japanese rescuers.

On July 7 (June 24), 1905, Japanese troops began the Sakhalin amphibious assault operation of 14 thousand people. While the Russian troops numbered only 7.2 thousand people on the island.

On July 8 (July 25), 1905, the sunken Russian battleship Poltava was raised by Japanese rescuers in Port Arthur.

On July 29 (July 16), 1905, the Japanese Sakhalin landing operation ended with the surrender of the Russian troops.

On August 14 (August 1), 1905, in the Tatar Strait, the Keta submarine conducted an unsuccessful attack on two Japanese destroyers.

On August 22 (August 9), 1905, negotiations between Japan and Russia began in Portsmouth, mediated by the United States.

On September 5 (August 23), a peace treaty was signed between the Japanese Empire and the Russian Empire in Portsmouth, USA. According to the agreement, Japan received the Liaodong Peninsula, part of the Chinese Eastern Railway from Port Arthur to the city of Changchun and South Sakhalin, Russia recognized the prevailing interests of Japan in Korea and agreed to conclude a Russian-Japanese fishing convention. Russia and Japan pledged to withdraw their troops from Manchuria. Japan's demand for reparations was rejected.

On the night of January 26, 1904, Japan, without warning or declaration of war, smashes the squadron of the first Russian Pacific Fleet.

The number of the Russian army - 100 thousand people, Japan - 330 thousand people.

The reasons wars were: the struggle for spheres of influence in the Far East. Japan strove to expand its territory. England and the United States sided with Japan. The war was extremely unfortunate for Russia:

August 1904 - defeat at Liaoyang

October 1904 - defeat on the Shakhe river

February 1905 - defeat at Mikden

Russian losses amounted to 21 ships.

The result The war was signed on 23 August 1905 by the Peace of Portsmouth. Its conditions:

Russia paid a huge contribution

Giving away all of Sakhalin, ships that took refuge in neutral waters

Russia's recognition of Korea as a sphere of Japanese interests

Lease of the Liaodum Peninsula to Japan

The war with Japan played a serious role in destabilizing the internal political situation in the country. It was perceived by both societies and peoples as a national shame. The entire course of hostilities convinced the leaders of the mediocrity and irresponsibility.

42. Russian culture in the second half of the XIX century. The phenomenon of the Russian intelligentsia.

Russian culture of the second half of the 19th century developed in conditions when new, capitalist relations were established in the country, various reforms were carried out.

The growth of higher education institutions continued. In the 60s there were 7 universities, after the reform 2 more were opened (in Odessa and Tomsk). The number of technical universities has increased. However, in general, the literacy rate of the population in Russia was still one of the lowest in Europe. Russian science at this time of great success. famous scientists of this time Mendeleev, Popov, Przhevalsky, Klyuchevsky.

The leading direction in literature was critical realism, the characteristic principles of which were the depiction of real life - Saltykov-Shchedrin "Stories of one city"

A huge place in the literature of this period is occupied by the work of FM Dostoevsky - "crime and punishment", "poor people"; Tolstoy "War and Peace"; Turgenev - "Fathers and Sons", Chekhov, Ostrovsky.

In the visual arts of the second half of the nineteenth century. the dominant trend was critical realism. (Kramskoy, Perov) The landscape painters I.I.Shishkin, A.K.Savrasov, V.D. Polenov, A.I. Kuindzhi, I.I. Levitan glorified Russian nature in their paintings.

Classicism has finally outlived its usefulness in architecture. The “neo-Russian” style is becoming widespread - the Historical Museum (architect V. O. Sherwood), the building of the city duma (architect D. N. Chichagov), the Upper Trading Rows (now GUM, architect A. Pomerantsev). Multi-storey and apartment buildings were built.

Second half of the 19th century - this is the flowering of Russian musical art. During this period, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Rubinstein worked.

Theaters operated in 100 cities of Russia. The main centers of theatrical culture were the Maly Theater in Moscow and the Alexandria Theater in St. Petersburg.

The Russo-Japanese War began on January 26 (or, according to the new style, on February 8), 1904. The Japanese fleet unexpectedly, before the official declaration of war, attacked the ships in the outer roadstead of Port Arthur. As a result of this attack, the most powerful ships of the Russian squadron were disabled. The declaration of war took place only on February 10.

The most important reason for the Russo-Japanese War was the expansion of Russia to the east. However, the immediate cause was the annexation of the Liaodong Peninsula, previously seized by Japan. This triggered military reform and the militarization of Japan.

The reaction of Russian society to the outbreak of the Russian-Japanese war can be briefly said as follows: Japan's actions outraged Russian society. The international community reacted differently. England and the United States took a pro-Japanese position. And the tone of the press was clearly anti-Russian. France, which was at that time an ally of Russia, declared neutrality - an alliance with Russia was necessary for her in order to prevent the strengthening of Germany. But, already on April 12, France signed an agreement with England, which caused a cooling of Russian-French relations. Germany has declared its friendly neutrality towards Russia.

Despite active actions at the beginning of the war, the Japanese failed to capture Port Arthur. But, already on August 6, they made another attempt. A 45,000-strong army under the command of Oyama was thrown to storm the fortress. Having met strong resistance and having lost more than half of the soldiers, the Japanese were forced to retreat on August 11. The fortress was surrendered only after the death of General Kondratenko on December 2, 1904. Despite the fact that Port Arthur could have held out for at least 2 more months, Stessel and Reis signed an act on the surrender of the fortress, as a result of which the Russian fleet was destroyed, and 32 thousand people were captured.

The most significant events of 1905 were:

• Battle of Mukden (February 5 - 24), which remained the largest land battle in the history of mankind until the beginning of the First World War. It ended with the withdrawal of the Russian army, which lost 59 thousand dead. The losses of the Japanese amounted to 80 thousand.
• Tsushima battle (May 27 - 28), in which the Japanese fleet, 6 times superior to the Russian one, almost completely destroyed the Russian Baltic squadron.

The course of the war was clearly in Japan's favor. However, its economy was drained by the war. This forced Japan to negotiate peace. In Portsmouth, on August 9, participants in the Russo-Japanese War began a peace conference. It should be noted that these negotiations were a serious success for the Russian diplomatic delegation headed by Witte. The concluded peace treaty sparked protests in Tokyo. But, nevertheless, the consequences of the Russian-Japanese war were very tangible for the country. During the conflict, the Russian Pacific Fleet was practically destroyed. The war claimed more than 100 thousand lives of soldiers who heroically defended their country. The expansion of Russia to the East was stopped. Also, the defeat showed the weakness of the tsarist policy, which to a certain extent contributed to the growth of revolutionary sentiments and eventually led to the revolution of 1905-1907. Among the reasons for the defeat of Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. the most important are the following:

• diplomatic isolation of the Russian Empire;
• the unpreparedness of the Russian army for combat operations in difficult conditions;
• open betrayal of the interests of the fatherland or mediocrity of many tsarist generals;
• serious superiority of Japan in the military and economic spheres.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Russia was one of the influential world powers, owning significant territories in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, while Japan dominated the eastern part of the Asian continent.

Therefore, the Russo-Japanese War had a significant resonance, long before its end in 1905. There is every reason to believe that the Russo-Japanese War was a harbinger of the First World War, and then, and. Because the causes of the initial conflict between states influenced subsequent events. Some are inclined to call the Russo-Japanese War the "Zero World War", as it happened 10 years before the start.

Causes of the Russo-Japanese War

In 1904, Russia, led by Emperor Nicholas II, was the largest world power with vast territories.

The port of Vladivostok did not have year-round navigation due to the difficult climatic conditions. The state needed to have a port in the Pacific Ocean, which would receive and send merchant ships all year round, as well as a fort on Russia's eastern borders.

He staked on the Korean Peninsula and Liaodong, located now in China. Russia had already entered into a lease with, but the emperor wanted complete sovereignty in the region. The Japanese leadership was not satisfied with Russia's activity in this region since the Sino-Japanese War of 1895. Russia at that time supported the Qing Dynasty, i.e. was on the side in the conflict.

Initially, the Japanese side offered Russia a deal: Russia gains complete control over Manchuria (northeastern China), and Japan controls Korea. But Russia was not satisfied with this outcome of events, it put forward a demand to declare the territory of Korea above the 39th parallel as a neutral zone. The negotiations were thwarted by the Japanese side, and she, unilaterally, began military action against Russia (an attack on the Russian fleet in Port Arthur on February 8, 1904).

The beginning of the Russian-Japanese war

Japan officially declared war with Russia only on the day of the attack on the ships of the Russian Navy in Port Arthur. Before that, the Russian leadership had no information about the military intentions of the land of the rising sun.

The Cabinet of Ministers assured the Emperor that even after the failed negotiations, Japan would not dare to attack Russia, but that was an unfortunate assumption. An interesting fact is that, according to the norms of international law, the declaration of war before the outbreak of hostilities was optional at that time. This rule ceased to be in effect only 2 years after these events, which was consolidated at the second Hague Peace Conference.

The purpose of the Japanese fleet's attack on Russian ships was to blockade the Russian fleet. By order of Admiral Togo Heihachiro, the torpedo boats of the Japanese fleet were to disable the three largest cruisers: Tsesarevich, Retvizan and Pallada. The main battle was expected a day later, at Port Arthur.

The Russian fleet in the Far East was well defended in the harbor of Port Arthur, but the exits from it were mined. So on 12.04.1904 the battleships "Petropavlovsk" and "Pobeda" were blown up at the exit from the harbor. The first sank, the second returned to the harbor with great damage. And although Russia, in response, damaged 2 Japanese ships of the line, Japan continued to control and carry out regular bombing of Port Arthur.

At the end of August, Russian troops transferred from the center to help the sailors of Port Arthur were thrown back by the Japanese and could not get into the harbor. Having settled on the newly conquered positions, the Japanese military continued to fire at ships in the bay.

At the beginning of 1905, the commander of the garrison, Major General Sessel, decided to leave the harbor, believing that the losses among the naval personnel were significant and senseless. This decision came as a surprise to both the Japanese and the Russian command. The general was later convicted and sentenced to death, but was pardoned.

The Russian fleet continued to suffer losses in the Yellow Sea, forcing the military leadership of the state to mobilize the Baltic fleet and send it to the combat area.

Military operations in Manchuria and Korea

Seeing the weakness of the Russians, the Japanese gradually came to full control of the Korean Peninsula. Having landed in its southern part, they gradually moved forward and captured Seoul and the rest of the peninsula.

The plans of the Japanese command were the capture of Manchuria controlled by Russia. During the first hostilities on land, they successfully attacked Russian ships in May 1904, forcing them to retreat to Port Arthur. Further, in February 1905, the Japanese continued to attack the Russian troops in Mukden. These bloody battles were also crowned with a Japanese victory. The Russians, suffering heavy losses, were forced to retreat to northern Mukden. The Japanese side also suffered significant losses of soldiers and equipment.

In May 1905, the Russian fleet arrived at the place of deployment, having sailed about 20 thousand miles - a fairly serious military campaign for that time.

Making the transition at night, the Russian armada was nevertheless discovered by the Japanese. And Togo Heihachiro blocked their way near the Tsushima Strait at the end of May 1905. The losses of the Russians were enormous: eight battleships and over 5,000 men. Only three ships managed to break into the harbor and complete the task. All of the above events forced the Russian side to agree to an armistice.

Portsmouth Treaty

The Russo-Japanese War was fierce and could serve as a bad echo of subsequent events. Both sides lost about 150 thousand military men in hostilities, about 20 thousand people were killed in the Chinese civilian population.

A peace agreement was concluded in Portsmouth in 1905, mediated by Theodore Roosevelt (US President). Russia was represented by Sergei Witte - the minister of his imperial court, Japan - by Baron Komuro. For his peacekeeping activities during the talks, Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Results of the Russo-Japanese War

As a result of the agreement, Russia transferred Port Arthur into the possession of Japan, retaining half of Sakhalin Island (the island will go completely to Russia only at the end of World War II. Supported the refusal of Nicholas II to pay compensation to the victorious side. Russian troops liberated the territory of Manchuria and recognized the control of the Japanese side over the Korean Peninsula.

The humiliating defeats of the Russian army in the Russo-Japanese War added negative consequences to the political unrest in Russia, which ultimately served as the impetus for the overthrow of the government in 1917.