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Russia and the Portsmouth Peace Conference

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2017

Robert K. Godwin
Robert K. Godwin*
Affiliation:
Russian Institute, Columbia University, Brooklyn College
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Extract

The Russo-Japanese War, which had begun in February, 1904, as a result of friction between these two countries in Manchuria and northern Korea, was one long military disaster for the Russian army. The Japanese army moved from victory to victory, proving its superiority in the battles of Liao-Yang and Sha-ho in August and October, 1904, the fall of Port Arthur in January, 1905, and the battle of Mukden in February and March. On May 27, the Japanese navy proved itself by virtually destroying the Russian fleet in the battle of Tsushima.

In spite of what seemed to be great good fortune, however, all was not well with the Japanese.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Slavic and East European Review , Volume 9 , Issue 4 , December 1950 , pp. 279 - 291
Copyright
Copyright © Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies 1950

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References

1 Text in Tyler Dennett, Roosevelt and the Russo-Japanese War (New York, 1925), pp. 215, 216Google Scholar; see also Roosevelt to Lodge, June 16, 1905, Lodge, Henry C., ed., Selections from the Correspondence of Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge, 1884.-1918 (New York, 1925), II, 138–56Google Scholar; Takeuchi, Tatsuji, War and Diplomacy in the Japanese Empire (Garden City, 1935), p. 149 Google Scholar.

2 Lodge, loc. cit.

3 Ibid.; see also Loomis to Meyer, June 8, 1905, Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, it; (Washington, 1906), p. 807 Google Scholar.

4 Meyer to Roosevelt, June 9, 1905, Howe, M. A. DeWolfe, George von Lengerke Meyer (New York, 1919), pp. 157–62;Google Scholar Lodge, loc. cit.

5 Howe, op. cit., p. 164; Meyer to Secretary of State, June 16, 1905, U. S. Foreign Relations, 1905, p. 811 Google Scholar.

6 Lodge, loc. cit.

7 Howe, op. cit., pp. 166, 167; Dennett, op. cit., pp. 198–200.

8 Rosen, Baron Roman, Forty Years of Diplomacy (New York, 1922), I, 257 Google Scholar.

9 Ibid.; Meyer to Roosevelt, July 18, 1905, Howe, op. cit., pp. 181–83; Meyer to Secretary of State, July 1, 1905, and Rosen to Adee, July 20, 1905, U. S. Foreign Relations, 1905, pp. 815, 819; V. M. Kokovcev, Out of My Past, ed., H. H. Fisher, trans., L. Matveev (Stanford, 1935), pp. 52, 53.

10 Kokovcev, op. cit., p. 53.

11 Rutkovskij to Witte, February 13–26, 1905, No. 1, Krasnyj Arkhiv, VI, 6, 7Google Scholar.

12 Kokovcev to Rutkovskij, n.d., No. 2; Lamsdorf to Kokovcev, February H∼27> 1905, No. 5, Krasnyj Arkhiv, VI, 6–8. The Japanese were making similar overtures in Shanghai; see Raspopov to Kokovcev, March 18–31, 1905, No. 6, Krasnyj Arkhiv, VI, 9.

13 Roosevelt to Lodge, June 16, 1905, Lodge, op. cit., II, 153.

14 Ibid.

15 Howe, op. cit., p. 184.

16 Witte, Count, The Memoirs of Count Witte, tr. and ed. by Yarmolinsky, A. (New York, 1921), p. 135 Google Scholar. See also Korostovec, , Pre-War Diplomacy (London, 1920), p. 12 Google Scholar.

17 Kokovcev to Lamsdorf, July 20-August 2, 1905, No. 11, Krasnyj Arkhiv, VI. 13–18. Dillon cites this but dates it June 20 (OS); Dillon, E. J., The Eclipse of Russia (New York, 1918), p. 300 Google Scholar.

18 Kupopatkin, A. N., The Russian Army and the Japanese War, ed., Swinton, E. D., trans., Lindsay, A. B., (New York, 1909) II, 180 Google Scholar.

19 Millard, Thomas F., “The Financial Prospects of Japan,” Scrihners Magazine, XXXVII (September, 1905), 369–79 Google Scholar. The Times (London), 21, 22, August, 1905. Vagts, Alfred, Deutschland und die Vereinigten Staaten in der Weltpolitik (New York, 1935), II, 1228, 1229Google Scholar.

20 Takeuchi, op. cit., p. 149. The war cost Japan nearly 1,700,000,000 yen, increasing the national debt approximately 1,800,000,000 yen to a total of 2,400,000,000 yen with an annual interest of 110,000,000 yen. Gotaro, Ogawa, Expenditures of the RussoJapanese War (New York, 1923), pp. 113, 252Google Scholar; see also Giichi Ono, War and Armament Expenditures of Japan (New York, 1922).

21 Hayashi, Tadasu, The Secret Memoirs of Count Tadasu Hayashi, ed., Pooley, A. M. (New York, 1915), p. 230 Google Scholar; see also Ishii, Kikujiro,Diplomatic Commentaries, ed. and trans., Langdon, W. R., (Baltimore, 1936), pp. 69–72 Google Scholar.

22 There is reason to believe that Japanese espionage in Russia was quite extensive. See Votinov, A., Japonskij Špionaž v russko-japonskuju vqjnju ipo-f—iyo; gg. (Moscow, 1939)Google Scholar.

23 Raspopov to Kokovcev, March 18–31, 1905, N o . 6; and Davydov to Kokovcev, March 25-April 7, 1905, No. 7, Krasnyj Arkhiv, VI, 9.

24 Spring-Rice to Mrs. Roosevelt, September 26, 1905, Stephen, Gwynn, ed., The Letters and Friendships of Sir Cecil Spring-Rice (New York, 1929), I, 490–94 Google Scholar.

25 Meyer to Roosevelt, August 29, 1905, Howe, op. cit., pp. 203–5. A condensation of this memorandum will be found in the Times (London), August 22, 1905. I t is similar to Millard, op. cit., as Meyer points out in this letter.

26 Witte, op. cit., pp. 117–33. Bernard Pares, A History of Russia (4th ed., New York, 1944), PP. 421–23

27 Dillon, op. cit., pp. 301–04. Hayashi mentions Dillon's visit but not the alliance; Hayashi, op. cit., p. 233.

28 Hayashi, loc. cit.

29 Korostovec, op. cit., pp. 57, 59, 75, 76.

30 Rosen, op. cit., I, 263

31 Witte, op. cit., pp. 139, 140.

32 Korostovec, op. cit., p. 54.

33 Dennett, op. cit., pp. 206, 207.

34 Davydov, to Kokovcev, , March 25-April 7, 1905, No. 7,Krasnyj Arkhiv, VI, 9 Google Scholar.

35 Rosen, op. cit., I, 264.

36 Korostovec, op. cit., p. 67; Melville E., Stone,Fifty Years a Journalist (New York, 1921), p. 268 Google Scholar.

37 There was no preconference armistice. Lamsdorf's request for such an arrangement did not come until after the preconference negotiations had been completed. By that time it was too late. Rosen, op. cit., I, 259.

38 Protokoly Portsmutskoj mirnoj konferencii (St. Petersburg, 1906), p. 1; Korostovec, op. cit., p. 48.

39 The text of the Japanese terms will be found in Protokoly, pp. 5, 6.

40 Protokoly, pp. 9–62 passim. Dennett, op. cit., pp. 244, 245. Edward, Zabriskie, American-Russian Rivalry in the Far East (Philadelphia, 1946), p. 124 Google Scholar.

41 Dennett, op. cit., p. 250.

42 Kokovcev, to Witte, , August 8/21, 1905, No. 54, Krasnyj Arkhiv, VI, 37, 38Google Scholar.

43 Witte, to Lamsdorf, August 1/14, 1905, No. 40,Krasnyj Arkhiv, VI, 31 Google Scholar, 32.

44 Witte, to Kokovcev, , August 4 / 1 7, 1905, No. 47,Krasnyj Arkhiv, VI, 34 Google Scholar.

45 Witte, to Romanov, , n.d., No. 53,Krasnyj Arkhiv, VI, 37 Google Scholar.

46 Dillon, op. cit., p. 305.

47 Lamsdorf, to Kokovcev, , August 9/22, 1905, No. 57,Krasnyj Arkhiv, VI, 39 Google Scholar; Dillon, op. cit., p. 308; Witte, op. cit., p. 155

48 Protokoly, pp. 63–69; Korostovec, op. cit., pp. 96, 97.

49 Korostovec, op. cit., pp. 26, 34; Hayashi, op. cit., pp. 233, 234. See Dillon's articles in Harper's Weekly, August 26, September 2, and September 16, 1905, for examples.

50 Winston B., Thorson, “American Public Opinion and the Portsmouth Peace Conference,“ The American Historical Review, LIII, No. 3 (April, 1948), 439–64 Google Scholar.

51 Witte, op. cit., pp. 141, 142.

52 Witte, to Kokovcev, , August 5/18, 1905, No. 49,Krasnyj Arkhi-v, VI, 35 Google Scholar. See also Šipov to Putilov, July 23/August 5, 1905, No. 21, Krasnyj Arkhiv, VI, 24–26.

53 The Times (London), August 10, 1905.

54 See Michelson, A., Apostol, P., and Bernatzky, M.,Russian Public Finance During the War (New Haven, 1928), p. 221 Google Scholar and passim. 288

55 Kokovcev, to Witte, , August 5/18, 1905, No . 51,Krasnyj Arkhiv, VI, 36 Google Scholar. Korostovec, op. cit., p. 70.

56 Dennett, op. cit., pp. 151, 152.

57 See Rosen, op. cit., I, 269, 270 for his account.

58 Korostovec, op. cit., pp. 86, 89, 9 1, 92.

59 This story is well told in Roosevelt to Lodge, September 2, 1905, Lodge, op. cit., II, 177–90.

60 Meyer to Roosevelt, August 25, 1905, Howe, op. cit., pp. 197—202; Kokovcev, to Witte, , August 12/25, 1905, No . 59, Krasnyj Arkhiv, VI, 39, 4Google Scholar.

61 Howe, he. Cit

62 Howe, loc. cit.

63 Roosevelt, to Lodge, , September 2, 1905, Lodge, op. cit., II, 177–90Google Scholar; Roosevelt, to Spring-Rice, September 1, 1905, Gwynn, op. cit., pp. 486, 487Google Scholar.

64 Howe, loc. cit. See also Dennett, op. cit., p. 255. Russia had had the code for some time and messages to Meyer were usually therefore circuitously routed. In this case Roosevelt had been too impatient to follow this procedure.

65 An account of this will be found in Rouvier to Bompard, August 23, 1905, No. 273, and Bompard to Rouvier, August 24, 1905, No. 376, Documents Diplomatique* Francais, 2nd series (Paris, 1937) VII, 450–53.

66 Meyer to Roosevelt, June 9, 1905, Howe, op. cit., p. 160.

67 Meyer to Roosevelt, August 25, 1905, ibid., p. 199.

68 Roosevelt, to Spring-Rice, September 1, 1905, Gwynn, op. cit., pp. 486–87 Google Scholar. For our purposes a more detailed examination of the Kaiser's relations with the Tsar is not necessary and would lead far afield; for details see Dennett, op. cit.; B. A. Romanov, Očerki diplomutičeskoj istorii russko-japonskoj vojny (Moscow, 1947); Alfred L. P. Dennis, Adventures in American Diplomacy, 1896–1906 (New York, 1928).

69 Roosevelt, to Lodge, , September 2, 1905, Lodge,op. cit., II, 177–90 Google Scholar. Roosevelt to Kaneko, August 22 and 23, 1905, Gwynn, op. cit., pp. 487, 488; Bompard, to Rouvier, , August 29, 1905, No. 396,Documents Diplomatique! Francais, 2nd series, VII, 487 Google Scholar.

70 Durand, to Lansdowne, , June 13, 1905, No. 81 Google Scholar; MacDonald, to Lansdowne, , August 20, 1905, No. 95 Google Scholar; Durand, to Lansdowne, , August 24, 1905, No. 97 Google Scholar; Gooch, G. P. and Temperly, Harold W. V., ed.,British Official Documents on the Origin of the War (London, 1929), IV, 86, 103–05 Google Scholar.

71 Takeuchi, op. cit., pp. 152–54; see also, Potëmkin, V. P., ed.,Istorija Diplomatii (Moscow, 1945), II, 173 Google Scholar.

72 Lamsdorf to Kokovcev, August 13/26, 1905, No. 60, Krasnyj Arkhiv, VI, 40.

73 Protokoly, pp. 71–88. Korostovec, op. cit., p. 108.

74 Korostovec, loc. cit. Ishii has written that it was pressure from high Japanese military and naval authorities which finally forced the Japanese to make peace. Ishii, op. cit., p. 71. See also Takeuchi, op. cit., p. 154. Takeuchi says Komura obeyed the orders from Japan against his own will. Russia

75 The text of the treaty is to be found in Protokoly, pp. 97–107; MacMurray, J. V. A., Treaties and Agreements with and Concerning China, 1894–1919 (New York, 1921), I, 522–26Google Scholar.