Preface
In the history of the world, the rise and fall of major empires are like the ebb and flow of the tide, and the changes of territory are like the scale of history, recording the glory and fall of each empire. From Tsarist Russia to contemporary Russia, the surplus and contraction of territorial area is not only a decrease in numbers, but also a microcosm of the country's destiny and geopolitical changes.
Territorial Transitions: From Tsarist Russia to Russian S
The glory of Tsarist Russia in the past stood out with its vast territory of 22.88 million square kilometers. However, with the passage of time, the land area of Russia has shrunk to 17.09 million square kilometers. Although it still ranks first on the world map, the shrinking land area has undoubtedly attracted widespread attention from the outside world. In all directions, former friends have left, but the Arctic Ocean and the Far East are impregnable, what is the reason behind this?
National self-determination and national separation
Straddling the Eurasian continent of Tsarist Russia, the European part included the European part of modern Russia, as well as most of Ukraine, Belarus, and the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania). There are many ethnic groups in these European parts, especially the three Baltic states, Finland, Belarus, Ukraine and other regions, all of which have their own distinctive national attributes and cultural characteristics. The independence of these regions is not only an expression of national self-determination, but also an inevitable development of history.
This is the case in the European part, for the independence of Transcaucasia and Central Asia, it is also the strategic choice of Russia S after the collapse of the Soviet Union, facing its own serious economic and political crisis, Russia S's control over the Transcaucasia and Central Asia has declined, and it also realizes that maintaining control over these regions will pay huge economic and military costs, and has adopted a strategy of "throwing off the burden" and actively cutting ties with these regions, which has promoted the independence process of these countries to a certain extent.
However, in any case, the Russian S have never let go of the Far East and have always maintained close ties, which are closely related to the ethnic composition and historical origins of the Far East.
Stability in the Far East: a dual role of history and strategy
The Far East, especially the Outer Northeast, was not historically Russian territory. Due to the closed management of the Qing Dynasty, as well as the gradual penetration and settlement of Tsarist Russia, coupled with the incompetence of the late Qing Dynasty, on the basis of the delimitation of the "Nebuchu Treaty", it was defeated and retreated, and in the "Aihun Treaty", a large area of land in the Outer Northeast was ceded to Tsarist Russia, and the Outer Northeast and the Far East became Russian territory.
During the period of Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union, the Far East did not experience many wars, which was closely related to its strategic position and geopolitics. Both Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union advanced the Far East to the northeast, while the Far East itself was relatively safe.
The strategic layout of Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union: the establishment and maintenance of buffer zones
The strategic layout of Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union in the Far East reflects their superb strategic vision and political wisdom. By establishing buffer zones and supporting proxies, Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union succeeded in leaving the battlefield to each other and ensuring the security of their homeland.
At the same time, the stability of the Far East also provided a solid foundation for the economic development and foreign expansion of Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union. In addition, the Far East is rich in resources, including coal, gold, diamonds, forest resources, freshwater resources, aquatic biological resources, oil and gas, etc., which is an important foundation for Russia's economic development.
In modern times, Russia's strategic attention to the Far East has continued unabated. The deployment of a large number of military forces in the Far East, including the Pacific Fleet, strategic missiles, and other major powers, shows that Russia attaches great importance to and relies on the Far East.
The stability of the Far East is vital to Russia's national security and development. At the same time, there is a high level of support in Russia for the government's policy of "turning to the East", that is, giving priority to the development of relations with the countries of the East, and a lot of economic construction has been carried out in the Far East, in an effort to build this land into a new engine of national development.
Coupled with the fact that the Far East is part of Russian history and has strong cultural and historical ties with the European part of Russia, the abandonment of the Far East will have an impact on Russia's national identity. Therefore, it is impossible for Russia to abandon the Far East as it did with the five Central Asian countries, and it will only grasp it more and more closely.
On the chessboard of geopolitical Z, the game between Russia and its neighbors has never stopped. It also proves the strategic position of the Far East, making it the focus of contention between various parties. How to balance the relations between all parties while safeguarding its own interests is an important issue facing Russia. At the same time, the future trend of the Far East also affects the nerves of neighboring countries and even the world.
epilogue
The wheels of history roll forward and will not stop for anyone. The territorial changes from Tsarist Russia to contemporary Russia have left a profound inspiration for us. In today's globalization, cooperation and competition between countries coexist, and how to gain a foothold in this tide is a question that every country needs to think about. At the same time, the lessons of history also tell us that territorial expansion does not bring long-term prosperity, and only internal stability and development are the key to the long-term prosperity of a country.