Russia was originally a small principality that had been controlled by the Mongols for centuries. But since independence, it has embarked on the road of external expansion. As early as the Kangxi period, Russia had already infiltrated the outer northeast, and if Kangxi had not been strong at that time and drove out the invaders, it might have started from then on.
After the Opium War, the Qing Dynasty could no longer maintain such a huge empire, and Russia took the opportunity to encroach on more than 1.5 million square kilometers of land in China at this time.
Some wonder why russia's invasion of China did not focus on Mongolia, but on the northeast and northwest.
When Russia expanded into Siberia, it clashed with the Qing Dynasty, which was at its peak at the time, and for this reason signed the Treaty of Nebuchu during the Kangxi Dynasty and the Treaty of Kyakhta in the Yongzheng Dynasty. These two treaties, which were fairly equal, defined China's sovereignty over Outer Mongolia and the Outer Xing'an Mountains.
After nearly a hundred years, the Qing Dynasty finally eliminated the Dzungar Khanate, and the Qianlong Emperor called the region that was finally ruled by the Qing government he established as Xinjiang.
By the end of the eighteenth century, during the time of Tsarina Catherine of Russia, the Russians had reached the Chukotka Peninsula and, by extension, crossed the Bering Strait and annexed Alaska in North America.
Although Russia's desire to invade areas like the Heilongjiang River Basin, including Mongolia, was only constantly infiltrating. It was not until the mid-nineteenth century, after defeat in the Crimean Russo-Turkish War and the obstruction of its expansion into Europe, that Tsarist Russia shifted the focus of its aggression to Asia.
Therefore, although Russia likes to expand, it is not focused on China.
After all, although Russia is powerful, it is only a feudal country, which is subject to a lot of constraints, and it will also encounter confused tsars and infighting. Not every emperor was a wise lord like Peter the Great.
Russia's focus is on the Far East, and the Far East is on the northeast. The conquest of warm land and access to the sea is a Dream of the Russians, and generations of Russians have fought for this goal. The invasion of the northeast is to open up the Pacific sea mouth and find a natural harbor, and China's northeast region is in line with Russia's purpose of finding the Pacific sea mouth.
Moreover, the Qing government had previously banned Han Chinese immigration, and breaking into the Kwantung was a later matter. At that time, the vast area of the northeast was sparsely populated, and only a few ethnic minority tribes lived sporadically, and Russia easily advanced to the Heilongjiang River Basin.
Taking advantage of the Second Opium War, Russia annexed a large number of territories in the Outer Northeast. It cannot be said that the Outer Northeast would not have been lost without an Anglo-French invasion, but the Russians were very good at seizing the opportunity.
If the northeast can still be understood, then what about the northwest? Expansion is in the nature of the Russians, after all, the Russians are very aggressive, very greedy for the land, and the Russians can be either northeast or northwest.
In addition, China is bordered by northwest and Central Asia, and Russia has long coveted the Central Asian region, which is rich in resources and of strategic significance. It began to infiltrate here during the time of Peter the Great. When the conquest of the Central Asian states was completed, Russia stepped up its aggression against China's Xinjiang. On the other hand, Russia also began to open up the passage from Central Asia to the Indian Ocean through Afghanistan. As a result, they encountered Britain, and the two sides fought again many times, and finally there was no way but to divide the place. Xinjiang was also taken back by Zuo Zongtang in the form of force.
Moreover, Britain did not want Russia to continue to annex in this way, so Russia could not do it if it wanted to annex Xinjiang.
After Tsarist Russia annexed the Outer Northeast and Outer Northwest, Mongolia's position appeared to be unusually advanced. Tsar Nicholas II threw out the "Yellow Russia" plan, intending to include a vast area including Xinjiang, the Mongolian plateau and the northeast into the territory of Tsarist Russia.
But by this time, the North was no longer the only russian country. Japan and Russia had a struggle for interests in the northeast and eastern Mongolia, and the two sides fought a big battle, and Russia was defeated.
Outer Mongolia is not like the northeast, the land is sparsely populated, and the horse Pingchuan. Outer Mongolia was inhabited by a large number of Mongols at that time, and it was obviously impossible to take a military invasion. Although many people in Outer Mongolia were also very dissatisfied with the rule of the Qing Dynasty, it did not mean that they would turn to Russia.
However, with the support of the Russians, Outer Mongolia declared its independence in 1911, but it has not been recognized by the Chinese government.
Although the Qing Dynasty was finished, there was still the Republic of China, and China's strength as a whole was increasing. Moreover, since the twentieth century, the situation in Europe has begun to deteriorate, and Russia, which is in decline in its own power, has to once again set its sights on Europe.
Of course, although the desire to annex Mongolia was not fulfilled, Outer Mongolia was separated from China with the intervention of Russia and the Soviet Union later.