Eastern Destiny

Eastern Destiny: Russia in Asia and the North Pacific is the history of a remarkable eastern expansion under tsars, emperors, and commissars. The narrative spans the period from the Mongol conquest in the 13th century to the Cold War of the 20th. An intense anxiety for security, owed in large part to the Mongol incursion, would impel the eastern Slavs relentlessly toward territorial aggrandizement. Over the centuries, the modest Grand Duchy of Moscow in Eastern Europe was so successful that it grew into the massive Russian Empire, whose lands stretched from the Holy Roman Empire in Central Europe to the edge of British power in the wilds of North America. Eastern Destiny: Russia in Asia and the North Pacific is a saga of entrepreneurs pressing ever-eastward for the wealth of pelts, whether sable or sea otter. It features the arrival of the servants of the state who ensured control of these lands and negotiated-whether subtly or otherwise-with the nations of East Asia. Also chronicled are the voluntary release by treaty of Alaska and the northern Kurils, the humiliating temporary loss of southern Sakhalin and the ultimate dismemberment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Despite such losses, the Russian Federation still comprises the most expansive country on earth, most of whose territory is the result of Asian conquests dating back 400 years.

G. PATRICK MARCH pursued a 30-year career in cryptology with the U.S. Navy which involved duty in Asia, Europe and Africa. After final tours with the National Security Agency and the office of the Chief of Naval Operations, he retired with the rank of Rear Admiral. He has been a lecturer of history at the University of Hawaii and is the author of Cossacks of the Brotherhood (1990), with articles appearing in Pacific Historical Review and Sibirica.

List of Maps List of Illustrations Preface Introduction Geography: A Colossal and Chilling Expanse Early Russian Experiences with Asia and Asians Ivan IV and Muscovite Drang nach Osten Initial Russo-Chinese Contacts Toward a Delineated Sino-Muscovite Border The Kiakhta System Japan, Kamchatka and the Kurils "Normalization" of Russo-Japanese Relations To the Farthest East: The Rim of the North Pacific Baranov, California and Hawaii Demise of the Russian American Company and Sale of Alaska Living with the Kiakhta System A New Russo-Chinese Border in the Far East New Borders for Russia in Central Asia Russian Railways in Asia: Arteries of Empire Russia, Korea and the Sino-Japanese War Russia, Manchuria and the Boxer Rebellion Korea and the Russo-Japanese War War, Revolution and Reconquest Mongolia--the First Soviet Satellite Russians, the Chinese Eastern Railway and Sinkiang The Soviet Union and Japan in the 20s and 30s World War II and Settlements The USSR and the Asian Mainland During the Cold War The USSR and the North Pacific During the Cold War Suggested Reading List Index