The damage done by Tsarist Russia to China is simply too numerous to mention. From the 17th century onwards, it began a frenzied encroachment on Chinese territory. Once power changes hands, will the new regime atone for its previous crimes? In 1917, Tsarist Russia was overthrown and Soviet Russia was established. Lenin seems to have promised to repay China's territory, but why did Stalin not only not pay it back, but continued to expand after coming to power? Outer Mongolia was even more forced to "become independent." What is going on? Let's trace this cruel history together and face the cruel truth that has been covered up.
Tsarist Russia expanded wildly, and China suffered heavy losses
In the old days, Tsarist Russia's coveting of the land of China has never stopped. As early as the 17th century, it began its frenzied encroachment on Chinese territory. In 1689, Tsarist Russia forced the Qing Dynasty to sign the Treaty of Nebuchu, which took away a large area of Far Eastern land north of the Trans-Khingan Mountains. This is just the beginning.
In 1858, Tsarist Russia took advantage of the chaos of the Second Opium War and waited for an opportunity again. It forced the Heilongjiang general Yishan to sign the Treaty of Aihui, which seized more than 600,000 square kilometers of territory north of Heilongjiang from China. For the Qing Dynasty at that time, this was undoubtedly a heavy blow.
However, greedy Tsarist Russia remained not satisfied. In 1860, together with the British and French forces, it forced the Qing court to sign the Treaty of Peking. This time, Tsarist Russia took more than 400,000 square kilometers of land east of the Ussuri River from China, including Sakhalin and Vladivostok.
In this year, the frenzied expansion of Tsarist Russia did not stop. It forced the Qing court to sign the Tacheng Boundary Treaty, plundering 440,000 square kilometers of territory from northwest China. This is undoubtedly another heavy blow to the Xinjiang region.
In 1871, Tsarist Russia took advantage of Aguba's rebellion in Xinjiang to once again send troops to occupy the Ili region. Ten years later, in 1881, Tsarist Russia signed the Treaty of Ili with the Qing court, ceding more than 70,000 square kilometers of land from the northwest.
Towards the end of the 19th century, Tsarist Russia's ambitions became even more frenzied. In 1896, it signed the Sino-Russian Secret Treaty with the Qing court, and began to build banks, rubles, and railways in Northeast China, and operated the Northeast as if it were its colony.
In 1897, after Germany forcibly occupied Jiaozhou Bay, Tsarist Russia followed suit and sent troops to occupy Arthur Pass. The following year, it forced the Qing court to sign the "Luda Land Lease Renewal Contract", forcibly leasing Lushun and Dalian to Tsarist Russia.
In 1900, when the Eight-Nation Coalition invaded Beijing, Tsarist Russia dispatched 200,000 troops to directly annex Northeast China in seven routes. In the following five years, the Northeast was almost completely reduced to the territory of Tsarist Russia, and the local people suffered unspeakable suffering.
In addition, the Kulun region of Uriya Sutai (Outer Mongolia) and the Ili region of Xinjiang were also harassed and annexed by Tsarist Russia to varying degrees.
However, the road to expansion was not without its challenges. In 1856, it suffered a crushing defeat in the Crimean War, in 1878, after Zuo Zongtang recovered Xinjiang, Tsarist Russia had to surrender the nine cities of Ili, and in 1905, it suffered a crushing defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and was forced to withdraw from the northeast.
By 1914, Tsarist Russia had joined the ranks of World War I. Under the double blow of domestic and diplomatic difficulties, Tsarist Russia finally collapsed in 1917. It remains to be seen whether the new regime will atone for its previous crimes.
Lenin's promise: return the territory of China?
In 1917, the Tsarist regime was overthrown, and after the October Revolution, the Bolshevik Party led by Lenin finally seized power and established Soviet power. In the process, Lenin seems to have made an important promise to the Chinese.
On July 25, 1919, the Soviet Russian government diplomat Garrahan issued the famous "Garrahan Declaration". This declaration bluntly declared that the Russian government would abrogate all unequal treaties between Tsarist Russia and the Qing Dynasty, return the Chinese territories occupied by Tsarist Russia, and renounce all privileges and concessions in China.
As soon as the Garrahan Declaration was issued, it immediately aroused strong repercussions at home and abroad. In China, this was seen as a hand of friendship extended by the nascent Soviet regime to the Chinese people, and a solemn promise to repay historical crimes. For a time, public opinion was full of expectations and favorability for the Soviet Russian regime.
However, there are serious doubts about the practical effectiveness of this declaration. First of all, the Soviet Russian regime at that time had not yet fully unified the country, and many areas were still controlled by the remnants of Tsarist Russia, including the occupied Chinese territories. In order to fulfill the promises of the declaration, Soviet Russia must first fight to the death against these remnants.
Secondly, the declaration itself is only a unilateral declaration and is not binding under international law. It is not uncommon in the history of diplomacy to make a promise today and go back tomorrow. In fact, in the years that followed, there was a marked change in the attitude of the Russian government towards the return of Chinese territory.
In 1920, in negotiations with Chinese representatives, Soviet and Russian Foreign Minister Chicherin revised "free restitution" to "negotiable". By 1923, Karakhan, the later foreign minister, had simply omitted the clause on the return of the rights to the Eastern Railway.
It can be said that the Galahan Declaration was nothing more than a promise made by Lenin in order to gain domestic and foreign support, and its practical significance was minimal. As time went on, the Russian regime became more and more assertive, eventually putting this promise behind it.
Nevertheless, the issuance of the Galahan Declaration still marked the beginning of a new era. It marked the complete end of Tsarist Russia's policy toward China and laid the foundation for the later establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Soviet Union. It is just regrettable that Lenin's promise was not fulfilled in the end, and the encroached territory of China still cannot be recovered.
Stalin's time: Expand and add new damage
After Lenin's death, Stalin took over the reins of power in the Soviet Union. During his reign, there were some puzzling turns in Soviet policy toward China.
On the one hand, Stalin does not seem to have completely denied Lenin's promises back then. In 1924, he said in a speech that the USSR would "unconditionally" return the territories seized from China by Tsarist Russia. However, this promise was ultimately not kept.
On the contrary, after coming to power, Stalin not only did not return the Chinese territories, but continued to expand in the border areas. In August 1944, the Soviet Union openly recognized and accepted the Tangnu-Ulianghai region, completely incorporating the 1.73 million square kilometers of Chinese territory into its own territory.
Tangnu Ulianghai was originally an area directly under the Qing Dynasty, but gradually lost control under the infiltration of Tsarist Russia. In 1921, the Soviet Union sent troops to defeat the remnants of Tsarist Russia and declared the region "independent". But in reality, it was completely controlled and manipulated by the Soviet Union.
In addition to annexing the Donnu-Ulianghai, the Stalinist Soviet Union also had its eye on other Chinese territories. In 1935, the Soviet Union unilaterally established the so-called "Suifenhe Autonomous Prefecture" on Chinese territory in the middle reaches of the Heilongjiang River. It was an outright puppet regime designed to prepare for the annexation of Northeast China in the future.
It was not until the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945 that the Chinese government was able to recover the Suifenhe area. But in the same year, the Soviet Union expanded aggressively in the northeast, stationing large numbers of troops on Chinese territory. At one time, nearly 700,000 Soviet troops were stationed in Northeast China, which seriously threatened China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
During the Stalin period, the turning point of the Soviet Union's policy toward China was also reflected in the approach to Outer Mongolia. In 1924, the Soviet Union recognized and supported the "independence" of Outer Mongolia and stationed troops there. In the decades that followed, Outer Mongolia was completely reduced to a vassal state and buffer zone of the Soviet Union.
In general, the Soviet Union during the Stalinist regime not only did not repay the promises made by Lenin, but continued to expand in the border areas and annexed large swathes of Chinese territory. This has brought new harm to the Chinese people and further aggravated the tension and antagonism in the relations between the two countries.
The inside story of Outer Mongolia's forced "independence".
Outer Mongolia has been part of China's territory since ancient times. However, under the infiltration and manipulation of Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union, it was eventually forced to "independent" from China and become a puppet state.
As early as the middle of the 19th century, Tsarist Russia began its invasion of Outer Mongolia. They fostered the local Mongol aristocracy and made them rebel against the central Qing regime. After the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, the situation became even more chaotic. In 1912, the Mongolian aristocracy declared "independence" and formed the so-called "Mongolian Autonomous Government".
In the face of the rebellion of the Mongol aristocracy, the Qing government took military action and sent force to quell the rebellion. In 1913, a large-scale clash broke out between the two sides in the area around Qinling. In the end, the Qing army won and put down the unrest in the Mongolian region.
However, Tsarist Russia did not stop there. It took the opportunity to sign the Sino-Russian Declaration on Mongolian Affairs with the Beiyang government, calling for recognition of Mongolian regional autonomy and a ban on Chinese troops and immigrants in the region. This is undoubtedly a blatant provocation to China's sovereignty.
After the October Revolution of 1917, the Russian regime inherited Tsarist Russia's ambitions for Outer Mongolia. In 1919, the Russian government openly recognized the "independence" of Mongolia and established diplomatic relations with it. This triggered strong dissatisfaction from the Beiyang government, and the two sides fell into a standoff for a time.
In 1920, the Beiyang government sent the "Mongolian Army" led by Xu Shuzheng to quell the rebellion. After a difficult battle, Xu Shuzheng finally recovered the Mongolian region and restored the rule of the central power.
However, at a mixed state of affairs, a warlord scuffle broke out within the Beiyang government. Xu Shuzheng was forced to withdraw his troops, and the Mongolian region fell back into turmoil. In 1921, the Soviet Union took the opportunity to send troops to Mongolia and defeated the local opposition. The following year, the Soviet Union openly recognized the "independence" of Mongolia and stationed troops there.
From then on, Outer Mongolia was completely reduced to a vassal state of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union not only controlled Mongolia politically and militarily, but also dominated its economic lifeline. The Mongol regime was completely subordinate to the Kremlin and became an outpost of the Soviet Union in the Far East.
Even during the Sino-Japanese War, the Soviet Union did not relinquish control of Mongolia. In the Yalta Agreement of 1945, Stalin explicitly demanded that "Mongolia be maintained as it is", that is, that it should continue to be his sphere of influence.
It wasn't until the 1990s, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, that Mongolia truly gained its independence. But for decades before that, it had been a "buffer zone" for the Soviet Union in the Far East, used by the Soviet Union as a pawn to contain China.
In general, the forced "independence" of Outer Mongolia from China was completely manipulation by the Soviet Union for its own interests. It has not only deprived China of its sovereignty, but has also brought serious wounds to the friendship between the two peoples and has become a historical scar.
The damage continues, and historical debts cannot be repaid
The frenzied encroachment of Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union on China's territory has brought profound trauma and disasters to the Chinese people. Even with the passage of time, the shadow of this history still hangs over the two peoples, becoming an irreparable scar.
First, let's review the damage done to China during the Tsarist period. According to historical records, from the 17th century onwards, Tsarist Russia began its brutal plundering of Chinese territory. The Treaty of Nebuchu in 1689, the Treaty of Aihun in 1858, the Treaty of Beijing in 1860, and the Treaty of Tacheng in 1864 were signed again and again, and China lost large areas of land such as Heilongjiang, Ussuri and Xinjiang.
By the end of the 19th century, Tsarist Russia was expanding even more frantically. It runs banks, railroads, and rubles in northeastern China as if it were its colony. In 1897, Tsarist Russia forcibly occupied Lushunkou and Dalian and leased them to itself. In 1900, it dispatched 200,000 troops to directly annex northeast China.
According to statistics, during the period of Tsarist Russia alone, China lost 1.51 million square kilometers of territory, which is equivalent to the size of 15 Jiangsu provinces. These lands were once inhabited by countless Chinese people, and we have no way of knowing what kind of suffering they suffered under the iron heel of Tsarist Russia.
In the period of Soviet Russia, the situation did not improve. Although Lenin had promised to repay the Chinese territory, after Stalin came to power, not only did not fulfill this promise, but continued to expand in the border areas. In 1944, the Soviet Union openly recognized and annexed the Tangnu-Ulianghai region, completely incorporating the 1.73 million square kilometers of Chinese territory into its own territory.
In addition to this, the Soviet Union manipulated the "independence" of Outer Mongolia as a puppet state and buffer zone. In the Yalta Agreement of 1945, Stalin explicitly demanded that "Mongolia be maintained as it is", that is, that it should continue to be his sphere of influence.
In total, from Tsarist Russia to the Soviet Union, China lost at least 3.2 million square kilometers of territory. These lands were once inhabited by countless Chinese, and we have no way of knowing what they suffered under the iron heel of Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union.
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This history has brought deep trauma to the Chinese people and cast a shadow on the friendship between the two peoples. Even with the passage of time, the scars of this history are still difficult to heal. Only by remembering history and drawing lessons can we avoid the recurrence of tragedies and safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.