The Birth of Politics in Exile: Russian Settlements in Manchuria and the Question of Imperialism

Abstract

The important period of Manchurian history commences in the thirteenth century, when Genghis Khan overran the Chin Dynasty. Under Mongol rule, Manchuria was devastated and it was not until the start of the seventeenth century that the populace of the Ussuri region was able to show the first signs of recovery. Soon afterwards, however, the Manchus began to bring their sister tribes under their control and seized the power of a declining Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). At this time, moreover, the Manchus brought along related tribes from Manchuria into China proper for further conquest and enforcement of their rule.¹ Even by this stage, one could observe the existence of a deep-seated, if stormy, relationship between the affairs of China and Manchuria. E.G. Ravenstein, in his The Russians on the Amur, concluded that in this respect ‘We find the destinies of Manchuria almost uninterruptedly connected with those of China’,² adding that the Manchurian tribes³ ‘…prefer conquest in the south, rather than to rely upon their own strength, and to found an independent empire in Manchuria’.⁴