Russia In The Opinion Of Chinese Intellectuals Before And After The1911Revolution

Around the time of the1911revolution, the event which had the great impact on the Sino-Russia relation was the Outer Mongolia event. Russia in the opinion of the Chinese intellectuals can be generally divided into the following three phases in accordance with the development of the Outer Mongolia event:The first phase was from1905to1906, in which Russia had formulated its strategy to invade Outer Mongolia. During this phase, defeat in Russo-Japanese War made Russia to realize that its plan to dominate the Manchuria area would not be realized. Due to Outer Mongolia’s unique location between China and Russia, it had attracted the attention from Tsarist Russia-a regime with strong aggressiveness. During this period,, the intellectuals’opinion on Russia was based on whether Russia would invade the Mongolian area. They conducted analysis and discussion from various perspectives, such as Russia’s intrinsic aggressive and belligerent nature as well as the practical benefits which could be obtained by the Russia’s invasion into Outer Mongolia, and they reached the conclusion that Russia would definitely invade Mongolia, and they also proposed related "countermeasures" to cope with Russia.The second phase was from1907to1911, which was the preparation phase for Russia to invade Outer Mongolia. In order to realize its invasion into Outer Mongolia, Russia successively signed Japan-Russia Agreement and related secret treaty in1907and1910, which cleared the barrier for Russia to invade Outer Mongolia. The intellectuals all criticized such behavior, and also analyzed whether such secrete treaty really exited. In the end, they concluded that the secret treat did exist. Therefore, during this period, the intellectuals’opinion on Russia was mainly based on the influence of Japan-Russia Agreement on China’s Mongolian area, and corresponding countermeasures were also proposed.The third phase was from1912to1916, in which Russia implemented its invasion into Mongolia. On December01,1911, under the instigation and support from Russia, the Living Buddha of Kulun—Jebtsundamba declared "independence" of Mongolia. In order to find legal and theoretical basis for the independence of Outer Mongolia, Russia declared that Outer Mongolia was China’s "vassal state" rather than "mainstay". As for this, intellectuals refuted the fallacy on just grounds. They also disclosed Russia’s various invasions during that time, and according to their statement, Russia was behind Mongolia’s independence, and its purpose was to turn Outer Mongolia into its colony. In addition to refuting Russia’s fallacies, the intellectuals also criticized Russia in signing Russia-Mongolia Agreement with the local government of Kulun. They declared that Kulun was only an annexed territory of China, and the Living Buddha of Kulun was only a local religious leader with no right to sign contract with another country. Therefore, the Russia-Mongolia Agreement was illegal and invalid, and they also launched a debate on whether to solve the Outer Mongolia issue with peaceful means or by force. This debate played an active role in motivating the public’s patriotism.Unfortunately, power is the key of success in this world. The intellectuals’denouncement and proposal did not play a substantial role in solving the Outer Mongolia problem. In1915, China and Mongolia signed Kvakhta Treaty, which approved Russia’s illegal demand on Outer Mongolia in terms of law, thus laying down a foundation for Outer Mongolia to separate from China later.