We Shall Be Masters: Russian Pivots to East Asia from Peter the Great to Putin 0674916441, 9780674916449
An illuminating account of Russia's attempts--and failures--to achieve great power status in Asia. Since Peter t
409 138 7MB
English Pages 384 [385] Year 2021
Table of contents :
Contents
Introduction: “Only a Short Distance Away”: Russia’s Arrival on the Pacific Coast
1 Lord of Alaska: Tsar Alexander I’s Transpacific Empire
2 “Russian Control Will Be Guaranteed Forever”: Nikolai Muravev and the Conquest of the Pacific Coast
3 “We Can Still Repeat the Exploits of Cortez”: Expansion and Retreat in China’s Central Asian Borderlands
4 “Tightening the Bonds between Us”: Sergei Witte and the Trans-Siberian Railway
5 “A New Mecca for the East”: The Bolshevik Revolution in China
6 “We Must Have Our Hands Free”: Stalin’s Drive for Hegemony in East Asia
7 “The Great Hope of Humankind”: Soft-Power Socialism in Asia
8 Perestroika and the Pacific: Mikhail Gorbachev’s Opening to Asia
Conclusion: “Heir to the Empire of Genghis Khan”: Vladimir Putin’s Pivot to Asia
Abbreviations
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index
