Since the Opium War, the late Qing Dynasty has suffered a huge crisis, the first of which is the loss of sovereign benefits in the reparations for land cession. In fact, Tsarist Russia had already expanded to the Far East, but it was taught a lesson by Kangxi, and it was honest a lot.
But since being opened by the British, Tsarist Russia once again set its sights on China, forcing the Qing government to sign several unequal treaties and encroaching on more than 1.5 million square kilometers of land.
Of course, this was only part of the lost territory of the Qing Dynasty, such as the British still occupying Hong Kong at that time, the Portuguese occupying Macau, and so on.
However, Hong Kong and Macao have returned to the motherland, but the vast territories occupied by Tsarist Russia have not returned. Could the territory given to Tsarist Russia by the Qing Dynasty not be returned only because of the limitations of the form of treaties?
First of all, we say that the unequal treaty signed by Tsarist Russia and the Qing Dynasty is actually different from the unequal treaty signed by Britain. Britain opened the door to China, invaded Hong Kong, and then successively leased the territory
But Britain's fundamental purpose was not to encroach on territory, but merely to trade. Tsarist Russia, on the other hand, encroached on territory because of a hunger and thirst for the land.
Whether it is the outer northeast or the outer northwest, because of the border with Tsarist Russia, it became a direct part of Tsarist Russia after being annexed. This is also different from Hong Kong and Macao.
In any case, just like Macau, it was occupied by the Portuguese during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, but after so many years, it is still dominated by Chinese, and Portugal has not changed the ethnic structure here.
It is precisely because of this that Tsarist Russia has adopted exactly the same rule as its own country for the occupied territories, and even expelled and massacred local Chinese, followed by immigration, making it completely different from other lands in Tsarist Russia, and more is that Tsarist Russia controls it very strictly.
Of course, the most fundamental reason is national strength.
As the first generation of colonial empires, Portugal rose quickly and declined slowly. Therefore, Portugal simply did not have the ability to maintain its colonial empire, and the reason why Macau was returned so late was actually out of national interest.
Needless to say, Britain once had an empire where the sun never set, and colonies were all over the world. But the two world wars brought Britain off the altar and was overtaken by the United States and the Soviet Union. Therefore, although the British are not willing to give up, they are not able to do anything about it. Just like Hong Kong, in the face of China's strength, Britain does not dare not follow.
Tsarist Russia passed through the Soviet Union and then to Russia, although the national strength has changed, but after all, the block is there, and no one can say that bullying can be done.
So if these territories are to be returned, there is no doubt that on the one hand, it will be resolved through negotiations and on the other hand, by force.
Both of these articles are actually very difficult, let's talk about the treaty first. Objectively speaking, these treaties involve the cession of land, not leasing, although it is an unequal treaty, but after all, it is signed.
After the founding of New China, this issue was not without discussion, but at that time the Soviet Union did not recognize this problem at all. Just like the Treaty of Nebuchadnezzar, Tsarist Russia even thought that it had suffered a loss.
Therefore, it is impossible to talk to the Soviet Union on this issue, and it is even more impossible to affirm force.
Even if the Soviet Union disintegrates, Russia faces many problems and the border needs to be re-signed, but Russia inherits most of the Soviet legacy, and its strength cannot be underestimated. Force is impossible, but the road to negotiation is also blocked, after all, this is a territorial issue, not some other issue, this is very sensitive.
Therefore, it is difficult for China's lost territory to be returned, not to mention that it has been determined again through the treaty. However, no one can forget history, and I believe that with the strength of the country, it will always be solved.