What happened in 1904. Entente

In Russia the situation was heating up. The tragic events of 1904-1905 - the Russian-Japanese War, Bloody Sunday, which caused a wave of indignation everywhere - could not but affect the cultural life of the capital and other cities of the country. The tsarist government in the period immediately preceding the first Russian revolution tried to limit as much as possible any public gatherings, even such as Rubinstein's dinners for Moscow musicians.

Especially after the St. Petersburg newspaper “Our Life” (January 18, 1905) in the “Chronicle” section entitled “Artists’ Lunch” published a letter written at this dinner by the largest masters of Russian fine art, headed by Ivan Bilibin. It expressed solidarity with those representatives of Russian society “who are courageously and steadfastly fighting for the liberation of Russia...”

Following the artists, the musicians raised their voices. Their letter-declaration, drawn up, judging by Taneyev’s diary entry, at Rubinstein’s dinner in the Hermitage, at which Gliere was present, was published on February 3, 1905 in the newspaper Our Days, and three days later in Russkie Vedomosti. It said: “When in a country there is neither freedom of thought and conscience, nor freedom of speech and press, when all living creative endeavors of the people are blocked, artistic creativity languishes. The title of a free artist then sounds like a bitter mockery. We are not free artists, but the same powerless victims of modern abnormal social and legal conditions, like other Russian citizens, and, in our opinion, there is only one way out of these conditions: Russia must finally embark on the path of fundamental reforms... “Among those who signed this letter - and there were the names of Taneyev, Rachmaninov, Kashkin, Kastalsky, Grechaninov, Chaliapin - there was Gliere.

Gliere also signed a letter from a large group of cultural figures addressed to the directorate of the St. Petersburg branch of the Russian Musical Society in defense of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, who was dismissed from the professorship of the St. Petersburg Conservatory because he opposed the expulsion and arrest of students involved in clashes with the police. As you know, as a result of numerous speeches by public groups, unions, and associations, Rimsky-Korsakov was returned to the St. Petersburg Conservatory. But all this created a nervous, oppressive atmosphere, and normal work required a great effort of will. Despite the alarming news brought literally every day, Glier during this period carefully completed the Second Sextet, dedicated to Ippolitov-Ivanov, completed work on the Third Sextet - a tribute to the memory of M. P. Belyaev - and the Second Quartet, dedicated to N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov . These three chamber ensembles, in comparison with the previous ones, naturally reveal greater maturity and independence of composer's thinking, and are much more technically complex, which poses a certain difficulty for performance. But their form is even clearer and more distinct. They are instrumented with ingenuity and expressiveness, and the character of the music is still the same, rich in the intonations of Russian folk song. With the exception, however, of the finale of the Second Quartet, which was written, according to the author, “in the oriental style” and well conveys the character of oriental music. This is typical “Russian music about the East”, rooted in the work of Glinka, later developed by Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov and other Russian classics.

In addition, Gliere worked a lot on piano pieces, combining them into cycles of two, three, five, six or more miniatures. He continued to write romances, in particular, during this period the romance “Blacksmiths” was written, dedicated to Chaliapin.

In June 1905, the composer gave birth to two twin daughters, Nina and Leah. Despite this, or perhaps precisely because of this (Liya was very weak and was sick all the time), Gliere and his family left for Germany at the beginning of winter, having agreed with A.T. Grechaninov that during his absence he would teach lessons at the Gnessins by harmony.

One of the largest confrontations is the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905. The reasons for this will be discussed in the article. As a result of the conflict, guns from battleships, long-range artillery, and destroyers were used.

The essence of this war was which of the two warring empires would dominate the Far East. Emperor Nicholas II of Russia considered it his first priority to strengthen the influence of his power in East Asia. At the same time, Emperor Meiji of Japan sought to gain complete control of Korea. War became inevitable.

Prerequisites for the conflict

It is clear that the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905 (the reasons are related to the Far East) did not begin instantly. She had her own reasons.

Russia advanced in Central Asia to the border with Afghanistan and Persia, which affected the interests of Great Britain. Unable to expand in this direction, the empire switched to the East. There was China, which, due to complete exhaustion in the Opium Wars, was forced to transfer part of its territory to Russia. So she gained control of Primorye (the territory of modern Vladivostok), the Kuril Islands, and partly the island of Sakhalin. To connect distant borders, the Trans-Siberian Railway was created, which provided communication between Chelyabinsk and Vladivostok along the railway line. In addition to the railway, Russia planned to trade along the ice-free Yellow Sea through Port Arthur.

Japan was undergoing its own transformations at the same time. Having come to power, Emperor Meiji stopped the policy of self-isolation and began modernizing the state. All his reforms were so successful that a quarter of a century after they began, the empire was able to seriously think about military expansion to other states. Its first targets were China and Korea. Japan's victory over China allowed it to gain rights to Korea, the island of Taiwan and other lands in 1895.

A conflict was brewing between two powerful empires for dominance in East Asia. The result was the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. The causes of the conflict are worth considering in more detail.

Main causes of war

It was extremely important for both powers to show their military achievements, so the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905 unfolded. The reasons for this confrontation lie not only in claims to the territory of China, but also in the internal political situations that had developed by this time in both empires. A successful campaign in war not only provides the winner with economic benefits, but also increases its status on the world stage and silences opponents of the existing government. What did both states count on in this conflict? What were the main causes of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905? The table below reveals the answers to these questions.

It was precisely because both powers sought an armed solution to the conflict that all diplomatic negotiations did not bring results.

Balance of forces on land

The causes of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 were both economic and political. The 23rd Artillery Brigade was sent to the Eastern Front from Russia. As for the numerical advantage of the armies, the leadership belonged to Russia. However, in the East the army was limited to 150 thousand people. Moreover, they were scattered over a vast territory.

• Vladivostok - 45,000 people.
• Manchuria - 28,000 people.
• Port Arthur - 22,000 people.
• Security of the CER - 35,000 people.
• Artillery, engineering troops - up to 8000 people.

The biggest problem for the Russian army was its remoteness from the European part. Communication was carried out by telegraph, and delivery was carried out by the CER line. However, a limited amount of cargo could be transported by rail. In addition, the leadership did not have accurate maps of the area, which negatively affected the course of the war.

Japan before the war had an army of 375 thousand people. They studied the area well and had fairly accurate maps. The army was modernized by English specialists, and the soldiers were loyal to their emperor to death.

Relationships of forces on water

In addition to land, battles also took place on water. The Japanese fleet was led by Admiral Heihachiro Togo. His task was to block the enemy squadron near Port Arthur. In another sea (Japanese), the squadron of the Land of the Rising Sun opposed the Vladivostok group of cruisers.

Understanding the reasons for the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the Meiji power thoroughly prepared for battles on the water. The most important ships of its United Fleet were produced in England, France, Germany and were significantly superior to Russian ships.

Main events of the war

When Japanese forces began to move to Korea in February 1904, the Russian command did not attach any importance to this, although they understood the reasons for the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.

Briefly about the main events.

• 09.02.1904. The historical battle of the cruiser “Varyag” against the Japanese squadron near Chemulpo.
• 27.02.1904. The Japanese fleet attacked the Russian Port Arthur without declaring war. The Japanese used torpedoes for the first time and disabled 90% of the Pacific Fleet.
• April 1904. A clash of armies on land, which showed Russia's unpreparedness for war (inconsistency of uniform, lack of military maps, inability to fencing). Because Russian officers had white jackets, Japanese soldiers easily identified and killed them.
• May 1904. Capture of the port of Dalny by the Japanese.
• August 1904. Successful Russian defense of Port Arthur.
• January 1905. Surrender of Port Arthur by Stessel.
• May 1905. The naval battle near Tsushima destroyed the Russian squadron (one ship returned to Vladivostok), while not a single Japanese ship was damaged.
• July 1905. Invasion of Japanese troops on Sakhalin.

The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the causes of which were economic in nature, led to the exhaustion of both powers. Japan began to look for ways to resolve the conflict. She resorted to the help of Great Britain and the USA.

Battle of Chemulpo

The famous battle took place on 02/09/1904 off the coast of Korea (the city of Chemulpo). The two Russian ships were commanded by Captain Vsevolod Rudnev. These were the cruiser "Varyag" and the boat "Koreets". The Japanese squadron under the command of Sotokichi Uriu consisted of 2 battleships, 4 cruisers, 8 destroyers. They blocked Russian ships and forced them into battle.

In the morning, in clear weather, the “Varyag” and the “Koreyets” weighed anchor and tried to leave the bay. Music played for them in honor of leaving the port, but after only five minutes the alarm sounded on deck. The battle flag went up.

The Japanese did not expect such actions and hoped to destroy the Russian ships in the port. The enemy squadron hastily raised anchors and battle flags and began to prepare for battle. The battle began with a shot from the Asama. Then there was a battle using armor-piercing and high-explosive shells on both sides.

In unequal forces, the Varyag was badly damaged, and Rudnev decided to turn back to the anchorage. There, the Japanese could not continue shelling due to the danger of damaging the ships of other countries.

Having lowered the anchor, the Varyag crew began to examine the condition of the ship. Rudnev, meanwhile, went for permission to destroy the cruiser and transfer its crew to neutral ships. Not all officers supported Rudnev’s decision, but two hours later the team was evacuated. They decided to sink the Varyag by opening its floodgates. The bodies of the dead sailors were left on the cruiser.

It was decided to blow up the Korean boat, having evacuated the crew first. All things were left on the ship, and secret documents were burned.

The sailors were received by French, English and Italian ships. After carrying out all the necessary procedures, they were delivered to Odessa and Sevastopol, from where they were disbanded into the fleet. According to the agreement, they could not continue to participate in the Russian-Japanese conflict, so they were not allowed into the Pacific Fleet.

Results of the war

Japan agreed to sign the peace treaty with the complete surrender of Russia, in which the revolution had already begun. According to the Portsmoon Peace Treaty (08/23/1905), Russia was obliged to fulfill the following points:

1. Give up claims to Manchuria.
2. Give up the Kuril Islands and half of Sakhalin Island in favor of Japan.
3. Recognize Japan's right to Korea.
4. Transfer to Japan the right to lease Port Arthur.
5. Pay Japan an indemnity for the “maintenance of prisoners.”

In addition, defeat in the war had negative consequences for Russia economically. Stagnation began in some industries, as their lending from foreign banks decreased. Life in the country has become significantly more expensive. Industrialists insisted on a speedy conclusion of peace.

Even those countries that initially supported Japan (Great Britain and the USA) realized how difficult the situation in Russia was. The war had to be stopped in order to direct all forces to fight the revolution, which the world states equally feared.

Mass movements began among workers and military personnel. A striking example is the mutiny on the battleship Potemkin.

The causes and results of the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905 are clear. It remains to be seen what the losses were in human equivalent. Russia lost 270 thousand, of which 50 thousand were killed. Japan lost the same number of soldiers, but more than 80 thousand were killed.

Value judgments

The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the causes of which were economic and political in nature, showed serious problems within the Russian Empire. He also wrote about this. The war revealed problems in the army, its weapons, command, as well as mistakes in diplomacy.

Japan was not entirely satisfied with the outcome of the negotiations. The state has lost too much in the fight against the European enemy. She expected to gain more territory, but the United States did not support her in this. Discontent began to brew within the country, and Japan continued on the path of militarization.

The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the causes of which were considered, brought many military tricks:

• use of spotlights;
• use of wire fences under high voltage current;
• field kitchen;
• radio telegraphy made it possible for the first time to control ships from a distance;
• switching to petroleum fuel, which produces no smoke and makes ships less visible;
• the appearance of mine-layer ships, which began to be produced with the proliferation of mine weapons;
• flamethrowers.

One of the heroic battles of the war with Japan is the battle of the cruiser “Varyag” at Chemulpo (1904). Together with the ship "Korean" they confronted an entire squadron of the enemy. The battle was obviously lost, but the sailors still made an attempt to break through. It turned out to be unsuccessful, and in order not to surrender, the crew led by Rudnev sank their ship. For their courage and heroism they were praised by Nicholas II. The Japanese were so impressed by the character and resilience of Rudnev and his sailors that in 1907 they awarded him the Order of the Rising Sun. The captain of the sunken cruiser accepted the award, but never wore it.

There is a version according to which Stoessel surrendered Port Arthur to the Japanese for a reward. It is no longer possible to verify how true this version is. Be that as it may, because of his action, the campaign was doomed to failure. For this, the general was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in the fortress, but he was pardoned a year after his imprisonment. He was stripped of all titles and awards, leaving him with a pension.

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Books

• , Dranitsyn N.I.. Address-calendar of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese for 1904. Reproduced in the original author's spelling of the 1904 edition (Nizhny Novgorod publishing house).…
• Address-calendar of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese for 1904. , Dranitsyn N.I.. Address-calendar of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese for 1904. Reproduced in the original author's spelling of the 1904 edition (Nizhny Novgorod publishing house...
• Illustrated chronicle of the Russo-Japanese War. Chronicle for 1904, issues 1-4, Bulgakov F.I.. Illustrated chronicle of the Russo-Japanese War (according to official data, press information and eyewitness testimony), with maps and plans, portraits, images of combat episodes, drawings from...

Russia and the world in 1896-1904: main events

On May 28, 1896, the largest exhibition in the history of Russia opened in Nizhny Novgorod on the left bank of the Oka, designed to demonstrate, according to the chairman of its organizing committee, Minister of Finance S. Yu. Witte, “the results of the spiritual and economic growth that our Fatherland has now achieved since the Moscow Exhibition of 1882."

Speaking about the main achievements of Russia in the newspaper “Novoe Vremya” over the past 14 years, D. I. Mendeleev in the issue of July 5, 1896 cited the following figures: over these years, the length of railways has increased from 22,500 to 40,000 versts; coal production from 230 to 500 million pounds, oil - from 50 to 350 million, iron smelting - from 28 to 75 million.

Nikolai and Alexandra Fedorovna arrived at the exhibition on July 17 and stayed in Nizhny for four days. A tour of the exhibition convinced the emperor that Russia was confidently growing stronger and was entering the top five most developed powers in the world.

With this feeling, the Tsar and Tsarina set off on their first trip to Europe after the coronation.

The royal couple proceeded through Kyiv to Breslau and Görlitz, where large maneuvers of the German army took place.

There the first meeting of the last two emperors of Germany and Russia, Wilhelm II and Nicholas II, took place. Even then, Wilhelm intended to make his cousin an ally, but Nicholas understood that this was unacceptable, because Paris was waiting for him ahead, and his allies were there.

Raymond Poincaré, a brilliant member of parliament, delivering a speech on the eve of the arrival of the Russian monarchs in France in front of the country's commercial, industrial and financial aces, said: “The upcoming arrival of a powerful monarch, a peace-loving ally of France ... will show Europe that France has emerged from its long isolation and that it is worthy friendship and respect." The French were preparing for the arrival of Nicholas, not much inferior in this to the residents of Russia, when the arrival of the Tsar was expected in a particular region.

Train tickets to Paris for the celebration days cost only 25% compared to the regular price; Schools were canceled for a week. For those who wanted to watch the passage of the royal couple from the Passy station to the Russian embassy building on the Rue Grenelle, the owners of the houses rented out seats at the windows, and one window cost 5,000 francs.

On September 23, Nikolai and Alexandra Fedorovna arrived by ship and were met by the President of the Republic, Felix Faure. The delight and sincere love of the Parisians for the Tsar and Russia was completely indescribable and sometimes defied explanation - it got to the point that during a service in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, the organist suddenly started playing the Russian anthem.

Not wanting to irritate “Cousin Willie,” Nikolai spent most of his time sightseeing in the great city, completely refraining from political speeches. The Tsar and Tsarina visited parliament, the Grand Opera, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Pantheon, the Invalides, Napoleon's grave, the French Academy, the Comedie Française theater, the Sèvres porcelain manufactory, the Mint and Versailles. On the last, fifth, day of their stay in Paris, the royal couple left for Chalon, where a large military parade took place in their honor. Here Nicholas could no longer remain silent and at a banquet given by the officers and generals of France, he said: “France can be proud of its army... Our countries are bound by an indestructible friendship. There is also a deep sense of brotherhood in arms between our armies.”

After this, the Tsar and Tsarina went to Darmstadt for three weeks, to visit Alexandra Feodorovna’s parents. And in Paris they remembered this visit for a long time, since it, by all accounts, contributed to the fact that France came out of the stupor in which it had been for a quarter of a century after the defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, and again felt like a powerful and great power.

Returning from Darmstadt to St. Petersburg, Nikolai learned that during his absence a socialist movement had developed and organized, led in the capital by the St. Petersburg Union of Struggle for the Liberation of the Working Class, headed by the brother of the executed Alexander Ulyanov - Vladimir - with a small group of his relatives and comrades.

The Tsar was informed that Vladimir Ulyanov fanatically hated the House of Romanov and would take revenge on the dynasty for the execution of his brother. At this time, one of the main economic demands of the socialist-led workers was the establishment of an eight-hour working day and compulsory annual leave. Understanding the legality of these demands, the tsarist administration met the workers halfway, and on June 2, 1897, a law was issued that established sixty-six compulsory holidays, and as for local holidays, the law left their declaration as working or non-working days at the discretion of factory owners.

By this time, the working day had been reduced to ten hours, and only the most backward workers agreed to work up to twelve hours per shift for meager overtime bonuses.

Thus, the struggle for an eight-hour workday and additional days of rest receded into the background. Russia's rapid economic development continued. This was facilitated by the introduction of a state wine monopoly, when all proceeds from the sale of alcohol went to the treasury; this was facilitated by the establishment of a fixed exchange rate for the ruble, which received a gold basis; This was facilitated by vigorous railway construction, a sharp increase in the fleet, both commercial and military, and the creation of many new plants and factories. Despite the attractiveness of this course of development, a dangerous tilt arose, in which the village found itself left behind the national economic ship, which also experienced two lean years in a row - 1898 and 1899.

In foreign policy, Nicholas II proposed general disarmament and universal eternal peace to all countries, but the European politicians gathered at the World Conference in The Hague were afraid of a catch, suspecting each other of treachery that would lead to a weakening of their military power, and other countries - the USA, Japan - They reacted rather coolly to these proposals, although three peace conventions were nevertheless adopted.

However, the tsar moves the center of gravity of his foreign policy to the East.

The Minister of War, Infantry General Alexei Nikolaevich Kuropatkin wrote in his diary that Nicholas II had formed a global plan in his head to seize Manchuria, Korea and Tibet, and then Iran, the Bosporus and the Dardanelles. The first step in this direction was the creation of a Russian forest concession on the Yalu River in Korea. The initiator of its creation was Colonel Alexander Mikhailovich Bezobrazov, who served in Eastern Siberia. In 1901, relying on the support of the Secretary of State, and in the near future the Minister of Internal Affairs V.K. Plehve, Prince F.F. Yusupov, Prince I.I. Vorontsov and a group of large entrepreneurs, he created the “Russian Timber Industry Partnership”, having received a government subsidy of two million rubles. This company of businessmen-adventurers, which received the name “Bezobrazov clique” after the surname of its leader, began to pursue an openly aggressive policy towards Japan, which three years later led to a war between the two countries.

The Bezobrazov lobby in St. Petersburg achieved the resignation of its main opponent, Finance Minister S. Yu. Witte, finally freeing its hands. The clique proceeded from the fact that a small, victorious war was extremely necessary for Russia to strengthen its internal position. The fact that the war with Japan could not be different did not raise the slightest doubt among any of the Russian politicians.

The Japanese, knowing this, began to intensively prepare for war, which had become inevitable by the beginning of 1904, and at the end of January 1904 they launched a surprise attack on the Russian squadron stationed on the outer roadstead of Port Arthur. The war has begun.

On the night of January 27, ten Japanese destroyers suddenly attacked the outer roadstead of Port Arthur and torpedoed two of the best Russian battleships - Tsesarevich and Retvizan - and the cruiser Pallada. Moreover, the Retvizan did not sink only because it ran aground.

The damaged ships - except for the Retvizan, which was refloated a month later - were taken to the internal roadstead, and the Japanese destroyers went home. The next morning, a large Japanese squadron appeared in front of the city, but the Russian fleet, having already recovered from the first blow, went to sea and, with the help of coastal batteries, drove it away. On the same day, 6 Japanese cruisers and 8 destroyers attacked the cruiser Varyag and the gunboat Koreets in the Korean port of Chemulpo (now Incheon). To prevent the ships from being captured, the crews blew up the Koreets and sank the Varyag.

Viceroy in the Far East, Admiral E.I. Alekseev, on January 28, was appointed Commander-in-Chief of all naval and ground forces of Russia in the Far East, retaining the post of governor for failure.

On February 7, Kuropatkin, appointed commander of the ground forces in the Far East, arrived in Port Arthur. Alekseev and Kuropatkin immediately became irreconcilable antagonists. Alekseev proposed an immediate offensive in Manchuria, Kuropatkin - a retreat in order to consolidate Russian ground forces.

Alekseev and Kuropatkin gave contradictory orders and prevented the generals from acting correctly.

The commander of the fleet was an outstanding naval commander, Vice Admiral Stepan Osipovich Makarov, but he died on March 31, 1904, when he was blown up by a mine and drowned along with the battleship Petropavlovsk.

“In the morning, the difficult and inexpressibly sad news came that during the return of our squadron to Port Arthur, the battleship Petropavlovsk came across a mine, exploded and sank, and Admiral Makarov, most of the officers and crew were killed. Kirill, slightly wounded (Kirill Vladimirovich, Grand Duke, cousin of Nicholas II. - V.B.), Yakovlev - the commander, several officers and sailors - all wounded - were rescued. I couldn’t come to my senses for the whole day from this terrible misfortune.”

In Manchuria there was another Romanov - another “Vladimirovich” - Grand Duke Boris, who also returned from the war alive, but the royal family itself lived in fear for their lives, the war in Manchuria was not an abstraction for them, and they could expect a message every day about other “terrible misfortunes.”

And such messages were not long in coming: on April 18, on the Yalu River, the Japanese defeated the detachment of General Zasulich, inflicting the first major defeat on Russian troops on land.

Following this, the 2nd Japanese Army, which landed unhindered, cut the railway to Port Arthur and in mid-May occupied the city of Dalny (now Dalian), completely blocking Port Arthur from land. To relieve the blockade, Nicholas II ordered the 1st Siberian Corps of Lieutenant General Stackelberg to move to the rescue of Port Arthur, but in a two-day battle near Vafangou - July 1-2 - it was defeated. Kuropatkin's troops suffered an even more serious defeat in the Battle of Liaoyang, which lasted ten days - from August 11 to 21, in which about 300 thousand soldiers and officers acted on both sides with a slight superiority of forces among the Russians in infantry and cavalry and a significant one in artillery. And yet, due to unreasonable waste, poor intelligence, failure to use part of the forces in battle and exaggeration of the enemy’s forces, the Russians again retreated and went on the defensive.

By October 13, Russian troops were reorganized into three separate armies and took up positions on the Shahe River, forming an almost continuous front one hundred kilometers long.

On October 22, 1904, after losing the battle of Shahe, Alekseev surrendered his powers as Commander-in-Chief to Kuropatkin and was soon recalled to St. Petersburg, contenting himself with a position as a member of the State Council.

As a result of all these operations, the bulk of the Russian troops retreated far to the north from Port Arthur, leaving the fortress alone with superior Japanese forces both on land and at sea.

After the attack on Port Arthur, the death of S. O. Makarov, the landing of the 2nd Japanese Army and the defeat of the 1st Siberian Corps of Stackelberg, the fortress was blocked both from the sea and from land. Its defense was led by Lieutenant General A. M. Stessel - narcissistic, ignorant, stubborn and deceitful.

On July 17, the Japanese reached the main line of defense of the fortress and a week later began shelling it. By the end of November, the Japanese, after extremely heavy fighting that lasted about four months, captured the heights dominating the city and began to conduct aimed fire at the remnants of the Port Arthur squadron and the already dilapidated fortifications of the fortress.

The soul of the defense of the fortress and the culprit that Port Arthur held out for almost a year was Lieutenant General of the Engineering Troops R.I. Kondratenko. Under his leadership, in a very short period of time, the fortification system of the fortress was modernized and four enemy assaults were repulsed. He also died, but it happened at the very end of the defense - December 2, 1904.

On December 16, Stoessel convened a Military Council, at which it was decided: to fight further. However, violating the charter and ignoring the opinion of the Military Council, the commander signed the surrender with his authority four days later. On December 21, Nikolai, who was on his next inspection tour of the western military districts, received a message about what had happened.

“At night I received amazing news from Stessel about the surrender of Port Arthur to the Japanese due to enormous losses and pain among the garrison and the complete use of shells! – the king wrote in his diary. “It was hard and painful, although it was foreseen, but I wanted to believe that the army would rescue the fortress. The defenders are all heroes and did more than could have been expected.”

Russia rewarded both heroes and cowards. The ashes of General Kondratenko were transported to St. Petersburg and buried with military honors in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. And in 1907, General Stessel was sent to a military court, which found him the main culprit in the surrender of the fortress and sentenced him to death. True, the compassionate tsar replaced the death penalty with a ten-year prison sentence, and in 1909 he completely pardoned him.

The war did not end with the fall of Port Arthur. After the capture of the fortress, the Japanese significantly improved their position, for they were able to strengthen themselves in Manchuria due to the troops released on the Liaodong Peninsula. Wasting no time, the Japanese went on the offensive near Mukden and in the second half of February 1905 again defeated the Russians, losing 89 thousand soldiers and officers, forcing them to retreat 160 kilometers. Kuropatkin's main forces stopped at the Sypingai positions and remained there until the end of the war.

On February 28, Nicholas II convened a meeting at which it was decided to replace Kuropatkin with infantry general N.P. Manevich, who served as commander of the 1st Army. The change of commanders-in-chief did not change anything during the war on land, and its center moved to the sea.

The Japanese struck the first blow in this war against the Russian fleet and throughout the subsequent period systematically beat its scattered squadrons and detachments dispersed in different ports - Vladivostok, Port Arthur, Dalny, Chemulpo. Having blocked the main forces of the Pacific Fleet in Port Arthur - 7 battleships, 9 cruisers, 27 destroyers and 4 gunboats - the Japanese immediately became the absolute masters of sea communications.

After the fall of Port Arthur, the Japanese destroyed the remnants of the 1st Pacific Squadron and began to wait for the appearance of two more Russian squadrons - the 2nd and 3rd - which were heading to the Pacific Ocean from the Baltic ports. They united on May 9, 1905 and on May 27 entered into battle with the main forces of the Japanese fleet in the Korea Strait, near the island of Tsushima. As a result of the battle, which lasted about two days, the Japanese won a complete victory, drowning and capturing almost the entire Russian Pacific Fleet.

On June 7, 1905, the Tsar received a letter from US President Theodore Roosevelt, offering his mediation in resolving the conflict between Russia and Japan.

In July-August 1905, a conference was held in the American port of Portsmouth, which ended with the signing of an agreement under which Port Arthur, Dalny, the southern part of Sakhalin and the South Manchurian Railway were transferred to Japan.

Now let's get acquainted with some issues of Russian domestic policy of this period.

At the end of 1901 - beginning of 1902, a unification of disparate Narodnaya Volya organizations took place, now calling themselves “socialist revolutionaries” and existing illegally both in Russia and abroad. In Bern, thanks to the efforts of the Zhitlovskys, the leadership of the Foreign Union of Socialist Revolutionaries settled, whose members lived in many countries of Europe and America. In Russia, before unification, there were several organizations that did not have a single center, but were still interconnected - “Southern Party of Socialist Revolutionaries”, “Northern Union of Socialist Revolutionaries”, “Agrarian Socialist League” and several smaller ones (in their abbreviation members called themselves “Socialist Revolutionaries”). Considering themselves bearers of the traditions of Narodnaya Volya, members of these organizations also professed individual terror.

The first shot, which was fired after a long break on February 14, 1901, was aimed at the Minister of Public Education, professor of Roman law N.P. Bogolepov. He was mortally wounded by the Socialist-Revolutionary Pyotr Karpovich, a twenty-seven-year-old nihilist, a half-educated student, that social element about which the Vilna governor-general, Prince P. D. Svyatopolk-Mirsky, said this: “In the last three or four years, a kind of semi-literate intellectual has developed from a good-natured Russian guy , who considers it his duty to deny family and religion, to disregard the law, to disobey and mock authority.” Bogolepov died on March 2, and Karpovich was sentenced to 20 years of hard labor, but already in 1907 he was transferred to a settlement, from where he safely fled abroad and, soon returning illegally to Russia, immediately set to work as before - preparing terrorist acts.

After the murder of Bogolepov, the Socialist Revolutionaries realized that the era of capital punishment was a thing of the past, and they began to work closely on creating a party. The initiator of this was the leader of the Moscow Socialist Revolutionary Party A. A. Argunov. One day, the Socialist-Revolutionary Yevno Azef, who had come from abroad and had a reputation as an honest and steadfast revolutionary, appeared in his apartment at his apartment, but in reality he was an agent of the Moscow Security Department. Completely trusting Azef, Argunov soon learned that his new comrade was leaving abroad, and immediately handed him all the addresses, addresses, passwords, surnames and recommended Azef from the best side, as a representative of the Socialist Revolutionaries-Muscovites. At the same time, a representative of the Southern and Northern Socialist Revolutionaries, Grigory Gershuni, went abroad for the same purpose. Having met, Azef and Gershuni quickly agreed on everything and in further negotiations - in Berlin, Bern and Paris - they stayed together and acted as one.

Saratov was declared the temporary center of the party, where the old People's Volk E.K. Breshko-Breshkovskaya, born in 1844, was located, later called the “grandmother of the Russian revolution,” and the main printed organ, the newspaper “Revolutionary Russia,” was decided to be published in Switzerland. Its editors were M. R. Gots and V. M. Chernov. These people formed the leadership core of the new party, and Azef found himself closely associated with each of them. (Such a considerable list of the Socialist Revolutionaries, the founders of the party, may seem unnecessary, but only those who subsequently played an important role in the revolution and in the death of the Romanov dynasty are listed here.)

At the end of January 1902, Gershuni went to Russia in order to visit all organizations and agree on their participation in the upcoming founding congress. Of course, Azef, even before his departure, notified the Police Department of both the timing and route of his trip, resolutely insisting that the gendarmes should not arrest him under any circumstances, but would constantly monitor everyone with whom he would meet. The gendarmes did just that, and at the end of the Gershuni trip they hoped to thoroughly identify all the future assets of the party. However, Gershuni noticed the surveillance from the very beginning and deftly escaped from his pursuers.

The first thing he did was prepare an assassination attempt on the Minister of Internal Affairs D.S. Sipyagin. Kiev student Stepan Balmashev volunteered for this murder. If Sipyagin could not be killed, Pobedonostsev should have become his next victim. Preparations for the terrorist attack were carried out in Finland. On April 2, 1902, Balmashev, dressed in an officer’s uniform, arrived in St. Petersburg and headed to the Mariinsky Palace, where the State Council was soon to meet. Having introduced himself as the adjutant of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, he was allowed into Sipyagin’s reception room, and when he entered, Balmashev handed him an envelope that supposedly contained a letter from Sergei Alexandrovich - in fact, it contained a verdict for the minister. And as soon as Sipyagin tore the envelope, Balmashev killed him with two shots at point-blank range.

By order of Nicholas II, Balmashev was tried by a military tribunal, which meant that he would face death, because civilian courts could not sentence him to death: that’s why Karpovich got off with hard labor.

Balmashev was sentenced to hanging, and on May 3 in Shlisselburg he was executed. This was the first political execution during the reign of Nicholas II.

In Sipyagin’s place, two days after his death, Vyacheslav Konstantinovich Pleve, the son of a Kaluga pharmacist, who studied at the university with copper money and deeply despised the aristocracy in his soul, was appointed Secretary of State for Finnish Affairs, a supporter of drastic measures in the fight against terrorism.

Plehve set himself the task of centralizing the state apparatus, identifying the degree of centralization with the power of the state. He considered his main opponents to be revolutionaries and zemstvos, and then S. Yu. Witte himself, after Sergei Yulievich became chairman of the Council of Ministers in August 1903.

The Combat Organization created by the Socialist Revolutionaries, whose prototype was the Executive Committee of the People's Will, was led from the very beginning by Gershuni, full of the most daring plans. After the murder of Sipyagin, Gershuni began to prepare an assassination attempt on Pleve, while simultaneously working on an assassination attempt on the Ufa governor N.M. Bogdanovich, guilty of shooting strike workers in Zlatoust on March 13, 1903, and already on May 6, when Bogdanovich was walking in one of the secluded alleys of the Cathedral garden, two young men approached him and, handing him the verdict of the Combat Organization, shot him from Brownings and disappeared. Their searches were fruitless.

But Gershuni was unlucky: on the way from Ufa to Kiev, he was arrested, immediately transported to St. Petersburg and handed over to a tribunal, which sentenced him to death, but on cassation, his death was replaced with eternal hard labor, after which he repeated what he had done before him Karpovich - in the fall of 1906 he escaped from the Akatuy prison and reached Europe through China and the USA. True, he did not have long to live - in 1908 he died in Zurich.

The main thing in the whole story with Gershuni was that in his place at the head of the Combat Organization of the Socialist Revolutionaries was Yevno Azef.

When he “took over the matter” - and the main one was the preparation of the murder of Plehve - Russia was worried and indignant because of the bloody and large-scale Jewish pogroms that had recently occurred in Chisinau, the main culprit and even organizer of which was called Plehve. And thus, the murder of Plehve became not just another task, but an urgent political necessity. Moreover, we should not forget that Azef was a Jew.

After long and careful preparation, the assassination attempt was scheduled for March 31, 1903, but then postponed to April 14, and on the night before that very day, one of the terrorists, Pokotilov, blew up his own bomb. And finally, only on July 15, Plehve was killed.